Okay, well since some of the applications have become more detailed, I suppose I'll enhance mine a bit, too.
When I first started posting online, my forum home was USP's personal forum. In fact, I still have the 12th most posts on there (just checked lol), and I haven't even posted there since I came over to AM (which of all things, was in an attempt to follow USP a bit more).
I've been lifting regularly since age 14, when I started training for baseball in high school. I took the summers off because of travel for games and because it screwed with my swing the day after and such. Once I got to college, I started lifting on my own to fill the void. Near the end of grad school, I started lifting specifically in terms of bodybuilding. In the Spring of '09, I finally got my 6 pack and had the brachials showing up, too. In the Spring of '10, I hit a sticking point where I simply couldn't lose weight, no matter what I did (after I'd cut down to a very cut 208, with the help of beta-testing, of all things, Pink Magic). Since that point, I have slowly gained more and more weight and have spent more than the last year dealing with a lot of doctors and trying to pin point what the problem is.
I was initially diagnosed with hypothyroidism in January of '11 and it wasn't until December that it was confirmed that I have Hashimoto's, an autoimmune disorder (despite my request to have this tested back in June...). In this time, I have also ruled out other causes, such as: sleep apnea, Wilson's syndrome, prolactinoma, adenoma anywhere in my abdomen or brain, etc. I'm going to see a specialist in Nashville, this week, and I'm hopeful that with his help, we can determine whether my TH-1 or TH-2 is weak and we can supplement the weak side to bring balance to my autoimmune system, thus allowing me to finally get my life back.
I still lift regularly. I still do the diet. I still go through the motions. I've just lost the body that I worked so hard to obtain. On the bright side, I've still gained some muscle through all of this and my back has never been wider/thicker, nor have my arms ever been this big (20+ inches). I currently only use some basic staples (a multi-vitamin, fish oil, probiotic, extra vitamin B and C, creatine and a pre-workout), but will start back to using more supplements the second that this starts moving back in the right direction (which I'm very hopeful will be in a few weeks).
You've seen what I've been able to do in the past and through all of this, I've continued to at least hit PRs while lifting. I've spent the last few years really learning about nutrition and am currently taking undergraduate courses part-time, working toward my third degree, a 2nd bachelor's in dietetics, allowing me to become a registered dietitian. I plan on working toward my CSCS certification at the same time and starting a nutrition/fitness/wellness consulting agency, while still working in higher education full-time. And one last thought: I absolutely loved beta-testing Pink Magic. It was one of the greatest experiences I ever had. I tried the retail version after the IC release and it didn't do nearly the same thing for me. I had always thought it was due to the change of formula from beta to retail, but I'm curious, now, if the medical condition was starting up at that point and keeping results from being what they were. That said, as soon as I get this thing turned around, I plan on purchasing another bottle of Pink Magic to try again, to see if I experience what I did the first time, again. And if I do, I will happily eat my words on there being a difference between both versions (I'd actually prefer that to be the case).