Help

[HypoMorgan]

I need help to loose weight. What thyroid medication do you take, and what diet or exercise regime do you do that is shifting weight fast? I eat less that I did before but still have no energy for much exercise. I’m also taking nature thyroid which I feel is helping me a little bit with energy but still not loosing weight xx

[Hidden]

I have just started the New Atkins diet and for the first time in years I have lost some weight

[greygoose]

You'll find it very hard to lose weight if your FT3 is not optimal. Do you know your FT3 level?

[HypoMorgan in reply to greygoose]

My FT3 was in the green. X

[greygoose in reply to HypoMorgan]

I have no idea what that means, sorry. Do you have an actual number?

[SeasideSusie Remembering]

HypoMorgan

3 weeks ago you were very undermedicated on 75mcg Levo with

TSH 12.3mIU/L. (0.27-4.2 r)

Free Thyroxine 9.91pmol/L. (12-22 r)

even though your FT3 was 4.24pmol/L. (3.1-6.8 r)

healthunlocked.com/thyroidu...

You are going to need to be optimally medicated before weight loss can happen.

[shaws Administrator]

Levothyroxine can cause weight gain if you're not optimally medicated. The fact that your TSH was 12 - when once diagnosed the aim is 1 or lower, you badly need an increase. Thousands of women complain about their weight gain and most do not know that if our dose isn't high enough weight will be gained.

Levothyroxine is an inactive hormone. It's job is to convert to T3 and it is T3 which is needed in our millions of T3 receptor cells. T3 being the Active Thyroid Hormone.

You are on too low a dose of levothyroxine. Your doctor should increase unless he is one who 'believes' that once the TSH is somewhere in the range you're on sufficient. Seaside Susie has pointed out that your TSH was too high. The aim is for it to be 1 or lower and that means the doctor will have to increase your dose.

[Rita-D]

I recently started following Dr Jason Fung’s Diabetes Code book as I became pre-diabetic. I have unsuccessfully tried for years to lose weight. The book covers intermittent fasting and keto diet. I was amazed to lose a stone in 5 weeks. It worked for me and I would like to continue but I have recently been diagnosed with invasive breast cancer and have started chemotherapy so i’m struggling to continue. I had never felt better than when I was following this way of eating! There’s loads of videos on YouTube about it if you don’t want to buy the book.

You do need to be optimal with meds first I believe, so take Shaws and others advice.

[HypoMorgan in reply to Rita-D]

Thank you for your reply, I will look into that. I’m so sorry , I hope you are feeling as well as can be expected and getting better. Sending you my thoughts xxx

[genileris in reply to HypoMorgan]

I used Jason Fung’s intermittent fasting book and dropped 8kg in about six months. I have Hashimoto’s and take 2grains of NDT daily and supplement with selenium, folic acid, and an auto immune multi vitamin. Yoga three to four times a week and I try to get my 10,000 steps in most days. No crazy exercise regime as I find that stuffs my levels. I’m also grain free, dairy free and eat no sugar.

[Panya]

Hi HypoMorgan, obviously the best scenario is that you are on the best dose of medication and your levels are optimised; but don't be discouraged from starting to work to improve your weight and health right now. I unknowingly had hypothyroid with crazy high TSH and crazy low Free Thyroxine but nevertheless managed to lose 88lb (my hypothyroid only got diagnosed AFTER I reached my ideal goal weight). So in some circumstances at least, weight-loss is perfectly possible even when your levels are terrible.

I suggest you find a way of eating that focuses on weight-loss AND optimum health; and there is no scientific doubt that this is achieved by following a balanced whole-food plant-strong, lower-fat diet. For the most rapid weight-loss approach you could check out Dr McDougall (McDougall Program for Maximum Weight Loss) or Chef AJ (who has Hashimoto's) 'Ultimate Weight Loss Program'. Or for a slightly more gradual approach you could check out e.g. Rip Esselstyn's 'Engine 2' Diet; or read books/ Google some YouTube talks by Dr Neal Barnard. Any of their plans will allow you to lose weight AND improve your health amazingly. If you can't bear the thought of going without animal products you could try the most successful 'omnivorous' weight-loss program on the planet with 'Bright Line Eating', (who's founder incidentally has also had Hashimoto's for decades). The most important aspects of the auto-immune protocol diets (avoiding sugar and gluten) which have been shown to help a lot of people with Auto-immune Thyroid disorder feel far better are incorporated into most of the above programs (although some allow wholewheat flour, which is not). Wishing you every success!

[Chelt16]

I've been advised to use basic/gentle muscle strenthening exercises at home as way to get metabolism going! I'm talking lifting tins, resistance bands not weights. I wouldn't be able/want to do a class or go to a gym so this is a more doable option. Also doing the 10 minute brisk walking target which raises heart rate twice a day promoted by public health england. I couldn't do the daily 10,000 steps I'd keel over. I've reduced my sugar levels which has helped stabilise cravings when tired. Great advice from diabetes UK for recipes - free, on line. Good luck and keep at it.😀

[JumpJiving]

I am on a combination of levothyroxine and NDT, taking them about 12 hours apart. I am getting blood tests done again shortly, but expect my FT3 and FT4 to both be about top of their ranges. Since being on that combination, I have been losing weight steadily. Now, I don't know if it's related to getting my FT3 to the right level, or whether it's simply that I am being strict about having an empty stomach when taking NDT and where possible levothyroxine, by which I mean nothing to eat for 2 hours before taking tablet and nothing for 1 hour afterwards. That means that I have two period in each 24 hours where I do not eat for 3 hours. Just being strict about that has stopped most of my snacking habit.

Alongside that, having recently been diagnosed with fatty liver disease, I've halved the amount of sugar in each cup of coffee (other than the very first of the day) or tea.

I do walk a lot (our biggish dog needs exercise), so typically 10-20000 steps per day. If you don't have a dog, borrowmydoggy.com is the place to go to find people nearby who want their dogs walked.

On top of that, I've recently started doing a parallettes (calisthenics) exercise programme. It's challenging, but works for me. Unfortunately, the company who produce it have just closed that particular programme to new customers (existing customers have lifetime access). However, they do others which may be suitable. Take a look at gmb.io/programs/

In terms of diets, I would avoid anything that claims fast weight loss, that involves fasting, or that involves cutting out an entire food group. Stick with slow and steady, as it's likely to be healthier and is more likely to involve genuine habit changes that you can maintain once you get to your "ideal" weight. If you need a structured programme, take a look at Weight Watchers (WW) for those reasons.

[LAHs in reply to JumpJiving]

Borrowmydoggy.com! That's hilarious.

[Panya in reply to LAHs]

The thing about Weightwatchers is, it is founded on 'moderation' in all things; and while that may sometimes work for the minority who's hormones are fortunate enough to make them very low on the scale of susceptibility to food cravings - it has a notable lack of success for the many who are not so lucky. Because if you survey all weight-loss systems it is glaringly clear that for those who's systems are sensitive to refined, high calorie-density foods the resultant overwhelming cravings when they are eaten in 'moderation' ensures that your weight-loss attempts will fail. For those people (and I am assuming Hypomorgan may fall into that category) the strategy that is shown to work is to change your food choices, avoiding certain high-density food groups altogether, and eating healthier, lower-density food groups without restriction to allow satiety. This is not just my opinion - if you read research widely you will discover it is simply a fact.