has anyone had success at either slimming world or weight watchers?

[bossbird]

in the past tried both and was the only one out of a group pf friends that stuck to the diet and ended up putting on weight!!

[marram]

Been there, done that, got the T-Shirt! Demoralising, isn't it!

After more than 30 years of trying to lose weight, I have finally, at the age of 69, lost two stones! Thanks to changing from Levo to Liothyronine (T3).

If I knew then what I know now, years of misery could have been avoided, from being called a 'fat cow' by a particularly insensitive schoolgirl, to having countless holidays ruined because I could not manage to put one foot in front of the other, and spent my time sitting alone watching others enjoy themselves.

I see that you are taking Armour, so I am surprised that you are having this problem. I'm sure you have done all these things, but have you looked at Mary Shomon's advice on weightloss for thyroid patients?

It might be worthwhile posting your latest results on here, just to see if anyone has any suggestions, because I can see that you have been on a T4/T3 combination, and also Armour, how long have you been on Armour? What comes to my mind is that what both of these regimes have in common is T4. Have you considered that you may not be converting the T4 properly? If so, then the small amount of T3 in the Armour may well not be enough to get your metabolism going.

Another thought is, you are getting the Armour privately, I assume you are paying for it, and so have you thought of trying Thyro-Gold? It is the form of natural thyroid developed by the late Dr John Lowe. Interestingly it is basically the same as NDT, except for a few points. One, it is from NZ cows and not pigs. Second, it has none of the usual fillers which can cause all sorts of problems for Hashis patients. Third, it also contains a herb called Coleus Forskolii which helps to boost metabolism and breakdown of triglycerides in the fat stores of the body. It has been deliberately kept as a 'food supplement' so that it can be bought legally without prescription but it is a full-strength natural desiccated thyroid product with T4, T3, T2, T1 and calcitonin, just like Armour, but 'cleaner' if you know what I mean, less likely to cause adverse reactions. Have a look here:

naturalthyroidsolutions.com...

See what you think. I have seriously considered trying it because I'd like to know if I could use that to fit in the last piece of the jigsaw, the missing T2 and T1 plus calcitonin. I would very much like to come off the synthetic stuff if I can.

Don't forget to post those results, by the way.

Marie XX

[Hidden in reply to marram]

Marie...I am very interested in your reply to Bossbird's question and would like to send you a PM as I don't want to interfere here on her post.

[bossbird in reply to Hidden]

I don't mind x

[bossbird in reply to marram]

hi thank you interesting, the problem started back 7 years ago i got my weight down on levo but my weight stayed at my 9 month pregnancy weight 11stone 3 lb which i eventually got used too with a huge bust then about 18 moths ago i changed endo to get armour as the levo wasn't agreeing with me made me feel chemically driven if you know what i mean but she put me on such a low does that i became ill and my weight shot up to 11. 13 now back with original endo who has got me armour through 'the back door' increased my prescription but i cant budge the weight due for blood test soon last test i cant find in the middle of moving but my t3 was elevated i was taking 5 grains of armour and 20mgc t3 twice per day now 4 to 5 grains armour and 20mcg t3 once per day

[shaws Administrator in reply to bossbird]

In case you haven't seen this scientific explanation. This is for your information:-

web.archive.org/web/2010032...

[bossbird in reply to shaws]

I have raised tsh how do you reduce it?

[bossbird in reply to shaws]

do you think going on t3 only may reduce TSH?

[bossbird in reply to marram]

just going to check out this site x

[nobodysdriving in reply to marram]

I wish T3 helped me to lose weight, I struggle to keep it stable and if anything changes I actually put on more weight. No I don't think I am undermedicated on 180mcg T3 daily LOL (actually some people need more, however I know I don't need more from my signs/symptmos)

I also follow a low carb diet which is sugar free and grain free.

PS I am not overmedicated either, just in case anyone throws in a comment that being overmedicated helps you to put on weight or stop losing LOL

[linzi_bee in reply to nobodysdriving]

I also do the no sugar low carb thing, it was working slowly until i cut out allergens (dairy!!) now it's dropping at 2lb per week!! take care with strenuous exercise; it can stress out your adrenals and make you feel more hypo and more hungry. i guess it depends how best you can get your head in the right place. I also found that acknowledging carbs / sugar foods as addictive helped cut them out completely, now they hold now appeal which helps lots!

[marram in reply to nobodysdriving]

NBD, I think you covered most bases there! Only thing I might say is, the thyro-gold contains an additional ingredient which is a metabolism booster which can help with weight loss, it may be why so many find it helps in that area. I wonder if it might be possible to get that supplement separately? It's Coleus Forskohlii - I might see if I can find some myself!

[shaws Administrator in reply to marram]

webmd.com/vitamins-suppleme...

[beaton in reply to shaws]

Looks interesting,has anyone tried this??

[bossbird in reply to marram]

Amazon sell it

[beaton in reply to nobodysdriving]

T3 hasn't help me lose weight and I follow a low carb low sugar diet and I'm a vegetarian. Sometimes you think the world is against you.

[shaws Administrator in reply to beaton]

Dr Lowe has said, maybe for most people, that our TSH has to be suppressed if we gain weight on thyroid meds. Most doctors believe that we will have heart problems if it is suppressed but thyroid cancer patients are provided with suppressive doses and don't appear to develop additional problems.

[bossbird in reply to shaws]

so is that to be hyperthyroid i felt great taking extra t3 but my endo said my heart would suffer

[shaws Administrator in reply to bossbird]

No it isn't to be hyperthyroid. Hyperthyroidism is different to hypothyroidism. If you are hypo and take too much medication you will be over-stimulated which wouldn't be a nice experience but suppressed isn't over-stimulated.

This is an excerpt:-

So good health is likely only when a patient uses a thyroid hormone preparation that contains both T4 and T3, and when the dose is adjusted according to tissue responses and not TSH levels.

web.archive.org/web/2010103...

Re heart:-

web.archive.org/web/2010103...

[bossbird in reply to shaws]

so I wonder how you can get the TSH levels down without compromising health?

[beaton in reply to shaws]

Thanks Shaws,so with a TSH that has risen from 0.078 in January to 2.64 in May (range 0.35-4.5) it would appear that I am under mediated.

I'm self medicating at present until I see a new endo. in August.

[shaws Administrator in reply to beaton]

The first question you must ask yourself is 'how do I feel'. If you feel well that's the dose that suits you. If you feel unwell and have a rising TSH I think a small increase is due.

[beaton in reply to shaws]

Thanks Shaws. xx

[bossbird in reply to marram]

Hi thanks very helpful I have recently ordered the thyroid gold but not started yet I'm currently taking t3 20mgc per day plus 4 grains of armour I feel better on more t3 but my endo won't allow due to possible heart issues my I'm due for blood soon so will post results I mat ask for antibodies this time as can't remember then they were last checked I also requested rt3 but endo wouldn't do that one don't know why x

[Hidden]

I fully sympathise as weight loss is a problem for a lot of us .I have been to weight loss classes 3 times in the past,prior to being diagnosed with an underactive thyroid( I'm going back more than 20 years) I went because I was under so much stress from looking after my ageing parents' needs and thought it might help me if I felt fitter.I achieved goal weight and felt great,but then 10 yrs of not being diagnosed when I definitely felt I had thyroid symptoms and a further 10 yrs diagnosed but under medicated( on only 50mcgs Levo) meant the weight piled back on +more.

A member of my family has recently told me she has lost 2 stone at a slimming group so the programme is working for her,but she does not have a thyroid problem.

I think as Marram says,it would be best to post as much thyroid information here as you can and try to get help in sorting your medication first and then maybe a weight loss programme can be better handled.....good luck and hope you are soon feeling better.x

[helen0701]

My family all used weight watchers and we lost between 2 and 7 stone in 8 months and 2 of us have thyroid problems. We found the key was exercise, we started off doing just a few minutes most days and gradually built it up from there. We also found that the points were too high so each of us reduced them to our own individual needs on most days but used them all on days we felt we needed them. I put a lot of weight back on but only because I went back to my old eating habits and stopped exercising, healthy eating is a bit like giving up smoking its for life lol x

[Toptomato]

Hi bossbird. Last year, I managed to lose 3 stone at Weight watchers and so far, have managed to keep it off. With WW you get an allocation of points each day (usually 26), plus an extra weekly allocation of 49 points that you can use across the week as you like. I found that in order to lose, I could not use these extra points. I did not find the meetings helpful, as hearing about how others had enjoyed treats and meals out on their 49 points was frankly dispiriting! Also, the leader did not know anything about being hypo and how that affects weight loss. I only ever lost 1-2 lbs per week (normally 1), never the 3-4 that others did. I found the online tracking tool the best thing for me. I think changing my diet a bit helped too. I am veggie and had eaten loads of broccoli and soya products, but researched and found these inhibit uptake of thyroxine, as does scoffing your tablets with your early morning coffee! Why do you never get told these things when you are diagnosed? Recently, I saw a private Endo who prescribed some T3 in addition to my levo, and I think this has helped to boost my extremely sluggish metabolism. Losing the weight was a lonely challenge, but my own version of WW did work for me. Good luck!

[infomaniac in reply to Toptomato]

You must be made of stronger stuff than me Toptomato! I have had two goes at Slimming World but seeing others losing stones while I lost and gained the same 1/2lb was too much for me and I gave up. My consultant hadn't a clue about the Thyroid (don't blame her for that though) so I wrote to SW HQ, got an acknowledgement....then no further reply, which I was really cheesed off about, so I gave up. My problem has always been actually sticking to a diet but with SW I could stick to it but the weight loss was SO slow!

[Toptomato in reply to infomaniac]

Yes, I totally sympathise. It is much tougher if your thyroid is on a go slow and the 'experts', including GP's seem to have no concept of the struggle. I think it has to be the right time for you too though. Although overweight for a while, I had to wait until my life was less busy (parents both died in the space of 18 months following ill health; young children; work stress etc) until I felt ready to take on the challenge. I totally surprised myself that I managed to exert an iron will. I started exercising more too, though I must admit, that has fallen by the wayside a bit since I reached goal. Best get back to it.................!

[Glynisrose]

I did weight watchers for a year and was 2 1/2 stone HEAVIER at the end of it!!

[bossbird in reply to Glynisrose]

yes i first started slimming world when i noticed some weight gain I was just under 10 stone by the end 6 months later I was 11.3 the dr only comment was that he saw me in the pub (only on a Friday night i may add) but in those days I didn't drink just diet coke couldn't believe he blamed that for over a stone in 6 months idiot after another stone eventually a registrar at my dr tested my antibodies dr looked a prat when the results came back as hashi

[Glynisrose]

One week I went to my weigh in and I had put on SEVEN pounds even though I was sticking to the diet rigidly!!

[bossbird in reply to Glynisrose]

me too and my friends were cheating and loosing weight made me look a lair