Spring Pounds? Yikes!

So I've spent most of the winter feeling pretty good about my weight, despite the fact that I was getting virtually no aerobic exercise (I do love my yoga, but it's certainly not aerobic). Somehow I managed to eat with minimal restrictions and did not see any pounds creeping on. Yet recently, of course as spring and summer approach, I was appalled yesterday morning to find out that I have gained about 9 pounds in the last couple of months! I knew that things had shifted a bit and I had put on some weight, but never felt like it was more than just a couple of pounds. Saturday, as we had a hot summer-like day, I had to dig out some shorts to wear to the preschool picnic and chose a pair I knew to be fairly loose. They weren't so loose. They were not tight either, just not the same as I remember them. Not good.

Two years ago I was diagnosed with a rare blood disorder (ITP - immune thrombocytopenic purpura) and a thyroid condition. I spent the summer of 2007 on steroids for the blood disorder and started taking thyroid medication as well. My weight (which was already not where I wanted it to be after my 2nd pregnancy) was bouncing all over the place. At first I managed to lose 5 pounds, then I gained about 12. In the fall once I was off the steroids, I was able to shed those pounds, but it was slow going. Now I'm still on the thyroid medication, and will be for the rest of my life, and I think it has an effect on my weight. Last summer/fall I had lost some weight with zero effort on my part - no exercise and no change in my eating habits. I blame it on the thyroid condition. Now I've put on a few pounds and I blame it mostly on my own habits - still low exercise and some very relaxed eating habits. But I also wonder if the thyroid condition has righted itself a little and now might be working against me a little bit. Impossible to know without a blood test, but definitely a possibility.

It's a little frustrating because I never feel like I know whether my body is working with me or against me anymore. The blood disorder could come back at any time and get pretty serious before I'm even aware of it (there are virtually no early symptoms to ITP) and the thyroid condition is not full of tangible symptoms either. It's hard to know whether what I'm feeling is simply exhaustion from chasing the kids around all day, allergies, or just fatigue from being out of shape (which I definitely am).

This weekend the weather here was very hot, so we were able to get outdoors quite a bit. I was able to sneak in a fair amount of exercise and felt pretty good about it by last night. Since stepping on the scale yesterday morning, I've even made some adjustments to my eating habits and made better snacking and meal decisions over the last two days too (with only a few slip-ups...). Hopefully I'll be on the road to a healthier, and happier, me. I really can't afford to buy all new clothes for the summer! Motivation is the key, and right now I'm really motivated!