Tiffany

Hight: 5'6 1/2
Wight: 250
BMI: 36 (obese)
Age: 25

For most of my life, almost anything that has gone wrong in my body has been blamed on my thyroid. Some of it probably really was, other things were probably thyroid + my making poor health decisions, and some of it was probably not my thyroid. My weight is something that probably falls into the 2nd category of thyroid-faulted issues. My thyroid messed with my head and weight a lot for a couple years, around ages 20-22. I was taken off my suppression meds, causing my resting heart rate to hover around 130 bpm (almost twice normal), which caused me to loose about 50lbs in 3 months. Following those months, my thyroid was ablated and I was told to retest my blood "when I felt my thyroid was off." I tested it too late, not knowing what symptoms to look for, and had in the 4 months after the ablation gained over 75 pounds and I gained about 20 more in the years it's taken for us to finally get my thyroid levels evened out, though the last 2o were poor decisions on my part more than illness.

I have always loved food. I'm a picky eater, but I enjoy eating a lot of what I love. I use food for comfort, for celebration, to bond with friends... food is my constant companion. However I was told recently by someone who loves me more than I probably deserve that I look "unhealthy." While this person said it had nothing to do with my weight, the fact is that I am a well groomed person and the only real cause of my looking unhealthy is that I take poor care of my body. I don't exercise enough and I eat poorly and far too much. So I embark on my journey to weight loss once again. It has worked in the past, but I give up quickly. I don't like to sacrifice and so I will continue to eat poorly because it's something I enjoy. This time, I'm working with my best friend Adrienne, trying to urge one another to keep on track even when neither is feeling overly confident. I joined Curves in June and have been less than faithful with my attendance. Like Adrienne, I will be tracking in 10% weight loss goals.

Goal 1: 225
Goal 2: 202
Goal 3: 182 (this is a 2x goal as my short term weight loss goal is to be under 200)
Goal 4: 164
Goal 5: 145

I have 1 more 10% goal than Adrienne, so I'm also hoping that I will be able to keep up and not be keeping us from our big goal. My prizes:

Prize 1: Massage
Prize 2: Mini-trip somewhere (Omaha to see Adrienne or Missoula to see my brother Brandon)
My other prizes are TBA. The 5th will be the big prize and we'll post that as soon as we've decided.

I will also be posting weekly updates. I am going to be joining Weight Watchers soon also and there are monthly weigh and measures at Curves, so I can also post inches lost when that happens. As Adrienne told you, her wedding is coming up this summer, as is my step-sisters wedding. While I don't have to don a bridesmaids dress in either, I would love to be proud of the pictures at both. This doesn't mean I expect to loose 100lbs between now and then, it just means that I want to feel healthier, to look like I belong with my family and friends rather than the fat outsider.

I hope that Adrienne's and my story will be of help to someone and that our use of this blog allows us to be faithful accountablibuddies even though we live about 300 miles away from one another. While working through this process will undoubtedly be difficult, trying, frustrating, encouraging, exhausting... it has become an absolutely necessary and life-threatening problem that I need to face. Scales and goals are part of it, but the real point is to be a strong woman of Christ, spiritually, mentally, emotionally and physically so that I can accept all the gifts He gives me. Good Luck!!