Chubby Teen with Hypothyroidism to (almost) Fit Twenty yr. Old

DriRose

Hey everyone!

To clarify I say almost because I am currently only halfway towards where I want to be, I know I have a lot more toning up to do before I'm satisfied with the way I look and I still struggle with keeping a healthy diet. I've definitely fallen off the wagon this winter and I hope this post encourages motivation to myself and others to get back on!

When I was around 11 years old I was diagnosed with hypothyroidism, which at the time I had almost no idea what it was and being young I didn't know how to take care of myself correctly (read: I could eat an entire bag of chips in one sitting), so those factors mixed with my lack of physical activity, (homeschooled, so no gym class or friends to run around with) by the time I was 14 at 5'2", I weighed around 155lbs.

I never had a problem with the way I looked and I didn't even realize how overweight I was and that it wasn't just the disorder that was causing it until I went to high school. Even so, eating the horrible cafeteria food got me up to 160lbs by the end of the year and this site definitely saved me from going anymore downhill.

Over the summer I started becoming more active, riding my bike everywhere, horseback riding, swimming, and I gave myself my own little "no soda, no chips and no candy diet" and I was able to get down to 145lbs. Fast forward to my senior year, I realized I was too old to continue eating so horribly and I didn't want to go to college not feeling my best, so I started going for runs almost daily and simple, maybe twenty minute strength workouts 5 days a week as well as tracking my calories, allowing 1200 a day and eating them all back. I rarely weighed myself so imagine my excitement when I went for a checkup to discover my disorder was completely gone and I weighed 125lbs!

Now I know not a lot of people go by the scale and prefer measurements but for someone who had never seen it that low it was a great moment.

Unfortunately this past winter I completely stopped taking care of myself, thinking that I could maintain my body just by winging it and I gained about 13 pounds. I'm making this post hoping to let others know to not let health disorders hold them back, and to let myself know that if I was a success story once I can be one again, for life!

I don't have many photos of myself so I apologize for the quality and bad angles.
Pictured below is me at 160lbs on the right (you can see I couldn't even button my vest) and on the left is last summer before a music festival at 125lbs, where I hope to be again soon





Edit: I found a more recent full body picture from right before winter!

hyIianprincess

Wish you the best of luck. You got this.

KBeener

Nice! Great job- you look awesome!

PearlAng

Beautiful! What a great job!

procolorer

I love finding people with stories about hypothyroidism- gives me hope! And I agree- we all eventually have to stop blaming our disorder! Feel Feel free to add me

KathleenKP

Great job! You have an advantage to learn how to take care of your body at this age. Many girls do not understand this, even though they are slender now. You are very pretty (at both sizes, actually).

My kids were homeschooled, and my middle son had weight issues. I understand the challenges you faced.

DriRose

Thank you so much to everyone!

@KathleenKP‌ thank you, a lot of my friends my age thought it was weird I was even bothering to try to be healthy "so young" when their favorite hangouts were taco bell and McDonald's