Dealing with Adrenal Fatigue and Hashimoto’s Thyroiditis

I recently found out I have been experiencing adrenal fatigue and have Hashimoto’s and honestly, it’s a relief to finally know what’s been happening to my body for the past three years. Over this time, I’ve been struggling with hyperthyroidism and hypothyroidism, not knowing for sure what was happening, only knowing something wasn’t right.

Right now I’m hypo, which means my body is pretty bloated, most days it’s difficult to get out of bed, I’m experiencing extreme fatigue and joint and muscle pain, not to mention a dense brain fog. What I have learned is that everything is very manageable if I eat right and treat my body and my mind with care.

That starts with what I eat.

Before my diagnosis, I realized I had what appeared to be a gluten allergy. I love carbs and starch-filled foods- pizza, pasta, potatoes, bread, rice, pastries- omg…nom nom nom! I can eat, and have eaten, an entire large pizza by myself in one sitting. It’s what I do! The thing about my “allergy” is, if I do that now, I feel like I’m dying- literally, I’m dying. I can’t breathe, my stomach is on fire, I bloat, my bowels feel like they’re going to erupt (and sometimes they do, and it can last for hours), my legs and fingers swell, my face is swollen, my hips are in pain…it is not pretty. It took months of going through this for me to notice what I was doing to my own body and acknowledge the misery I was putting myself through by way of my poor eating habits. Once I realized I could change, I did. I’m glad I did. It turns out that I have autoimmune antibodies which attack my thyroid glands. When I eat foods containing gluten, my immune system goes into war mode and attacks my body.

Two years ago after a bout with hyperthyroidism. I was 150 lbs.

Took this recently after the swelling in my face went down. I’m 210lbs, currently hypo.

Now I eat mostly gluten-free, and I feel worlds better. I still sneak in a few potato chips and a mouth full of pasta here and there, but I know my limits. Veggies and lean proteins are my go-to’s for every meal. I use dairy porducts very sparingly. I drink Shakeology daily and when I don’t, I make sure to take my supplements.

It’s going to be different this time around losing the excess weight. I’m 40lbs heavier than I was six months ago, and I’m determined to lose it and get my body back into functioning shape. My muscle tone is much weaker than it has ever been, and I am fatigued much more easily now, but I will not let that stop me. Even if it means just walking, I will purpose myself to walk.

I will walk every day until I can run.

As I’ve mentioned, I also must be careful of my thoughts. It’s very easy when I’m tired and in pain to give up on life in general. For about three months when I was at my worst I absolutely gave up on the idea of getting better. My thoughts toward myself were thoughts of pity and anger. I hated my body- I hated the way I looked, I hated how I felt, I hated that I’d worked so hard in the past and now it felt like everything I’d struggled to build was crashing in around me. I binged, refused to exercise, and I would criticize myself for looking and feeling like crap. In short, I bullied myself mercilessly over something I did not understand. When it comes to Hashimoto’s, self-care and self-love are not optional.

If I want to be healthy, I must be kind, loving and gentle with myself. I must speak loving words to myself about myself. I cannot hate myself for being overweight- my body is experiencing something that, if it could, it would change. I cannot be mean to myself when I’m tired or in pain. I will not use my fatigue or joint and muscle pain as an excuse to be lazy either. When I’m tired, I will admit it. When I can exercise, I will. I will not push myself so hard that I will break. I will feed myself with good foods. I will love my body, even if it is 40 lbs over.

More than that, I have added to my daily mantras-

I have a healthy thyroid

I have a beautiful body

I have good energy and I am full of energy

I am 152 lbs*

I love my body; my spouse loves my body

I am healthy, fit, sexy and whole

I am happy and healthy and confident

I truly believe that health and fitness includes our state of mental health and awareness. I am a more than just a body; I am a soul inhabiting a body. That there needs to be repair done in my temple is a good thing. I will repair it, and live a happy, long, successful life because I did.

Who’s ready to make miracles?

I will post pictures and recipes and menus. For anyone out there who is also dealing with this, please reach out! We can do this together. 🙂 ❤

*152lbs is my goal weight. I am currently 198lbs.

If you’d like to join in on my weight loss journey, get nutrition tips and recipes, or learn more about Shakeology, find me at my BeachBody Coach page. If you’re on Beachbody, add me as a buddy- Thundercat79. I’d be happy to workout or chat with you!

Tastes Like Chicken!

Ohmygosh it all looks soooooooo goooooood!

I’m sharing this with you all from the Team Beachbody Blog- 30 Healthy Chicken Recipes. These are very simple, quick to prepare recipes that are as healthy and nutritious as they are delicious!

Yum yum…April sure is looking good- 30 ways to eat chicken in thirty days- sounds like a challenge to me! Find all thirty recipes here. You can pin them for later and add them to your fabulous repertoire. I know I will!

Do you have any favorite chicken recipes you’d like to add to this dirty thirty? Share them in the comments and I’ll feature them on my Beachbody Coaching blog!

Chicken and Veggie Fajitas

Curried Chicken With Couscous

Chicken Pizza

Classic Herb Chicken

Grilled Chicken Caesar Salad

Fighting back when your food tries to kill you

I don’t have celiac disease but gluten-sensitivity is real. 

For the past few months I’ve been dealing with hypothroidism and gluten sensitivity which has literally forced me to pay attention to the food I’ve been eating and switch to a high protein, gluten-free diet.

For anyone who is rolling their eyes, I’m telling you this gluten sensitivity thing is real. No one naturally gains five or more pounds overnight. The bloating, joint pain, swollen face and legs, muscle aches, and aggravated respiratory distress is not imaginary. I’d like to be able to breathe when I eat! While I don’t carry the genetic marker for celiac disease, the stress on my body when I eat certain foods is very real. What causes it is a mystery to many- I grew up eating a carb-heavy diet- rice, bread, pasta, flour tortillas are among my favorite foods- but I’ve never experienced anything like I have in the past seven months.

Since eliminating wheat products from my diet, I’ve seen a turnaround. I am breathing easier and rely on steroids less frequently on a daily basis; my body feels lighter even without having lost the extra weight. Drinking green smoothies and including anti-inflammatory aids such as pineapple, ginger, turmeric and carrots has reduced my daily need for NSAID pain relievers. I feel stronger. My mind is clearer. Most recently, I added Shakeology (a Beachbody product) to my diet as well, and haven’t had to consume the seven-plus vitamin and mineral supplements I had been taking (each of which cost over $15.00 per bottle) to maintain my health for the day.

All things considered, I feel great! Now to lose these pounds and snap my body back into shape!

If you want to join me on this journey, you can check out my progress on the beachbody website- http://beachbodycoach.com/thundercat79.

Workout buddies of all fitness levels are most welcome- we’re all champions here!

Interested in Shakeology (what is it made of? what does it taste like? where can I get some?)? Leave me a note in the comment section-let’s chat! ❤

(Photos used do not belong to the author)