“Months went by, but with
every work out, I felt as if I had
taken charge of my disease and
the disease was no longer in
charge of me.”
Photo by Chris Soo
For someone who has been active most of
their life, hypothyroidism is one of the worst things
that could happen since the thyroid is our metabolic engine. Needless to say, I suffered greatly with
chronic fatigue, weight gain and bouts of depression. I felt as if my body had been invaded by body
snatchers and felt powerless in the process. I spent
months watching my body and mind deteriorate as
the autoimmune disease took over and with every
passing day, I could see part of my old self disappear. You could say, I was in the worst shape of my
life and I felt completely powerless and ready to
give up.
Strangely enough, it was during those months
that I began to develop an even greater appreciation for
the powerless feelings so many other women out there
must be feeling who, like me or even worse, have been
deprived of the gift of graceful aging. It was this revelation that there are so many out there in need of inspiration and support that I made a very clear decision with
myself.
I remember sitting at the dining table with my
husband and daughter when I looked at them and said,
“That’s it. I’m done with this.” I got up from the table,
went to the gym and attempted my first workout with
weights in many months. Every single repetition felt
like I was pulling teeth and I remember breaking in to
tears as I saw myself in the mirror struggling with such
little weights with a body that just was not mine. It was
during that workout, that I decided I would dedicate
each strenuous and painful repetition to every other
woman who was struggling like me. I made a vow that
I would beat this once and for all, and if I did, I would
make sure that I would do my best to help support and
inspire other women around the world who are struggling just like me.
I slowly but surely regained my strength
and began to follow a very strict anti-inflammatory diet that my husband designed for me; and
after about six weeks I slowly began to see my old
body again, which only fueled my desire to beat
this disease even more.
Now, almost ten years later, with constant
diligence and good medical care, I ha ٔ