Gaining crazy amounts of weight...begging for help!

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Replies

  • LKArgh
    LKArgh Posts: 5,178 Member
    mgookin1 wrote: »
    I have an under active thyroid. I am not treating it with any medication because I am trying natural ways first like losing weight and eating healthier and exercise before I resort to meds.
    I am 318 pounds and 5'7 and on 1810 calories a day. I eat back usually only 100-200 of my exercise calories back.

    Chances are you are over eating.

    What follows natural remedies for hypothyroidism is weight gain, depression, lack of energy (at this point you will not be able to react, it is not a mild loss of energy we are talking about or a mild depression, it is "cannot get up from bed and will fall asleep on the chair if I do" type of thing), hairloss, abnormal lipid panel, heart failure. Some of these things, you might not be able to recover from. This is what happened to people with hypothyroidism back when there were no meds. The typical hypothyroid patient was extremely fat, very slow (mentally and physically) and did not live long.
  • LivingtheLeanDream
    LivingtheLeanDream Posts: 13,342 Member
    2000 cals at your height is more like maintenance cals .....
  • Char231023
    Char231023 Posts: 700 Member
    mgookin1 wrote: »
    I have an under active thyroid. I am not treating it with any medication because I am trying natural ways first like losing weight and eating healthier and exercise before I resort to meds.
    I am 318 pounds and 5'7 and on 1810 calories a day. I eat back usually only 100-200 of my exercise calories back.

    Chances are you are over eating.

    One question what are you doing to naturally treat your Hypothyroid? FYI if you lose weight (which might happen a lot slow than if you were on thyroid meds) it will not suddenly make your thyroid work properly.
  • Pawsforme
    Pawsforme Posts: 645 Member
    AnnPT77 wrote: »
    Yes, I do feel like it's well controlled. My levels have been within normal range for the past year. I'll unlock!

    Did they test T3/T4, in addition to TSH? Some people have trouble converting T4 into T3, so can still have issues despite a normal TSH. (It's treatable, too.) I'm kind of grasping at straws here, but I didn't see this asked/answered.

    ^^This.^^
  • Duchy82
    Duchy82 Posts: 560 Member
    aggelikik wrote: »
    mgookin1 wrote: »
    I have an under active thyroid. I am not treating it with any medication because I am trying natural ways first like losing weight and eating healthier and exercise before I resort to meds.
    I am 318 pounds and 5'7 and on 1810 calories a day. I eat back usually only 100-200 of my exercise calories back.

    Chances are you are over eating.

    What follows natural remedies for hypothyroidism is weight gain, depression, lack of energy (at this point you will not be able to react, it is not a mild loss of energy we are talking about or a mild depression, it is "cannot get up from bed and will fall asleep on the chair if I do" type of thing), hairloss, abnormal lipid panel, heart failure. Some of these things, you might not be able to recover from. This is what happened to people with hypothyroidism back when there were no meds. The typical hypothyroid patient was extremely fat, very slow (mentally and physically) and did not live long.

    ^^ agreed. And worse case scenario coma and death there is no natural way to treat hypothyroidism unless it has been medically diagnosed as due to an iodine deficiency which is extremely rare in the western world!
  • LKArgh
    LKArgh Posts: 5,178 Member
    AnnPT77 wrote: »
    Yes, I do feel like it's well controlled. My levels have been within normal range for the past year. I'll unlock!

    Did they test T3/T4, in addition to TSH? Some people have trouble converting T4 into T3, so can still have issues despite a normal TSH. (It's treatable, too.) I'm kind of grasping at straws here, but I didn't see this asked/answered.

    The average expected weight gain because of a poorly controlled thyroid, while the patient is still functional of course, and it looks like OP is active, is about 10-15 lbs. So, of OP's 250 lbs, the 240 cannot be blamed on the thyroid.
  • itsbasschick
    itsbasschick Posts: 1,584 Member
    i'm 5' 3", and i put on about 40 pounds over a period of months eating less than 2000 calories per day. and yes, i do work out. i currently eat maybe 1400 calories on workout days if it's a strenuous workout. generally i eat 1200 to 1400 calories. if i eat 2000 calories per day, even on strenuous workout days or extended cardio (and i'm talking about hours, not minutes), i gain weight. at 5' 1", you'd need to run for about two hours per day or bike intensely for that same period, and maybe you'd burn enough to eat 2000 calories.

    it's just too many calories, and if a trainer told you to do this, it's time to find a new trainer.
  • Duchy82
    Duchy82 Posts: 560 Member
    Op are you sure you are properly medicated there is the normal range and what is normal for you! Ignoring the weight gain for now are you asymptomatic on the amount of levo you are on? To illustrate I'm hypo in the normal range but TSH is at the bottom end of normal and T4 at the extreme top to be without symptoms any changes and my symptoms reappear such as feeling cold, brain fog, feeling tired, etc.

    If you can answer with yes to the above then you are probably eating above maintenance level for you and I would suggest reducing calories until you find a range where you do start losing.
  • Pawsforme
    Pawsforme Posts: 645 Member
    edited April 2016
    aggelikik wrote: »
    mgookin1 wrote: »
    I have an under active thyroid. I am not treating it with any medication because I am trying natural ways first like losing weight and eating healthier and exercise before I resort to meds.
    I am 318 pounds and 5'7 and on 1810 calories a day. I eat back usually only 100-200 of my exercise calories back.

    Chances are you are over eating.

    What follows natural remedies for hypothyroidism is weight gain, depression, lack of energy (at this point you will not be able to react, it is not a mild loss of energy we are talking about or a mild depression, it is "cannot get up from bed and will fall asleep on the chair if I do" type of thing), hairloss, abnormal lipid panel, heart failure. Some of these things, you might not be able to recover from. This is what happened to people with hypothyroidism back when there were no meds. The typical hypothyroid patient was extremely fat, very slow (mentally and physically) and did not live long.

    Add elevated liver enzymes to what happens when you don't medicate an under active thyroid.

    It's not something to mess around with.
  • xcalygrl
    xcalygrl Posts: 1,897 Member
    edited April 2016
    Jkowals123 wrote: »
    5'1'm

    This is not the OP. Those suggesting to the OP that she is eating too much for being 5'1 are talking to the wrong person. The OP has not stated how tall she is.

    General advice based on what the OP has provided: 2000 calories is too much for you based on current trends. I would cut down to 1800 or so while accurately weighing everything to the gram and choosing the correct (USDA) entries and reevaluate after a few weeks (2-4).

    ETA: if still gaining after 2-4 weeks, more testing might be required as mentioned above or a further reduction in your calories or both.
  • Merrysix
    Merrysix Posts: 336 Member
    Just by way of example -- I weighted 246 at 5 ft 4 in when I started on My Fitness Pal, and was pretty active (I bicycle, row, lift weights, etc). I had to eat at about 1500-1600 to lose weight (about 1/2 pound per week) (and not eat back my exercise calories). I have lost a lot of weight (I'm at 185) and still eat in that range, and still am losing weight slowly. I don't eat back my exercise calories and I exercise more now (lift more and heavier weights, cross fit, etc). I am older so I know my metabolism has slowed down. But just to say I couldn't eat 2,000 calories and lose weight.
  • kpeterson539
    kpeterson539 Posts: 220 Member
    flaminica wrote: »
    Jkowals123 wrote: »
    5'1'm

    Ding ding ding!

    Your trainer told a five-foot petite with thyroid issues to eat 2000 calories a day? Is your trainer blind? Too many for you. Plus the medication, plus probably over-estimated exercise burns, plus possible under-estimated calorie intake.

    There's lots of good advice above. Remember however that in calories, as in clothing, one size does most certainly NOT fit all.


    (Oh yes, edited to say that I'm 5'0", slightly active and when I ate 2000 calories a day I weighed 230. I maintain on 1600.)


    Hate to say it but the person who responded with the height is not the OP. We still don't know the height of the OP.
  • Francl27
    Francl27 Posts: 26,371 Member
    2000 calories seems like too much. I don't see how your activity level is 'high' either if you're only exercising 5 hours a week. Do you have an active job? What do you do the rest of the time?

    Either way, I'll second what's been said above... eat less. I'd try 1700 calories too.