The Best Hashimoto’s Diet

angelaypolite

I was diagnosed with Hashimoto's and taking Levothyroxine (50 MCG). I'm reading all kinds of things about it and how this condition makes it hard to lose weight, how even taking the medication makes your gain weight (ugh...).
I read how low calories doesn't work (makes it worst for your thyroid), low carb isn't good for you, low fat isn't good either. I've tried Weight Watchers, Atkins, ect. I did lose a few pounds on Atkins, but it's hard to eat only 20 grams of carbohydrates a day and I was losing maybe a half a pound a week on Weight Watchers (I stayed the same weight for months, while sticking to the plan and exercising). I also read how some exercise isn't good for people with this condition. Honestly, I feel tired alot of the time, but I do walk my dog everyday.
I guess I'm looking for your opinion, and your experiences with this.

BarbaraJatmfp

Have you asked your doctor? He should be able to give you an idea of what foods to eat and what to avoid.

angelaypolite

She didn't do that.

socioseguro

Hi @angelapolite
welcome to MFP
Ask your medical doctor for a referral for a licensed dietitian. If not feasible, contact your medical insurance about what options do you have on your medical coverage.
All the best

neohdiver

I've lost 74 lbs since my Hashimoto's diagnosis a year ago (I'm on 75 mcg levothyroxine, 5 mcg liothyronine). In my experience, the connection betwen hyothyroidism and weight is vastly overstated. I haven't noticed it had any impact at all.

If you haven't been tested for diabetes, you should ask your doctor to do so. Hashimoto's and diabetes very frequently coexist.

It will take time for your medication to reach a stable therapeutic level, but make sure your doctor tests T4, T3, and rT3 at your next visit. Normal people convert T4 (what levothyroxine replaces) into T3 (what liothyronine replaces), so just adding T4 to the diet makes sense on a 10,000 foot level. But - if you have Hashimoto's you don't have a normal system, so you need to check and make sure your body isn't converting it into rT3 (makes you and tired) instead. That's why I'm on both. My rT3 was high and my T3 was low.

I haven't sorted out all of the details about what diet is supposed to do, since I was simultaneously diagnosed with diabetes - which is infinitely easier to fix by resticting carbs - so I started by fixing that. There is some negative interplay that has been reported between low carb and Hashimoto's. Once I get done fixing my diabetes, the cancer I was diagnosed with later in the year, and the new tumor that was discovered this morning, I'll pick up that research.

In the mean time - restrict calories for weight loss; restrict carbs for glucose maintenance (if you need to) and/or replace carbs with fats if you are having trouble feeling like you need more to eat.

Avoiding exercise is nonsense for pretty much any medical condition, including Hashimoto's. If you don't have the proper balance of T4 and T3, you may be too fatigued to exercise - but pushing yourself (as you are able) to exercise should actually help that.

SCoil123

For me I dont eat gluten and soy which seems to help. The gluten was easy to cut out because I already didnt eat wheat due to an unrelated food allergy. I also work out almost daily. I don't lose weight if I'm not moving. I dont know if that is because of hashis or not but it has been my experience. Reducing calories alonr never worked for me. Reducing calories slightly while avoiding certain foods that give me inflammation and working out regularly works for me.

angelaypolite

neohdiver-
According to my blood tests, my T-3 is normal (3.10) and T-4 is also normal (1.08). I don't see any rT3 test. Would it be called something else? I started my medication a few weeks ago, but learned a few days ago that I can't take any vitamins with my medication. So I guess I'm technically starting over to see how I feel in a few more weeks.

GottaBurnEmAll

You can take vitamins, just take them at night.

I was diagnosed with Hashimoto's 30 years ago.

I've lost 92 pounds just fine.

The medication does not make you gain weight. The condition, once properly treated does not make it harder to lose weight. I'm also post-menopausal.

The idea that any exercise isn't good for this condition? Nonsense. Utter nonsense.

As for special diets? They're pretty much nonsense too. The only thing you should probably avoid is eating raw cruciferous vegetables (broccoli, cauliflower) often.

Some people swear by avoiding gluten. Meh. I have to because I have celiac disease and it does seem like a lot of Hashi's sufferers eventually end up with celiac.

The old advice to avoid soy has been debunked (unless you have an allergy to it like I do).

So rest easy. You can lose weight like everyone else. Seriously, once your dosage is right (that means that you're treated so that you no longer experience symptoms), Hashi's is pretty much a non-issue.

CSARdiver

I was putting together a post, but @GottaBurnEmAll beat me to it. Just to stress a few points:

You can take vitamins, but they won't do much for you. Your body absorbs the levothyroxine in ~ an hour, so don't get caught up in the minutia so many do. I get up at 5am, take .175/200mcg and 16 oz water and then eat ~two hours later.

Stay away from sites such as Stop the Thyroid Madness as this and the similar sites are full of predatory woo. There is no special diet for Hashimotos. Unless you are diagnosed with celiacs gluten is fine.

What is critical is that your hormones will never be in balance if you are overweight, so focus on caloric intake and exercise using MFP or whatever CICO system fits your lifestyle. One of the reasons hypothyroidism is on the rise is the dramatic increase in obesity - then it becomes harder to manage metabolism and becomes a viscous cycle.

I was diagnosed with thyroid cancer in 2000 and put on ~70 lbs, not due to hypothyroidism, but because I stopped working out transitioning from an extremely active state in the military to an academic life and was blissfully unaware of my caloric intake. Since joining MFP I lost 60 lbs over a year.

There are several elite level athletes with thyroid disorders including Jillian Micheals, so let that be your motivator.

neohdiver

angelaypolite wrote: »

neohdiver-
According to my blood tests, my T-3 is normal (3.10) and T-4 is also normal (1.08). I don't see any rT3 test. Would it be called something else? I started my medication a few weeks ago, but learned a few days ago that I can't take any vitamins with my medication. So I guess I'm technically starting over to see how I feel in a few more weeks.

It might be called reverse triiodothyronine (or r-triiodothyronine). Many doctors don't order the test. If your body converts too much of the T4 into rT3, you can have normal T3 and T4 levels - but still experience all of the symptoms of hypothyroidism. The solution is to lower the T4 (levothyroxine) dose and increase the T3 (liothyronine).

I concur with GottaBurn - no reason not to take vitamins. You don't even have to take them at night - just make sure you don't take them (or anything else, including your morning coffee - and expecially calcium based food) at the same time.

But - if you haven't ruled out diabetes, do be sure to check that out. Most doctors don't bother to check (even though it is a very common condition), it can cause many of the same symptoms as hypothyroidism, and it is very common to have both.

The advice to avoid cruciferous vegetables is not universally accepted (it appears to be on the same debunking path as soy). Personally, I eat them nearly every day.

tempamatic

I've had Hashimoto's since 1996 and I've noticed the difficulty in losing weight as well. The best tactic for me is to eat one meal a day, and eat only between the hours of 4:45 and 5:45 pm.

My macros are 39% fats, 27% carbohydrates and 34% protein, and I keep the protein number high with a lot of protein powder and Quest bars. I log everything on MFP. I exercise for at least an hour each day, but it's easy -- I walk. Not fast, either. And I don't "eat back" the exercise calories, with my total intake being 2030 kcal/day (I'm 6'3" and weigh 212 lb).

The result of the high fats and protein number is that I am never hungry. It is almost miraculous. It's hard to get into this routine at first -- took me about two weeks to get used to this intermittent fasting, but drinking lots of water and exercising helped. Now I've lost 57 lb and kept it off for two years. I am staying on this program and slowly reducing my weight until I hit my ideal weight, which is now 12 lb away. This will be easy to maintain, because I love the foods I'm eating, enjoy walking, and don't mind the unconventional one-meal-a-day (OMaD) routine.

My dosage is 120MCG Levothyroxin and 5MCG Liothyronine, taken when I wake up. T4 and T3 levels are stable and I'm feeling great. This works so well for me, I'm wondering if it would work for anyone else...?

angelaypolite

I was taking vitamins because my iron was low, I believe my most recent blood test came back showing that being resolved. I also take a vitamin D once a week because I'm deficient in that too. I am not diabetic.

CMNVA

As others have said, Hashimoto's does not cause weight gain or make it harder to lose. If you are uncontrolled (not on meds) and you are hypothyroid, then, yes you can gain wait. I found that I only gained weight when my TSH got *very* high.

What you do need to take note of is that Hashimoto's is an autoimmune condition. If anything, you might want to study eating plans for people with autoimmune disorders. There are theories that claim that many autoimmune disorders are caused by chronic inflammation in the body due to environmental factors, too many antibiotics, and poor eating habits (mainly processed foods). Try to eat an more whole foods diet in order to calm down an inflammation inside your body, so that your immune system will calm down also.

GottaBurnEmAll

neohdiver wrote: »

angelaypolite wrote: »

neohdiver-
According to my blood tests, my T-3 is normal (3.10) and T-4 is also normal (1.08). I don't see any rT3 test. Would it be called something else? I started my medication a few weeks ago, but learned a few days ago that I can't take any vitamins with my medication. So I guess I'm technically starting over to see how I feel in a few more weeks.

It might be called reverse triiodothyronine (or r-triiodothyronine). Many doctors don't order the test. If your body converts too much of the T4 into rT3, you can have normal T3 and T4 levels - but still experience all of the symptoms of hypothyroidism. The solution is to lower the T4 (levothyroxine) dose and increase the T3 (liothyronine).

I concur with GottaBurn - no reason not to take vitamins. You don't even have to take them at night - just make sure you don't take them (or anything else, including your morning coffee - and expecially calcium based food) at the same time.

But - if you haven't ruled out diabetes, do be sure to check that out. Most doctors don't bother to check (even though it is a very common condition), it can cause many of the same symptoms as hypothyroidism, and it is very common to have both.

The advice to avoid cruciferous vegetables is not universally accepted (it appears to be on the same debunking path as soy). Personally, I eat them nearly every day.

Notice that I said RAW cruciferous vegetables. I eat cooked cruciferous vegetables every day too. Raw is problematic, though.

juliebowman4

I have Hashimotos. I was diagnosed last year. (100mcg Levo)
I have not put on any weight as a result of my medication, and I'm down 8lbs since logging and maintaining a calorie deficit 3 weeks ago.
Uncontrolled thyroid issues make weight loss difficult.
Controlled/managed thyroid issues make weight loss possible.

Golbat

I have Hashimoto's and I'm not having any trouble losing weight. I'm losing a bit faster than MFP predicts based on the number of calories I'm having, so I'm considering increasing how many calories I eat. I must be more active than I accounted for. If your condition is being treated and your level is good, then you should lose weight as easily as if you didn't have a thyroid problem.

angelaypolite

How long after you started your medication did you noticed feeling better? I've been on them for about two weeks now (but was taking vitamins with it in the morning for most of that time, til I read not to do that), and I still feel symptoms...

Golbat

It does take a few weeks of being on the medication before it really fixes things. I'd give it a bit more time, but if you are weighing everything, tracking everything that goes in your mouth, and you're sure you should be losing weight based on the number of calories you're having, and you still aren't losing, get your levels checked again. They sometimes have to change the dose a time or so before they get it right.

Pawsforme

Ummm . . . what kind of whackadoodle websites have you been reading? That's some crazy stupid info.

Levothyroxine does NOT make you gain weight. Exercise isn't bad. That's sheer stupidity.

You need to take your levothyroxine with water when you wake up and then wait at least 30 minutes before eating or drinking anything else. I wouldn't take any supplements for three or four hours. Better yet, take them at night.

Once I started medication I felt a little better in a week to ten days (less brain fog) and things kept improving from there. Around the six week mark I was able to start losing weight. I lost 25 pounds relatively easily in a few months and have easily maintained that for several months now.

Once your levels are stabilized you should have no problem losing if you figure out the right calorie intake for you to lose weight and if you carefully weigh all your food.

For the vast majority of people with Hashimoto's no special diet is required. There is a very small correlation between Hashimoto's and celiac disease. But it is very small.

LAWoman72

Hashi's here, Levothyroxine 88 MCG/day. The only thing that works for me is eating less. Nothing else works. Period. I have to be at a deficit. Then I lose.

So far I am down 50 lbs.

paperpudding

I am on 75mg of thyroxine daily after having half my thyroid removed due to a tumour.

It has made zero difference to my diet or to my weight

kbmnurse

Go to a dietician.

yirara

I managed to lose the 10lbs I wanted to lose, and then an additional 30lbs while having untreated Hashi. No problem at all. The only thing is that Levothyroxine gives me more energy and a better concentration, plus lots of other things.

I suggest you don't take vitamins unless you were diagnosed with a deficiancy. Mineral and vitamin deficiencies are common with hashi, and if your gp ran a test while you're taking vitamins those tests would possibly show you are healthy and cover up the deficiency. At least two weeks, possibly more no minerals and vitamins before a blood test. But I would get those tests. Especially Vitamin B12 and D3 deficiencies are common, and iron (test ferritin, not serum iron).

angelaypolite

Thanks everyone for your input. The internet has all sorts of conflicting info. That's why I asked.

LauraCoth

I agree with the comments about Stop the Thyroid Madness - -I find that site a bit hysterical -- but you can get very good information about thyroid disease at VeryWell. com -- Mary Shomon's site. It's a wealth of research-backed information and doesn't have STTM's stated bias towards desiccated thyroid over synthetic hormone treatments (and I say that as someone who far prefers desiccated thyroid).

Just to clarify - it is the Free T3 and Free T4 tests you need -- the Free is the key word here. TSH is not a very accurate test, as it's influenced by many outside factors.

Good luck.

angelaypolite

Yes, I got both of those tests done.