Let's talk hypothyroidism.

idekqwerty

I was diagnosed with hypothyroidism at the age of 16 and if you are in this same boat you know that losing weight is very hard. I was curious is there were any other women with this issue on their journey too? I could use support group that understand the struggles of trying to lose weight with this particular disease.
I'll tell you a little about myself to fill you in, I am 23 years old, I have been trying everything under the sun to lose weight since my sophomore year of college. I am currently 269lbs and I am NOT proud of that. I can't completely blame it on my condition because there are other factors. I am a Cancer and I feel allllllll the feels all the time, so I emotional eat and binge eat. I mean you can't cry when you're mouth is full of chocolate eclairs duh. I am very blunt and loud but I'm also very gentle and kind because I assume everyone has eggshell feelings like mine.
I am wanting and willing to walk with you on your journey to a better life. To share all of the struggles and victories we have. Support and motivation are a key factor in the weightloss game for sure. Feel free to add me! I'm always open to talk.

44to44

I was only diagnosed in my early 30s but I know the struggle. I suspect I had it long before the actual diagnosis. But you're right -you can't blame all the weight on the condition. If your meds have stabilized your condition, you will lose weight if you put in the effort. I'm a big emotional eater, I love my sweets, and I haven't exercised nearly enough during my lifetime, and the extra calories and lack of exercise is what mostly got me to where I am today, not my condition.

Try not to be discouraged if you're not losing huge amounts every week. We lose weight a little more slowly. But with consistent effort over time, I really believe we can reach our goals. Good luck! Feel free to add me if you like.

jessileak

I've had hypothyroidism since I was 14 and three years ago I was diagnosed with Hashimoto's Thyroiditis so I definitely know the struggle! Some days I'm good, other days I'm a total binge-eating sloth. It's a crappy disease that's difficult to explain to someone who doesn't have it so it's always nice when you can find someone that can relate to your situation!

cheryldumais

I have hypothyroidism too. I'll be 60 this September and have fought my weight all my life. My all time high weight was 251 although this time around I started at 233. I'm 5'5" tall. I have managed to get down to 183. The weight loss is very slow but I'm happy to say reasonably steady. The tough part, for me anyway, is how exhausted I get when I exercise. Most people don't understand that. I have also been diagnosed with Fibromyalgia and Chronic Fatigue (depending on what doc you ask). I have decided not to allow that to stop me. What has worked for me is keeping track of every single bite that goes in my mouth. I log pretty much everything. The second was finding an exercise I COULD do without feeling like I was going to collapse from exhaustion along with the low thryroid headaches I used to get. I decided I could walk. I bought a Vivofit 2 (cause it was cheap) and started with a low goal. I am now up to 8000 (most people start at 10,000) steps but for me that is a huge victory. Set reasonable goals for yourself. Nevermind what others are doing. Walk around the block once a day if that's what you can do. Go at your own pace. I lose maybe 5 pounds a month but you know what I'm down 50 pounds from my starting weight of 233! Eat a reasonable amount of food, my goal is 1200 calories but I do eat some of the exercise calories I earn. Forget the crazy diets and the surgeries. I had a lap band and I don't even want to tell you about the problems I had with it. It has been removed and good riddance. Trust me, you can do this but it takes patience. You might lose slower than some but you can lose. Good luck kiddo.

idekqwerty

You guys are awesome!
Its definitely an easier journey when someone has the same condition and can relate to you when you say you're absolutely EXHAUSTED after a two mile walk which is no problem for most people. Thanks for sharing your expierences with me, glad to see I'm not on my own on this one! Best of luck to both of you ladies

socajam

I second everything that cheryldumais wrote.

It is a nightmare to lose weight, but its doable, whilst it is extremely easy to put on. I lost 24 lbs 2 years ago through walking and rigorous logging. I felt good, but once I relax, this is why I am back here trying again.

What I find work for me is that we have to exercise every day (something I tend to not follow), it does not have to be anything strenuous, just walking.

I do not eat anything white (bread, rice, flour etc). I eat brown rice, whole wheat bread (gave that up and moved on to Ryvita @ 160 for 4, that it more filling that one slice of bread. I just love cereal, but it leaves me feeling extremely bloated, I now eat that once a week or eat gluten free oatmeal. I do not eat any soy, or fresh water fish. I try to gear my eating towards plant based as much as I can which seems to work.

I was feeling like you, and asked my endocrinologist to do a complete blood test - only to find out that my Vitamin D was extremely low. Once I start taking Vitamin D 2000 iu, my body did a complete 180. For folks like us, we really need to watch our diet and do some kind of exercise daily, its is very important - lessons I am still learning, but not sticking to.

SoDamnHungry

Honestly, the difficulty with hypothyroid varies from person to person. I was QUITE hypothyroid when I found out from a standard blood test the doctor gave me, was very skinny and had lost weight because I was dedicated to it. The doctor looked at me, looked at my chart, and said "You don't look hypothyroid." If you're on the proper medication it really shouldn't be an issue at all. Hashimoto's seems to be a bit of a special case, though.

You're right not to blame much of it on your condition if you're eating excess calories all the time... Although you can learn to work eclairs into your calorie allowance for weight loss.

hypodonthaveme

I was diagnosed 12 yrs ago. I just want to tell you, yes you have to work 2 times as hard, but it can be done. For years I blamed my thyroid even when the tests said I was in the normal range due to meds. I was far from normal in everything else. I tried more times than not to lose this ugliness. Then I changed my outlook. Stopped stressing about what if I fail again. 9 months later and I am within 12 pounds of my goal weight. Looking forward to making my dr cry at the end of the month.

gemmabann

So glad u posted this!! I'm just constantly sad looking at the scales only been diagnosed 3 months and only just got.meds right! Only diagnosis after I had my little girl, i put on no weight in pregnancy then gained loads after, feels no matter what I do I can't shift any weight I jog 3-4 times a week and walk other days I'm careful with my diet but nothing not a single lb! And it's not like I don't have plenty to lose!