Wow. What a difference a year makes. I found the picture on the left last night, when I happened to be wearing the same shirt. It was taken the Saturday after Thanksgiving, when I had a 5 month old baby, was feeling horrible, and not losing weight due to my then undiscovered Hashimoto’s disease (in fact, someone asked me that evening if I was pregnant again–and I hadn’t worn that shirt again until yesterday because I was so sensitive about it).

Ladies, I am now 17 months postpartum. And as of today, after 4 babies, I now weigh what I weighed before having my very first.:-D Let me tell you, it has been long journey to reach this point. When I first started THM 5 years ago after the birth of my 2nd baby, I lost all my baby weight (30 lbs.) in a matter of a couple of months. After my 3rd, it took me 12 months to lose everything. This time around, months passed by without ANY progress. I ate THM because I knew it was good for me–even though I didn’t see any physical results. At 4 months postpartum, my health began crashing. Finally, in January of this year, after much testing, we discovered that I had Hashimoto’s disease–which runs in my family.

Once we discovered that, I researched and found that I needed to go completely dairy and gluten free. I began doing that, and suddenly the weight started slowing coming off. All of this was while exclusively breastfeeding my baby up to 14 months old, due to his having some severe eating issues.

Finally, in May of this year, I invested in the Workins program. And while weight didn’t really move, my clothing started getting smaller! I’ve kept pressing on with Workins 3 times a week, and strict S and E, with the occasional crossover when I felt I needed it. And finally, in the last couple of weeks, the weight started melting off! I’m now at my goal weight! And, to crown the achievement, my hubby looked at me today and asked me to stop losing weight before I lost all my curves! <3 Crossover land, here I come!

So, the moral of my story…sometimes if you’re stuck and can’t lose, don’t forget that there might be an underlying issue preventing you from losing. Don’t be afraid to ask for help. Just stick with the plan, and you will see results. Sometimes our bodies need to heal before we can lose. I now feel the best that I’ve felt in YEARS. And, yes, I’m still nursing my now 17-month-old. So, it is possible! It just might take longer than we like. But with THM, every mouthful is nourishing and healing. So be of good courage!

Once we discovered my thyroid difficulties in February of this year, I began making drastic changes in my supplements, diet, and exercise, and after months of hard work and determination, the picture on the right is my reward. I not only look healthier, but I FEEL healthier–and that’s the best part of all. It just takes a determination and a willingness to do the hard things–reject that bread, turn away that sugar, even avoid dairy if necessary. It’s been difficult at times, but I am oh so grateful I stuck with it! And I’m so grateful to both my awesome midwife and to Trim Healthy Mama for giving me the knowledge and the tools to accomplish my goal!