2014 Official Chaz Fitness Challenge

Well, I either have a thyroid issue or I'm clinically depressed. I'm not sure which, because my symptoms could all be the result of either. And I can't afford to go have it checked out, so I don't know which.
The good news is that most thyroid issues are 100% treatable with meds, and once you get your thyroid levels back the way they are supposed to be, your whole life will suddenly be a lot better (depending on what issues you're having, anyway!)
So I wouldn't be too anxious about it. If it turns out you have thyroid issues, you'll get the meds figured out and it will be better. If it's not that, then you know for sure and can proceed with other options having thyroid issues ruled out.

^ This. I have minor thyroid problems that caused a whole whack of problems that magically went away with a small amount of medication.

Thanks guys, I appreciate it. Just need to find the courage to make the appointment!

Yep, I have hypothyroidism and being on medication for it has made my life so much better. Definitely not something to ignore.

What were your symptoms? I gained 60lbs in like two months, can't seem to get off/keep off more than ~five pounds, regardless of intake and exercise. I have troubles with anxiety and depression, but those are linked to other things. In the last couple of weeks my sex drive went completely missing, which is really concerning and weird for me.

Lethargicness / feeling tired all the time, apathy, I suppose, bordering on a bit of depression, keeping on a little weight that didn't make sense because I eat healthy and play tennis/workout a good 3 hours a day, minimum, 6 days a week. It sounds like you have some key things often associated with it, and with how much of a difference a tiny pill/small dose has made for me, I would definitely check it out.

Thanks!! I will. So far, I'm 5 lessons in and loving it. Love/hate relationship, I should say. I, uh. . . OW. It works everything. I don't know if I'll go the full "Crossfit lifestyle" but I'm planning on this membership being a monthly expense. Everyone there is super fit and makes the gym nuts I know seem waay out of shape.

Make the appointment. It only gets better on meds. They're cheap, too!

Yes, I was diagnosed with hypothyroidism and put on meds about 6 weeks ago. I went in to see my psychiatrist about my depression rearing its ugly head, and it turns out my thyroid was the problem (this time.) The average Thyroid Stimulating Hormone (TSH) level is 0.4-4.0(ish, I find conflicting information, but in that range.) Above that is considered hypothyroid. Mine was just shy of 19.

I have felt so, so, drastically better since getting on meds, and I'm not even sure I'm on exactly the correct dosage yet - I'm going in soon for a re-check so we can figure out if I need more/less or to stay the same.

Do it. Literally the only difference in my life is that I take a new pill in the morning, and it has changed everything for me.

Thanks guys, you're awesome. Pav, do they have to routinely take blood to recheck and make sure everything is hunky dory? I don't take anything other than my BC, but my obgyn gets how severe my anxiety is about certain things and gave me a prescription to get doped up on Xanax for the blood draw, lol.

Oh man, rock climbing is so freaking awesome! I am hooked I think. I just bought all the basic gear and did my second ever outdoor climb today, it is so much fun! Did my first rappel, it was kind of terrifying (I am a bit scared of heights), but I made it and the climbing was amazing. Such a good full body workout, too. My arms are going to be killing me tomorrow.

Also love it cause the dogs can come along and hang out, I have such a hard time doing activities that they are left out of.

It is good incentive to get stronger, I want to get better at this!

Oh that's awesome that you found something you like. I'm scared of heights but I could never do it, lol!

We bought a stationary bike and I've been doing a lot of it, while catching up on some shows (win-win). I'm 3 pounds from my goal weight now! Lost 80 pounds total (ok, I'm retaining water now so I'm 2 pounds heavier again, but what can you do).

I admit I've been slacking a bit with weights. I do it for 20 minutes 3 times a week but it's just horribly boring (it's heavy, but not heavy heavy, just heavy enough that doing more than 8-12 reps is hard, and I barely can reach 8 reps the second set), I'm not really noticing much progress either... but I know I can't build muscle anyway while eating at a deficit so it's just not very motivating, and it's always the same routine... I get bored easily I guess.

Good for you!! I went rock climbing last week at an indoor climbing wall. My fear of heights was a little stronger than I anticipated LOL. They were like "climb up and then just stop and take a break." "I don't need a break." "Aren't you sore?" "No." "You should take a break anyway." "No, if I stop moving, my brain catches up and goes WHAT IN THE HELL ARE YOU DOING??? So I can't stop." The wall here is 35 feet, I made it about 30 feet up. I could have gone higher but I kept running out of obvious foot/hand holds and the longer it took for me to have to look around, the more my brain would start ticking and I'd start panicking and be like OKAAAAY COMING DOWN! hahahaha.
For some reason I neglected to think my fear of heights should stop me from doing it LOL. But I tried!
It was really fun though, I might be convinced to do it again LOL. I was surprised because I thought it would require more power from my shoulders, which is good because I have strong shoulders - but really it was more in my forearms! That was the weirdest feeling, I'd come off the wall and my forearms would be kind of tingling.


Fran, maybe you should switch up your routine some. I get bored doing the same thing over and over again too. Do two or even three routines since you do it three days a week. Keep it simple but allow yourself to mix it up too.

Haha, totally! I could keep it together as long as I didn't look down. The climbing was really totally ok, because I was focused on climbing and also felt really secure. Rappelling was so freaky though. I didn't really want to do it, but the guys I was climbing with were convinced that I really needed to. I've never rappelled before, at all, so like the mechanics of it (like how to STOP myself) were totally foreign, and the rope is just wrapped around a tree at the top of a cliff and myself and my boyfriend are each attached to a side...and I'm supposed to just back over this cliff. I freaked out once at the very beginning and jumped forward/up, saying NO I CAN'T DO THIS, which caused my boyfriend to fall a bit (since we were just attached to each other), and that scared me more than anything...right, guess I shouldn't do that! So down I went. It was fine, except partway down I thought I was closer to the bottom and looked at the ground, and had a moment of pure terror. So I studiously did not look down again!

But they say the first time is the worse, and at least next time I will have a better idea of what I'm doing, so that will probably make it a bit more comfortable...

Oh and yeah the forearms get a crazy workout for sure! On my climb I was pretty high up, starting to get tired, and hitting a tricky part of the route. I really noticed that my forearms were tired and my grip was getting super weak, so I decided at a certain point to come down. The second my feet hit ground, my forearms started cramping insanely. I have definitely never had arm cramps before, it was terrible! I thought it was pretty funny though that the cramping didn't start until I had reached the ground...I guess adrenaline was doing it's thing!

The indoor wall has two "auto-belays" so when you're ready to come down, you have to just... let go. You can't grab the rope or anything or it will create some additional slack that won't be pleasant when you hit the ground. You have to just kind of let go of everything and kick off the wall. The first time I did it I was like ohGod ohGod ohGod okay ONE TWO THREE GO! And I let go and I didn't exactly scream but I did let out a little tiny shriek hahahaha.

It is fun though, I fully agree, so long as you don't look down LOL.

We prepped our bikes this past weekend. Today I'm going on my first ride of the season at lunch. My legs are rubber from yesterday's run.

No pain no gain amirite?

Also I planted a sizeable herb garden over the past two days. omg my arms/shoulders.

Today while I was running at the gym my phone froze and I didn't realize it. I ran almost double what I was supposed to for C25K and didn't even die.

I've started cycling on the days I don't run. I love that I can set what I want my heart rate to be at, and the bike keeps it there (if I pedal slower, it makes the spinning harder, etc.), and holy burn. I love it, and can't wait until I can tackle the hill climb mode on the bike.

I've also changed my eating, and I'm eating healthier/less about 85% of the time now.

And I'm happy. My life is good.

Totally fell off the wagon. My schedule sucks and it is hard to find enough time for everything. I've been trying to at least eat healthy, but even that is touch and go. I miss running.

First 5k went great, though! It was a lot of fun.

I understand your complaint! my work consumes up most of my time as well, leaves no time for anything else. I loved to run, but not alone. The running I get done is on basketball court during pick up games. LOL

Ran a 6km oct event today! Super fun. I think my time was just under an hour, closer to 50 minutes or so. It's my second one ever and while there wasn't a lot of mud yet (i was in the elite heat so first heat out and the mud wasn't quite the best yet) it was still so much fun!

Weighed myself at 232.6 less than two weeks ago and it freaked me out. So unhealthy, out of shape and just no. I want to be healthy so I can have kids and be there to raise them. I want to be healthy so I can do all the things I want to do. I want to be healthy for me.

So... I'm buckling down again. No soda. I am SO addicted to soda so this is a hard one for me. I'm allowing myself one soda a week but so far it's been almost 2 weeks since and I haven't had a single drop.

I'm chatting everything on spark people. Love the app I can download onto my phone. My mom just bought me a pedometer so I can start tracking how much walking I'm doing every day.

I weighed myself today and I'm at 225. That's 7.6 lbs lost in less than 2 weeks. I'm sure a lot of that is just from cutting out soda alone.

I'm also taking Garcinia Cambogia extract which has been helping me feel a lot more energy during the day without feeling jittery at all and I'm getting a lot more sleep at night plus I'm not feeling hungry all day long anymore. If anyone tried the Garcinia Cambogia though I would do your research because there are lots of brands out there. I really like the brand I'm taking right now.

So far so good. My first goal is to reach 199lbs by my sisters wedding in October. That's give or take though since inches are going to count more than pounds. I'm in her wedding though and don't want to be uncomfortable in my bridesmaid dress.