Mira Viswanathan, 44, was battling uncontrollable weight gain and fatigue after being diagnosed with hypothyroidism – an underactive thyroid.
She gained 16kg, and had constant sugar cravings. It left her feeling tired and low on energy, she said.
But, she managed to lose 13kg and cure herself of the condition by following a specific diet and weight training with personal training programme Ultimate Performance, she said.
Viswanathan cut out refined flour, refined sugar and minimised deep fried foods after starting the regime. She also walked between 18,000 and 20,000 steps a day.
“The initial trigger was weight loss,” said Viswanathan. “I had put on close to 16kg, the heaviest I had been in my adult life.
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“I was always into some kind of fitness routine for most of my adult life and managed to lose weight easily.
“However, things stopped working as I was struggling with hypothyroidism, which reduced my metabolism and increased my craving for sugar – not a great combination for weight loss!
“I didn’t want to be on hormone balance medication for the rest of my life, so decided to give fitness a try.
“I had to try something new, shock my body a bit, so decided to do weight training.”
An underactive thyroid is where the gland doesn’t produce enough hormones. This slows down the metabolism, and can lead to weight gain.
The thyroid gland is a small, butterfly-shaped gland in the neck. Its job is to regulate the body’s metabolism.
Daily hormone tablets can be used to replace the hormones the thyroid isn’t producing.
The tablets would likely have to be taken everyday for the rest of the patient’s life.
Untreated, however, the condition can increase the risk of cardiovascular disease, as cholesterol builds up in the blood.
It can also cause a goitre – a lump in the throat, caused by swollen thyroid glands.
On very rare occasions, when hormone levels get too low, patients can develop hypothermia, drowsiness and confusion.
In the UK, 15 in every 1,000 women have an underactive thyroid, while one in 1,000 men have the condition.