Carla Abellana has always been one to keep it real with her fans and followers. This time, she bares her struggles as she tries to lose weight, not just only for fitness, but to battle her disease, hypothyroidism.
The Cosmopolitan Women of Influence 2024 awardee opened up about the hard truths she encountered throughout her health journey. In an Instagram Post, Carla revealed that it has been five years already since she started seeking help for her condition.
"Hypothyroidism has been the bane of the past 5 years of my life," she began in her post. She detailed her condition saying, "My hormones were nowhere within normal range, cortisol level was extremely high for so long." Hypothyroidism is basically when the thyroid gland does not make enough thyroid hormones.
One of the symptoms of hypothyroidism, according to Mayo Clinic, is weight gain. This symptom is what Carla emphasized as she talked about her experience. She divulged that no matter how much she controlled her eating and matched it with tough workouts, she was still gaining weight.
"Unless you have Hypothyroidism, you’ll never know what the struggle, frustration, embarrassment, worry, and desperation are like. Most especially if weight and appearance are key factors in your line of work," she expressed.
For the sixth time, she tried shifting to another doctor who might be able to help her and offer a better solution to her disease. "I chanced upon @roland_angeles_md online and read that he has [recorded] almost all patients losing a certain % of weight in just a month," Carla noted. That's when she decided to try and perhaps see different results.
Carla Abellana's weight loss journey amid hypothyroidism
With faith and trust in her new doctor, Carla held onto a new hope. Although she admitted that she already felt that she was going to be a challenge to the doctor.
"I came in and really felt that I would break that record of his. I knew he would be challenged by my condition. And I was right. I was one of the very few patients he's had who DIDN'T lose weight in a month," the actress disclosed.
Despite not losing the target weight in just a month, with the stringent diet plan and fitness routine for her, Carla persevered. "We're only allowed to eat platito-sized meals that are about 100g, and not to mention all the good and healthy food we weren't allowed to eat! I wanted to cry, but my desperation was stronger," she declared.
Thankfully, five months later, Carla got her desired results for her health. She lost 18 pounds with the help of her doctor and also Dr. Aivee Teo's clinic. Carla narrated, "It took 5 months for the ball to get rolling. But boy was it worth all the trips to his clinic, strict dieting, strong willpower, discipline, concoction of medication and perseverance."
Towards the end of her post, Carla left encouraging words to people who might be experiencing the same as hers, probably dejected and insecure because of their condition. "So just like a lot of you, I also see photos of other people who are so fit and I can't help but feel insecure. I also wish weight loss would work like magic, but NO. It really doesn't. There really is no shortcut," she said while noting that despite being totally incurable, there are ways to manage hypothyroidism.
"Having Hypothyroidism is a pain in the butt because there is no cure for it, but there is a way. It may not be the same for all of us, but there really is a way," Carla concluded.
We're so proud of you, Carla!
