Losing weight after thyroid surgery

midwesternwind

I wanted to know if anyone on here has had their whole thyroid removed and the issues with it with your trying to lose weight. I have read some people have to be put on medication to help with their metabolism afterwards then I also read that you have problems with eating carbs afterwards. I want to continue losing weight but I am afraid of what's going to happen after I have mine removed March 10th. I have done good (least in my mind) since the 1st of January (lost 15 pounds). Any advice?

CSARdiver

Welcome aboard! Congratulations on the outstanding progress!

I had a total thyroidectomy in 2000 and put on ~70 lbs over the next 14 years. I was transitioning from a high active military life to a cushy civilian job, so I ate as if I ran 6 mi/day and swam 2 mi/day, but "forgot" to run & swim. My wife used MFP to lose weight after giving birth and I tried this out about 2 years ago and lost 60 lbs in a year. I ate the same foods, just less of them and started working out again. The key to my success was doing this gradually. I identified 1-2 bad habits at a time that lead to me overeating and replaced these with good habits.

The key to this is establishing a routine that works for you and your goals. Get up at the same time, medicate at the same time, eat/drink/exercise at the same time, etc.

There is no special diet to this. Just do what you need to do to maintain a caloric deficit.

The impact to metabolism is minimal. ~5% from clinical data. Don't let this hold you back.

deannalfisher

I have a total thyroidectomy in 2014, followed by radioactive iodine treatment for thyroid cancer

no issues eating carbs what so ever; I avoid soy on the recommendation from my endocrinologist

I love about 10lbs within the first 6 months, then it started creeping back on (coincidently when my thyroid levels weren't quite right)...now that they are good again, the weight is slowly coming back off

oh and losing 15lbs since January is frickin awesome!

emuhawk

I had a total thyroidectomy at the end of October 2016. Anyone who has their thyroid removed will have to be on medication for the rest of their life to replace the hormones that a functional thyroid produces. You have to be careful to follow instructions (take the meds in the morning on an empty stomach 30-60 minutes before eating), but otherwise I haven't had any issues with them.

I had gained about 30 pounds in the year prior to my surgery and so far I've lost about half of that. The only difference I've found post-surgery is that my weight loss is less linear than it used to be. I'll go a week or two without seeing any meaningful loss and then lose a pound a day for three days, then my weight will go back to being more or less stationary. Prior to all my thyroid problems, if I stuck to my calorie goals my weight loss was fairly steady. So I'm losing amount overall now, it's just not a steady loss like before.

Edit: I haven't noticed any problem with carbs, and I eat tons of them!