B&A with pics, female 5'8"

jayjay12345654321

My original starting weight was 184 lbs at the first of February. I've still got a couple pounds to go, but the pressure is off me to "lose it or die". I'm not ready yet to get off my blood pressure meds even though the doc said if I lost 40 lbs I could (too scared), but I'll tell you what ... it sure feels good to not be afraid of cameras anymore! The before picture is the ONLY one I allowed to be taken of me during the 2 years before I was diagnosed with hypothyroidism, and that's only because it was fake Elvis and we were in Waikiki and I was feeling good. :glasses:

JcMey3r

Here we go, the IMG should be img

JcMey3r

Have to say that it is a great transformation! don't even look the same anymore(face).

jayjay12345654321

thank you! :flowerforyou: i kept retrying and was up to 5 fails. now i can't seem to shrink it so the width fits in the box.

GiGiBeans

Fantastic job! You not only look great but so much younger!

watto1980

nice work, you look like a completely different person. Look heaps younger now too!

jayjay12345654321

thank you, guys. :blushing: i'm so sorry i can't for the life of me figure out how to put the images in my OP and then shrink them down to fit the window. i've posted images before, but never with photobucket. posting images is probably the one archaic thing about this forum.

when my face was all bloated like that, i quit wearing makeup and quit fixing my hair because it was devastating to look in the mirror and not recognize the person looking back. i've been watching youtube videos to re-teach myself how to put on eyeshadow.

rachael1805

Wowser- totally ispired, impressed and about to stalk you for 'how did you do it' answers

Hildy_J

'Mazin. You look like your own daughter now! :flowerforyou:

Crumbled_Cookie

Wow, you look great! Totally different, healthy and younger!
Congratulations!

angelamangus1

WOW! You look like a completely different person. You look younger! Fantastic job and you have give me some motivation!

russellbrand69

I am gobsmacked - it's like a pic of mother and daugher!
What a wonderful transformation - congratulations to you!

echofm1

Wow! You really do look completely different and definitely younger. Like I would say your "now" picture looks like you're in your 20's. Not sure how old you are, but WOW.

Fitfully_me

Wonderful transformation!

andysmom

Amazing! Congrats!

sld4063

You look awesome- great inspiration to me as I am 5'9

colochel

Was hoping to find inspiration here today. Now I can mark that off the list Beautiful job, dear. You're a serious rockstar.

colochel

Do you mind sharing a little more information? What kind of things worked for you... what didn't. Would appreciate it!

BrandNewFabulousMe

Wonderful, wonderfu!!

LavaDoll

first - yes, one must *always* get photos taken with fake Elvis. you did good.
second - congratulations on managing to lose while hypothyroid! - this makes it even more of a challenge. you did awesome.

most of all: YOU LOOK AMAZING!

and you look like you FEEL AMAZING!

^_^

sinistras

Nice "ballet dancer" legs too! Even if you don't do ballet. Wow! Wonderfully done!

qtgonewild

very nice

jayjay12345654321

Do you mind sharing a little more information? What kind of things worked for you... what didn't. Would appreciate it!

what did not work for me was trying to lose weight. the more i focused on the scale, the more frequently i failed. it wasn't until i was in the emergency room in july for the 2nd time this year with docs telling me they couldn't believe i was still alive. my bp each time i went to the hospital was over 200. so in july, i decided to make a lifestyle change. it wasn't about vanity, but about not dying. the scale was no longer my motivator, the blood pressure monitor i used every day at home was.

first i cut out gluten, which as a hypoT i shouldn't have been eating anyway because gluten closely resembles the thyroid protein, so when you develop an intolerance for gluten, your body attacks and the thyroid becomes an innocent bystander. then i cut out all processed foods due to the sodium and hidden gluten, and that basically eliminated white sugars by default. i then cut out meats and dairy due to my cholesterol being 356, a common side effect of hypoT. i know fanatics will blow a gasket here and say the body adjusts its production of cholesterol and it's unnecessary to limit, but i reiterate my body has become defective. it does not adjust. it churns it out at 100% all day long and any that i eat goes on top of the stack. 356 is not a slightly elevated number. it's off the charts.

at this point, i realize i'm basically a vegan. and not just a regular vegan, but i'm avoiding so much stuff because i'm afraid there's gluten hidden in it that i'm doing all of my grocery shopping from the produce department. the transition happened so quickly, i didn't know any good recipes (nor had i found mfp yet) so i was slicing and dicing and eating everything raw with lemon juice as a seasoning. after maybe a 10 days, i felt better than i had ever felt in my life. i was excited about the day. forget bars and restaurants, i was driving around hitting up every produce department in every grocery store i could find having a blast exploring foods i'd never tried before. eating as a raw vegan was so much fun!

i'm a big nerd and a recluse, so i truly don't expect anyone to understand this level of geekiness.

at the same time, i started walking. just walking. 2-5 miles a day depending on the path i took through my winding neighborhood. i weighed myself daily out of sheer curiosity. logged it monthly. but it was that blood pressure monitor that kept me going. knowing if i followed docs orders and lost the weight, maybe, just maybe, i wouldn't have a stroke in front of my children and change their lives forever with that last memory of me. but the scale was not the boss of me, the bp monitor was. walking daily is a given. exploring the world of produce is fun. dodging a lethal gluten bullet is a must. but above all, keeping that top number below 140 is my only real concern. losing weight became a byproduct of lessor importance.

**NOTE - NOTHING i said is meant to be advice for anyone else. this is my personal medical and health journey and what i had to do to stay alive.

jayjay12345654321

GOT IT! Thank you auto-pilot! I had to give it one more shot just so I knew how. Instrux were MUCH appreciated!

Timshel_

WOW! You look 20 years younger! Bella too!

MGinAK

Wow...thanks for sharing your photos and your journey! I love how you wrote about driving around hitting all the produce departments! lol You look model pretty and according to your numbers you look pretty on the doctor's chart, too! The sentence about not wanting your children see you have a heart attack in front of them is particularly poignant... Again, thank you for taking the time to share your journey...

FixIngMe13

I agree with the rest.. you look younger!!! Great job! And of course... Congratulations! :flowerforyou:

colochel

Do you mind sharing a little more information? What kind of things worked for you... what didn't. Would appreciate it!

what did not work for me was trying to lose weight. the more i focused on the scale, the more frequently i failed. it wasn't until i was in the emergency room in july for the 2nd time this year with docs telling me they couldn't believe i was still alive. my bp each time i went to the hospital was over 200. so in july, i decided to make a lifestyle change. it wasn't about vanity, but about not dying. the scale was no longer my motivator, the blood pressure monitor i used every day at home was.

first i cut out gluten, which as a hypoT i shouldn't have been eating anyway because gluten closely resembles the thyroid protein, so when you develop an intolerance for gluten, your body attacks and the thyroid becomes an innocent bystander. then i cut out all processed foods due to the sodium and hidden gluten, and that basically eliminated white sugars by default. i then cut out meats and dairy due to my cholesterol being 356, a common side effect of hypoT. i know fanatics will blow a gasket here and say the body adjusts its production of cholesterol and it's unnecessary to limit, but i reiterate my body has become defective. it does not adjust. it churns it out at 100% all day long and any that i eat goes on top of the stack. 356 is not a slightly elevated number. it's off the charts.

at this point, i realize i'm basically a vegan. and not just a regular vegan, but i'm avoiding so much stuff because i'm afraid there's gluten hidden in it that i'm doing all of my grocery shopping from the produce department. the transition happened so quickly, i didn't know any good recipes (nor had i found mfp yet) so i was slicing and dicing and eating everything raw with lemon juice as a seasoning. after maybe a 10 days, i felt better than i had ever felt in my life. i was excited about the day. forget bars and restaurants, i was driving around hitting up every produce department in every grocery store i could find having a blast exploring foods i'd never tried before. eating as a raw vegan was so much fun!

i'm a big nerd and a recluse, so i truly don't expect anyone to understand this level of geekiness.

at the same time, i started walking. just walking. 2-5 miles a day depending on the path i took through my winding neighborhood. i weighed myself daily out of sheer curiosity. logged it monthly. but it was that blood pressure monitor that kept me going. knowing if i followed docs orders and lost the weight, maybe, just maybe, i wouldn't have a stroke in front of my children and change their lives forever with that last memory of me. but the scale was not the boss of me, the bp monitor was. walking daily is a given. exploring the world of produce is fun. dodging a lethal gluten bullet is a must. but above all, keeping that top number below 140 is my only real concern. losing weight became a byproduct of lessor importance.

**NOTE - NOTHING i said is meant to be advice for anyone else. this is my personal medical and health journey and what i had to do to stay alive.

Thank you for responding and sharing your story. Even if I can't relate to all you had to endure, the key variables are the same - I want to be healthy, and I don't want to leave my kids early. Totally lol'ed at the thought of geeking out in the produce sections... haha. Congratulations on your lifestyle change!

kealey1318

You really do look 20 years younger. I can't believe it! I understand your need to change your diet so drastically. It's amazing what a life/death situation will do to you. You're worth it!!! Thank you for sharing your journey with us and congratulations on living a better life!

itzehoe

AMAZING - GREAT JOB!