Ok, first of all, sorry it has been so long since I've written a blog - I got a new computer and couldn't log in when I was ready to and then I got busy. But I'm back! And it seemed like a good time to post because to be perfectly and brutally honest, I have been ready to give up and go back to my old ways. I was tired of always being hungry. Tired of the gym. Tired of always being sore or worse, in severe pain. And I was sick and tired and frustrated and disgusted with myself for gaining and losing the same 20 pounds over and over again for the last 6 months. That's right for six months I haven't lost any weight. In fact I gained weight - in the past 30 days I actually jumped from 185 pounds to 203 pounds. I ate more chocolate, went to the gym less, found every excuse I could to cancel my sessions with my personal trainer....cause that was going to help right?
For the math person in me - in order to gain 20 pounds in 30 days I would have had to have eaten 70,000 calories - that's about 3800 calories a day with absolutely no exercise. I was going to the gym 5 days a week or more and while my eating wasn't the best it wasn't that bad. Or so I told myself. But since I've been trying to go back to my old healthy eating habits, I must have been doing not that great cause it's hard to go back.
Anyway, it turns out that my thyroid was bad. I have hypothyroidism caused by goiters (growths on my thyroid, or enlargement of my thyroid). Don't google it - they show the worse case scenarios and it's very scary looking. Hypothyroidism causes your metabolism to slow down next to nothing. I could have eaten absolutely nothing, exercised 8 hours a day and still gained weight. So that is a relief. Now we have my medicine dosage increased and it should help. Now I have to do my part. But I figure since I was on the verge of totally giving up and walking away from it all that others might get to that place too. So here are five tips I've come up with that will hopefully help:
1. Listen to your body and stay on your doctor to figure out what is wrong. I had seen the doctor in February and she said my thyroid level was low but probably nothing to worry about. Instead of asking her to do more tests I thought it would correct itself - by June I was gaining weight faster than I could process the thought of how to start losing again. Here are the symptoms of hypothyroid that I was having: rapid weight gain (biggie), hair loss, cold hands and feet (they would be frozen even when I was dripping sweat from working out), dry skin, depression, and constipation. Another sign that I didn't realize - I would get dizzy or vertigo randomly from time to time - where even when I was standing still I felt like I was swaying a little and the room was spinning. I thought it might be from a sinus infection or allergies but turns out it can be due to the hypothyroidism. I get tendinitis easily - where my joints such as wrists and knees get hurt more easily. Also - and guys you might want to skip the next few sentences - I hadn't had my period since December but had been regular like clock work up until then.
OK Guys you can continue reading.
2. Remind yourself that this is a lifestyle now. Diet is no longer a four letter word (even though it feels like it sometimes). Diet is now the way you eat to stay healthy. More protein, more fresh fruits and veggies, and indulgence every once in awhile because you have earned it. Gym and work out is a way of life. You workout to maintain what you've done. Change it up when you want to lose more body fat. There is no giving up and no going back - there is adjusting to accomplish what your goal is.
3. Speaking of adjusting - change up your workout routine. Now I will be the first to admit that this is the hardest part for me. I love my routines and schedules. I function well in them. Apparently, so does my body. God made our bodies to be amazing machines. They adapt quickly so that they expend the least amount of energy. So pay attention to your cardio - when it gets too easy switch machines. Now if you are like me, you want to know what "too easy" means. Basically when it takes longer to get your heart rate up then it's too easy for your body to go at that rate/resistance. So you will need to change your resistance, incline or switch to another machine all together. Try taking different classes with different instructors. This one terrifies me I will admit but I have some tips on this one - I'll blog about it next.
4. Have a goal. Have a long term goal and then make short term goals to accomplish the long term goal. Enlist the help of others to reach those goals. It doesn't have to be a personal trainer. It can be a friend or relative that has the same struggle so that when you are having one of those cravings that overwhelms you and it's all you can think of - they know what you mean. Or you don't want to go to the gym but know you have to but would rather be anywhere else, they can motivate you to go kick some cardio booty. Or even join you in a class. Don't underestimate the power of a gym buddy or the competitive spirit.
5. Recognize a plateau vs injury vs burn out. Plateaus are where it's getting harder to lose the weight. It means it's time to change it up - change your workout routine. Change your eating. If you are eating 3 times a day try eating 6 small meals instead. If you are eating mostly carbs try eating more protein. For injuries vs being sore. This one is hard because I tend to push myself beyond sore into injury. Here's a rule of thumb: if you feel your muscle/tendon/ whatever is sore when you work out but it tends to go away as you work out, it's just sore. If it goes from feeling it as you workout to pain. Stop. Take a few days off and go back. If the pain continues, go to the doctor. I tend to wait until I can't stand it anymore which is why I've had to take weeks off from the gym and that is like starting over. Burn out is where you are just tired of working out. You don't want to go and when you do go you don't want to be there. That means it's time for a break. It's time to stay out of the gym for a few days or a week. I hate the feeling of just going through the motions - to me, that's almost as bad as not going at all. Most of the time even though I don't want to go, once I get there I'm fine - I have fun on cardio and then I love working out. So burn out is something to keep in mind but not an excuse.
Hope these helped in some small way. Happy Saturday!
