Hi, I was wondering if you had any advice about an optimal diet for hypothyroid?
The reason I'm asking is since march I have gained 1 stone. Now this will be impacted by holiday and lockdown but in the last 2 months I have desperately been trying and on average I'm consuming 1200-1500 Kcals and it makes no difference. I also go spinning and average 1.5 hours per week. The weight is not budging at all.
Me and my GP discuss the TSH level every blood test and whilst he thinks I'm over prescribed has agreed I can stay at 150mg
My levels for the last few years are as follows
October 2020
At 8.40am - empty stomach and not taken dose (daily dose - 150mg Levothyroxine)
Tsh - 0.02 (range 0.3-5)
Serum free triiodothyronine 5.1 range 3.1-6.8
Ferratin - 60 (range 15-350)
Plasma - 1.95
Calcium - 2.22 (2.2-2.6)
Follicles stimulating hormone - 5.1 (1.7-12)
My blood viscosity was borderline too high also
March 20 (daily dose 150mg Levothyroxine)
Serum free triiodothyronine 4.9 range 3.1-6.8
TSH - 0.02 (range 0.3-5)
March 18 - 7.50
am empty stomach and not taken dose (daily dose - 150mg Levothyroxine)
Free T - 4.9 (3.1-6.8)
Tsh <0.02 (0.3-5)
Jan 17 (this result was when my meds were reduced to 125mg
- doc agreed to put them back up again)
free T3 is now 3.6 (range 3.1-6.8) and
TSH 0.17 (range 0.3 - 5.0) at 8.45am
Oct 16
(150mg Levothyroxine)
Free T3 6.7 and
TSH 0.02 at 11.45am
2015 -
(150mg Levothyroxine)
Free T 5.7,
TSH 0.02
Written by
Bellsonit
To view profiles and participate in discussions please or .
Essential to regularly retest vitamin D, folate, ferritin and B12
Also essential to know if cause of your hypothyroidism is autoimmune thyroid disease also called Hashimoto’s diagnosed by high thyroid antibodies
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 you have autoimmune thyroid disease (Hashimoto's) diagnosed by raised Thyroid antibodies
Do you always get same brand of levothyroxine
Which brand
What vitamin supplements are you currently taking?
Ask GP to test vitamin levels
Recommended on here that all thyroid blood tests should ideally be done as early as possible in morning and before eating or drinking anything other than water .
Last dose of Levothyroxine 24 hours prior to blood test. (taking delayed dose immediately after blood draw).
This gives highest TSH, lowest FT4 and most consistent results. (Patient to patient tip)
Private tests are available as NHS currently rarely tests Ft3 or thyroid antibodies or all relevant vitamins
Come back with new post once you get vitamin and antibodies results
About 90% of all primary hypothyroidism in Uk is due to Hashimoto’s. Low vitamin levels are particularly common with Hashimoto’s. Gluten intolerance is often a hidden issue to.
Never supplement iron without doing full iron panel test for anaemia first
Eating iron rich foods like liver or liver pate once a week plus other red meat, pumpkin seeds and dark chocolate, plus daily orange juice or other vitamin C rich drink can help improve iron absorption
This is interesting because I have noticed that many patients with Hashimoto’s disease and hypothyroidism, start to feel worse when their ferritin drops below 80 and usually there is hair loss when it drops below 50.
Hi I don't know whether you can recommend but i wondered is it better to have cortisol, magnesium and serum B12 - included in Blue Horizon which I can get for 90 pounds
or Active B12, B9 and thyroglobin antibodies - Thriva which I can get for 64 pounds
Wow I didn't know this about Soya! I started taking them as I was getting to the point where i wasn't eating because i was so busy at work and just wanted to try and get some nourishment - but to be fair they don't seem to have worked...
I was not able to lose weight as well despite eating lower calories so can relate. Its not easy being on 1200-1500 calories for a stretch and not seeing any results.
I started experiencing tingling pains in my arm and my Dr noticed that my vit D levels were low, so he put me on a high strength vit D (40,000 IU/week) and in 2 months, I went down about 2 kgs!
I didn't know that vit D helps in fat metabolism and I was able to lose this weight without even doing anything different. I am now beginning to see how important vitamin levels are, so please do vitamin testing.
My vit D prescription for 7 weeks is finished now and I am beginning to see a decline again in myself despite taking low doses of vit D daily (ie 3,000IU). Aiming to get a blood test soon. Hope things get better for you soon.
Amazing thanks thats really helpful to know. I'm just checking out Thriva / Medichecks / Blue Horizon now to see which is best - I'm kind of leading towards the cheaper one provider?...
If you can get this done via the Dr's then that's ideal. If not, then it will need to be these providers, I have not used them so far, so can't comment on that. If you have time, google up on vit D and leptin, may help give you some direction.
I am not sure, but please try to push for this with your Dr. In event if it cant happen, then I would still go for private vit testing (inclu B12, folate & ferritin as well) as they are very important. The administrators are always recommending this and I am now beginning to realise how important they are.
Ferratin - 60 (range 15-350) This is approx 13% of the way through the range
Your ferritin level is poor. Most of us feel at our best when ferritin is roughly mid-range or a little bit over. With the range you've given this would be about 180 - 210 or thereabouts.
Given that you want to lose weight you should read this reply and watch the video :
Content on HealthUnlocked does not replace the relationship between you and doctors or other healthcare professionals nor the advice you receive from them.
Never delay seeking advice or dialling emergency services because of something that you have read on HealthUnlocked.
Recently diagnosed with Hypothyroidism - six weeks on Levothyroxine
Is it normal to lose weight with hypothyroidism 
Recent blood test results
Recent results feedback appreciated 
Results of blood tests - interpretation, am I hypothyroid?
