64 Pounds Gone!! Size 16 to 6! I Did It!!!!!!!

I can't believe I'm actually being able to post in this section!!! I wanted my weight loss journey to be a success, but after 7 years of health issues, I never really thought it was possible. Regardless of my pessimism, I fought on, and now I am so glad I did!

7 years ago, I gave birth to a beautiful baby girl, and my hormones went berzerk. Less than a year after she was born, I was diagnosed with Graves Disease.

Overdosed on anti-thyroid meds, I quickly gained 80 pounds onto my 130 pound body. Quickly. In just a few months. I could barely get myself out of bed, lost an unbelievable amount of hair, my joint pain made doing anything unbearable, and I now have a swiss cheese memory of my daughters first years. Doctor number 2 suggested my first visit to have my thyroid removed, and that my disease would be more easily controlled after it was gone. He never bothered to look at my lab results to find that I was being overdosed. Yet I had blind faith, and did as he said. After your thyroid is removed you HAVE to take thyroid replacement medicine for the rest of your life or you will go into a myxedema coma and die. According to my doctor treatment post thyroidectomy was simple, and it would be just a matter of time to get my dosage dialed in. Wrong. Some people do just fine on synthetic thyroid hormone. I was not one of them.

To make a long story short, I finally wised up, researched, and learned as much as I could. I sought out doctors by word of mouth from other thyroid patients who would actually help me! I was tired of being pat on the head by doctors, and everything I would say completely dismissed. To my previous doctors I knew nothing, and how I felt mattered not one bit. I was tired of being ignored. Finally, I found relief in my new doctors. I found I had not just Graves Disease, but Hashimotos, PCOS, and was extremely anemic and Vitamin D deficient, and treatment began.

2 years ago, I started lifting heavy with the help of one of my husbands military buddies who was level 2 Olympic Lifting certified, and I never looked back. We trained 4 days a week in his garage gym, and then I went on my own. I lift heavy 5 days a week, for 2 hours a day. Compound lifts are my absolute favorite! Front squat is sitting at 210, Back squat 270, Deadlift 335. Earlier this summer, I started going to classes at my local yoga studio to show my new muscles loving - and I'm addicted! I have my whole family going with me now.

Anyways. I lost my first 20ish pounds after switching from synthetic thyroid hormone to a natural one. All water weight. The bulk of the weight I've lost has been just since January of this year after I had gotten my hormones optimized, and deficiencies treated!