Hi everyone! I just began taking T3 about a month ago and I have not noticed much of a difference in my weight, but man, do I feel better and have more energy! I also think it has helped with my skin, sleeping, and other things!
Would anyone that has lost weight and become optimized like to post their stories and what T3 dosing and/or other medications that helped them become optimized?
I just wonder if I am missing something. I try to eat healthy and exercise regularly. I am a very active person. I have supplements, but I should probably start taking them more regularly. I also try to stay as least stressed as possible - but I laugh, what is life without stress? 😉
I look forward to hearing your stories! Everyone is a lifesaver on this forum.
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DancingGirl13
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You have to crank T3 or NDT to loose weight. You need to completely a suppressed TSH. What happens is your metabolism really gets fired up and you burn food, tendons, fat, muscle, bone etc. I don't think you do too much damage in the short term but eventually your joints and tendons become an issue. I'm having a rest from NDT for 12 months to let the tendons and cartilage recover. I went from 107kg to 78kg over over over about 3 years. When I hit 80kgs I started getting concerned and went back on Levo. (You cant just drop NDT back a grain after being on 3 grains for 2 years, your body will scream). I'm back up to 92kg now after about 3 months on Levo (it makes you fat).
If you decide to do it - I would do lots of weight training to keep the bone and tendons strong. HRT if your are menopausal, there is a strong relationship between sex hormones and thyroid conversion (T4 --> T3).
NDT is a funny stuff the more you take the more you can take - that's why hear about people ending up on 5 grains and feeling fine, but if you took the equivalent Levo you would blow your brains out. example for a proper TSH I take 60-75mcg Levo but on NDT I can take 3.5 grains which is the equivalent to about 350mcg Levo.
The other thing T3 and NDT doesis temporally expand your arteries/capillaries/lung capacity so if you do a aerobic sport it's a nice cheat. (T4) Levo does the exact opposite.
Is that correct that it is the Levo itself that makes you gain weight? So presumably if you switched to say NDT there wouldn’t be the same weight gain ?
DancingGirl13, theoretically when you get to your optimal dose, with optimal vitamins, you should be able to lose excess weight.
For some lucky ducks it just falls off with no effort, but some people are unlucky and don't shift it As others have mentioned, too much exercise can deplete your T3 and is the equivalent of being on a lower dose. If you're keen to lose weight you could try taking a few weeks off exercising and then slowly reintroduce and see how you feel.
On the other hand, if I were you I'd concentrate on staying healthy, doing as you're doing, resting, eating well and not restricting calories or skipping meals, do less heavy exercise and more gentle, sleeping well etc, while addressing vitamin issues and tuning your thyroid dose, and maybe trying things like gluten or dairy free or other things to support Hashimoto's. Then if you're lucky you may just start to lose weight as things come together. Maybe in a year or two once your health is very stable you might think about trying to lose weight on purpose.
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As others have mentioned, too much exercise can deplete your T3 and is the equivalent of being on a lower dose. If you're keen to lose weight you could try taking a few weeks off exercising and then slowly reintroduce and see how you feel. 
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