For the first 20-ish years of my life, I struggled to gain weight. Let that settle in for a minute. I struggled to GAIN weight. I weighed less than 100 pounds for most of that time. I was called skinny and my nickname was Beanpole. There were other nicknames that I just won't mention here. People can be just as mean to skinny kids as they are to fat kids.
That all changed when I was in my very early 20s and had an infection in my thyroid. My metabolism slowed wayyyyyy down and I gained 15 pounds in just a few weeks. Honestly, I thought the weight looked great on me and I wasn't teased anymore, so it all felt good... for a couple of years. Slowly, more and more weight crept on and I didn't do much of anything about it. I got married and had my two kiddos before I was 30. At one point I weighed just shy of 190 pounds.
At 30, I got divorced and decided that I needed to feel better about myself. I lost 30 pounds and hit a plateau. I met a new guy (now my husband) and we dieted together. I lost another 10 pounds. And another 10 pounds. My weight continued to go away and come back. I would lose 10 pounds, but some of those were pounds I'd lost before.
My younger sister lost weight, got healthy, and maintained her new svelte body. I want that.. maybe I'll never be a size 4, but I want to feel great and have energy. She did it by using The 17 Day Diet, so I asked to borrow her book. After reading it (and, of course, researching online), I decided to go for it. The basics of the diet are meant to help you incorporate good food choices into your life. It feels like a combination of a few diets I've used before. However, using the word "diet" generally makes me think of a temporary change in my eating habits. It's never been something I could keep up with forever. This one seems different, though. I like the phases and the fact that I can still have splurge days after I've met my goal. The expectation is not that I will forever be eating salads, but that I will learn portion control and make healthier choices.
It helps that Bill is doing this with me, too, and the kiddos will eat what we're eating with the addition of some extra healthy carb servings--fruit, tortillas, whole grain bread, milk, etc.
My goals: Feel good, have day-long energy, get my blood glucose numbers under control, and of course, lose weight.
Weight lost -- 0
Blood Glucose reading this morning -- 198 (yes, that's fasting)
Thoughts -- I'm hungry, but in good spirits. I'm going to bed hungry because I'm not eating a bedtime snack. I'll try to regulate things better tomorrow so I can feel more full. Today was the beginning. It's definitely do-able. I'm much happier with it than Bill is.
Stay tuned. I might get this blogging thing down yet!
I have found intersting article:
ReplyDeleteMetformin prevents goiter in patients with type 2 diabetes
BACKGROUND
An enlarged thyroid gland is known as a goiter. There is an increased likelihood that patients with diabetes will develop thyroid disorders. This is higher in patients with type 1 diabetes, which is an autoimmune disorder like many thyroid disorders. Type 2 diabetes is more common and is not an autoimmune disorder. Studies have shown that patients with type 2 diabetes have larger thyroid glands than those without diabetes. Metformin is a drug that is frequently prescribed to control blood sugar in patients with type 2 diabetes. A prior study showed that metformin inhibits the growth of thyroid cells in the laboratory. This study examined the effects of metformin on thyroid size in type 2 diabetic patients versus those without diabetes.
THE FULL ARTICLE TITLE:
Ittermann T et al. Metformin inhibits goitrogenous effects of type 2 diabetes. Eur J Endocrinol 2013;169:9-15.
SUMMARY OF THE STUDY
This study took place from 1997-2006 in West Pomerania, Germany. There are a lot of people in this region with a goiter and, because of this, there has been ongoing screening of the population for thyroid disorders with blood tests, thyroid ultrasound and thyroid measurements to see if they had a goiter. In this study, 2570 people were studied initially and 1088 of this group was followed over an average of 5 years. Records, physician assessments and self-reported diabetes medication use were used to determine if patients had type 2 diabetes.
Women with type 2 diabetes on medications other than metformin had a larger thyroid volume then women without diabetes and had a higher incidence of goiter. Women on metformin for type 2 diabetes had a similar thyroid volume nd similar incidence of goiter as women without diabetes. There was no such association in men. Interestingly, those patients that were on metformin and then switched to other diabetes medications also had a higher thyroid volume than patients without diabetes.
WHAT ARE THE IMPLICATIONS OF THIS STUDY?
This study suggests that metformin prevents growth of the thyroid gland. This is important to patients because this study shows that metformin gives type 2 diabetic patients an additional benefit. This study also suggests that metformin may play a future role in the treatment goiter.
— Heather Hofflich, DO
ATA THYROID BROCHURE LINKS
Goiter: http://www.thyroid.org/what-is-a-goiter
Hi there Shelley, I'm Lindsey! I have a question regarding your blog. Could you please email me when you have a moment? Thank you so much, looking forward to hearing from you!
ReplyDeletelindseyDOTcaldwellATrecallcenterDOTcom