A Life Makeover and Looking Fabulous!

Something nice is happening in my world…I am receiving compliments about how happy and healthy I am looking now.

The thought that I must have looked pretty bad before does worry me, but I am beginning to realise just how much of a change has happened in the last 12 months.

And usually after the compliments, I usually get the question…”whats your secret”?

I can tell you it isn’t one thing, but numerous of factors in my life that have all come together to get me into shape and looking fabulous!

Less Stress

Regular readers will know that I have had a fair bit of stress over the last 3 or so years…a very sick husband, who required a liver transplant, and me having to be his full time carer was a very tough time….and very uncertain…would he get the call in time?

Thankfully, he did, and has made a remarkable recovery, thanks to a donor and their family….but the lack of sleep and being on high alert in case I had to rush him to emergency did take its toll on me.

And I have to admit, it took quite a few months to switch out of “carer” mode, and become a wife again…and to learn to not jump when the phone rang!

I struggled returning to full time work again, but was able to rework my week to have three days in the office, two at home…and that still works well for me.

Full Health Check

But as the months past after my husband’s transplant, I  still didn’t feel as good as I should have…I was told I probably had something like post-traumatic stress syndrome, but that just didn’t seem right to me….

I finally took the time to get myself thoroughly checked over…and thankfully I had a doctor who was very methodical, and agreed there seemed more to it then just stress.

She ordered a heap of blood tests and discovered that my thyroid wasn’t working, which explained the tiredness, brain fog, weight gain and so on.

As a routine, she sent me for a ultrasound, and that’s when a suspicious nodule was found….next step was to have a biopsy which showed it was cancerous…

I then had my thyroid totally removed…and it was confirmed that I had papillary thyroid cancer…and was prescribed Thyroxine…initially 100mg, which was then increased to 150mg because my TSH levels weren’t correct.

It has now been put up to 175mg as the levels still weren’t correct….will find out in about a month if all ok.

Which basically all means that my system has totally been changed, and is hopefully getting back to the right balance for good health!

And the best news is I am still cancer free one year after surgery…no treatment required, apart from having the surgery!

Diet

I suffer from severe lactose intolerance, which means I have to avoid many yummy treats such as cakes, chocolate etc. If I even have a tiny amount, I am sick within about half an hour…like having gastro…it is just awful.

But it wasn’t until I also removed sugar and wheat from my diet, plus the addition of thyroid medication that the weight just dropped off…I lost about 10kgs in a month!

No bread (except maybe some sourdough with our occasional brunch), no sugar filled or wheat based cereals….no sneaky treats when out shopping…

My husband and I follow a Paleo type diet, with some deviations due to my lactose issue….and I am never hungry!

It works for me!

Plenty of Sleep

After years of being able to attend late night rehearsals, and then be early to work, I now can’t do late nights at all…especially if I have to be up early the next day.

I hope this will eventually even out with the higher dose of meds, but I have come to realisation that if I don’t get at least 9 good hours of sleep…forget it…I am zombie the next day, if I can get out of bed at all.

Luckily, my husband also prefers early nights….although he then gets up before 6am to go to the gym…

So we prefer going out during the day, then at night….and as you can probably guess, prefer going to brunch then dinner!

Of course, late nights are unavoidable, especially for special events, so in order to make sure I don’t miss out, I have to plan ahead. I try to avoid having an early morning if we are out late.

By shuffling things around, it means I can still enjoy things without wiping myself out.

Get Moving

I love walking, so I try and get out and about as much as possible.

I take the stairs instead of the lift.

I don’t park the closest I can to the shops…unless of course I have a lot to carry.

In other words, I take every opportunity to move, rather then taking the lazy option.

I am even contemplating starting to run, which I have never, ever done…I always feel so uncoordinated!

As a bit of incentive, and because I love a new gadget, I gave myself the Christmas gift of a Fitbit Charge, which is working very well…will write about it in the next few weeks.

Style

I stopped trying to fit into modern fashion, and embraced the fact I have an hour glass figure….and discovered a love for vintage!

I am not a stick figure, even with losing weight…I am still the same silhouette, whatever the scales say.

So I now buy for my shape…and I actually enjoy dressing up now!

I am sad to say it has taken me 30 or so years to work this one out…better late then never!

Makeup

I never used to wear makeup…maybe some mascara and lip gloss and that is about it.

But now I make a little more effort…foundation, eyeliner, mascara,neat eyebrows, red lipstick if I am being brave….and voila…my version of retro look!

All of the above points seem to add up to make me look healthy and happy!

I am not kidding myself…I am not going to make a career out of being a model….but I now feel more comfortable in my own skin, and that gives me confidence.

It has taken a while to get here, with some major hurdles to deal with, but I am glad I have finally reached the “light”.

And you can too….take a look at your health, get properly checked…look at your diet, perhaps try Paleo…remove sugar…remove wheat….I can recommend it!

Have a makeover…get some help sorting out your wardrobe…take control!

And please note, that my “change” isn’t just to do with weight change….it is more to do with feeling better inside….which does amazing things to your outside!