Choosing the wrong (inflammatory) foods do a lot more to the body than just adding fat and causing weight gain. In that sense, food will do a lot more for your body than a medication will. That’s why you can’t just rely on the thyroid medication to feel better, you have to put in the work with your diet, thyroid supplements, and life to get things properly working again.
Free Giveaway, chance to win Stacey’s Anti-Inflammatory plan. Go to the end of the article for details!
Can you tell us a little bit about yourself? What do you do for a living?
My name is Stacey and I am a mom as well as a health and fitness lover. I have Hypothyroidism and Hashimoto’s. I currently own my own business helping others lose weight, feel better, and reach goals. I help lots of people with thyroid issues, PCOS, diabetes, autoimmune disorders, as well as people with no issues at all and just want to lose weight or fat. I also am a server part-time at a restaurant I have been at since 2012. I started my business in 2014 after I first lost weight from hypothyroidism. I have spent 9 years researching thyroid issues as well as trying multiple things out on myself to see how they work. I have spent lots of time and money because I am passionate about feeling better with thyroid issues!
I would feel ok and look ok and then back to feeling worse than I’ve ever felt in my life with new symptoms I didn’t feel when I first was diagnosed and looking puffy and big.
What kind of thyroid issues are you dealing with or what kind of thyroid issues have you dealt with in the past?
I think I have had every symptom of Hypothyroidism and Hashimoto’s as well as others that are not listed. Brain fog, jumpy, scared easily, bad memory, stuttering and mixing up words when talking, body pain, weight gain, cant lose weight, acne, edema, and puffiness all over especially in my face, complete exhaustion no matter the amount of sleep, anxiety, depression, constant abdominal bloating, constipation, no sex drive, sensitivity to touching cold things, freezing all of the time, and more….
I was not super depressed about my condition because I honestly knew nothing about it to be worried or upset or think it was anything serious…
When did you first become concerned that you might have a thyroid condition? What type of symptoms were you experiencing?
I had my daughter in 2008 and a month after I dropped all of the weight from pregnancy and felt great. 3 months later, however, I started gaining weight with no change in diet or anything in my life. I also was completely exhausted and freezing cold. I always have run hot and sweat easily and have never been someone to take naps or sleep really long periods but when I started gaining the weight I was always freezing even with layers and blankets on. I was always so tired and never wanted to do anything. I told my mom what was going on and she told me I need to check my thyroid. I went and told my doctor all of the weird things suddenly happening to me and she gave me a blood test. A couple days later I was told I had hypothyroidism…
Describe how you felt when you were first diagnosed.
I have never had any health issues my whole life and never even had allergies to anything so it sucked to hear I had something and told I needed medication for the rest of my life. At the same time, I was not super depressed about it either because I honestly knew nothing about it to be worried or upset or think it was anything serious. I was told to take my thyroid medication every morning, watch what I eat, and exercise 20 minutes a day. That’s the only information I was given and after working with so many thyroid patients over the last few years I know its actually what the majority of us are told.
I wrote my own meal plan for myself based on my own research from multiple sources. I ended up losing 40 lbs in 4 months and another 10 lbs the following months off of my plan, supplements, and exercise every week.
What was your first course of action after finding out you had a thyroid condition?
Honestly, when I first found out I didn’t do much. I already had a gym membership, I didn’t eat horribly and always worked. I did, however, try to at least get the 20 minutes a day of exercise but noticed after awhile I was still gaining instead of losing.
How did your thyroid condition affect your life? Where there any major adjustments you had to make to prepare for living with a thyroid condition? Were you able to keep working?
I kept working because I had to. I was always exhausted but just kept going. It’s sad to say but I honestly didn’t make huge changes until my thyroid had me up 50 lbs and my mind used to being exhausted and everything else as if it was my new normal self. I remember one day I came out of the shower and looked in the mirror and I cried. I was tired of how my body was changing and I was tired of excepting my new “normal”. I then decided I had to change. I started reading multiple books on thyroid diets
What was it like telling your family about your condition and how did they react? Do you feel like your thyroid condition has had a profound effect on your family and loved ones and how are they dealing with your condition?
Since my mom was the one who suggested I get my thyroid checked she pretty much knew my results. I feel I am not alone in this..but when you tell almost anyone you have a thyroid condition you just get an “oh ok” and a lot of times a lost or normal face. Most people don’t really know much about thyroid problems and that includes people who do have them. I myself never even heard of it until I was told I had it. Since its an invisible chronic illness we “look fine” to people who don’t have thyroid issues so it is seen as not serious or painful.
Did you adjust your diet to improve your condition? What foods would you recommend for those dealing with a thyroid condition?
I wrote my own meal plan for myself based on my own research from multiple sources. I ended up losing 40 lbs in 4 months and another 10 lbs the following months off of my plan, supplements, and exercise every week. I was constantly switching does on my medication and my levels never showed up as normal. I finally got a call after 30 lbs lost on my journey telling me my thyroid levels were normal! I remained the same weight for a few years until I decided that I didn’t want to have any symptoms at all and wanted to feel more normal. I felt a lot better from losing the weight but didn’t feel my best. I did research on medications and asked my doctor to switch me to Armour, I stayed on it for a couple years and gained 20lbs. I then tried other desiccated medications as well as combinations. I experimented to try to see what would make me feel the best. Can you imagine a number of blood tests I have had over the last few years!! On the journey to find the right medication for my body I gained the 50 lbs back and an extra 20 lbs. I went up and down for about 2 years where I would feel ok and look ok and then back to feeling worse than I’ve ever felt in my life with new symptoms I didn’t feel when I first was diagnosed and looking puffy and big. I yet again read more books, more articles, and did lots more research. I then wrote a new plan for myself which was anti-inflammatory, I also changed and added certain things to my lifestyle like how I exercised, and how I handled stress. I recently lost all of the weight I gained slowly from medications following my anti-inflammatory plan, my own tips, and reducing exercise and changing what I did. I have been back on a normal synthetic medication.
Do you take any supplements to help with your condition? Which do you find work best for you?
Let me tell you, I have spent so much money on supplements, medications, and vitamins. My advice is – don’t go supplement crazy. Try one thing at a time with your daily vitamins. You won’t know what is actually working for you if you start a whole bunch at one time. Also, your diet has to be 100% for your body to fully absorb the supplements. I take quite a few things and I always make sure to read the labels to what I am buying. I make sure it is gluten, dairy, soy free, and free of artificial ingredients and fillers. Whole foods multivitamin, magnesium citrate
Be patient, be consistent, and don’t you dare ever give up on yourself and the need to be healthy and happy!
Do you take a holistic or medical approach to your condition…or both? Which types of treatment do you feel is most effective in either or both approaches?
I definitely try to reach for more holistic things first. The thyroid affects every organ and tissue in our bodies. When the thyroid doesn’t work properly, neither will the rest of your body. That’s why we feel such a wide range of symptoms throughout our body. With your thyroid having issues; your liver will have issues, we have bad bile flow, bad digestion, cant balance blood sugar, and lots more happening inside our bodies that are not seen or even felt. Everything travels through the liver so when your liver is not working properly or clogged things are not moving on smoothly like they should be. That goes for medications and supplements as well. You could be on the right medication or be taking good supplements
Can you name one or a couple of things, like a food or thyroid support supplements that you take, or an activity you do, that makes you feel good every day?
The more research I did the more I realized that anti-inflammatory is how anyone with thyroid and autoimmune issues should be eating. Our bodies have extra inflammation that is causing us to feel those symptoms. Following the new anti-inflammatory diet, I have been on I can honestly say I do not have any symptoms at the moment for the first time since I got diagnosed 9 years ago and I am feeling good every day! I watch my stress and try to do more of what makes me happy like spending time with my daughter and exercising.
If you had to sum up your advice to fellow sufferers in one sentence, what would that sentence be?
Be patient, be consistent, and don’t you dare ever give up on yourself and the need to be healthy and happy! I could keep going and talk about thyroid issues, eating, and health all day long! Thanks for reading!
Free giveaway!!! A chance to won Stacey’s New Anti-inflammatory plan! Like our Facebook page (HERE) OR follow us on IG (HERE) . After you like our page, enter your email address under this article (purple square)! One lucky member will win free Anti-inflammatory plan on Sunday 5.11. Random.org will pick the winner.
For all of you, there is 10% off your order for Thyroid Central readers. Just email Stacey with the subject line “TC10” to get 10% off your order and she will send you a discounted link to purchase the plan/s of your choice. For emailing Stacey click HERE
You can contact Stacey through her website by clicking HERE for any issues with ordering or plan questions.
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