Greaves. Weight help please

[Shon]

I was hoping someone out there might be able to help me with some advise. I know this is a manger problem with people like me who suffer from greaves. I am working so hard to loose weight. Here is what I have been doing for 14 weeks.

I am 58 years old man, 6.2 tall weight 109.8 kilos

Daily eat 1200 calories

Daily 20 minutes speed walking on treadmill.

Daily 15 minuets full body weight training

I stopped drinking 4 can of larger a night.

What have I lost in 14 weeks just 4 kilos, last 3 weeks no loss. So frustrated.

Any tips out there please.

Also on a trip abroad I bought some T3 tablets, and at the moment I am quite stable on my Levothyroxine mess, first time in years I have felt ok( finger crossed )

Here is a question should I take some T3 as I have heard this can aid weight loss.

Thanks in advance for you help folks.

Sean

[BadHare]

Graves is the autoimmune form of an overactive thyroid. From what I understand, people are usually on medication to stop the thyroid producing too much thyroid hormones, so I'm puzzled that you're taking levothroxine, unless your thyroid has burned out & stopped producing any? Taking T3 might help if you're now hypothyroid as a result. However, the type of exercise you're doing will use up what T3 you have, & a low calorie diet might be counterproductive if you're short on nutrients, so your body is conserving its fat stores. What you eat each day, is more important than how many calories you consume, as good nutrition is essential for getting all of your body to work better, not just your hormonal health.

Do you have blood test results with the ranges that you could post, so the good folks on here are better able to advise you?

[Shon in reply to BadHare]

Sorry forgot to mention I had radioactive iodine 7 years ago.

No bloods to post at the moment will need to get from doctors next week. But as usual they tell me they are in range.

Thanks sean

[BadHare in reply to Shon]

You poor lamb!

RAI has left my friend in a right state. She preferred having Graves to being hypo.

I'm sure you've read the usual advice on here to make sure certain vitamins & minerals are in the upper range.

I've been self-medicating with NDT for 2 years, T3 for a year, & only T3 in warmer months. I'm crank about what I eat, & avoid processed foods as much as possible, but probably have 2,000 calories a day, & about a third to half of those from fat as I eat dairy & a lot of nuts & seeds. I also eat a lot of fruit, but have always had an issue with starchy foods, even when eaten cold as resistent starch. I found having restrictive eating times helps me eat more without gaining weight again, which I found easy to do after a few weeks. It also suits my medication & supplement times. Once I'd got my THs on track & stopped eating unfermented soya, my body decided it's going to bob around the same weight, halfway between my lightest & heaviest weight. If I over eat & drink, the weight comes off again, which is such a novelty. I'm currently drinking a litre of organic kefir a day, & am sure the probiotics have done wonders for my digestion, & hopefully nutrient absorption.

Take a look at Chris Kresser's website. There are several free downloads & articles on thyroid health, autoimmune issues, & nutrition. Some on all three.

[Shon in reply to BadHare]

Thanks so much for taking the time to answer. I will take a look at the site you mention. Again tanks for your time.

[BadHare in reply to Shon]

You're welcome, we're all here to help each other!

[Fruitandnutcase in reply to Shon]

Hate to say it Shon but you would have to be incredibly ill not to fit into 'the range ' somewhere.

And yes, I can imagine how your friend feels, BadHare I became hypo while I was being treated for Graves and hypo is just as horrible as Graves but in a different way.

At least with Graves when it is active you are seen in a hospital by an endo. Once they've zapped your thyroid with RAI, it's out the door with you and on your own with your own doctor who may or may not know how to help you.

It might be worth going completely gluten free Shon, a lot of hypo people have found that very helpful and I've done it to reduce my thyroid antibodies, which it did.

The only other thing I can think of is to cut out or seriously reduce grain based carbs, I eat a LCHF diet, that's low carb, high fat, I discovered that grain based carbs really spiked my blood sugar so I don't eat very much bread, cakes or biscuits, although I still eat a lot I eat differently and I get most of my carbs from vegetables these days. The Diet Doctor.co.uk website have a six week online course on LCHF which i found interesting and helpful.

You're making a huge effort, it's a shame you're not making the progress you want. You've got to be careful you don't over exercise and under eat though.

[Leagirl]

I think it is almost best to up your calories between 1500-1700

1200 is too few , especially for being active

The problem with taking levo when you have Greaves

Is you are augmenting your thyroid hormones

Usually t4 and T3 , if it converts

Which ,if your thyroid is still working properly, will lower your tsh

As mentioned , this could potentially burn out your thyroid

To the point it doesn't work very well at all

I don't believe it is the best way to treat hyperthyroidism

But I'd be more worried about my health than my weight

I recommend reading literature from

Isabella Went , she is a pharmacist who dealt with hyperthyroidism,

Just a suggestion

[Shon in reply to Leagirl]

Thanks so much leagirl

[Leagirl]

Sorry...Isabella Wentz