Hashimotos / underactive thyroid

aimos87

Hi, just wondering those of you who have hashimotos or underactive thyroid what have you found works for you? In terms of macros etc? Do you feel better eating higher carbs or protein or fat? Have you managed to lose weight? Thanks

pinggolfer96

See your doctor or endocrinologist. They’re the ones who need to be asked this as your insufficiencies can be fixed

Fuzzipeg

I agree your doctor should be your first port of call. Hashimoto's is so varied, each person has their own version of the possible 300 odd symptoms. I have not got into the micro's nor macros for myself my Hashimoto's pre existed my diagnosis for too, way too long taking me to the extremes of health problems. The actions I found most helpful were discovering what was causing my antibodies, allergies/intolerances, its really complicated involving molecule mimicry, the second was discovering digestive microbes because my digestive flora was in a poor state following years of antibiotic use and other medications. I'm still living with histamine intolerance and Salicylate issues but the range of foods I am able to eat are, thankfully, much wider.

aimos87

Thank you 😊 I’m seeing my endo tomorrow 🤞🏼

LiLee2018

For me, eating keto is working. Will it work for others with hypothyroid? I don't know, but it's working for me.

FL_Hiker

I’ve had hashimotos hypothyroid since I was 10 years old, for me personally I find a little extra protein helps how I feel a lot. I DONT do KETO or any particular diet, I try to eat a well balanced diet. Always been a healthy BMI, gained a little weight over the years though but losing was no trouble at all. Look into getting T3 + T4, ask your endo about synthroid and cytomel, the generic levoxy. doesn’t work for many people including me who feel more symptoms like being cold, etc. My endo also suggested I take selenium supplements.

GottaBurnEmAll

I was diagnosed with Hashimoto's 30 years ago. See your doctor to make sure you're properly medicated and make sure they run a full thyroid panel. It helps to have a good relationship with your doctor and that they treat you so that you're symptom-free and not just within some arbitrary lab ranges.

Saying that, since I do all of that to medically manage my Hashi's, I found simply controlling my calories to be all I needed to lose and keep off 90 pounds. I didn't need to eat a certain macro mix. I did make sure to get adequate protein, because that's important for all dieters. But I didn't make any choices because I had Hashi's. All of my choices are centered around foods that keep me feeling full and satisfied while meeting my calorie goals.

CSARdiver

I mainly keep an eye on calories, then protein, then carbs - ensuring I meet the minimum to keep and grow my lean muscle mass and fuel my workouts.

I had a total thyroidectomy in 2000, so I keep an eye on my TSH primarily ensuring it's a low as possible (near 0.2), then fT3, fT4, rT3.

I find that keeping a routine holds the best value overall. I stay hydrated, drink 16 oz water 30 mins prior to mealtimes, and get at least 30 mins of cardio in daily.

I've been at maintenance for over three years now.

AnnPT77

I have underactive thyroid (not Hashi's), properly medicated, and found that managing my calorie intake was sufficient for me to lose 50+ pounds in less than a year.

I do shoot for well balanced nutrition (because I like being healthy, not just thin), and get some regular exercise (because I like being fit and strong, not just thin and healthy ), but the weight loss was just about calories (I'd long been getting decent nutrition and exercise even while obese).

I'm heading into my 3rd year of maintaining a healthy weight, at age 62.

campellone69

I’ve been diagnosed with Hashimoto’s 6 months ago and struggled to lose weight. Dairy and breads seemed to bother me, either making me constipated or extremely loose stools. My endocrinologist suggested going Gluten free and staying away from dairy and soy. I’ve been very happy with the results. I lost 18 lbs in 4 months and feel a lot better. I’m still struggling with what to eat, but I feel better.

ServusChristi

I was diagnosed eight years ago after having half my thyroid removed. Stay on your levothyroxine and it's irrelevant. I just hit goal yesterday -- total loss, 158 lbs. I just follow the MFP recommendations for nutrients.

ruqayyahsmum

Diagnosed 5 years ago, lost 168lb since then

Making sure I'm adequately medicated and keeping to my calorie deficit have been fine for losing weight

I keep an eye on macros purely because I'm vegetarian and if I don't keep an eye I can end up low on protein if I've chosen high carb/ low protein items (chips/ fries I'm looking at you)

evemariepaiement

campellone69 wrote: »

I’ve been diagnosed with Hashimoto’s 6 months ago and struggled to lose weight. Dairy and breads seemed to bother me, either making me constipated or extremely loose stools. My endocrinologist suggested going Gluten free and staying away from dairy and soy. I’ve been very happy with the results. I lost 18 lbs in 4 months and feel a lot better. I’m still struggling with what to eat, but I feel better.

you can look into AIP diet (Gf and Df) if you want to see if you can heal even further.

It was life saving for me.

cheryldumais

I have an underactive thyroid and have lost 100+ pounds. I take my meds and the only exercise I do is walking. I should be doing more but that has allowed me to successfully maintain within 10 pounds of my lowest weight. Listen to your doc and take the meds and you should be fine. Don't expect medication alone to make you magically skinny tho. I took my meds for years and didn't lose anyting. I lost weight when I started counting calories and logging.

JulieD769

I have Hashimoto’s, diagnosed a year ago. Started on meds and started losing weight, but all of a sudden I hit a plateau in June. My dose was increased, but probably not enough. I will probably have to go back to doctor soon and may ask to switch to NDT, as the synthetics are making me feel worse and I’m losing my hair. I went gluten free and gave up most grains back in June when my antibodies were getting higher (over 3,000), but I am finding that I don’t feel better at all. I felt better eating everything and staying in a deficit. You will have to experiment and see what works best for you because I am seeing how this disease is different for everyone and what works for me may not work for you. Good luck!

aimos87

Thanks ppl😊 my doc put me on meds (every second day) and told me to go GF initially and if no improvement then dairy free 😊

Fuzzipeg

Wishing you well on the medication.

Going gluten free can take some time to bring any changes, for some it can take 6 months to feel benefits. It can take this long for the problems it creates within someone to be resolved. My experience of going dairy free (for casein a protein) was almost instant though it can take a couple of months to resolve in others. Wishing you all the very best as you work on these eliminations as it is possible to have both. Without allergy/intolerance testing you are best to give each elimination adequate time to show results starting one well before the other so you can know which it is essential for you to maintain.

Regrettably every person can have their own specific set of symptoms/reactions to things so discovering what helps or hinders each of us can be trial and error, person specific. I feel the longer one has had to live with health problem the more difficult it can be to achieve resolution. I hope your symptoms are very recent in origin. You may find the site or book from, Stop The Thyroid Madness, helpful. The site Hypothyroid Mom is good too, there are others, many countries have their national support sites. All the very best.