Welcome aboard, mrsahr.  Congratulations on taking the first step and this forum is a great way to learn the ins and out of your new lifestyle.  Be patient with yourself as you learn how to make the right food choice.  Ask questions, vent and share your successes.  We love to hear it.

I didn't know it was there.  It was mostly deep in the joint with only a small bump in the exact place my wrist rests on a table when I write or use a mouse.  My wrists are much smaller now so the padding is gone.  It's a good thing because it would have eventually gotten big enough to bother me and would have been harder to remove.  It's just one of life's little irritants.  I am very grateful for a job that has good health insurance.

There was always a "Jello salad" as a side dish. 

When my kids turned 18, I told them that 18 only got them 2 things:  the right to vote and adult sentences if they got into trouble with the law.

I have 5 daughters.  Two of them followed a traditional path:  college in 4 years, careers, marriage, kids.  The other three took longer to accept adulthood.  I think we parent to the best of our ability and agree that eventually we all need to embrace our pasts and move on.

I can't speak to the low carbing-slower thyroid issue directly.  However, I can say that FTSing was my last resort and the ONLY lifestyle that allowed me to lose weight that I had gained because of hypothyroidism. 

I weigh today what I weighed in 2007, shortly before I started having health issues that were eventually traced to my thryoid.  I had a thyroidectomy in September of 2008 and continued to gain weight. Last year I switched to a new doctor and he told me to buy "the book."  The turkey sandwich I ate before that appointment was the last "carb-ladden" meal I had.

Please don't use thyroid issues as a rationalization.  Your thryoid function is fairly easy to monitor with simple blood tests and the benefits of a healthy weight so far out weigh a small fluctuation in thyroid hormone production.

We all need to eat but what we eat is our choice.  In my life, FTS is just the way I eat.  It's a part of how I live my life.

I'm getting closer and closer but those last pounds are pretty stubborn.  I have a splint and ace bandage because I had a cyst removed from my wrist and I'm sure it weighs 5 pounds or so.  I won't really be able to weigh in for several weeks so I'm being very basic in my food choices and drinking lots of water.

By the way, my cyst was hidden under layers of FAT and didn't bother me until it's cushion was melted away.

You go girl!  Self-reflection is hard but you are to be congratulated for not making excuses.  Onward and downward!

This looks like a 21st century version of a sandwich loaf from the '50s.  I remember it with ham salad and egg salad between the layers and softened, colored cream cheese as the frosting.  It was standard fare at baby and wedding showers.