I have been struggling with my weight for pretty much my entire life. When I am lucky, I lose the weight without a problem, and it stays off for about a year or so. Then it slowly comes back.

My husband complains that I eat like a bird, barely touching food, so overeating isn't the problem. I was at my lowest when I got pregnant with Angel Baby. I did really great about not gaining too much until I was put on bedrest at around 30 weeks. Then I gained 60 pounds.

Just as I was almost back to my pre-pregnancy weight with her, I found out I was pregnant with Monster Man. I did really great with that pregnancy, only gaining 15 pounds. Unfortunately, I decided to get the Depo shot after I had him, and I gained so much weight that I got heavier than I had ever been before!

I lost a rather large amount of weight once I finally got off the Depo shot, but my weight kept fluctuating. I'd lose ten, gain fifteen, lose twenty, gain thirty. It was an endless cycle for the next four and a half years, but the doctors didn't seem too concerned. At least I wasn't back up to the weight I was on the Depo.

Then I got pregnant with Little Man. Again, I barely gained anything... until close to the end of the pregnancy. My blood pressure rose, I started retaining water, and I was a big, heavy, swollen blob. After I had him, I started losing weight again. Then I hit a plateau I just couldn't get past.

For a year, I struggled to get past that plateau. For some reason, I was completely drained of energy, and I noticed that some of my hair was starting to fall out. I figured maybe it was stress related, but no matter how calm things were, it continued to happen. Thankfully my hair is thick enough that no one even noticed the hair loss, other than my husband (who complained constantly about the hair in the shower).

Last week, I had enough. I went to the doctor to see about getting some diet pills. I knew I would feel better if I could just lose some more weight. She wouldn't give me diet pills until after she ran some thyroid tests.

Well, the test results came back yesterday. I won't be getting diet pills. Instead, I'm headed to an endocrinologist. The doctor said it looks like I have an overactive thyroid, which accounts not only for the weight issues, but also for the hair loss and the energy loss. I will be getting medication to help with the thyroid, and then I should be able to get my weight under control a lot easier!

In a way, I'm upset that it had to turn out that way. In another way, I am thankful for an answer. And it's always nice to know that it's not something I am doing or not doing. It's my body fighting against me!

By the way, I am on a quest to lose 80 pounds. If my scale is right, I have lost 8 pounds as of this morning, compared to my weight last week when I went to the doctor!