And he's got me on something called "cytomel."

Anyone heard of it? From the very basic Google search I did, people seem to have great results with it (It's a T3, for those who know what I'm talking about) in conjunction with their TSH-treating meds - in my case, synthroid. He's fairly confident it will address my symptoms, most notably the weight issue. Case in point? And also another argument for why pounds aren't the only important number?

After he took my blood pressure (108/74), he asked, "Jeez! Are you an athlete?" I told him that, why, yes I am. I run about 20 miles a week and lift twice a week and ride my bike everywhere. It was probably one of the most awesome, most validating things I could have heard. I constantly feel by virtue of my weight that I have to overly explain that, honest to Pete, I work out really hard and try to take care of myself every single day. Having a doctor point that out for me, seriously, made me want to cry. It's really all felt that disheartening to work so hard only to feel so unhealthy. Isolating certain areas like my blood pressure, and having the results be so overwhelmingly positive, really cheered me up.

Plus? It was so nice to talk to someone who knew what he was talking about, whose focus was on that of this condition. It was refreshing.

Hopefully by taking the cytomel, I should at least stop gaining, if not lose weight. And the fatigue should subside, too. He's seems pretty confident, but we're of course following up in two weeks. He's also not sure if my stomach-related issues are all thyroid in nature, but we'll see at my follow-up, too.

I'll let you all know how this goes. For now, I'm going to go to the grocery store and settle in for a night of working and listening to music. This is the first day my mouth hasn't killed me. Stupid root canal.

Tomorrow I'll hit the road and start on the cytomel. Here's to hoping ...

I've been medicated for more than a year now by my GP, and aside from the blood tests and the drugs, that's been the extent of my treatment. I'm tired, I'm struggling with my weight despite a healthy diet and plenty of exercise and my hair is falling out. Even more fun is that I'm getting headaches again - the one I had last night actually woke me up it was so bad. Thank God for prescription Motrin and Tiger Balm and a fiance who is kind and attentive. The current care I'm under isn't working, and I'd like to try a more holistic approach here. I fully believe that such a plan will combat what's going on here more fully than just popping a pill every morning an hour before I eat.

So there is that.

I had root canal Thursday afternoon. I've been in pain ever since. Plus, Scott moved in over the weekend and the most exercise I got there was the lifting of boxes and running up and down flights of stairs. Moving, my friends, totally counts as exercise.

We've got our last round of things to pick up tonight at Scott's old place and then we're done. And things will be back to normal. In the meantime, our friends at Weight Watchers have asked me to ask you to check out a wonderful charity event that they've launched today:

Lose For Good.

Share Our Strength is a wonderful organization, and if you're a Weight Watcher, or thinking about becoming one, now is a great time.

I'm obviously thrilled to be back to running in the first place, and even running on the treadmill yesterday wasn't that bad, I reminded myself, and never again will I take for granted the ability to just, you know, RUN.

And despite not feeling altogether too great lately, I could not be prouder of myself right now. I ran like a bitch tonight, almost 6.5 miles, and averaged a 10:35 pace. For that long of a distance. Holy moses.

I'm going to go and soak my sore limbs now. My thyroid can kiss my ass. It might make me fat, tired and bald, but it's not going to make me slower.

It was wonderful. I wish I were rich. If I could afford the monthly gym membership and a Bikram pass, I would do it in a heartbeat. As it stands, I don't, so I enjoy it when I can do it. I was sore on Saturday but no worse for the wear.

I didn't work out nary a bit this weekend, despite penciling in a six-mile run yesterday and wanting to go an hour of Turbo Jam on Saturday. We had tons of plans this weekend, and it started the week-long process of moving Scott into my place There was lots of organizing and errand-running and the long and the short of it is that it didn't happen.

Today I'm going to lift and do three miles of running. It's a bit more than I'd like, actually, but I'm desperately trying to combat the thyroid issues right now. I went in for more blood work today, so hopefully I'll have an answer by Wednesday. Honest to Pete, I'm just done with the hair falling out. I'm done with being tired again. My weight has been fluctuating around 149-151 pounds for a month now, despite all of my health eating and exercise, and the only culprit could be the thyroid. It's been a mess for a few months now, and my doctor wanted me to just wait out another two months to see what happened.

I'm leaning towards a specialist no matter what. Anyone here see an endocrinologist? I know a lot of you battle your own thyroid demons. I'd love to hear what you think.

I just ran 5.35 miles, and averaged 10:53 miles on the whole shot. I know to some of you, who are faster, better runners, that's no big shakes but I have been consistently running at 11:30, 11:45 mile paces for two years now, and running with this thing on steps up my entire game. It's crazy.

Why?

1) It taps into my competitive nature. I am by nature the sort of person who always wants to win. I know I don't always, and I usually react pretty well when I don't, but having a constant reminder of where I am in terms of pacing somehow kicks on an internal drive that before I didn't have. I know that you'll know my pace time and the distance I did it in, which means I don't have the luxury of screwing around. The device doesn't lie, and since this challenge is public, there's no getting away with any less than my best.

2) It helps me focus. Running is all mental for most people. It's why runners usually have serious injuries because we can run and run and run through all sorts of pain. We never know when to quit. With this device on me, I'm constantly reminded of the task at hand, which keeps me moving, instead of drifting away to my tired feet or achy legs.

Today marks the 19th anniversary of my mom's passing. She was only 40 when she was killed in a car accident.

A few weeks ago, I mentioned to someone that I was going to be 40 before I knew it - eight years - and had my mother known at 32 that she'd only have eight years left, I wonder what she would have done with those years. I don't get particularly maudlin about that fact, but it gives me perfect perspective with the gifts I have. I mean, it's truly a gift that I just went out and ran more than five miles. It is truly a gift that I can do that.

I'm going to go out and do another five miles tomorrow with my girlfriend, Brenda, to celebrate how lucky I am to just be alive.

But I've found a solution for all of you who are wondering how to calculate your miles without using the Nike+ equipment.

For the record? Holy Moses. How did I ever run without this thing? I love it! It makes me run faster, focus more, try harder ... it's amazing. I love it. If you win the SportsBand, you'll be a happy camper. For the first time EVER I ran 10-minute miles on Saturday. Ten-minute miles. I almost thought I was incapable of such a thing. Not anymore. Of course, I may have pushed it too far in the beginning, and I ended up running much slower than I should have to really push it out accurately, but I'm happy, nonetheless.

Anyway, to log your efforts online - and you should backtrack, BTW - sign up for a free account at Buckeye Outdoors Training and then send me the link to your records. To make it fair, I want to be able to see an ongoing account of everyone's efforts somehow. Some others can continue to use Nike, but for everyone else? I think you'll love this site.

Remember it's not too late to sign up for not only the challenge but also the Nike Human Race itself.

Happy running everyone! I'm heading out in a bit for a five-mile run, and I'm going to make it a slow and easy one. I'd like to keep it back to 11-minute miles to be on the safe side of things.

So, don't let that stop you from signing up.

Also? Consider registering for The Human Race if you haven't already. You don't need to be in a participating city to do it, and it's for charity.

More tomorrow. Promise.

Thank you SO much for the huge response - remember to email me with your goals.

In the meantime, I know there are a SLEW of questions about operating the Nike challenge site. I have them too, and I left Friday afternoon to visit my grandma so I couldn't get to rooting out the problems and finding answers. I'm going to email our friends at Nike to see if we can't get everyone settled.

In the meantime, SIGN UP! We have one LTB Challenge member who is walking because, as we all know, you gotta start somewhere. Get to running! I did a five-mile run yesterday morning through a very small town an hour-and-a-half outside of Chicago and stumbled upon a slew of used syringes on a bridge overlooking the gorgeous Kankakee River.

I mean, REALLY. How else can you get THAT kind of scenery if not from running? Drug use in a small town! Right there!

Ahem.

Come join Team Buddha!

This is a phrase my friend, Digger, is famous for using every time I mention to him my love of running. If you're a runner, you understand why people run. You don't even have to run far to understand. If you're not, it looks like the hugest undertaking in the world.

But here's the thing: everyone starts somewhere. And for some, once they do, they just can't stop. It's in their blood for good. I started running when I was 10. Sure, I wasn't consistent over the years, but it's what I always go back to. In the subsequent years, it's been my constant companion. One day, one time, everything just clicked. It didn't feel like a high for me, as it is for some - runner's high, they call it.

For me, I just realized that running could take me to a place of stillness and calm, all the while my heart was racing and I was burning more calories than I knew what to do with. My problems melted away, my stress was non-existent and all felt right with the world.

I told Shelane the other night, as we ran along Chicago's lakefront with the hundreds of other runners out there, that the reason I love running is because anyone can do it. You don't have to be anything or anyone or in any shape to just start putting one foot in front of the other. I like that no matter where I am in my life, no matter what shape my body is in, all it takes is the will and the ability to put one foot in front of the other. Even if you have to walk in the beginning, there is nothing stopping you.

Honestly? If you're not running, and you've always been curious, what's really stopping you?

The good, kind folks at Nike reached out to me yesterday, after reading that I was running, and asked if I wouldn't consider running in the upcoming Nike Human Race 10K. And because I am a sentimental sort, and because the whole concept frickin' rocks, I let them know that they could count on me to participate. After some time spent exploring the Nike Plus site, I asked Nike if they wouldn't consider sweetening the deal and getting everyone over here involved.

And so today, we've got the Lose The Buddha challenge.

The challenge is simple: go run. If you've never run a race before, let alone a 10K, no one expects you to do so in a month. But if you've ever been curious about what it takes to run, now is your chance! Sign up for a profile (it's free) and then check out the Training programs under "My runs." Decide what's a goal you can stick with for this month, write 'em down, join the LTB Challenge and send me your goals. That's all there is to it!

FIVE PEOPLE who complete, or come as near as complete as possible, their goals for the month will win a Nike+SportBand and a surprise gift from me.

Really. What's stopping you?

As luck would have it, I injured myself to the point of barely walking so using their stuff was out of the question. Poor PR person who sent it to me. (As an aside, I never mind PR folks contacting me about stuff. I really don't. Mostly I hate when they don't read me and just know I've been mentioned a few places so they indiscriminately ask me to hawk things that you guys could care less about. I've been in the media industry for more than a decade and I know how the game is played. Know your audience, kids.)

Anyway, so I've been using the line regularly and I have to give it a big thumbs up. My favorite of the whole line is the anti-friction cream. I've been using it since I've been back at running and, as a double use, when I'm wearing dresses and skirts this summer, which is almost every day, and it's fantastic. Better than Body Glide, even, and less messy, despite being a cream. My only beef is the packaging and amount and cost. I don't care what anyone says, tubes are a bitch and you end up wasting a ton. No matter how little you use.

Also? $20 for a tube of it? Sadly, I'm going back to Body Glide because there is no way in heck I can afford to use this stuff on a regular basis.

All in all, this is really fantastic stuff. If you can afford it, and you're serious about training, by all means get your hands around this stuff. The rest of us are going to have to keep slumming it until MISSION Product puts out a more wallet-friendly line.

Running with friends is always a great treat. We're going to run a six-miler Friday morning together, too.

So I'm in Week Two of my new job and it's made such a magnificent change in my life already I'm not sure where to start. In addition to the work itself being rewarding, I've come back to this whole new head space. It's a luxury, to be sure, to be in a situation where you can spend your lunch hour in your back yard, in the sun, with a book and an ice tea. I know this. But it's my reality now and it's made a pretty instant change on my disposition.

Plus? I've worked out every single day, I now ride my bike everywhere and I'm able to cook for myself for every meal. My hip is still tender, but I'm taking care of it pretty well - lots of ice and advil and stretching. I'm in the gym lifting and doing the cardio death march. Hell, I'm even taking all of my vitamins and getting plenty of sleep.

Truth be told I'm still working hard - I start working as soon as my feet hit the floor. I'm online and working by 6:30 a.m. each day. But I'm taking full advantage of being close to the things that make me healthy and well, and I'm proud of myself for that. It would be very easy to get slack and unorganized and just hang around the house all day. But I'm not. I've got a gift. I'm using it wisely.

I've splurged on new running shorts, new running bras and shirts. I even bought a new fuel belt for my longer runs. It feels so good to be back to this sport I can't even tell you.

I still need to get to yoga, though.

I've always considered myself a lucky gal and now? Well now this sort of seals the deal. I get paid handsomely to work on something I genuinely consider to be a blast, from home, with my dog. I'm over with Day Two and I cannot understand why I didn't find a way to make this happen before.

In these two days, I've worked, ran errands, prepared and eaten healthy meals (save the bratwurst I had at the White Sox game last night), ran and worked out at the gym. And in about an hour I'm considering heading around the corner to the new yoga studio for an hour's worth of yoga. THIS is what working from home affords you, kids. It's the best, and I already feel tons healthier and happier as a result of it.

Since about the end of May, I've just felt like an all-over mess. It's been rough, to be honest. I said before, the injuries and the sinus infection and the working 15 hours a day just about did me in. Really and truly. There was a lot of crying here at Lose The Buddha Headquarters. And don't think I don't know that the fact that I was only working out once, twice a week was compounding the crying. If I don't work out, I get emotional. I need that outlet or I go crazy. Which, like I said, I did.

One of the promises I made to myself a long, long time ago was that no matter what happened, I wouldn't beat myself up for perceived missteps. In the past, what always kept me from staying healthy and taking care of myself was that if I got out of line even the slightest, I viewed it as a setback and it would be months, sometimes years, before I tried again. I was usually sicker, heavier and in worse shape than before. Now, things are different. Despite being seriously injured and working like a madman, I never lost focus on how crucial nutrition and exercise are to my life. I knew things would loosen up again, that I'd find the time.

And, so, here I am.

Saturday morning I went out and ran in the pouring rain. I had to. There were no more reasons for me not to get out there and run. Rain isn't good enough of a reason. Besides, it turned out to be pretty glorious, not to mention peaceful. Not surprisingly, the streets are pretty deserted on a Saturday morning that's greeted by tons and tons of rain. But it felt so good, so uplifting, to be back out there.

Two months is a long time to be out, and so I've been taking it slow. I'm running and lifting regularly again, albeit at abbreviated distances and weights, respectively. But give it time and I'll be back in full gear.

For now, it's just nice not to be in pain.

Between what turned out to be a major injury - I pulled two muscles, the name of which I cannot remember, but they connected to my groin, around my hip, and, I'm not kidding, I also pulled my butt muscle - and a big new job in addition to my big current job, working out has been all but impossible. At least consistently. I'd start, get sore, or busy, and stop. And start again. I did as much as I could, but it's been hard.

Lots of icing, stretching, Advil, etc., has helped.

Finally, though, the hip pain has subsided. It's still present in the immediate moments after I work out - I did my first three-mile run since I injured myself and it was tender enough right after that I worried I'd done more damage to myself. Alas, I'm fine. I'm seconds away from some stretching and icing so I can run again in the morning. And hopefully the morning after that, too.

The biggest change, and there are more on the way, has been the job. I work about 12-14 hours a day and the last place I want to be is a computer. And not being able to work out has contributed to about five extra pounds and a lot of bloat, stress and lethargy. I've been careful about my diet, but there is only so much a gal can do when she can't exercise, and I wasn't about to exist on 1000 calories a day just so I could keep from gaining.

Hopefully very soon I'll be back to regular blogging here, and combined with being able to get back in the gym and on the road running, I imagine my mood will improve, too.

How many of you think it's a good thing?

How many of you would think it's a good thing if you knew out in San Francisco they were doing this?

Hearing this sort of breaks my heart, mainly because I believe in the spirit of an organic community, and hate the idea that ad reps would effectively be, as the post says, "holding a gun to a restaurant owners' head" just to get a posted review in a top spot. What's a business owner to do?

I open this up to you guys - with full disclosure that the site where the discussion is taking place is a site I do contract work for as Director of Community Development - because you use the Internet as a resource more than most. And because I wonder if I'm the only like-minded user who is surprised and disappointed in these tactics. I was really pretty shocked when I saw the blog post at FohBoh, and I know that Yelp has come under fire recently, but still.

Would you support this?

1) I took a generous portion of soba noodles and boiled them. Then I rinsed them in cold water and set them aside to chill. I don't know why I did this, other than I forgot.
2) I put about two (2) Tablespoons of Olive Oil in a deep sauce pan and then added three (3) large garlic cloves, sliced, and two (2) green onions.
3) Next I tore up big chunks of red kale (an entire bunch, actually), into this mix and sauteed until soft. And fragrant.
4) Then I cut up a whole package of Hillshire Farm Turkey Kielbasa and added it to the whole thing.
5) Lastly I added the soba noodles and chilled overnight.

I brought about a cup of the soba noodles and a cup of the rest with me for lunch today. Heated it up for two minutes and sprinkled it with some white sesame seeds. I added no salt, pepper or anything. Totally didn't need it.

It was mighty, MIGHTY tasty. Highly recommend it.