Gluten Free Banana Bread Muffins and Quest Bar Frosting

Want to try some delicious guiltfree banana bread muffins covered in frosting?!

Fluffy Gluten Free Healthy Pancakes & Importance of Psyllium Husks

Happy Sunday!
Who else loves making pancakes on the weekend?! I know I DO! Well I like to make them everyday.. but weekends mostly because that's when everyone relaxes from their hard week, sleeps in a little, then you wake up to the fresh smell of delicious pancakes, no normal pancakes, but FLUFFY pancakes!

It's A Fact

People always ask me how I get my pancakes so FLUFFY! Well the secret is:

PSYLLIUM HUSK!

You can read more about it here, but below I'll give you 2 fantastic fluffy gluten free healthy pancake recipes and why you should include more of this fiber in your diet!

These are a few of my favorite things.....

I just wanted to share with you all today my

FAVORITE FOODS

that I always need to have in my house! My always-in-the-house foods! Below are some additional info on why these foods are so GREAT for you, along with the link source so you can find out more!

Cutting/Leaning/Fat Loss OH MY! And Kickstarting My Healthy Lifestyle Journey.... Again

So a lot of you have asked me about:

Cutting / Leaning Out Stage

However, I feel these terms are more for bodybuilders or competitors. They usually follow bulks or off season with on season leaning out to get to very low body fat percentages for competitions! And they are veryyy strict with their diets and workout, which in my experience, when I did this, didn't turn out so well for me because I rebounded back to the beginning of my journey - same [if not more] weight, measurements, and body fat.

So instead I like to call it the

Fat Loss Stage

aka. the 

Healthy Lifestyle

I say the Healthy Lifestyle, because basically if you're living the healthy lifestyle:

Eating right, keeping consistent workouts, and being body, mind, and health conscious, 

you should be losing fat because you're not stuffing it with the usual processed nasty fatty foods!

Junk Food Confessions & The Maintainable Lifestyle Rules

So I uploaded a new YouTube video HERE on my Junk Food Confessions, based off of Jenna Marbles video HERE!
Hope to make you all feel a little less guilty about your slip ups! <3
And at the end I kinda babble about the lifestyle and binging.

Soooo here's just a short little list of things I'm incorporating into MY own lifestyle to make it comfortable and maintainable!

• workout at least 4x a week
• have a treat when needed, but savor the taste and never have more than you need
• make sure your workout makes up for the treat
• broaden social activities to keep busy
• more family and friends time
• eat clean 80-90% of the time
• NO restricting [no no carbs, no fats, no protein, etc]
• no starvation
• eat when you're hungry, don't when you're not
• make sure to learn "head hunger" from "stomach hunger" - are you just bored or actually hungry?
• tips: drink water - then see if you're hungry
• get yourself busy with an activity
• if you're actually hungry, then eat!
• compliment yourself at least 1x/day and love yourself
• eat nutrient dense food over empty calories
• ex: if you're eating a treat, instead of a pure bar of sugar, eat something with whole nuts in it for some dietary fats and protein
• ENJOY THE LIFESTYLE

#OperationSxy eBook Volume 1: Down and Dirty Desserts

The EBOOK IS NOW FOR SALE!

#OperationSxy 

Volume 1: 

Down and Dirty Desserts

Over 35 Healthy Clean Eating Dessert Recipes!

+ Clean eating guidlines

+ 2 page printable Grocery List

+ Sample Week of My Clean Eats

Here's a sneak peek at some of the goodies!

Sweet Date Truffles

Cheesecake

3 Layered PB Cups

 PB Cups with Black Bean Brownies in the Background | Microwave Chocolate PB LAVA Cake with Icecream

Topless Apple Pies

2 Layered Fudge Brownie

Banana PB Cup for 1

3 Ingredient Chocolate Mug Cake

Key lime Cheese Cake

Coconut Macaroons

I KNOW CRAZY #foodporn RIGHT?!?!?!

buy

After clicking "Buy now" you will be brought to Paypal where you can purchase it through there! Then you will be brought to a page that will allow immediate download of the pdf!

Enjoy!

If for some reason you can not download the pdf, please send me an email at vm.fitness@yahoo.com

If you make any of the recipes or meals from the meal plan, be sure to tag #vmfitness for a possible feature on my page!

<3 <3

Happy baking!

-->

Click below to read about:

Volume 2: 

Sweet and Savory Bites: Meals, Snacks, and Protein Recipes

My First BIKINI COMPETITION and @MrGeecue

That's right! IT'S OFFICIAL!
I announced on my Instagram the other day when my competition will be!

I posted it mainly as motivation for myself, so that I CAN NOT back out! I was planning on doing an earlier show, but I felt I would NOT be ready in time. Instead of stressing out about it and killing myself over the anxiety and cardio and stress, I decided to do a longer, more comfortable prep for the

JUNE 22

NPC Maryland State & East Coast Classic

It'll be in Rockville, MD and if any of you want to come out and support, that is MIGHTYYY FINEEE BY ME! <3

Bounce Back from the Binge

Hey beautiful people! Sorry for my lack of updates! Been SUPER DUPER busy with school and comp prep and life in general! But I thought I'd update withhh another binge post.

Since my STOP THE BINGE post was so popular with you all, I decided to write this post on:

BOUNCING BACK FROM THE BINGE

Many of you have come to me either through e-mail or on instagram saying around the same thing:

Josie, I had a horrible binge, what do I do?

or

I had a horrible binge, and I can't seem to stop! I've done it ___ times this week! Help!

and so many other variations of the above.

YOU ARE NOT ALONE! 

Many of us have been through the same thing! I know that for me and others, it really WAS a binge eating disorder, but for some others it could just be a food control problem, which also needs to be fixed ASAP!

Here's what I USED TO DO after I had binged, that never EVER worked because they set me up for failure and just primed me to binge again, so DON'T DO THESE:

• Fasted the next day/ skipped meals to make up for all the food you had the day(s) prior
• Went VERY strict on clean eating
• Worked out for hours to combat the extra calories
• Felt Guilty & Beat myself up about it

And you know what happened after I did all that?

BINGED AGAIN.

Why? Because I was freaking restricting my body!

So, what CAN I do to set myself up for SUCCESS? And to NOT binge more in the future??

Here are a few things that I've found work in helping me stay in control after a binge:

• Go back to healthy clean eating the next day [no restrictions, no counting calories, just start the day new, fresh, and healthy!]
• Drink water like a fish! Water naturally purifies your body, so get all those toxins out!
• Drink some kombucha or probiotic drinks to reset your pH levels, or some dandelion tea to help out that liver of yours detox
• Exercise! But don't go CRAZY! Do some weights mixed with cardio to flush out the negatives and give yourself some happy endorphins! 
• DON'T RESTRICT - make healthier alternatives, find clean eating substitutions, don't cut out whole food groups
• MODERATION, NOT DEPRIVATION 
• CHANGE YOUR MINDSET

It's a LIFESTYLE change people! You think you can live your whole life without carbs or without fats or on low calories of around 600 a day? NO. Your body will end up KILLING itself, craving ALL this craziness that you've been depriving it of, your mind will go crazy and then you'll just KEEP REPEATING THE CYCLE OVER AND OVER AGAIN.

The main thing I learned was to NOT cut out foods completely. If you have a craving, try and resist. If you seriously can't, then have a taste! But DON'T have the whole box!

Don't say:

I CAN'T EAT THIS

because your mind will be like 

"OH SNAP, then maybe I should eat it all before I start over tomorrow!"

Instead, Say:

"I CAN have it, I just choose NOT to because it's not good for my body, it won't help me reach my goals, and I CHOOSE to not have it!"

BOOM.
Change your ways of thinking, and you can change a LOT of your actions!

BOUNCE BACK and STOP THE BINGE! 

I'll be filming a video soon for my YOUTUBE channel on more tips to Control Cravings/ Stop Binging/Mindless Snacking! So STAY TUNED!

My Love of Quest & Total Body Killer Workout

Hello fit fam! Today for you I have a review on some Quest bars and a kick-butt Total Body workout! Great to do post-holiday season ;]
But first....

HOLYYYY deliciousness.

I got to sample some of Quest's new goodies, their:

 Cravings Peanut Butter Cups!

Yes I am part of the #nutbutteraddict club, and I'M NOT AFRAID TO ADMIT IT! I have a problem. Is there a nut butters anonymous out there anywhere? I gotta get on that STAT. Ahh back to the cups!

Can I say they taste almost EXACTLY the same as Reese's Cups?! But with a bunch of nutrition and protein and without all the nasty unhealthiness! The peanut butter part was my favorite of course :] And the chocolate part didn't taste just like the Reese's chocolate, it had sort of a thicker flavor, yes I just gave "flavor" and adjective that isn't usually used to describe a flavor. There was like a thick darkness taste, not the taste of white or milk chocolate, but not completely bitter as dark chocolate. It was a perfect combination. And the peanut butter kinda gets stuck to your teeth and to the top of the roof of your mouth! Hehe I kinda like it because I can save some for later.. :P just kidding.
But I do like the overall taste of this Quest product! Seriously, this is my new addiction. I'm going to need to buy a whole box... or 5.....

Banana Nut Muffin

I hate to be boring.... but this LITERALLY tasted just like a Banana Nut Muffin! I'm SERIOUS. There's just no other way to describe it than by telling you it tastes JUST LIKE the wrapper says! Imagine any banana bread you've had with nuts and crunchiness inside and THIS IS EXACTLY like that. But SOOOOO much healthier! It's got real nuts inside and the crunch adds such great texture! And usually, I hate artificially flavored banana products because they never end up tasting "right" or like genuine banana. They're always either too sweet, or too MUCH banana, which makes it taste ... eckkk. But this?!?! RIGHT ON THE MONEY! DELICIOUS DELICIOUS DELICIOUS.

Seriously, find me a Quest product I DON'T LOVE! When pigs fly...



Thank you so much QUEST for letting me sample these delicious flavors! If you ever need a guinea pig for more flavors.... you know who to contact ;]

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And now for this amazing:

SUPER FAT BLASTING HEART THROBBING TOTAL BODY WEIGHTS & CARDIO WORKOUT 

I did this circuit after an unexpected rest day during my Finals Week to get my whole body worked up with a good sweat and BOYYYY did it do the trick! Try it out and let me know how you did! This would also be a great workout to do post-holiday food coma so that you can put all those carbs to use! I know I'm gonna need to go through this a few good times...

SS means Superset! So do that exercise right after the first one with no rest! And TS is just triple set! All of the ones that can be done with weights, DO IT HEAVYYYY! Burn those cals #fitfam! If you don't know any of the moves, try googling them and they should come up!

For the kickback and tricep dips, that's a glute cable kickback!

The last exercise is pretty self explanatory! Squat down, then get up, bicep curl, and then shoulder press!
I also added to the last one to make it a triple set, some deadlifts! 3x12!

For "step up skips", I posted a little collage on my instagram, so here it is below:

You basically step one foot up on the bench, then the other, and then skip back down, really fast! The step up skips are steps 1-5! Get that heart rate up!

Enjoy! Let me know how you did!

#VMFITYEAR Food Plan

Again, repost of my earlier 16 week plan! That post messed up my blog layout! So here it is again!


To see my workout plan, click here

------------------------------------

--> FOOD/ MEAL PLAN:

PHASE 1 – BUILD – 2 weeks - around 1800-2000 calories a day

·      Carbs included in:

o   Breakfast

o   Post workout with shake

o   Post workout meal

PHASE 2 – BUILD – 3 weeks - same calories from phase 1

·      Carbs included in:

o   Post workout with shake

o   Post workout meal

PHASE 3 – BUILD & LEAN – 3 weeks - High: 1800-2000 calories, Medium: 1700, Low: 1500, No: 1400

·      Carb cycle: 1 high, 2 medium, 2 low, 2 no

SPRING BREAK – 1 week - WISDOM TEETH REMOVAL – LIQUID/SOFT CLEAN DIET

PHASE 4 – LEAN – 3 weeks - High: 1700-1800 calories, Low:1600-1700, No: 1400

·      Carb cycle: High, Low, No - repeat

PHASE 5 – LEAN – 4 weeks - Low-No: 1400-1500 calories, High: 1700

·      Carb cycle: 3 days low-no, 1 day high – repeat

4-5 meals a day – I like to eat a bit fuller meals, so I won't be eating every 2 hours. More like 2-4 hours. Instead of 6-7 meals with fewer cals, I'll be having 4-5 with a bit fuller calories. 

IF YOU CLICK THE IMAGE, IT WILL BECOME LARGER! 

• During the building stage I'll have proteins and carbs high, fats low.

• During the carb cycling stage, my low days will have higher fat for energy and low carbs, and the opposite on high carb days. Protein still high.
• I'll have a separate post when it gets closer to the lean out stage on how my meals will be different with the carb cycling implemented  

• I'll be having Breakfast, Lunch, Snack, Post W/O shake, Dinner [sometimes the snack may be in a different order]
• Lots of veggies in every meal
• Will be going STRICTLY GLUTEN FREE [due to thyroid]
• due to thyroid conditions, will NOT be eating any soy products or raw goitrogenic foods
• Carbs post workout & breakfast choices: GF oats, sweet potato, brown rice, GF pasta, brown rice cakes, fruit, etc [good complex carbs]
• Protein choices: eggs, chicken breast, turkey breast or ground turkey, sirloin, shrimp, salmon, tilapia, whey protein, etc.
• Fat sources: nut butters, avocado, egg yolk, nuts, flax oil, coconut oil 
• Snack can be whenever you're hungry, can be after lunch, before lunch, after dinner, whenever!
• I'll try and post all my food on Instagram for all of you to get some ideas from! :D  

 I am keeping my calories HIGH

I don't usually count calories and you alll know how much I advocate that! So I won't be using any kind of calorie counter, just "eyeballing" my portion sizes and guestimating.

Some reasons to keep your calories high during the first few weeks of your program:

• If you eat too few calories, your body will go into starvation mode, causing it to HOLD ON TO ANYTHING IT DOES GET as fat to protect itself! NO GOOD
• If I reach a plateau, I can either decrease my calories or increase my workouts. 
• Imagine if you're already on a dangerously low deficit of 1100-1200 calories. You decrease to 1000. Now you've reached another plateau. Do you think going down to 900 or 700 will be good for you? NO. So think about it in the long-term! 
• This will help your body continue to bust through plateaus while still having enough food to sustain yourself and be healthy
• It's going to be higher in the beginning because I want to BUILD muscle, therefor I can't have too big a deficit in calories! Then as the phases go on and I want to lean, the added cardio will make the deficit, NOT lessening food calories drastically to dangerous levels.
• It is better to have a deficit from WORKING OUT, rather than decreasing food intake! If you decrease the food intake drastically, this can 
• make you catabolic - or break down your hearearned muscle
• be harder to get to maintenance mode
• starvation mode
• stall your metabolism

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This is my big plan for 2013! 

What do you all think?? I'm hoping to see some MAJOR changes! And I'm very excited! I've been SLACKING off SOOOOO hard these past few weeks/months, and it definitely shows! And with my new SLOW metabolism from killing my thyroid, it's going to be ESPECIALLY hard trying to lose all the extra fat I've accumulated. But I'm keeping my head up, trying to be positive, and hopefully everything will take care of itself!

So are you going to join me to a fab fitter 2013 year? I hope so! 

Remember, these numbers are for ME and my current body weight and goals, switch yours around accordingly! And my schedule is based off MY needs, and are scheduled around my classes, when I work, and what foods work best for my body. Please make adjustments where needed!  

#VMFITYEAR 16 Week Workout Plan

Sorry guys! I had to repost this original post split in 2 parts - workouts and then food, because it was messing with my blogger layout!

To see my food plan, click here

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So another year DOWN. Goodbye 2012,  

HELLOOO 2013! 

We're a pretty strong bunch #fitfam. We survived the dreaded Mayan end of the world!

So now what?

Well now it's time for a NEW YEAR.

Did you all slip this past holiday season? These past few weeks, months, or even year?

You know what's great about a New Year? Those little things called

New Years Resolutions!

Eh but who are we kidding? No one EVER sticks to those do they?

So now I am setting my 2013 PLAN, as in, I WILL achieve it! Not a resolution where I'll stick with it for maybe a few weeks, 2 months tops, and then quit.

No no my friends, this time I'm ACTUALLY sticking to these goals I'm setting!

YES. SELF-MOTIVATION! And not to mention motivation from my shmexy Fab 5 friends, and all of YOU, my wonderful followers!

I'm going to stick to my plan because I deserve to be the happiest I can during this New Year right?!

AND SO DO YOU! 

Also It's my birthday tomorrow, January 2nd! I think it'd be a nice birthday present to actually succeed at one of my long term goals!

Remember to use the hashtag on Instagram - #VMFITYEAR - I want to keep track of my progress this year, but alsooooo see all of YOUR journeys and progress! Lets kill this year fitfam! It'll have no idea what hit it!

I've made myself a

 16-week plan 

What?! That long of a plan for a girl who can never stick to something for more than 4 weeks?!

AHAH YES!

This 16 weeks will be my entire Spring Semester as a College Sophomore.

The time will pass anyway, 

so why not be productive and use that time to get in the best shape of my life?!  

BOOM.

Mind blown...

So here I've put my plan out there for all of you to see!

Feel free to use it as a base for ideas if you're stuck with what to do, but you should never copy them EXACTLY. Switch them around to fit YOUR specific needs and goals! I'm having these workouts and foods because of how my semester is planned out with classes, and because of how my body reacts to certain foods.

I'm doing these next 16 weeks in "phases" so that they don't draaaaag out.

I have a habit of getting bored easily, so doing them in phases will help to keep me still interested and motivated!

My plan is a mixture of short term goals [each phase] and one long term goal [16 weeks total!]

Haha I guess I can kinda say "16 weeks out" right?

Like those fitness competitors do for competitions! Makes me feel more "legit" teehehe.

[Switched shoulders & bis/tris day! Fits better with my schedule]

IF YOU CLICK THE IMAGE, IT WILL BECOME LARGER! 

Cleanse & Juicing

Hello everybodyyy.

How is everyone doing this fine day? Staying on track? Eating clean? Training mean? I hope so!

Remember to tag any fitness or health related things #VMFITYEAR on Instagram so that we can all keep track of each others progress, get food ideas, and learn great new tips or workouts from each other!

So today's post is about

Detox & Juicing

I've been looking into great juice recipes after watching "Hungry for Change" on Netflix, and I wrote a bit about it on some instagram posts in the past! Great info, tons of knowledge, I HIGHLY recommend you watch this great documentary!

After the holidays, I'm sure we all need a pretty good detox! I don't mean starving yourself for a week, drinking only water and tea, and all those other crazy fad diets where you supposedly lose 10 pounds in 5 days, etc etc. I mean detox by totally eating clean good whole foods found from nature, exercising to get rid of those toxins, and STOP letting new toxins enter the body! So no more processed, artificial foods!

Why Detox? Because it helps in burning off fat!!!

"As you burn off body fat, you must also detoxify, because most chemicals are lipophilic (fat-loving) and are lodged in fat cells. If you don't do something to remove these toxins from your body while losing weight, toxins can be reabsorbed into your bloodstream and potentially cause health problems.
Fortunately, your body will detoxify itself if there is no toxicity coming in. Chlorophyll-rich foods such as organic green vegetables, gelatinous plant foods like aloe and chia seeds, seaweeds, chlorella, cilantro and parsley can help with this. Make sure to drink plenty of pure water, as this is essential to your body's cleansing processes. Juicing may also be of benefit. Avoid all chemicals, additives, and preservatives. If a product's shelf life is longer than your life, don't eat it!"
http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2012/03/24/hungry-for-change.aspx

Why exactly is juicing good for us?

• Juicing allows us to take in a large serving of vegetables and fruits at one time and can be the key to giving you a radiant, energetic life and truly optimal health. Dr Mercola typically buys up to 20 pounds of raw vegetables per week and juices a few pounds per day. Some people may find eating that many vegetables difficult, but it can be easily accomplished with a quick glass of vegetable juice.

• Juicing is an easy way to absorb all the nutrients from the vegetables. This is important because most of us have impaired digestion as a result of making less-than-optimal food choices over many years. This limits your body's ability to absorb all the nutrients in an optimal way. Juices go straight to your blood stream which in turn carries all the nutrients to where they are needed the most by the body without further delay as in digestion. 

• Juicing can help you add a wider variety of vegetables in your diet. Many people eat the same vegetable salads every day. This goes against the principle of regular food rotation and increases your chance of developing an allergy to a certain food. But with juicing, you can juice a wide variety of vegetables that you may not normally enjoy eating whole.

• Juicing is also an incredibly effective way to cleanse the body, especially green juices! Green juices contain high levels of chlorophyll a powerful phytonutrient which attaches to toxins and heavy metals and helps remove them from your body. It also increases your blood's oxygen-carrying capacity by stimulating red blood cell production.
• http://www.hungryforchange.tv/juicing

BOOM.
So detoxifying = easier fat loss
Clean foods, healthy nutritious foods, juicing = detoxifying the body

After the holidays I most CERTAINLY need to get rid of some [ok a LOT] of toxic foods I have floating around my body!
NO, I am not fasting for 3 days, no I'm not doing a strict juice cleanse for 3,5,7 days. I'm simply eating clean, but most importantly, I'm going to have a super detox drink first thing in the morning.
In the mornings our bodies are primed to absorb the first thing we consume.

So my daily routine will look like:

Wake up
1. Ginger, lemon juice, Apple cider vinegar, warm water, pinch of cinnamon and cayenne
This drink will be consumed every morning! Ginger has great healing properties, lemon will boost that metabolism, apple cider vinegar is great at detoxing by controlling the bowels and it also controls blood sugar levels and blood pressure along with sooo many other benefits!, water is always great, cinnamon controls blood sugar, and cayenne helps speed up metabolism and targets fat burning!

2. Juice - 4-8 oz
Just bought myself a juicer for a pretty great price at an Asian Market and have been LOVINGGG it!
So many different recipes! And since this is one of the first things you consume in the morning, alll those nutrients are being soaked up and absorbed by your hungry hungry cells! MM LOVING IT
The ingredients may change around but no matter what, it will alwaysss contain PARSLEY and CILANTRO! Why? Because these herbs ESPECIALLY target the removal of heavy toxic metals from your system! I may also add some chia seeds or psyllium husks so that the gelatinous part of it can attach to any toxins floating around inside my body after my longggg [hopefully] 7-8 hour sleep the night before.

If you've been following my IG, You saw one juice I made the other day! I'll post more up when I find better recipes hehe :]

And then from there I'll continue my day as normal! Clean eats, exercise, all that good stuff!

Try incorporating a juice a day! I bet your body will thank you for it!

My Thyroid

Hello beautiful people! 

Here's a post about the Thyroid.

Some posts to look out for in the future:

Tis the Season to be Jolly Post on Secret Santas 

More Quest Product Reviews + Total Body Workout

My General Outline of My 2013 Fit Semester Plan

Stubborn Fat Burning Cardio

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Thyroid

Here's some background on the thyroid: 

Your thyroid is a gland located at the base of your neck, just below your Adam’s apple. It is shaped like a butterfly – each wing, or lobe of your thyroid lies on either side of your windpipe.

The purpose of your thyroid gland is to make, store, and release thyroid hormones into your blood. These hormones, which are also referred to as T3 (liothyronine) and T4 (levothyroxine), affect almost every cell in your body, and help control your body’s functions. If you have too little thyroid hormone in your blood, your body slows down. This condition is called hypothyroidism. If you have too much thyroid hormone in your blood, your body speeds up. This condition is called hyperthyroidism.

What controls the amount of thyroid hormone produced?
The amount of thyroid hormone made by your thyroid gland is adjusted by a gland in the brain called the pituitary. Another part of your brain, the hypothalamus, helps the pituitary. The hypothalamus sends information to the pituitary gland, the pituitary in turn controls the thyroid gland.
The thyroid gland, pituitary gland, and hypothalamus all work together to control the amount of thyroid hormone in your body. With the pituitary controlling most of the action, these organs work similarly to the way a thermostat controls temperature in a room.
For example, just as the thermometer in a thermostat senses the temperature of a room, your pituitary gland constantly senses the amount of thyroid hormone in your blood. If there is not enough thyroid hormone, your pituitary senses the need to “turn on the heat”. It does this by releasing more thyroid-stimulating hormone (or TSH), which signals your thyroid to make more thyroid hormone. Your thyroid gland then makes and releases the hormone directly into your bloodstream.
Your pituitary gland then senses that there is just the right amount of thyroid hormone in your body. With your thyroid hormone levels now restored to a normal level, your pituitary slows its production of TSH back down to normal.

Tests
While there are a wide variety of blood tests that can be used in the evaluation of thyroid disease, thyroid function testing usually refers to measurement of both TSH (thyroid stimulating hormone) and thyroid hormone (usually T4) in the blood stream. If the thyroid is functioning normally, the T4 and the TSH are in the normal range. If the thyroid becomes underactive (hypothyroidism) the T4 declines and the TSH rises in an attempt to make the thyroid gland make some more T4. Conversely, if the thyroid gland is overactive (hyperthyroidism), the elevated T4 is sensed by the pituitary and TSH production is decreased in an effort to try to slow down the thyroid.

What can go wrong?
Diseases of the thyroid are often classified into problems primarily involving the structure of the thyroid gland (changes in size or the development of thyroid nodules) or function of the thyroid gland (over active or underactive).
Structural problems can include an enlarged thyroid gland (goiter), a small thyroid gland (atrophic) or the development of either single nodules (solitary thyroid nodule) or multiple thyroid nodules (multinodular gland). The evaluation of structural problems of the thyroid is usually done with a thyroid ultrasound.
Functional problems of the thyroid are initially evaluated with thyroid function tests which are used to determine if the thyroid is functioning normally, over active or underactive. Often times a thyroid gland can have both a structural problem and a functional problem at the same time. So the evaluation of a thyroid condition includes careful evaluation of both the structure and function of the thyroid gland

http://www.checkyourneck.com/about-thyroid-cancer/about-the-thyroid-gland

So why am I talking to you about the thyroid? Because a few years ago I was diagnosed with Hyperthyroidism [or Graves Disease]. My symptoms were the usual for those with hyperthyroidism:

• increased appetite & increased food intake with steady weight
• rapid heartbeat [tachycardia] and irregular heartbeat with palpitations
• tremors of the hands
• sweating and hot all the time
• sensitive to heat
• irregular menstrual patterns
• frequent bowel movements [sorry, tmi??]
• enlarged thyroid - goiter 
• fatigue and muscle weakness
• difficulty in sleep
• brittle hair and hair loss
• discomfort in the eyes, light sensitivity, blurred vision, inflammation

Basically my body was on full throttle ALL the time. Everything full speed, hyper hyper active. Well this winter break, yesterday to be more precise, the 21st of December, I got radioactive iodine treatment to kill off my thyroid. The radioactive iodine is going to gradually shrink my thyroid over time and then ultimately destroy the gland, which will make me then hypothyroid. Here are the symptoms I've read for that:

• fatigue
• increased sensitivity to cold
• constipation
• dry skin
• unexplained weight gain ---- D:
• puffy face
• hoarseness
• muscle weakness
• elevated blood cholesterol levels
• muscle aches, tenderness and stiffness
• pain, stiffness or swelling of joints
• heavier than normal/ irregular menstrual periods
• thinning hair
• slow heart rate
• depression
• impaired memory and forgetfulness
• poor muscle tone
• excessive sleepiness

Dunno if you could tell from my instagram post today asking for advice on post radioactive iodine/hypothyroid tips, I'm a bit freaked out by all of this. Everyone keeps saying as long as I take the meds, the synthetic hormones, then I should be able to function like everyone else and not experience these symptoms so badly. 

I'm most scared about the weight gain part! And I've heard it's SOOOO difficult to lose! That some have gained between 15 - 30 pounds, and now it's harder than ever to lose weight, even with restricted calories to 1300 and exercise 6x a week! Eek.... :O... But even though everyone says I should be fine once I find the right dosage of synthetic hormones and level out, I hear it takes a while for that to happen. It's not automatic. It might take a few months, if not years, to find the "perfect" level for my body. Ahhh this is giving me such bad anxiety!

The best thing I can do as of now though is keep monitoring it closely, listen to my body, keep getting my blood checked to find out my current levels so that my endocrinologist can prescribe me the right medication! As long as I continue to eat well and exercise, I'm seriously hoping for the best, and trying to stay positive!   

If any of you are experiencing the above symptoms, I highlyyy suggest you go get a blood test to see where your thyroid hormone levels are! Better safe than sorry in the long run!