Tag Archives: thyroid

What’s Up, Wednesday?

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Hi guys! (And girls!)

Sorry for my radio silence lately. Ya know that John Lennon quote, “Life is what happens when you’re busy making plans”? Yep, that pretty much sums it up. I’ve had a very busy month, filled with lots of awesome house guests and fun excursions. I figured I’d fill you in on a couple things before getting back to a regular (I’ll try) writing schedule.

1) My Weight Watchers attendance has been more sporadic than I’d like, (I’m set to go today), but at the last meeting I was down .6 of a pound. Hey, it’s not a big loss, but it’s a loss, so I’ll take it! I’ve been far more laidback about tracking than I should be, so I need to get back into the “If you bite it, write it” mentality.

2)  I had an appointment with an awesome endocrinologist a few weeks ago. He ran some blood tests and confirmed that my hormone levels definitely signify PCOS. There wasn’t really any doubt about it after the ultrasound scan I had, but the markers in my blood make it more like “Yep, sorry, it’s for sure.” The good news is that my thyroid appears to be functioning normally, so I’m able to discontinue the thyroid meds. He doubled my PCOS medication, Metformin, which should help with the weight loss and some of the other pesky hormonal problems of PCOS, like acne. I’m seeing a dermatologist this week about some of the acne. I’m so glad I have a PPO and can hop, skip, and jump to whatever specialist I need. That’s a definitely luxury, and I feel like I’ve finally assembled my medical dream team. Now that I know what’s up, I know my marching orders!

3) Next Friday, I’m honored to be speaking on a panel about networking for bloggers at the Lifestyle Blogger’s Conference in downtown Los Angeles. My friend Ana Lydia, whom I met at Fitcation, is hosting the whole event, and she and her team have some amazing panels, sessions, and workshops planned. Check out her latest blog post for a special surprise if you’re interested in attending! If you DO attend, make sure you let me know so we can meet up.

LL Blog Badge v2 SPEAKING

4) Also in blog related news, I was so jazzed to participate in a Blog Swap hosted by my friend AJ at Confessions of a Fat Girl! The purpose of the blog swap was to write a post assigned to you by another blogger that would take you out of your comfort zone. Think wife swap for bloggers. My pal Chris at What I Run Into assigned me a post about red lips! I don’t wear a lot of makeup, so having to actually put color on my face was intimidating at first as I browsed the drug store aisles looking for RED. While some of the drug store finds were alright, ultimately, I found my happy ending at MAC. Check out my post on Chris’ blog, and stay tuned for my swapped blogger’s post soon. (Hint: it will involve something yummy!)

5) The other half of the Double Chin Diary was here this weekend! April and I had a ton of fun zooming around Los Angeles, doing things like hitting up a vintage flea market, hunting for fossils, baking cookies, and watching Despicable Me 2. Here’s a snap of us at the flea market. I definitely got in my 5,000 steps that day, AND scored a vintage sterling silver deer pin. I love productive fitness, and I love my sister! Maybe she’ll move down to Los Angeles to finish her degree. Hint, hint, wink, wink.

That’s all I got for today, folks! I hope you’re having an awesome week so far, and I’ll be back soon!

Love,

The Double Chin Diary Siggy

 

 

 

 

 

 

Alyssa’s Weight Watchers Weigh In: Week 1

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Tuesday was a great day. Even though I had nervous anticipation all morning before I stepped on the scale on my lunch break, I felt confident with my choices from the week before. I drank a lot of water, I exercised nearly every day, I snacked on Persian cucumbers instead of chips, and I minded my portions. I knew even if for some reason the scale didn’t reflect my good work, possibly the next week would, because “you always get the week you deserve eventually.”

I kicked off my flip flops, climbed on the scale, sucked in my breath, and wished for good news. “You’re down this week!” the leader said, and when she showed me the number, I actually let out a little hoot of joy. Here’s what made me so happy:

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YAY! 4.4 pounds is a big, big loss. I was also on the tail-end of completing the Mamavation Two-Week Bootcamp, so being forced to do burpees and arm curls and cardio helped, too. I’m so relieved that the first week of “Simple Start” worked. Basically, it’s a plan focused on lean proteins and dairys, whole grains, vegetables and limited fats. It’s pretty much a “Don’t Eat Crap” manifesto, though you can choose one crap item (junk food) per night, with suggestions being things like a Weight Watchers ice cream, a glass of wine, etc. My crap items were Weight Watchers Dulce de Leche ice cream bars (they’re okay. Kinda fake. Not my fav), oatmeal chocolate chip cookies I made, and one night, two squares of white Irish cheddar cheese. Deeeeeelish. This week, I need to be aggressive about staying “good” — sometimes when I have a strong success like this, I tend to think “Oh! I did so good last week that I can cheat a little bit and I’ll still lose weight!” Nope, not so much. Don’t wanna get over confident over here. However, I did realize this week this is the first time I’m trying a “real” weight-loss plan again now that I know what’s up my wacky body, and that’s exciting.
I was also thrilled this week to hear from three different people that it looked like I was losing weight. Those comments are so encouraging to me, because I see myself all day, every day. Hearing it from someone else is sometimes exactly what you need to remember why you’re choosing the salad over the pizza.

So that’s my awesome news for the week! Can’t wait to share with you next week about my next weigh in, and I can only hope it will be as good as this one, but I’ll be happy with any sort of loss. 🙂  I’ll be back soon to tell you about my newest fitness gadget, the Fitbit Force!

 

Reflections on 2013 and wishes for 2014

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2013 was a big, important year. The past few months have had more challenges than I’d like, and overall, I’m happy to be wrapping up 2013. Let’s review what happened, shall we?

1) I crossed a major bucket list item off the list — traveling to thailand! One year ago today, I started my first new year’s resolution with a bang! I had wanted to be more active, and 2013 was kicked off with a huge, intense jungle hike across Phi Phi island to a ferry. It was an experience I’ll never forget — in both good ways (the view) and bad ways (the mosquitoes and getting lost on a foreign island with no Malaria protection).

elephantriding_thailand_doublechindiary

2) I crossed another major item off my list – earning my master’s degree! While I’m so glad I did it, I’m not going to lie that working on a master’s degree while working full-time was a challenge. There were many tear-filled nights as I had to work through exhaustion and keep plugging away on my thesis, but in the end, I’m proud of what I accomplished. Plus, it’s fun to humblebrag about how I’m a master of mass communication. Oh yeah!

Very excited at my commencement ceremony! Photo by my wonderful thesis chair, Dr. Bluestein.

Very excited at my commencement ceremony! Photo by my wonderful thesis chair, Dr. Bluestein.

3) The Double Chin Diary took me lots of amazing places, like Portland for FitBloggin‘ and Paso Robles for Fitcation. April also joined the Double Chin Diary  this year, and I’m so thankful because she picks up the slack when I don’t have much to say, and it has brought us closer together as sisters and friends. There’s nothing like realizing you’re not alone in any sort of battle you’re going through. April gets it — and I know together we’ll be able to accomplish our goals. I’m always so gracious that people take the time to read this blog. Life is chaotic, and busy, and the fact that you stop by means a lot to us. THANK YOU! I’m also grateful to the great brands that believe in what April and I are doing — from Diet to Go to Amana to Hollywood Wax to Blogher. This year, I’m thrilled and honored to be speaking on a panel about blogging at the Lifestyle Blogger’s Conference in downtown Los Angeles, and to be attending FitBloggin’ in Savannah!

4) I finally got some insight into why losing weight seems to be my unreachable feat. After some stressful months of loss then regain then loss then regain, I worked with a few doctors on in-depth blood testing and PCOS screening. After several frustrating courses of misleading results, I finally had a solid diagnosis of PCOS, a fatty buildup in my liver, and subclinical hypothyroidism. I’ve been on medications for a few months and am happy to be at about 13 pounds lost. 2014 will be the last year I ever say my new year’s resolution is to lose weight. Now that I know what’s going on and have the tools to do it, I’m doing it. No stopping me. I will be victorious!

Life's a river. I'm gonna keep paddling!

Life’s a river. I’m gonna keep paddling!

Those were highlights from 2013, so now what about 2014? I don’t have any “resolutions” other than to keep on fighting to get to a healthier me. The Double Chin Diary has been kind of a “weight gain and weight maintenance” blog rather than a “weight loss” blog, and I’d like to change that. (Maybe I’ll just start a new blog? LOL.) I think I finally have the tools to do it. The So Cal Lady Bloggers, a blogging collective I’m a part of, asked a thought provoking question of what word I would choose to focus on for 2014. In 2013, I felt like I was always struggling to find balance. To find balance between how many projects are too many. To find balance in learning to say no. To find balance in continuing to exercise even though I was seeing weight gain instead of weight loss. To find balance in how I approached spending and saving. After some careful thought, I think my word for 2014 will be PERSPECTIVE. I spent a lot of time in 2013 learning to readjust the way I chose to see the world, and how I reacted to challenges. I’m beginning 2014 as a different person; a matured person in that recognizing sometimes all of the difficult things we encounter do actually serve a purpose. In 2014, I want to remember that a positive, thoughtful perspective on life will always serve me best.

Perspective_DoubleChinDiary

 

 

I’m wishing you the most amazing new year, and now, I want to know:

What will your word be for 2014?

 

 

 

 

 

Monthly Weigh In Results

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Hi everybody, sorry it’s been kind of quiet around here! September is for some reason ALWAYS nutty for me with work and life stuff and I end up choosing sleep over the DCD. (BLASPHEMY! But you know, there’s all that research that sleep helps with obesity so really, I’m just being proactive about weight loss… riiiight.)

This Friday was a pretty big deal for me, because it was a four week check in after starting the low dose of Synthroid to jumpstart my thyroid, and going back on Metformin, to help with the insulin-resistance from PCOS. I had MAJOR anxiety about stepping on the scale. It was a stressful week at work, and the night before the appointment, I found myself hedging to my husband, rationalizing that I should cancel because my blood pressure would be high from stress. As if that’s a good reason, right? Thankfully, he helped me see the light, as he so often does, and I bit my tongue and told myself I just needed to face the music and wear my big girl panties. It wasn’t even necessarily that I rationally thought I would gain; in fact, I knew my eating and exercise habits were enough to contribute to a loss. However, my body has played me before and I was so afraid all the effort would do what it usually does; backfire and send me into a constant state of “Why bother?”

I went to the doctor first thing in the morning and requested that I be weighed after I got my blood pressure taken. I warned the nurse that my BP would be high, I was nervous, after all. Blood pressure was fine, but my pulse was definitely all over the place and jumpy, a sure sign that I reaaaally was dreading stepping on that scale. It’s kind of pathetic that a weigh-in makes me feel like I need a cocktail. “Why are you so nervous?” the nurse asked, and I replied, “Because last time I stepped on that thing I left crying.” The nurse took pity on my ridiculous fears and laughed, and with a deep breath, I faced the music and stood on the scale, holding my breath as if that very action would magically suck 10-15 pounds away. As I stepped off, the nurse motioned for me to go into the room, withholding the information. “OHHH NOOOOO,” I thought, I must have gained. Because I’m nosy and I needed to know after enduring such torture, I asked, “What is it?” When she told me the numbers I did a mental recalculation, jumped for joy, and then confirmed that I was DOWN SIX POUNDS!

Six pounds is a lot for me. Six pounds is the size of a small, full-term baby. Six pounds is the size of several delicious spaghetti squash. Six pounds is two three-pound weights, a heck of a lot of hamburger meat, and more than half a sack of russet potatoes. I was so excited that I snapped this pic and immediately posted it on instagram, and as my pal Alyssa A. said, you can tell how happy I am. RESULTS. It is wonderful to see RESULTS from your hard work.

Six pounds success!

Six pounds success!

I think there are several things contributing to this success this month: 1) eating a low carb diet, averaging 100-120 carbohydrate grams per day, 2) the addition of synthroid and metformin 3) not weighing myself for a whole month, thus defeating the “Well, I’ve gained so I might as well eat” cycle, 4) Being crazy busy (not ideal as I’m not eating as often as I should be) and 5) Exercising and being active.

I plan to keep up four out of five of those habits. I’ll happily tone down number four, because self-care is important when you’re busy and stressed, so I need to focus on eating right, sleeping well and exercising. In fact, I think I’ll go take a walk, right now. So there you have it. A month after not stepping on the scale, I faced a fear and found a fantastic, positive, optimistic result. At the very best I was hoping to see two pounds lost, and my expectations were tripled. Thank you body. Thank you self. Thank you, thank you, thank you. (And thank YOU for reading.)

Can you relate to ever having crazy anxiety about something as simple as stepping on a scale? What is or was it?

 

 

Weekly Weigh In #2

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I weighed in on Monday morning, expecting things to not go well. Even though I had stayed within my daily 1,600 calories, I couldn’t exercise as much because of homework and work, and my scale at home showed that I was up. When I weighed in on Monday I…

Gained/Lost 0 pounds

So basically, I maintained. I was disappointed, but after a good talk with the nutritionist, we pinpointed some reasons. First of all, I’m not really mindful of salt before weigh ins. I always thought it was just hocus pocus that eating a bit of salt would puff you up, but after chowing down on homemade stir fry this weekend (hello, soy sauce!) and a couple frozen meals, apparently  I was puffy (and sure enough, I’m down a pound this morning. Oh well.) Secondly, my nutritionist thinks I shouldn’t eat the extra calories I get from exercise through the My Fitness Pal app. She broke down the math for me and reminded me that I have a slow functioning metabolism – one that theoretically isn’t “broken”, but needs lots of stoking. We also decided I need to amp up my cardio to 4-5 times per week.

These changes are all pretty significant for me, because they point out the thing I’ve been kind of hoping wouldn’t be true for a long time… and that’s that for me to lose weight, I need to be damn near 100% in my efforts. The last time I lost 30 pounds was my last semester in college – when I was working two jobs, serving as an editor on the college paper, attending classes and constantly riding my bike to and from campus. Weight loss seemed easy back then – because even though I was involved in so many things, I was active. I didn’t sit on my butt all day. Now I sit 40+ hours a week, and then I sit some more, after work, when I do my thesis project or go to class.

The increase in cardio is good – while I’ll struggle at first, I know it will help decrease my stress, get me in shape, and most importantly, it will help rev up my metabolism. I like to imagine my metabolism as a squishy little cartoon character wearing a fuzzy robe and bunny slippers, with a perpetual yawn, curling up inside me next to my thyroid like the ultimate couch potato. I want that little metabolism to sweat and start being more productive, and the only way I’m gonna do that is to stop being my own form of couch potato, and move it to lose it, ya know?

 

One last thing I forgot to mention is I’m moving to bi-weekly weigh ins, because the wise nutritionist thinks it will be better for me to focus on my weight less and my energy and fitness level more. She reminded me that in cases like mine, sometimes you can be doing everything right and your body just takes some time to “prove it”. So yup – next time I weigh in on May 16… 3 days after my birthday!

I’m so glad I have a “weight whisperer” like the nutritionist to help me put some perspective into this challenge of mine that feels like something I’ll never overcome. But I will overcome it eventually – I just have to accept that weight loss is not going to be as simple as driving to the store and picking out a new, size 6 metabolism with a button nose and a love of volleyball. Weight loss is hard – which is precisely why the first three letters of diet are die. Heh. How are you doing this week? How are you feeling? Any revelations about anything?

Medical Mysteries: Solved!

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I’m sure you’ve all been waiting with bated breath for my medical test results to come back… so without further ado… I am diabetes and thyroid-problem free! I kinda knew in my heart that I’d probably be okay – and with that, my diagnosis is: obesity, slow metabolism, overactive imagination.

Because it was my lucky day, the doc also threw in a cholesterol test. My cholesterol is still in the good healthy level, but my triglycerides are creeping up a bit. With my steady diet of butter, bacon and cheese, I haven’t the slightest idea why! I jest, I jest. Kind of.

So! What’s the moral from this? The moral is – as always – that worrying gives small things big shadows. I need to learn to stop morphing these small things into giant, colossal boulders that I try to roll around in my head. However, I also need to stay focused on getting healthy, which means shedding these 40 extra pounds.

This weekend my sister is visiting me, and we’re going to start our day with a trip to exercise with Richard Simmons at Slimmons. It’s a good reminder that exercise CAN be fun if I’m doing the right kind – and it’s a perfect reminder for next week’s goal, which is to exercise at least three times. You keep me accountable, readers. Thank you <3

What’s your goal for next week?