I am not massively overweight. I have lost a stone and need to lose another half stone which is proving difficult. I eat healthily and am very active. I am 62.
A recent blood test showed my Hba1c (measurement of how much sugar has stuck to red blood cells over the last 3 months or so) was 42, thereby at the bottom end of the pre-diabetic range. I have been referred to a Diabetes Prevention Programme.
What I do not understand is that my fasting glucose is actually quite good - at 4.7 - which makes sense as i eat a pretty low sugar/carb diet. Does anyone know why there would be such a discrepancy? I also have an underactive thyroid which makes weight loss that much harder despite being on levothyroxine
Would welcome any ides/ suggestions.
Written by
Kacey12
Healthy BMI
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I'm no expert, but I believe an underactive thyroid that isn't optimally medicated, can cause a raised Hba1c. You'll find the experts here healthunlocked.com/thyroiduk
It's good that you've been referred to a diabetes prevention programme, as it's better to be safe than sorry. You may also find these helpful diabetes.co.uk/ and phcuk.org/wp-content/upload...
Follow this link to our chat thread and a list of all the activities we run. We've found active participation to be key to success, especially with our weigh-ins and Daily Diary.
You're very welcome. If you have any other questions, just ask
Hi Kacey
I'm 64 and have under active thyroid and I also have Coeliac disease.
The administrator 'moreless' is pretty much correct that your underactive thyroid can sometimes lead to a raised blood glucose level. It can also follow that you might end up with raised cholesterol level too. Sadly in the UK (if that's where you are) our GPs don't seem to make the correlation between the two.
The administrator is correct in that if your thyroid is undertreated, levels are not 'optimal' it will be almost impossible to shift any excess weight. But there are some things you can do while you get your thyroid sorted which will help, but you need to be very clued up on your thyroid health whereever possible in order to help yourself.
I was carrying excess weight for many years and had failed attempts to lose it despite that on one occasion a nurse at the head of an online diet group, who I spoke to on the phone one day, asked me if I was aware that people with Hypothyroidism generally don't metabolise carbohydrates very well. I told her I didn't know that but didn't take it on board at that time. She also told me it's best not to eat peanuts which I didn't know, they're not very thyroid 'friendly' as with a few other foods too.
So fast forward from that time, in 2016 I had a routine blood test which revealed raised blood sugar level. GP said don't worry, we'll test again next year! So I left it and had routine blood test in 2017 and it was raised again but a tiny bit higher. By this time I thought something wasn't right. I looked up symptoms of Type 2 diabetes and could see that a couple of things I was experiencing now and then could possibly be diabetes related and an alarm bell went off in my head. I saw one GP to ask about it and he gave a very flippant response saying he had other patients with a much higher level who were walking around OK. That made me cross as I'd gone in there to ask what could I do to get it down. He said he wouldn't give me medication yet. I didn't want medication! He also said I was one step away from the diabetes nurse. Well thank you, I don't want to be seeing her at all.
So I saw another GP a week later about it who said it wasn't 'too bad' not to worry about it. Crikey, here they have a patient wanting to improve their health and they don't seem to want to offer any constructive help.
So I went away and googled and eventually stumbled on Dr Michael Mosley's book 'The 8 Week Blood Sugar Diet' It sounded too good to be true, 'correct your blood sugar AND lose weight' How could that be. So I bought the book and read some of it, put it to one side and forgot about it, got busy with something else! (as you do) Then I mentioned to someone in our village that I was trying to lose weight and she said she'd found a method that worked, come for a cuppa and I'll tell you about. So I did and there on her table was Dr Mosley's book, so I laughed and said I'd got the book but not really read it properly. So she explained it all to me and said read it properly and don't put stumbling blocks in the way ('brick wall's she called them)
So I did read it again and thought what have I got to lose. I didn't follow the 8 week plan as it's quite radical at 800 calories per day for 8 weeks, but I started following some of the principles in the book and combined them with the principles from another little book I bought 'The Leptin Diet' by Byron Richards and all of a sudden a couple of pounds disappeared. Same happened again and again and I actually found it quite easy as there's no calorie counting and no weighing (though I do weigh a couple of things to prevent over eating them)
I lost 3 stone over a period of several months which I was quite happy with because I got very used to the new way of eating and it does seem quite true that those of us with under active thyroid will do better with less 'starchy' carbohydrates (the white things like bread, rice and potatoes) The basic idea is to reduce those carbs (by no means cut them out, it's not a 'ketogenic' diet' and raise the good fats in your diet. You then use fats and protein for energy and don't store any excess carbs as fat. I've still got a stone left to lose but the impact of losing 3 stone has been immense.
I do have an annual check up for Coeliac Disease and the 2nd year after starting the changes the dietician doing the check up noticed I'd lost weight and congratulated me. Of course she asked how I'd done it and I said 'probably everything you'd tell me not to do!' and she smiled.
Happy to help further if you need it.
I'm 5ft 3 by the way and weighed in a 198 pounds (14 stone 2 pounds) and in my own words I looked 'gross'. I'm now 11 stone which is still considerably heavier than I was in my 20s & 30s (about 8 to 9 stone then) but I can now comfortably get in size 14 clothes which for my is psychologically good. It's all very well people saying we should be comfortable with our size and not defined by it, but if your size is affecting your health, that's a different matter. Other issues which I had blamed always on my thyroid condition have dissipated since I lost weight too.
I have done no intensive exercise either, some walking. In fact too much exercise can deplete your levels of T3 which is the thyroid hormone which regulates your metabolism.
I notice that you say you already eat low sugar / low carb, I'd be interested to know what sort of carbs you eat, that can make a difference. If none of that's working, then your thyroid is undertreated. Do you have recent blood test results?
What a fabulously helpful and supportive reply, Georgina1955, thank you!
I'm assuming that you're not here to lose weight, so I shall give you a visitors badge and hope that you'll return frequently to help our members with thyroid problems
Oh thank you Moreless, I wondered if I'd gone a bit over the top and thought I might get told off but the NHS way doesn't work really very well for those of us with Hypothyroidism, this alternative method is useful. I do still have a stone to lose to complete my journey which is proving more tricky but it's probably that I've lost focus a little bit and just need to revisit the rules I was following at the outset. I was trying to figure out a way to post before and after photographs, but can't work that one out.
I thought I'd joined the group as it came via a suggestion on an email
Well in that case, a very big welcome to you, Georgina1955, we're delighted to have you join us!
Pictures can only be posted on the header of a new thread and two pictures have to be joined first, using an app like pic collage.
I'll give you a newbie badge, but once you've joined a weigh-in, that can be changed to a weight loss badge
Follow this link to our chat thread and a list of all the activities we run. We've found active participation to be key to success, especially with our weigh-ins and Daily Diary.
Thanks Moreless, I'll take a look at the links, though I already do my own weigh in every Saturday morning as soon as I get up after going to the toilet and no drink or eating.
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Thanks. I did think that might be the case. I did reply to the message but then thought better of it and reported it and 'muted' the chat
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