Hi - I'm feeling so stressed out by this - I know it's not the end of the world but I'm feeling out of control and I need this to STOP!
12 days ago my Levo dose got upped to 125mg and I'm obviously waiting for this to kick in.
I weigh myself once a week to keep a eye on things. I've been doing Slimming World for 18 months - I lost 3 stone in the first 3 months then nothing - I basically stayed put - this is how my thyroid treatment and diagnosis basically got kick started as I was so tired yet eating really well. For the last 5 months I've still been doing slimming world but a little more relaxed. I've been doing it as if I just need to maintain my weight - my thought process was 'if I cant loose I need to maintain'. This has worked and I've been stable (still 3 stone over weight) and I'm OK with that. (well, I'm not but I don't feel I have a choice).
The last 4 weeks I've had little gains, just half a pound each week - that's not freaked me out but today I have weighed and I've put on 3 and 3/4 lbs in a week!!!! - How is this possible??? I eat well, lots of fish, fruit, salad, vege, rice. I just cannot go back to being massive - it makes me so depressed.
Will the new dose of Levo put a stop to this weigh gain or could it be the levo making me get fat again?
I'm Sorry - I only post on here when I need help/advise - I don't help others as I don't understand all of this myself.
I know I hate it. All of it.
Written by
Zuzka1
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This is such a difficult problem for many of us. There is a school of thought that you shouldn't even try to diet until your metabolism is working correctly again on thyroid treatment, and it can take so long to achieve stability and feel well again.
I only started to lose weight when I switched to T3 monotherapy and got up to a certain dose, which took a long time. The weight fell off with little effort, but later that year I went into menopause. During the three months after menstruation finally ceased, I regained over two stone in weight, on a fairly low carb diet. I suspect that I already had a degree of insulin resistance and that it became much more severe during the hormonal turmoil.
I'm still very much overweight, but I think only a very low carb (you'll see it referred to as VLC online) diet will help me now. Could you contemplate cutting out the sweeter fruits, starchy veg, and rice? I've cut out grains and most sugar, but I think I still eat too much in the way of root veg and fruit.
Thanx hilwoman. I have this constant niggle that I should be taking T3 too. Ut i want to go with what my Endo says to start with.
My problem is if I don't have a structure I will just end up eating crap. I have a issue with crisps. When I follow slimming world it makes me feel I have 'control ' which I clearly don't do I as I am gaining.
Getting your thyroid levels sorted is obviously very important, but it isn't always the answer. For some people, it isn't so much about what they eat as when they eat. If you haven't already done so, it's worth looking into 'time restricted eating' or 'intermittent fasting'.
Your FT3 is still much too low, and that will hinder your attempts to lose weight. The increase in levo might help, but it depends how well you convert it - at the moment, your T4 is too low to really know how well you convert. It all takes time, and you have to be patient. Trying to take short cuts can only end in disaster, and a trip back to square one.
But, of course, Slimming World is not the best way to help yourself. Yes, you lost weight. But, as you can see, it's not sustainable. It's based on low fat, and that is just not healthy. The body needs fat. And, eating fat does not make you fat - quite the opposite. Try eating more fat, and see if it helps.
Would I stop Slimming World altogether? Yes, I would. It may be a plan, but it's a bad plan.
Yes, I mean like butter, olive oil, nut oils (not seed oils), coconut oil, avacado - oil and fruit - animal fat - don't cut the fat off your ham, eat the chicken skin; etc.
No, I can't give you an example of a good days eating, because it's a very individual thing. Besides, I know I don't eat enough, but I don't have much appetite. You need calories to convert that levo you're taking into the active T3. Any form of low-calorie eating is bad. And, I know Slimming World claim they aren't low-calorie, but they are cutting out the most calorific food - fat - which fills you up and keeps you satisfied. So, no wonder you're tempted to eat crisps and chocolate! You're hungry! The point of eating fat is that you no-longer crave these things - although there's no harm from time to time, just not in excess. And a glass of wine with dinner is probably good for you.
You are hypo, that's why you've put on weight. It probably isn't even fat, anyway, so how can dieting make you lose it? Sensible eating, but not stinting is the thing. Eat your fill of good foods (not processed). But don't get hung up on calories.
'When I'm not on it I will eat healthy meals as that's what we like as a family but I will start to eat crisps, chocolate etc etc. I also like wine!'
Now, you've got me confused with that paragraph. What is the difference between a 'healthy' meal, that satisfies your family - but apparently not you - and being on the Slimming World diet?
Because When I'm on slimming world I don't allow myself the 'treats' the family has..... I have been viewing that as 'control'.
If I bake a cake for example I won't have any. I will eat a slimming world hifi bar at the same time as my children and husband will eat the cake.
If it's not fat that I'm putting on is it water? What I have noticed this last few weeks is I'm very bloated. I couldn't breathe my tummy in if I tried if that makes sense?
Would me eating the same as my family and a few drinks at the weekend and then eating a more controlled menu (no snacks/wine etc) during the week be a good idea?
Do you think I will keep gaining?
I love food. I've always thought my love for food has got me this big but I also always felt confused about what I ate, compared to what other people eat and my diet is actually really balanced and good. I don't like fried food as it makes me feel rubbish after, I like feeling good after I eat.
Soooooo confusing!
Half of me is mentally jumping up and down with joy at the thought of not being on slimming world and telling myself to go and eat a baby bell to celebrate and the other half of me is in sheer panic at the thought of going 'bareback'!
What are the ingredients of that hifi bar? Impossible to find the ingredients on internet, and the secrecy makes me suspect there's a lot of soy in them.
If there is soy in them, then you are making yourself more hypo, because the little T3 you have, will not be able to get into your cells.
I also suspect they contain artificial sweeteners, which are a complete no-no for everyone on the planet, not just hypos. They could affect your brain.
If it's not fat, it could be just water, but it's more likely to be mucin. Mucin is something that only we lucky hypos get! It's a mucusy substance that collects under the skin, and holds water. You can tell if you've got it by how much skin you can pinch up - not great handfuls of flesh, just the thin skin. Skin is very thin and should separate from the flesh. And, the only thing that will get rid of that stuff, is a decent level of FT3. It has nothing to do with what you eat.
Now that you are on thyroid hormone replacement, the gain should slow down and stop. Weight-loss should happen when you are optimal. But, there's bound to be a few hiccups, there always are. Take them in your stride and don't stress them.
No, it's not confusing, it's really not. You are hypo - you've probably been hypo for a long, long time. One of the main symptoms of hypo - and possibly the first you notice - is weight-gain. (Although, I have to say, not every hypo gains weight, and some of them actually lose it, but we're talking general rules, here.) As you have noticed, people who are not hypo can eat more than you, and not put on weight. That should give you a clue that it has little to do with food. (And don't knock fried food! It's not enemy n°1. If you lightly fry your food in coconut oil, or lard, it's not bad for you at all.)
So, if I were you, I would have that baby bell - although that's possibly not the best choice of cheese, because it's highly processed - and throw the hifi bars in the dustbin, where they belong!
Sorry I meant deep fat fried. I do lightly fry in coconut oil...
Yes, they have loads of sweetener in them. And soya lecithin and wheat flour. And loads and loads of other stuff. I've just received 30£ worth of the! Whoops!
I use sweetener in my coffee. Not anymore....
I had a peice of Tomm, my husband has told me to ditch the babybell for the kids too.
Guess I need to start hearing other people and not just SlimmingWorld.
I'm not sure I can pinch my skin, I look and feel like someone has put a bike pump in my belly button and blown me up.
I had a jacket potato with butter and cheese with a salad with homemade balsamic dressing for my dinner tonight. I raised my glass of wine to you. Thank you xx
Hi - like yourself i also found a spell at Slimming World kicked me into a (previously undiagnosed) Hashi flare which then led into a diagnosis of hypothyroid when weight loss ground to a total halt. Knowing my family history, I suspect this was a major flare up caused by the consumption of large amounts of zero fat dairy as allowed - encouraged? - by the SW rules. I was eating well, tracking all my intake, exercising and had it all checked by the leader, but still no loss and I gave up in despair when the weight started to go up again. Could you have food intolerances that are possibly contributing to the issue? Did you start eating more of a particular food or food group on SW?
That would not be the entire solution, your thyroid does need to be in balance with all nutrients optimum. But it may contribute to the issue and may not be helping your body to make proper use of what you have for now.
I ate a lot of green days as my husband is a vegetarian so it was easy. When my weight halted I then tried loads of red weeks and then speed weeks but looking back I was already so ill i wS getting no where.
How do I know what I'm intolerance too?
I never eat things like pizza or big bowls of pasta anymore as they make me feel so sluggish and rubbish.
This is a post I put up a few months ago. It is from Stopthethyroidmadness site: I would ensure you are on an optimum, at least, if you switch. Some members didn't feel well on NDTs but some do.
I don't think shaws realised that you are only in the early stages. That's why she said that.
You are on T4 only, but as far as we can tell at the moment, you are converting ok. Time will tell as your dose increases. It's much too early to be thinking about T3 yet.
I don't think there's anything to be scared off. In fact, I think you need to take a more relaxed attitude to food. Enjoy it! That's what it's for! If food wasn't enjoyable, the human race would have disappeared a long time ago! Enjoying doesn't mean over-indulging, of course, but enjoy what you do eat, and stop worrying about it.
Optimum with regard to thyroid gland hormones means that when we feel 'healthy' with no clinical symptoms. It can take quite some time as dose has to be gradually increased. The problem is that many doctors only take note of the whereabouts of the TSH alone and adjust dose up/down according to where it is on the 'scale'.
We, on this forum, who have self-educated know that our TSH around 1 or lower makes us feel better but the most important hormone is T3 and levothyroxine (T4) has to convert to T3. Hundreds of thousands of patients seem to be o.k. on levothyroxine and some very well.
We don't know how long it will take as hormones have gradually reduced and it may have been years before we are finally diagnosed.
So don't get too despondent yet and read and learn as much as possible. Thyroiduk.org.uk has lots of information and I'll give you a link.
Look under testing for instance and other topics. When you have been on levothyroxine for quite a few months you might start to feel much better.
It's when we aren't much better we can look to other ways of trying to improve such as adding some T3 to T4 (levothyroxine).
It's not a good idea to chop change hormones/doses until we have an idea of what suits or doesn't suit us as we are all so different.
We are only replacing hormones that our thyroid gland is not producing adequately, or some people have glands removed, etc. Our body provides hormones and when it's not doing so efficiently we have to help it alone
If it's not working for you stop. But don't revert to eating all those things you mention
Why not go and buy the Joe Wicks or Jamie Oliver's healthy eating recipe books that include all those lovely things Grey Goose suggests and get the whole family eating healthy versions of the things they enjoy.
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