Best diet for weight loss

[HypoMorgan]

Can you please share with me any diets or lifestyle changes you did to help with weight loss? X

[BadHare]

Try cutting out all processed & inflammatory foods, cutting down on empty calories with no nutritional value, unnecessary starch, & perhaps change your eating patterns to restrictive eating. Some folks like the 5:2 diet, were calories are restricted to 500-600 on two non-consecutive days a week. I prefer the longer daily fast of 16:8 so start eating late 11am'ish & stop 7pm'ish most days, & only have water, meds & supplements inbetween. I don't get hungry as long as I have enough protein & good fats within my eating window, & restrict high GI foods aside from fruit. I normally eat a starchy breakfast one day a week which leaves me ravenous for the rest of the day, so I'm contemplating cutting this out.

[Cooper27]

I am a big fan of the autoimmune protocol (AIP) diet. I followed that diet as part of Izabella Wentz' Hashimotos Protocol, and lost 4st quicker than I could keep up with! I think it's important to support your gut function when you follow the diet by taking probiotics and multi-vitamins, but many seem to benefit from the diet alone.

[HypoMorgan in reply to Cooper27]

I will check this out, thank you xx

[JumpJiving]

Not a diet, but just a tip. If you are taking NDT, T3 or T4, and can tolerate doing so, take it before bedtime. That way, if you follow the guidance to not eat for 2 hours before taking the medication, you won't do any late night snacking (which used to be one of my habits).

[HypoMorgan in reply to JumpJiving]

I do take it before bed. And I take my iron and D vitamin in morning xx

[ys52 in reply to JumpJiving]

I had a private consultation with an Endo and he told me to take my T3 and T4 at 10pm........I was a little taken aback at that as I have always taken them first thing in the morning on an empty stomach!

So I took them at 10pm.....and didn't sleep a wink! Kept me awake all night haha😴

[cabro2 in reply to ys52]

I could not sleep on Cytomel, either. I can, however sleep on Nature-Throid, which really surprised me.

[Jodiedebs55 in reply to cabro2]

Cytomel is T3 and nature throid is NDT I was able to sleep at night taking NDT but not T3 as it boosted my energy

[Hidden]

when your body is healthy it will level out your weight to what it naturally should be, I would focus on the aip diet, cutting out inflammatory food and adding healing ones, and focus on nutrition rather than weight 😊

[HypoMorgan in reply to Hidden]

I get what your saying, and as a PT I know what foods to eat to be healthy. But I’m asking for what has helped people with a low thyroid as my healthy eating is doing nothing for my weight.

[DiNiro in reply to HypoMorgan]

What medication are you on? I had no support from levothyroxine or even combined with liothyronin. I have been like a new person on Thyroids made from grained dried pig thyroid. The brand I know about are Thyroid Armour, NatureThyroid ana Erfa Thyroid. I then wit an approach to eating more healthy fats and less carbohydrates lost 45 pounds over a year. You may have Hashimotos. Even though you should read Izabella Wentz

“Hashimoto's Protocol : A 90-Day Plan for Reversing Thyroid Symptoms and Getting Your Life Back”.

[HypoMorgan in reply to DiNiro]

I’m on Levothyroxine (75mg) a day. But after reading about low vitamin may cause issues and my medication not working fully, I’m gonna try sort that out. I’m gonna try the AIP diet and see if that helps me. I do want to go on a natural thyroid but I will see if I can get better first through vitamins and diet x

[Vivb56 in reply to HypoMorgan]

I joined Slimming world. It took about 16 months but I lost 2st and now look and feel terrific. I’m 63 and was always fit (10k) and slim. Menopause and associated underactive thyroid - double whammy - felt like a train crash for 10years 🙁). With the fun and support of my slimming world group I now recognise the worn in the mirror again AND I’ve had a reduction in Levo dose too. There’s nothing like setting a goal (and that could be inches lost rather than just weight) and using a happy friendly bunch of people to help and applaud you along the way. Good luck x

[Neverending63 in reply to Vivb56]

Totally agree about SlimmingWorld. I have lost 41/2 stone in 9 months. You get so much support as well. Gives me the motivation to continue 😁

[RexandBoone in reply to Vivb56]

Oh, I relate to the train crash with menopause and underactive thyroid! Took me years too

[Hidden in reply to HypoMorgan]

that's why I'm suggesting the aip diet. It has helped me so much. I think as people we need to re address what we think is healthy, so with the aip diet focuses on removing inflammatory food such as grains, nuts, seeds, legumes and nightshade as well as gluten and dairy and adding in gut healing organic meat fish and vegetables. There was a recent medical study done into its effectiveness, you should take a look at that 😊

[Batty1 in reply to Hidden]

Oh dear I hope thats not true "leveling out" true weight...lol Im doomed!

[Gilly-spud]

I went to slimming world and lost 2 stone,I feel so much better.

[Goldy82]

Im on gluten free paleo diet. I dont eat bread, pasta, rice or corn. I mostly eat vegetables, meat, fruits, sweet potatoes, healthy fats like avocado, olive oils, pistachios... I was able to loos 18 kg in 6 months since my pregnancy.

[Aunds]

Hi HypoMorgan

I have found the only way I loose weight is the Keto diet and then I maintain weight loss on a more relaxed version of it. I ensure I use my carbs on vegetables and one piece of fruit a day, but I generally feel well on it and enjoy it. I am gluten free do this also fits well with Keto. Hope this helps as it’s miserable when you feel you are doing everything right and the weight won’t move.

[McMurtagh]

I did Cambridge with great success 👍

[SlowDragon Administrator]

Your other posts show you are probably not yet on correct dose of Levothyroxine as only on 75mcg

Essential to test all four vitamins and these all need to be optimal

Your iron is extremely deficient

Thyroid hormones can't work when vitamin levels are low

For full Thyroid evaluation you need TSH, FT4 and FT3 plus both TPO and TG thyroid antibodies tested. Also extremely important to test vitamin D, folate, ferritin and B12

Low vitamin levels are extremely common, especially if Thyroid antibodies are raised

Recommended on here that all thyroid blood tests should ideally be done as early as possible in morning and fasting. Last Levothyroxine dose should be 24 hours prior to test, (taking delayed dose immediately after blood draw). This gives highest TSH, lowest FT4 and most consistent results. (Patient to patient tip, best not mentioned to GP or phlebotomist)

Is this how you do your tests?

Private tests are available. Thousands on here forced to do this as NHS often refuses to test FT3 or antibodies or all vitamins

thyroiduk.org.uk/tuk/testin...

Medichecks Thyroid plus ultra vitamin or Blue Horizon Thyroid plus eleven are the most popular choice. DIY finger prick test or option to pay extra for private blood draw. Both companies often have special offers, Medichecks usually have offers on Thursdays, Blue Horizon its more random

If antibodies are high this is Hashimoto's, (also known by medics here in UK more commonly as autoimmune thyroid disease).

About 90% of all hypothyroidism in Uk is due to Hashimoto's.

[HypoMorgan in reply to SlowDragon]

I will buy the medicheck one when I have some spare cash. I wish I could afford to go private. Should have some next week to buy the full thyroid test x

[SlowDragon Administrator in reply to HypoMorgan]

Your previous post says you are getting blood results from GP next week

Hopefully will show you need dose increase in Levothyroxine

No point testing again until iron levels are substantially improved

Look at increasing iron rich foods in diet, plus vitamin C with each iron supplement may improve iron absorption

Folic acid was also low?

Supplementing a good quality daily vitamin B complex, one with folate in not folic acid may be more beneficial than just folic acid

chriskresser.com/folate-vs-...

B vitamins best taken in the morning after breakfast

Recommended brands on here are Igennus Super B complex. (Often only need one tablet per day, not two. Certainly only start with one tablet per day after breakfast. Retesting levels in 6-8 weeks ).

Or Jarrow B-right is popular choice, but is large capsule

If you are taking vitamin B complex, or any supplements containing biotin, remember to stop these 7 days before any blood tests, as biotin can falsely affect test results

endo.confex.com/endo/2016en...

endocrinenews.endocrine.org...

You could get vitamin D tested now by GP or via NHS postal kit £29

vitamindtest.org.uk

Work on getting all vitamins optimal

[HypoMorgan in reply to SlowDragon]

Yeah I am getting thyroid test back on Tuesday but won’t be all the ones I need to get tested. My doctor only done THS I think. I will see what comes back and write results in a post. My doctor said to get it done but after what you have said it seems pointless if my iron and folic was low. I feel like I’m going round in circles with her. And she still won’t refer me to a thyroid specialist x

[SlowDragon Administrator in reply to HypoMorgan]

Email Dionne at Thyroid Uk for list of recommended thyroid specialists

please email Dionne at

[e-mail]

You can self refer if go private

But if there's an NHS one near you, insist that GP refer you

[SlowDragon Administrator in reply to HypoMorgan]

When vitamins are so low TSH can be low too

One of the many problems with over reliance on just testing TSH

Getting vitamin levels improved often then TSH rises and you can get need for increased dose in Levothyroxine recognised

[DiNiro]

Maybe you should eat more healthy fats like butter, creame, coconut oil that are healthy. We have been tooted for decades that one should eat less fats, but that advice turns out to be faulty. Eat fresh unprocessed food like chicken, beef and pork or fatty fishes like salmon and mackerel. Vitamins in vegetables are fatsoluble so always have fats on it like an oil dressing og let butter melt into it hot. There are books and videos on YouTube explaining how this solution works. Look up Mary Enig and Sally Fallon, dr. Robert Lustig, dr. Andreas Eenfeldt, to mention some, and get inspired 🤗

[HypoMorgan in reply to DiNiro]

I love fats. And will defo add some onto my veg. I love salmon and meats and love sweet potatoes. X

[SlowDragon Administrator in reply to HypoMorgan]

High protein and good fats, and low (but not too low) carb helps many of us

Michael Moseley low sugar diet book has lots of good recipe ideas

Gluten free is frequently essential

[Heloise in reply to HypoMorgan]

But stay away from vegetable oils which are highly inflammatory. Even canola oil is not good. Olive, avocado or coconut oils are best. When your body uses carbs for energy you release several toxins but when you burn fat for fuel it is healthy.

I also like unfiltered apple cider vinegar with meals as it helps to block some starch which would turn to glucose. It seems that proteins also can burn like sugar so one caution and perhaps Izabella Wentz's diet mentions that if you switch your diet immediately your body may break down muscle until it recognizes that you are now burning fat for energy. I think this is true as you see the mistake most of us make with our diet eating excess carbs making people obese not because they eat too much.

[cabro2]

Gluten free has reduced my cravings, my brain fog and some of my fatigue, and I have been able to lose 15 pounds since October.

[Lovecake]

I agree with Slowdragon. You need your meds to be optimal.

Your vitamins and minerals to be optimal too.

I am lucky enough to be able to afford to see a private endocrinologist. (Though not too often as am not that well off).

I have added a little t3 to my meds (with endo). This has helped me, but you may not need T3, maybe just a slight increase in your T4.

I have cut out lots of unnecessary foods, although I’ve never eaten a bad diet.

I find diets like AIP etc too restrictive for me.

I am almost gluten free, avoid bread and processed foods, no dairy or soy.

I take a probiotic first thing, keep my vitamins and minerals optimal (that high in the range). I use vitD spray and magnesium lotion, these avoid the gut.

Where possible I buy good quality or organic and fresh. And I have reduced my portion sizes a little. I don’t eat sweets or consume alcohol.

I would say my diet is probably quite good for a diabetic. (Which I’m not)

I think I’m doing something right as I did a home blood test 2 weeks ago and my antibodies were down from over 1300 to 503 🥳

Also my cholesterol is the lowest it’s been for about 10 years. (5.31 just over the suggested limit)

I feel a lot better too. And have lost about 4lb in weight probably due to doing more activity.

It’s a slow process, but something has helped for me.

So now, I just need to keep well and carry on..........

Hope you find something that works for you.

[RockyPath]

Following a brain injury two and a half years ago, I found I had less zeal for eating. I'd completely lost interest in snack foods, chocolate. I could forget to eat and not notice hunger.

I have had a keen interest in healing my brain so I try for 30 minutes of vigorous cardio six days a week.

I focus on eating what's obviously good for me, including very little meat and many beans and grains. Black beans are big here, as we have a large Cuban population, and it turns out there are nutritionally quite complete. Looking at mineral, vitamin and protein content, I select among the variety of grains (faro, barley, brown rice), beans (black, kidney, chickpeas) and lentils (green, red), and cook up a large batch of something that can be frozen so I only have to go through the preparation every few weeks.

I was overweight at the time of the accident, but not terribly so, but it was eerily effortless to lose 2 stone in the first year.

It's been said, however, that the body (or brain) has a memory of the amount of fat you've been carrying around and it has great determination to see you stay at that weight, so it has to be watched closely for how it's sabotaging the basic rule of reducing caloric intake and increasing caloric output. Tricky thing, the brain.

[Teegee27]

Hi there

I have cut out gluten which has helped!

I have only done this the last 10 days as advised by my GP & I have noticed the difference already!

It's a long process as I'm for ever having to change my dose as either I'm being over or under medicated!! Either way can make you put on weight!

Kind regards

J

[SarahLou30]

I find that eating clean (no processed foods or additives) is so important for weight loss and overall heath. It’s amazing how many products are branded to be “heathy” when they’re actually not. For example, many low-fat foods or low-sugar foods that are processed have worse ingredients than the full-fat alternative (such as yogurt- plain whole fat Greek yogurt is so much healthier than sugary low-fat, dairy free alternatives).

[Hidden in reply to SarahLou30]

totally agree with the unprocessed food, but its worth noting the majority of people with thyroid problems are intolerant to dairy

[NWA6]

I have never really suffered from overt weight gain from Hashi’s. Sure I’m 2stone overweight atm but I’ve gone through a particularly bad patch where I’ve only eaten one meal a day. So that old calories in calories out is sooo outdated! All throughout my condition I have mostly eaten low carb and Saturday nights are my blow out nights. I have never really thought of my eating as a diet, it’s just my diet. I don’t eat much processed food. Rarely eat breads and pastas, I keep it low carb with lots if veggies. I don’t each much fruit, that’s a treat.

My kids say I eat healthy (all teenagers so they just grave junk! Lol Although while I was really unwell I relied on more easy prepared meals and they they often said Please cook real food! Lol) but I don’t notice it, my palate has changed so much over the years that I just like wholesome non processed food.