Thyroid & TOPS

This entry is an example of the blog I'm doing for an organization I belong to called TOPS, which stands for Take Off Pounds Sensibly. I am 8 pounds from goal and am the current leader for the group (an elected position). I had been slender pretty much my entire life, but thyroid surgery helped put an end to that. Half of my thyroid was removed due to a lump (benign thank goodness, but the size of an egg) and the other half, unbeknownst to me, revolted and decided not to work. I put on 25 pounds in less than six months which when added to the 20 I had put on over the past 30 years meant I was now 45 pounds over on a rather small boned 5'2" frame. I called my friend D who had struggled with her weight her entire life and said HELP! How do I deal with this, what do I do? She invited me to join her at TOPS and the rest as they say is history.

By the way, thyroid medication does not take the weight off for you. It helped with a whole slew of symtoms including rapid weight gain, but losing the weight already gained takes the usual method of consuming less calories then you expend by using exercise, good nutrition and portion control. I've been really slow taking it off because I'm not very disciplined and love my goodies, but I am making progress.

I went to the doctor eight months after my surgery because of depression and when they tested my thyroid the doctor said "Well, you're not depressed, your thyroid is." I registered almost none at all and that was the cause for the various symtoms I was trying to attribute to turning 50 or to menopause. I was depressed, exhausted, gaining weight, losing my hair, my skin was so dry it felt like sand paper, and my brain was so foggy I couldn't make the simplest of decisions. I was used to having oily skin and a brain that worked. Thank goodness for medication, even if it did take a couple of years to get it regulated.

July 7 meeting -
We had lots going on at the meeting this week. It was awards day and we started our new game. Kay handled the presentation of awards and they were as follows:

Division 2 - Judy
Division 3 - Christine
Division 4 - Doris

Best Loser - Christine

Vacation Charms - Geri, June, Penny, Marilyn, Roy, Agnes, Charlene

KOPS $5.00 award - Leta, Betty, Mary

Our net loss for the month of June was 43.25 pounds. Wa-hoo - let's keep it up!

We have a new member that just joined this week, her name is Margaret. We also saw the return of member Linda R. who had not been coming this past year. Welcome Ladies!

Diane explained the new game we'll be playing this summer and divided us into teams. The response was really terrific. We had 27 people sign up to participate and everyone seemed really excited about the game and duly impressed with Diane's creativity and the beautiful gameboard she made. We're going to send a picture of it and the rules to TOPS magazine. The purpose, as with all of our contests/games, is to provide motivation and incentive to lose those pounds. Sometimes you participate in them as individuals and sometimes as part of a team. The team games have a secondary purpose which is to learn to provide each other with support through phone calls and notes of encouragment.

Julie and Sylvia provided the group with copies of some salad recipes and we closed with the recitation of Hand In Hand Together We Can.