I have come to realize that achievements in any area of life are journeys, and not destinations, and that the bends and bumps in the road are part of the journey. Over the past year, I have had to change how I do things, and also how I view the process.
Those who have been following me for a while know that between March 5, 2017, and March 4, 2019, I lost 55 pounds and more than 12 inches off my waist, and put my type 2 diabetes and crazy high blood pressure into remission. I documented this process in a blog I started called “A Dietitian’s Journey”.
Much to my surprise, following a very low-carbohydrate diet during this period also put the MCAD (Mast Cell Activation Disorder) I had been diagnosed with in 2013 into remission.
The pinnacle of my achievement was my “little black dress” moment in June of 2019; however, in August 2020, before routine testing (or vaccines) had become available, I had what my doctor assumed was Covid. I self-isolated for two weeks, but for several months afterwards, I had muscle pain and weakness, tingling and numbness in my fingertips, brain fog, and unbelievable fatigue. 
I went from being reasonably active and fit and hiking in Golden Ears Provincial Park in the spring, to finding it difficult to walk up or down a flight of stairs by August. It took months until I began to feel reasonably normal.
Despite having had both vaccines in the spring and summer of 2021 (no choice as a healthcare professional), I came down with what my doctor assumed was Covid again because the symptoms were the same as in August 2020: muscle aches and joint pain, being exhausted, but with the addition of feeling cold all the time. I was loaned an oximeter by a family member whose mother is a nurse, and I found it strange that my body temperature was always two degrees below normal, even though I had fever-like symptoms. It was then that I started to wonder whether my symptoms were due to hypothyroidism, rather than Covid.
It wasn’t until June 2022 that I was diagnosed with profound hypothyroidism, and as I’ve written about previously, it was a diagnosis that was a long time coming. I finally understood why it took me two years to lose the same amount of weight that it takes others, including my clients, less than half the amount of time to lose!
In August 2022, I was prescribed thyroid hormone replacement medications, and once the dosage was stable, the symptoms slowly resolved over the following year, just as my doctor said they would. My weight normalized, but even though I continued to eat a low-carb diet, it did not go back to what it was before I was diagnosed.
Things were going well with my thyroid for about a year, during which time I was going to the gym 3 times per week, but then I faced a bit of a ‘hiccup’ in early June of 2024, where it turned out that both of my thyroid meds needed to be adjusted. By the end of this summer, I was feeling much better, but what I hadn’t factored in was that the higher dose of thyroid meds would contribute to higher blood glucose levels. The higher blood sugar resulted in my insulin levels rising, which caused me to be hungry all the time (which doesn’t normally happen when limiting carbs), and to add insult to injury, all of this was causing a flare-up of Mast Cell Activation Disorder (MCAD) symptoms. Even though I was a Dietitian who understood the various mechanisms involved, I was frustrated and felt like I couldn’t win.
What worked previously wasn’t working anymore because the circumstances had changed. I realized that I needed to change with them.
At the beginning of March, I decided to begin eating a very low-carb (ketogenic) diet instead of the low-carbohydrate pattern I had, while continuing to focus on consuming sufficient amounts of highly bioavailable protein three times per day, which I need as an older adult.
By the second week of March, I had learned about the four types of movement that Orthopedic Surgeon, Dr. Vonda Wright, recommends for retaining and building bone and muscle mass as we age. I adopted them that week.
I started walking 30 minutes per day, 4-5 times a week, and sometimes a longer walk on weekends. Once a week, I follow Dr. Wright’s “carry something heavy” recommendation. Since this was consistent with the “lift to muscle failure approach” that I used to follow based on Dr. Doug McGuff and his book Body By Science, and I already had the equipment, incorporating it wasn’t difficult.
I consistently incorporate flexibility and equilibrium (balance) exercises into each day, such as 8-10 squats between clients and standing on one foot while I get dressed or ready for bed. In the evening, I do active stretching, gleaned from some training I took with Vinny Crispino of the Pain Academy.
I have to take thyroid replacement hormones for the rest of my life, so this is something outside of my control. I can keep being frustrated by their effect on my blood glucose and insulin levels, or I can change what I can in my diet and incorporate exercise to counteract the effects. I chose the second option. Exercise enables muscle cells to take in the excess glucose, and it doesn’t require training for hours a day in the gym. It requires a 30-minute commitment a day.
Lower glucose levels mean lower insulin levels, which leads to less hunger, with gradual weight loss as a byproduct. My goal isn’t weight loss, although that’s happening. It’s to address the higher blood sugar due to the thyroid medication — and to have strong muscles and bones as I age, so that I can do things well into my 90s. I don’t want to be frail when I’m old, and that requires me to invest in activities now to avoid it.
Being my best physically, mentally, and emotionally both now and in the future required me to change how I did things, and how I thought about them.
I realize that achievements in all areas of my life are journeys, and not destinations, and that the bends and bumps in the road are part of it. I’ve come to accept those, and focus on the rest of the journey!
To your good health,
Joy
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