Christina’s thyroid cure!
Even on thyroid meds and strict diets, Christina Jordan’s weight continued to soar. Desperate, she checked health books out of her local library—and eventually hit on a plan that changed everything!
Unless you’re cheating, we should’ve seen a huge improvement by now,” said Christina Jordan’s personal trainer, glancing at her 271-pound client with disdain. “Maybe see an obesity specialist? There’s no point in us continuing.” With that, the woman gathered her things and left. Christina braced against her kitchen counter, tears stinging her eyes. She’d already seen an obesity specialist and an endocrinologist. “I didn’t cheat. I barely eat. I exercise hours a day,” the Arizona mom wept to husband Derek. “I’m always exhausted and hungry.” He put his arms around her. “It’ll be okay,” he said. Christina shook her head. Would it be okay? Overweight since childhood, she eventually developed a thyroid condition that made her weight soar. The extra pounds brought on Type 2 diabetes and dizzy spells; recently, she’d nearly fallen down the stairs with her newborn. Prescription meds didn’t help. Her friend’s dad died during gastric bypass, so that was out. Diet and exercise made no difference. And her last-chance trainer had quit. As Derek squeezed her tighter, Christina’s despair slowly gave way to anger. Didn’t Derek and their young sons deserve a healthy wife and mom? They did! And she deserved to feel normal, too. She wiped her tears. “I won’t give up,” she said. “If I have to find a solution myself, that’s what I’ll do.”
30 surprising days
Soon after, Christina headed to the library, skipping the diet section. She’d been getting fatter and sicker with each diet she tried. I want to learn to take care of my body, she thought. She gathered an armful of books on healing. Later that night, curled under a reading lamp, she realized every single book had the same message: She needed to stop depriving herself of calories, fat and carbs—because it put stress on her body that worsened thyroid health and a host of problems. If I stop cutting calories, I’ll get fatter, she thought. But then . . . it certainly made sense that starvation was harmful. And the books also said that processed and
“lite” foods drove up blood sugar and hunger. Maybe if she steered clear of them she’d be okay? “I can try for 30 days,” she whispered. Using healthy cookbooks, Christina experimented with new versions of favorite foods. She avoided sugar and gluten, which she’d read could inflame the delicate thyroid, making it sluggish and slowing metabolism. Instead, she focused on colorful veggies, fruit, lean protein and healthy fat, hoping to flood her system with nutrients that jumpstart the thyroid. She tried pancakes made with almond flour. Turkey tacos in lettuce shells. Baked apples with organic whipped cream. Christina’s energy was up, her brain fog gone. She ate until she felt full and satisfied—yet she wasn’t bingeing. By the 30-day mark, she was down . . . 37 pounds!
Thyroid, transformed!
Switching from intense trainer-prescribed workouts to gentle walks and yoga, Christina shed 60 pounds and—to her doctors’ amazement—was off thyroid meds in six months. “I want to become a certified nutritionist to help other women like me,” she said to Derek. He agreed she should enroll in classes, where she soon learned that deficiencies in selenium, zinc and iodine can impair thyroid function. She also learned that junk foods are so inflammatory, they can trigger an autoimmune crisis—the most common cause of thyroid problems. Looking at old photos, Christina realized how swollen her nose and lips were. She had been so inflamed!
“I was down 100 pounds when I found out I was pregnant with my third son,” she recalls. Her confidence briefly wavered—but she stuck with her healthy regimen, eating as much as her body asked for. After Collin was born, she lost the baby weight and then some. She’s maintained a 134-pound weight for eight years. “There was a time when I didn’t know how I’d go on,” says Christina. “Now I wake up and feel like I’m living in a miracle!”