• Hi Guest - Come check out all of the new CP Merch Shop! Now you can support CigarPass buy purchasing hats, apparel, and more...
    Click here to visit! here...

Taking my life (and weight) back . . . finally.

So anyway ....

tumblr_mlzudlJbI21rpduwho1_500.gif


I had most of my thyroid taken out in '00 and went on full replacement Synthroid in '06. I've been gaining weight, gradually but steadily, ever since.

Despite dieting.

Despite reducing portions, reducing calories, reducing carbs, reducing fats . . . :(

Despite hours of Tai Chi every week.

The past year, the "gradually" went to "dramatically" and I put on 30 lbs. Seemed like almost overnight I had to stop in the middle and catch my breath climbing a set of stairs. Grocery shopping got hard to do!

And nothing I did helped.

So I did some research, found out about tissue hypothyroidism and T3 supplementation, thought "That's it! That's gotta be it!" and scheduled an appt. with my doctor two weeks ago. Then my labs came in . . . completely normal, except for as usual my triglycerides, which we've been working on. The TSH level I was supposed to increase my Synthroid dosage to shoot for? Already there. My T3 levels? Right in the ballpark.

You'd think I was an actual healthy human, looking at 'em. Not a thing I could point to and say "There's the problem!" :mad:

But she went ahead and prescribed me some Cytomel (T3) anyway, just to see. Also made me promise to give up starches ENTIRELY.

So, informational sidebar: Synthroid is T4. Your body uses T4 to make T3, which is basically . . . adrenaline. It's what your cells actually use to make energy.

The Cytomel got here on Monday and I took my first dose on Tuesday.

My gods I've never been so awake in my whole life.

tumblr_o9hsmbEDA81rp0vkjo1_500.gif


And alert! Really, really, really ALERT!

44fa5f48c6bf9dcef22a6e65b980559c00235fcf_hq.gif


So the next day I cut it down to 1/2 a dose. Which was better. :confused: Couple days of that, a day on a 3/4 dose, took a whole Cytomel for the first time since the first day today and it's going . . . better. LOL.

So here's the thing: got on the scale this morning and weighed 12 lbs. LESS.

zrM8_f-maxage-0.gif


So two weeks no starch, low carbs. One week on Cytomel. And the first time my scale has moved in THAT direction in literally a DECADE. I've got a long way---about 100 lbs, frankly---to go but I finally found a combo that works. I can work with this.

Like I told my doctor, just give me a metabolism that CAN lose weight and I'll take it from there. :)

~Boar
Congrats! Props on doing your own research and finding the best treatment
 
Really great to hear you are doing well. Your attitude is the most important factor.

Try using a less heart attack-inducing title next time. Momentarily devastated after the first three words.
 
Give yourself a really good incentive for each milestone. I recently lost a bunch of weight and rewarded myself with a ton of junk food (while this may sound like a great idea, I don’t recommend it) So now, I will lose the weight again, and try a different incentive to motivate me :)
 
LOL.

I know, I know. I rewarded myself for a stellar weightlifting workout this morning with a trip through the Shipley's Donuts drivethru on the way home. :rolleyes:

But in all fairness, those sausage kolaches were the first starch I've had in over a week. Right now my weight has plateaued at its lowest point since I started, but my body composition appears to still be gradually changing---I assume I'm in the "trading muscle for fat" zone right now and probably need to look at the tape instead of the scale.

~Boar
 
Speaking of judging by the mirror . . . . :D

This is where I started from:

36654597_10216397948891137_4764635297101119488_n.jpg


This is after three months of Cytomel and low/no carbs, and three weeks of alternating cardio and gym days:

36638171_10216397950211170_2231374461053960192_n.jpg


Still got a long way to go, but . . . . damn. I feel pretty good about my progress so far.

~Boar

PS: That's my grandniece Cloey, the Weapon of Mass Cuteness.
 
Interesting picture in the background.

It's La Baigneuse by Christian Coigny:

http://bestpaintingsforsale.com/UploadPic/2010/big/Christian Coigny La Baigneuse.jpg

Used to be in all those mall framed poster stores in SoCal back in the Eighties. Really liked it then but never bought it. When I got my first apartment here around '98 or so & was decorating, saw it was still available and it's been hanging over my bed ever since, until I bought my current one. Its headboard is so tall I had to move it to the side so now she's the first thing I see every morning, waking up. :D

~Boar
 
So, just a minor progress update: early in August, the state-wide public charter district I do online instruction & curriculum design for had their big "do" in San Antonio. Convocation, training updates, meet & greets. Every school district does one, but since our campuses are scattered across the state, it's always some centrally located convention facility. This time, La Mansion del Rio, on the San Antonio Riverwalk. Nice place.

But .... I needed pants. :oops:

Look, my students can only see me from the sternum up. I've been wearing jersey material "senior" pants---the kind with no zipper and a full elastic waistband---because sitting all day, belts dig in to the, aaah, copious overhang.

But Convocation meant three days around all the brass, the head honchos, my supervisor ... and a whole bunch of women. Plus, RIVERWALK BARS. So I went down to the local DXL and bought some khakis. Didn't even know what size I'd take, just knew the largest Dockers in the closet didn't come close to fitting. :eek:

Anyway, we got my size figured out, I found two pair that fit just right and looked good on a fat guy, and off I went to San Antonio.

This week I put one of those pairs on for work, on a whim. I was thinking I'd stop for sushi after work, and I wanted to be wearing something nicer than a pair of "grandpa's in the nursing home now" pants.

They fit perfectly in San Antonio, in early August. This week I could put my whole fist between me and the waistband.

:D

~Boar
 
Nice job, brother! Smoke something nice to reward yourself. Cigars are 0 calories and 0 carbs, right?
 
Look, my students can only see me from the sternum up. I've been wearing jersey material "senior" pants---the kind with no zipper and a full elastic waistband---because sitting all day, belts dig in to the, aaah, copious overhang.

~Boar
Just wanna clear this up for those that can’t visualize. He was in boxer briefs. Seriously though congrats on the weight loss. Very excited for your progress and achievement!
 
Great seeing and hearing about your progress! Keep it up and reward yourself with a great cigar or two.
 
Top