At 42 I was having some strange health issues and after a year’s worth of testing it was determined that I have a rare pituitary disease known as Isolated Idiopathic Central Hypothyroidism, or ‘I Central H’. It is not the kind that comes from the thyroid but the instead the originates in the pituitary gland in the brain. Most people with this have it because of a tumor or growth in the brain, however a few MRI's later and nothing has ever shown up. Thank goodness! I am on medication to help regulate the hormone and was told losing weight would be difficult. But not impossible.

I started clean eating with Tosca Reno's books that same year and liked the results that just changing my eating habits gave me.

Then I decided to add in cardio and after 6 months of that started lifting weights. Its been a gradual process for me, with not a lot of expectations but to feel and look better.

I love how strong I feel after a good workout - I love the lift it gives my mood and I never want to go back to feeling how I did before I discovered this.

I have gone from being a couch sitter to being a mover and a shaker. I opt to take stairs 2 at a time now and am barely winded when I get to the top.

Life is good this way.