Thursday, December 19, 2013
Hope is in sight
After several months of feeling terrible it seems as though the hope has returned. I though my thyroid was messed up and I was right but the cause nobody could figure out. My endocrinologist said my tsh level was fine and wouldn't do anything so I went to a new one the other day for a second opinion and he basically brushed me off and wouldn't do anything either once he found out I was on cymbalta and blamed it the fibromyalgia. After leaving that appointment I was at rock bottom. I knew something was wrong and all the signs pointed at my thyroid including t3 and t4 levels which were low. In tears on the drive home I said a prayer asking for answers because I didn't know what else to do. I felt like there was no quality to my life and apparently a few months of feeling great was apparently all I was ever going to get. I felt like this weight loss journey was for nothing if I felt just as bad as when I was at my highest weight. When I got home I was replaying the appointment in my head and the dr had asked me how long I had been on the cymbalta and what I was on it for. I was put on it around 6-7 months ago for pain from a wreck that wouldn't go away because the fibromyalgia. Then I realized that about that time the weight loss stopped and all the symptoms started. I googled the side effects and compared them to the list I showed the dr and they matched up. Also a side effect of cymbalta is under active thyroid which is what I thought was going on to begin with. I immediately got an appointment with my regular dr and told her about this and she told me that she didn't make the timing connection before but that more than likely could be it. She gave me samples of a lower dose to wean off of after few days. I guess we will see soon if it has been the medicine all this time or not. The drs fear and mine is that the pain will return which it already had in the past few weeks to an extent but I think the crazy ky weather has caused a fibro flare. There are other ways to manage the pain but there is not other option for this thyroid issue because the drs won't touch it. I can't wait to feel better and start losing weight again. This last 26lbs has got to go. I think if for no other reason my struggles during this weight loss journey or really my struggles through life have been to prove to others that you can overcome them. Just through this weight loss journey alone there has been fibromyalgia, car wreck and thyroid issues and i have continued to lose weight, eat healthy and workout as much as possible. You have to want it more than you want anything and I have wanted this more than anything ever in my life and nothing will stop me. I promise despite any obstacle you come to that you can beat it and your weight loss dream or any dream is possible. My story should show you the power of prayer, determination and faith. None is possible without GOD. No doubt that I wouldn't be here and where I am today without him. He will get you through those obstacles.
Monday, December 2, 2013
Holidays are here
The holidays are here. Don't use that as an excuse to eat everything in sight. I just keep eating the same that I always eat. For thanksgiving we had a very untraditional meal because we had it the weekend after and figured my brothers and their families wouldn't want turkey and stuffing again. They ended up making chili and fast food..lol. I knew all along I would be cooking my own food. I decided to make the kids a healthier mac n cheese with light laughing cow cheese, broccoli and kale. they had no idea that was kale and they all liked it. I also made a spaghetti squash casserole and baked some sliced zucchini and squash with low fat parmesan cheese on top. Those that were brave enough to try the casserole loved it. I finished every bite of the leftovers! It was so good. I have been instructed to make this for every event we have this month! I got the recipe off pinterest. Its basically just spaghetti squash, cottage cheese, fat free mozzarella cheese, rotel, onions and topped with low fat parmesan cheese. The recipe in this link has a lot more ingredients and I have seen different variations of the recipe. I am quite fond of my own! http://recipes.prevention.com/Recipe/spaghetti-squash-casserole.aspx
There are plenty of ways to still eat healthy through the holidays. There is no reason it has to be any different than any other time of the year. Its just your choice. Nobody can make you eat those desserts. My favorite dessert that I eat often is quite a surprising one. It is peanut butter cookie dough. What!? Yes but its not made of what you think. Its made of chickpeas, honey and peanut butter. I made them into cookies once and they were good but I prefer just to eat it as dough. You would never know it was chickpeas. I even tested them on my peanut butter loving niece and she loved them and she was shocked when I told her what was in them. Here is a link to the original recipe. http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/749893-chick-pea-peanut-butter-chocolate-chip-cookies
There are way too many healthy options out there that are so good and good for you. The choice is yours.
As far as an update on me I did get the ultrasound results today and my thyroid looked fine. I see the new endocrinologist this month and we will go from there. I am beyond ready to feel better. Tired of being tired! Gotta keep going though!
There are plenty of ways to still eat healthy through the holidays. There is no reason it has to be any different than any other time of the year. Its just your choice. Nobody can make you eat those desserts. My favorite dessert that I eat often is quite a surprising one. It is peanut butter cookie dough. What!? Yes but its not made of what you think. Its made of chickpeas, honey and peanut butter. I made them into cookies once and they were good but I prefer just to eat it as dough. You would never know it was chickpeas. I even tested them on my peanut butter loving niece and she loved them and she was shocked when I told her what was in them. Here is a link to the original recipe. http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/749893-chick-pea-peanut-butter-chocolate-chip-cookies
There are way too many healthy options out there that are so good and good for you. The choice is yours.
As far as an update on me I did get the ultrasound results today and my thyroid looked fine. I see the new endocrinologist this month and we will go from there. I am beyond ready to feel better. Tired of being tired! Gotta keep going though!
Friday, November 22, 2013
take control
158 views after my first week. Not bad for a beginner. Hopefully I get to start posting more than once a week. Depends on how interested everyone is I guess. As far as an update on me I decided enough was enough with a doctor who wont do anything to help me and my thyroid because the main level they check is fine (although the other levels are off and I have a list of symptoms.) I went to my regular doctor and she is sending me for an ultrasound of my thyroid in case it is something else and then to see a new endocrinologist. Sometimes you have to do your research and become knowledgeable about your conditions and go with what your gut is telling you. I wasted enough time waiting for things to get better when evidently something else is going on. My advice to you is to take control of your own health. I mean that in every way. Learn about your conditions, eat healthy and remember your doctor doesn't know everything.
Anyways I wrote down a list of topics to post about recipes, exercises, before pics, etc. Any suggestions or questions just let me know.
I get a lot of questions as far as eating out, exercises and recipes. For the most part with all the pain issues I have had walking has been a major factor in my weight loss. YES, walking! For a long time that was all I could do and then after the wreck I could barely do that but I still did it and I kept losing weight all along. Before my energy levels so drastically dropped I was doing all kinds of things at the gym. My main focus has always been cardio. I will walk outside, use the treadmill or elliptical. Once I was able I started on weights doing all that I could. I also found all kind of exercises on pinterest that I try to do. Feel free to check out my pinterest page with those workouts and as well as recipes. http://www.pinterest.com/jenniebowman7/ As far as eating out it is just about being aware of what you are eating. I chose not to eat out for a year. I had no desire to do it and felt no need to do so. I finally ate out a couple of times and it really wasn’t worth it. I can make something just as good and better for you at home. If you are going to eat out just make wise decisions. Its all up to you.
Here are a couple of before pictures. They are both with my favorite group The Band Perry. I HOPE one day when I am finished to get an after picture. That would be amazing.
Anyways I wrote down a list of topics to post about recipes, exercises, before pics, etc. Any suggestions or questions just let me know.
I get a lot of questions as far as eating out, exercises and recipes. For the most part with all the pain issues I have had walking has been a major factor in my weight loss. YES, walking! For a long time that was all I could do and then after the wreck I could barely do that but I still did it and I kept losing weight all along. Before my energy levels so drastically dropped I was doing all kinds of things at the gym. My main focus has always been cardio. I will walk outside, use the treadmill or elliptical. Once I was able I started on weights doing all that I could. I also found all kind of exercises on pinterest that I try to do. Feel free to check out my pinterest page with those workouts and as well as recipes. http://www.pinterest.com/jenniebowman7/ As far as eating out it is just about being aware of what you are eating. I chose not to eat out for a year. I had no desire to do it and felt no need to do so. I finally ate out a couple of times and it really wasn’t worth it. I can make something just as good and better for you at home. If you are going to eat out just make wise decisions. Its all up to you.
Here are a couple of before pictures. They are both with my favorite group The Band Perry. I HOPE one day when I am finished to get an after picture. That would be amazing.
Saturday, November 16, 2013
Intro
I am starting this blog a bit late in my journey but I figured now was as good of a time as any to share my story. I don’t know how many are really interested in hearing it but with the responses I get just with my facebook posts then hopefully I can help someone in some way. I am in no way a writer so hopefully I will do ok with this. Just stick with me ;)
For those of you that don’t know me I will start off catching you up on a little bit about me. My name is Jennie and I am 30 years old and have lost around 118 lbs in the past year and a half. I did not have surgery, take pills, etc. I did it with eating a proper diet and exercise which I was taught how to do by a physical therapy program at KORT Physical Therapy called POWR. POWR stands for personalized orthopedic weight loss. The physical therapist Emily Green has done amazing work and I would not be here without her. I owe her everything. This is a person who has found exactly what it is she was meant to do. I could really go on and on about her. I think the world of her and I think she knows that. I am glad that I can call her a friend. I will have to start way back to tell you how my journey lead me to POWR and then I try and catch you up on where I am today. It has been a rollercoaster ride to say the least!
All my life I have had a weight issue and never really knew what to do about it. I never really knew the right way to eat and really once you get to a certain point you really don’t care anymore until you get to the point where you get so miserable you will do anything to change. It took 29 years for me to get there and I think it happened when it was supposed to.
I always knew something wasn’t quite right with me when I was growing up but I never really could explain it and I the only person that knows that is my mom. I never felt good. I never was like everyone else although I wanted to be. I was finally diagnosed with depression when I was in the 8th grade. Even with the treatment I still didn’t feel right. It wasn’t until I was well into my 20s that I got diagnosed with fibromyalgia and then years later I was diagnosed with Graves Disease which is hyperthyroidism. I think to an extent the fibro and thyroid problems were always there and the reason I never feel right. The reason I say that is currently I feel the same way I did back then. I just don’t feel good and I know something isn’t right. During this weight loss my thyroid has had its ups and downs which is to be expected and right now I am struggling with it. I am jumping ahead a bit but I wanted to explain why I feel I have always had those problems. My cousin told me just the other day she knows someone who was treated for depression for 18 years until they figured out it was his thyroid. Crazy right?!
Anyways I got to the point in my life where I was so miserable at the size I was at and wanted to change so bad but I didn’t know how. I had watch people I know lose weight only to gain it back and I refused to do something unless I knew it was going to work and I knew all the fad diets were a waste of time and just exercise alone was not going to fix me. I decided at my next endocrinologist appointment I would ask for help and hope she could lead me to someone that could help. If she couldn’t then I was going to accept that being in pain and being overweight was just going to be my life and this was all I would amount to. To my surprise she said she had a patient who tried this physical therapy weight loss program and had success with it and set me up an appointment right then and there. I was nervous and excited at the same time.
When I arrived for my appointment I was a nervous wreck. I didn’t know if I was going to be able to do it or what the person who I would be working with would be like and I was looking at the people wondering which therapist it was going to be. Then Emily came and got me and all I could think of is ok how is this going to go since she is a very fit person. How is she going to be able to relate to someone my size and help me. Well it didn’t take long for me to realize this chick knows her stuff. Not only does she teach you the program but she does it herself. I cant begin to tell you how much of a difference that alone makes. Its like she is doing the program along with you and she really is. She went over everything with me and handed me my binder with educational material and food charts. The food charts is a points system but its broken down in a way to be easy for you to know not only what to eat to but how much. It doesn’t get any easier than that. It also makes you realize what is worth it and what is not. I walked out of there telling myself this was it and there was no other way. I was right J
When you are as big as I was you don’t notice small changes in your weight. Maybe one day I will tell you my start weight but lets just say it was big and leave it at that. I went in a week later for my first weigh in not really expecting anything. I lost 5lbs my first week. I was shocked. I really thought to myself dang that was easy! From that moment on I knew life would be different and things were finally going to change. After one round of physical therapy which was several months and several pounds later I was feeling better than ever before. My fibro was basically no issue for me whatsoever until a couple days before my last appointment. I was on my way home from work for a long weekend and had an impatient driver cause us to wreck. I don’t think I had ever been in so much pain. Emily was the one there to help me pick up the pieces again and keep on with round 2 of physical therapy. Like I said before there is no way I would be here without her. While in pain I still continued with the POWR program and even kept up with my exercises. All I could do was slow walks but I was at least trying. I still continued to lose the weight even through all that. With me doing very little exercise that tells you how important your diet is when it comes to weight loss.
After months of recovering from the wreck and after being discharged from physical therapy I still continued to go to KORT to see Emily and go over my food charts and weigh in. At my one year weigh in I was down just over 100 lbs. We then did our first video which they posted on KORTS website and we did another one just a few months ago. http://kort.com/services/Specialized-Services/Personalized-Orthopedic-Weight-Reduction/default.aspx
Now when you go into KORT you will see a poster on the wall with three pictures of me on there with Emily at different stages of my journey. Talk about surreal. The whole thing is surreal. Even going out shopping and wearing a size small is surreal. Even though I know I am not the size that I was I still feel like I am. I feel like I’m the big girl shopping in the wrong department. I have looked this up and apparently its common and called phantom fat. I sure hope it goes away!
At this point my weight loss has come to a complete stop thanks to my thyroid. I have been struggling for months. When you are bigger you need more thyroid hormone and as you lose weight you will have to keep adjusting it and well it’s a challenge especially when doctors and patients disagree. I am still working on it! I am just over 20 pounds away from my goal and I refuse to let this be the end. I haven’t given up and I wont. I have maintained my current weight for quite a while now and I still push myself to do all I can do regardless of how bad I feel. I will not be broken.
During this journey my body has changed but so has my mind. I have never had this much of a positive outlook on life and actually have things that I want to do am actually starting to live life for the first time. I hate that it took this long to get here but I know GOD took me where I was supposed to go and brought Emily into my life when it was the right time. I hate that I did this to my body and you don’t lose that much weight and everything snaps back into place. I HOPE and PRAY one day I can fix some of it although I would have to win the lottery to afford to. Oh well I’m just thankful I am where I am and not back where I was.
Hopefully reading this will help someone see that you can do this despite anything. The only thing that can stop you is you. I will try to keep posting on a regular basis and try to motivate you to start your own journey. Just believe GOD will be on your side to guide you through! GOD doesn’t open the doors for you but presents them to you. Its up to you to open it.
For those of you that don’t know me I will start off catching you up on a little bit about me. My name is Jennie and I am 30 years old and have lost around 118 lbs in the past year and a half. I did not have surgery, take pills, etc. I did it with eating a proper diet and exercise which I was taught how to do by a physical therapy program at KORT Physical Therapy called POWR. POWR stands for personalized orthopedic weight loss. The physical therapist Emily Green has done amazing work and I would not be here without her. I owe her everything. This is a person who has found exactly what it is she was meant to do. I could really go on and on about her. I think the world of her and I think she knows that. I am glad that I can call her a friend. I will have to start way back to tell you how my journey lead me to POWR and then I try and catch you up on where I am today. It has been a rollercoaster ride to say the least!
All my life I have had a weight issue and never really knew what to do about it. I never really knew the right way to eat and really once you get to a certain point you really don’t care anymore until you get to the point where you get so miserable you will do anything to change. It took 29 years for me to get there and I think it happened when it was supposed to.
I always knew something wasn’t quite right with me when I was growing up but I never really could explain it and I the only person that knows that is my mom. I never felt good. I never was like everyone else although I wanted to be. I was finally diagnosed with depression when I was in the 8th grade. Even with the treatment I still didn’t feel right. It wasn’t until I was well into my 20s that I got diagnosed with fibromyalgia and then years later I was diagnosed with Graves Disease which is hyperthyroidism. I think to an extent the fibro and thyroid problems were always there and the reason I never feel right. The reason I say that is currently I feel the same way I did back then. I just don’t feel good and I know something isn’t right. During this weight loss my thyroid has had its ups and downs which is to be expected and right now I am struggling with it. I am jumping ahead a bit but I wanted to explain why I feel I have always had those problems. My cousin told me just the other day she knows someone who was treated for depression for 18 years until they figured out it was his thyroid. Crazy right?!
Anyways I got to the point in my life where I was so miserable at the size I was at and wanted to change so bad but I didn’t know how. I had watch people I know lose weight only to gain it back and I refused to do something unless I knew it was going to work and I knew all the fad diets were a waste of time and just exercise alone was not going to fix me. I decided at my next endocrinologist appointment I would ask for help and hope she could lead me to someone that could help. If she couldn’t then I was going to accept that being in pain and being overweight was just going to be my life and this was all I would amount to. To my surprise she said she had a patient who tried this physical therapy weight loss program and had success with it and set me up an appointment right then and there. I was nervous and excited at the same time.
When I arrived for my appointment I was a nervous wreck. I didn’t know if I was going to be able to do it or what the person who I would be working with would be like and I was looking at the people wondering which therapist it was going to be. Then Emily came and got me and all I could think of is ok how is this going to go since she is a very fit person. How is she going to be able to relate to someone my size and help me. Well it didn’t take long for me to realize this chick knows her stuff. Not only does she teach you the program but she does it herself. I cant begin to tell you how much of a difference that alone makes. Its like she is doing the program along with you and she really is. She went over everything with me and handed me my binder with educational material and food charts. The food charts is a points system but its broken down in a way to be easy for you to know not only what to eat to but how much. It doesn’t get any easier than that. It also makes you realize what is worth it and what is not. I walked out of there telling myself this was it and there was no other way. I was right J
When you are as big as I was you don’t notice small changes in your weight. Maybe one day I will tell you my start weight but lets just say it was big and leave it at that. I went in a week later for my first weigh in not really expecting anything. I lost 5lbs my first week. I was shocked. I really thought to myself dang that was easy! From that moment on I knew life would be different and things were finally going to change. After one round of physical therapy which was several months and several pounds later I was feeling better than ever before. My fibro was basically no issue for me whatsoever until a couple days before my last appointment. I was on my way home from work for a long weekend and had an impatient driver cause us to wreck. I don’t think I had ever been in so much pain. Emily was the one there to help me pick up the pieces again and keep on with round 2 of physical therapy. Like I said before there is no way I would be here without her. While in pain I still continued with the POWR program and even kept up with my exercises. All I could do was slow walks but I was at least trying. I still continued to lose the weight even through all that. With me doing very little exercise that tells you how important your diet is when it comes to weight loss.
After months of recovering from the wreck and after being discharged from physical therapy I still continued to go to KORT to see Emily and go over my food charts and weigh in. At my one year weigh in I was down just over 100 lbs. We then did our first video which they posted on KORTS website and we did another one just a few months ago. http://kort.com/services/Specialized-Services/Personalized-Orthopedic-Weight-Reduction/default.aspx
Now when you go into KORT you will see a poster on the wall with three pictures of me on there with Emily at different stages of my journey. Talk about surreal. The whole thing is surreal. Even going out shopping and wearing a size small is surreal. Even though I know I am not the size that I was I still feel like I am. I feel like I’m the big girl shopping in the wrong department. I have looked this up and apparently its common and called phantom fat. I sure hope it goes away!
At this point my weight loss has come to a complete stop thanks to my thyroid. I have been struggling for months. When you are bigger you need more thyroid hormone and as you lose weight you will have to keep adjusting it and well it’s a challenge especially when doctors and patients disagree. I am still working on it! I am just over 20 pounds away from my goal and I refuse to let this be the end. I haven’t given up and I wont. I have maintained my current weight for quite a while now and I still push myself to do all I can do regardless of how bad I feel. I will not be broken.
During this journey my body has changed but so has my mind. I have never had this much of a positive outlook on life and actually have things that I want to do am actually starting to live life for the first time. I hate that it took this long to get here but I know GOD took me where I was supposed to go and brought Emily into my life when it was the right time. I hate that I did this to my body and you don’t lose that much weight and everything snaps back into place. I HOPE and PRAY one day I can fix some of it although I would have to win the lottery to afford to. Oh well I’m just thankful I am where I am and not back where I was.
Hopefully reading this will help someone see that you can do this despite anything. The only thing that can stop you is you. I will try to keep posting on a regular basis and try to motivate you to start your own journey. Just believe GOD will be on your side to guide you through! GOD doesn’t open the doors for you but presents them to you. Its up to you to open it.
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