Apologies for yet another post - I thought it might be better to start a new thread for this question

[Steni]

My husband and I are thinking of signing up for the Cambridge diet- less than 800 calories a day. Would this be foolish for me to embark on this in the light of my thyroid issues?

[radd]

Steni,

Low thyroid hormone can compromise the adrenal glands so even after recovery they become susceptible to sensitivity.

Tissue breakdown begins with the breakdown of proteins & fat to make glucose for energy and the body tells itself to lower metabolism in order to preserve energy, meaning slowing down thyroid hormone synthesis.

This is when ongoing thyroid/adrenal issues risks the body going so slow it actually gains weight through eating less calories 😳.

It is important to eat a healthy diet to gain not only enough nutrients but calories (fuel) because if your demand exceeds supply, you risk low blood sugar.

This makes the adrenal glands release stress hormones (cortisol, adrenaline etc ... hence we often feel shaky & light headed when hungry) to signal the liver to break down proteins and fats for further energy (this causes a lot of bodily stress and inflammation) by stimulating the use of glycogen (stored sugar in the liver).

If there is a continual calories deficit, these may become depleted and the whole system become further blunted.

I eat a low carb diet and gain most calories through good fats which are vital for fat soluble vits absorption such as Vit D, A, E, etc ..

I would say an 800 calorie intake is too low.

[Pixielula]

Radd is correct, when you lower your caloric intake the bodies natural response is to lower its metabolic output to equal the intake. Otherwise if it was burning 2000 calories a day but only getting 800 it would very quickly starve. This is why “traditional” calorie restrictive diets always fail, and people put the weight back on and more on top. I do a very low carb high fat diet diet with intermittent fasting. Google dr Jason fung. the obesity code, and the diabetes code watch some of his webinars see if it makes sense to you.

[Hennerton]

I expect this will be unpopular but why not eat normal home cooked food, with plenty of vegetables, fruit (but not made into juices and smoothies) and the healthy fats found in oily fish and dairy products. It is not necessary to exclude foods like carbohydrates and fats and meat. Just eat moderately and regularly of everything edible on the planet. Why does there always have to be a "baddie" that we must avoid. Sugar in excess is bad but normal amounts are fine. I accept that hashimotos members find no gluten helps but apart from that, why not love all food and not let it become the enemy? I eat exactly what I wish to based on the kind of eating above and never put on weight. But takeaways and ready made packaged microwave meals are death to good health and diets.

Sorry! Please do not be angry and bombard me with ire. It is all just a passing thought...

[greygoose in reply to Hennerton]

That's actually very popular with me. I totally agree - with the exception of soy. But, I don't count that as food, or as being edible!

[Hennerton in reply to greygoose]

Thank you and pleased you agree. I particularly agree about soya and have never eaten it, even when I had a wholefood business in the 1970’s. I elected not to sell it.

[greygoose in reply to Hennerton]

Good for you!

[Hidden in reply to Hennerton]

Not angry and glad that your way of eating is working for you. As a young woman it’s how I ate and I was effortlessly slim. I’m embarrassed to say that I was - silently - judgmental of fat people. I’m one of them now.

Now I find that carbs simply make me hungry and crave more - an insulin response, I imagine, where fat and protein don’t. So for me skipping the carbs makes a huge difference. Now I’m away from home now so eating lots of carbs and very gassy and always wanting more carbs. Interesting. I’m moving on in a few days and while I won’t be at home I’ll have a bit more control over my diet.

I think it’s just a matter of finding what works for you and likely depends on other things too. My metabolism is shockingly low and I’m on a med that is known to put weight on.

[Hennerton in reply to Hidden]

I absolutely agree we all need to find what works for us. I am 71 and have been eating like this all my life. It is just normal food really, organic wherever possible and mostly cooked at home. Nothing special in that, although maybe it is, as so many people eat out most of the time. Thereby hangs the problem, I think, of hidden calories in food that is often drizzled in glugs of extra oil as it comes to the table and is often also sitting around, after being pre-prepared earlier in the day, losing vitamins.

A new book has been published recently called, ‘Gene Eating - the science of obesity and truth’, by Giles Yeo. He debunks many of the eating myths, like juicing, sugar, liver cleansing, fasting, etc. Could be interesting.

[Hidden in reply to Hennerton]

I’ve got a few things stacked against me, including probably insulin resistance. Due to various health issues, my resting metabolic rate is significantly below the bottom of the normal range. If I had a healthier metabolic rate I could probably still get away with eating ‘normally’. Like you I cook at home - make all my own stocks from scratch etc, grow salads etc but can’t afford all organic. I need to eat a lot of meat to have adequate iron so those calories need to be deducted elsewhere. I’m away now and eating out and with other people so I’m just eating what’s in front of me. In a few days I’ll have a bit more control over it.

All so individual!

[Hennerton in reply to Hidden]

Agreed. You will enjoy your own cooking so much when you arrive home!

By the way, I also love walking. I do four to five miles a day around the countryside but it seems to help with metabolism and is great mental therapy.

[Hidden in reply to Hennerton]

I enjoy walking as long as it isn’t hot. I live in Australia. In summer I have to walk before about 9 before it gets too much above 30 - warm but nice. When it’s hot, it’s miserable. I love it when I visit cool places like the UK! But not cold places where they have knee deep snow - too much of a good thing for more than a week or so.

[fibrolinda]

I gained 12 lbs in a year on 800 calories a day. It simply screwed up my already screwed up metabolism even more... And I was so hungry every second of every day.

When I finally got my free t3 in the top quarter of range I went on Harcombe diet, eating a heck of a lot with no calories counting and slow steady weight loss ensured.

[greygoose in reply to fibrolinda]

I gained 3 kilos in 11 days, on the rediculous 800 calorie a day diet my doctor insisted on. She then accused me of cheating!

[Hidden in reply to fibrolinda]

Is harcombe mostly low carb with s bit of brown rice ?

[Angel_of_the_North]

Extremely unhealthy and very bad for you (I believe there were some deaths a few years ago) - and doesn't train you to eat healthily in the future, as well as being an MLM sales organization. You might find intermittent fasting works better and is much safer. If you want to do something radical, explore a ketogenic diet.

[Hidden in reply to Angel_of_the_North]

Deaths!!!

[Angel_of_the_North in reply to Hidden]

Yes, deaths.

[Hidden in reply to Angel_of_the_North]

Erk, how frightening

[humanbean]

You could try a low carb diet or even a ketogenic diet, although low carb is probably better for people with thyroid problems. How low carb you go is up to you.

I use this website : dietdoctor.com/ and have actually paid to join it - a first for me. I've never previously paid to join an internet site in my life! However, there is loads of info available on the site for free, and I decided it was worth joining.

You might find this post informative on the subject of low carb eating.

Edit : Forgot the link!

healthunlocked.com/thyroidu...

[Steni]

The diet I’m referring to is similar to Lighter life- it induces ketosis similar to the Atkins.

[humanbean in reply to Steni]

The site I linked you to allows people to get into ketosis without starvation - and 800 calories a day is starvation.

Have you ever heard of the Minnesota Starvation Experiment?

The participants were reduced to 1500 calories a day for 24 weeks, and the results weren't pretty...

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minne...

Quote :

Among the conclusions from the study was the confirmation that prolonged semi-starvation produces significant increases in depression, hysteria and hypochondriasis as measured using the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory. Indeed, most of the subjects experienced periods of severe emotional distress and depression.[1]:161 There were extreme reactions to the psychological effects during the experiment including self-mutilation (one subject amputated three fingers of his hand with an axe, though the subject was unsure if he had done so intentionally or accidentally).[6] Participants exhibited a preoccupation with food, both during the starvation period and the rehabilitation phase. Sexual interest was drastically reduced, and the volunteers showed signs of social withdrawal and isolation.[1]:123–124 The participants reported a decline in concentration, comprehension and judgment capabilities, although the standardized tests administered showed no actual signs of diminished capacity. This ought not, however, to be taken as an indication that capacity to work, study and learn will not be affected by starvation or intensive dieting. There were marked declines in physiological processes indicative of decreases in each subject's basal metabolic rate (the energy required by the body in a state of rest), reflected in reduced body temperature, respiration and heart rate. Some of the subjects exhibited edema in their extremities, presumably due to decreased levels of plasma proteins given that the body's ability to construct key proteins like albumin is based on available energy sources.

[Hennerton in reply to humanbean]

That is fascinating and the participants must have been very overweight to suffer so badly on 1500 calories. In the 1970’s that was considered a normal daily calorie intake for a woman.

[humanbean in reply to Hennerton]

I've never read any suggestions that people who took part were overweight at the start. They were normal healthy people who happened to be conscientious objectors who refused to fight in World War Two.

[humanbean in reply to Hennerton]

Oops, some of them were overweight, some were underweight and some were close to their ideal weight. They tried to bring everyone as close to their ideal weight as possible in the first 12 weeks of the trial :

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minne...

[Marz]

You may wish to look at - The Whole 30 - Eating Plan. As the name suggests it's only 30 days. I did it last January and lost 6kgs. Am doing it again at the moment. It is also sustainable long term with a few treats thrown in 😊 Just at the end of the 30 days last January, my dog slipped away and I lost the plot ...

Hope whatever you do works well ...