New to MFP- Question on Armour Thyroid & eating daily allowance

DianaLynn15

Hello,

I'm here to gain some healthier habits and I have a big chunk of weight to lose. I have read some of the threads and it is encouraging to see that many of you have had success!

I started a week ago and I have lost 3LBS. For the first week I thought I would see a bigger drop in weight (5LBS) because of Water loss. that's OK I will take what I can get

I am staying on track with calorie input and playing with the amount and I am (BRISK) walking for a total of 1 hour most days (broken up 1 30 minute & 2 15 minute walks)

I have been gluten free for 5 years & currently I am trying out grain free. I am sparingly eating healthy fats (brazil nuts, goat cheese, EVO and occasionally avocado) but may need to play with adding more.

Questions:
Does anyone here have an issue with Armour thyroid & water retention?

When it comes to your daily calorie intake do you eat up to your allotted amount after your exercise adds the calories in? or a percentage of the amount? or say an extra 100 calories?


Thank You!
Diana

CSARdiver

Any change in your hormones is going to result in water weight - this is a normal and necessary reaction to keep your cells healthy and stable.

Don't think in short term and focus on the long term. Remember your focus is on reducing body fat.

With weight management calories are the driving force.

I have a fitness tracker and try to get as close as possible to what MFP states. I've been in maintenance for 3 years and this is holding steady.

Fuzzipeg

Welcome. I'm wondering if you are on the right does for you, some of us can need more in the winter than in the summer. Have you had a recent full blood panel including reverse t3 as well as total and antibodies etc? It really helps to know how your t4 and t3 are balanced there is an ideal ratio but I can't remember what it is. Some of us have difficulties with reverse, reverse or inactive t3 reduce your active t3 from total t3. (your total can look good but taking the reverse inactive can make it poor) Achieving the right dose for "you" can be complicated, some of us need to be at the higher end of range rather than lower, being allowed to achieve this is not easy as it needs the support of a knowledgeable doctor.

Congratulations on the 3lb loss. Its easy to expect more but 2 lb loss a week is good. Water weight can be a bit of a myth. Is your exercise regime new by any chance? If so you could be experiencing recovery reactions to unaccustomed exercise, it has happened to many of us. I hope you are giving yourself rest days, these are vital to a good exercise regime, many are tempted to go for it every day. Cells in our muscles can become damaged in exercise, its a natural process of damage and repair which includes extra fluid. Your body should settle down.

To eat back or not to eat back calories, is what ever suits you best. I assume you are using the aotomated set up using your most apropriate activity level. This calculation estimates the calories you need to Live in that mode, it does not allow for extra activity so its a personal decision for how much to eat back or not. Not eating back can leave one depleated and tired with negative symptoms.

I don't understand "staying on track" yet "playing", its as well to keep things steady. I've heard of people who look at calories in weekly amounts, some days higher others lower keeping within their weekly goal, I'm not sure great swings are a good idea.

I wonnder if you are vegetarian, eating nuts, goat cheese and the like, sparingly for good fats. if you are using the automated set up, keep as close as you can to the suggested grams of fats and other catagories of foods theese are the recomended proportions.

I hope some of this is helful. somehow it got posted before I was ready.

DianaLynn15

Thank You Both for the encouragement and help info! Im Sorry for the blanks I will try to fill in information:

It has been a roller coaster ride to get my Amour dosage correct. Over the summer I got over medicated and I felt horrible. My dr cut my dosage down and my last lab test (2 month ago) showed slightly low so my Dr indicated I could add an extra pill a week. Im now on 90 MG 4 times a week. I feel alot better than I have in a while so Im hopeful for my next lab test in a few weeks.

My exercise routine is fairly new and going well.

My Diet - I am gluten free and I eat meat (not vegatarian) mostly lean chicken, turkey and beef about 1 time a week. I am trying to watch my fat intake, however from ready and researching I see many people with hypothyroid add some fat to thier diet and it helps them lose? I do eat nuts, limiting dairy ect. Im trying grain free right now but I find it restrictive withour rice & quinoa ect,

Thank You!

Fuzzipeg

Many if not all hormones have "fats" in their composition, being Hypo or even Hyper are by their nature hormonal which is partly why going low fat can be bad for us. Low fat is something of a throw back to past thinking. This whole thyroid thing causes different problems within the population, sometimes reflecting issues in other endocrine glands. I think it is the Hypothyroid mom, site which gives 300 possible symptoms, some of us have many others have fewer, some very common ones and others more obscure. Some of us develop food and chemical intolerances others do not. I wonder if you were advised to go gluten free after testing, or because it is something which can crop up more often in the hypo/Hashimoto's community but it is not everyone. I assume you tried and did achieve some relief. Then just because one is proven to be Gluten intolerant it does not mean you will necessarily react to all other cereals there are many different proteins in them.

Another problem can be dairy, most say they are lactose intolerant though casein intolerance is more prevalent. There is a quirk with casein as a protein, it comes in 4 types 1, 2, 3, and 4. Most often bovine, cow dairy is available it is dominant type 1 with a small representation of the others. Goat and sheep dairy is predominantly type 2 with some of the others, its most like human milk, many who are lactose intolerant can comfortably use sheep or goat because the casein is more easily digested. The list of things one can react to is long. Probably the best one can do for oneself if one has digestive issues is to see an expert who will test for the cause or causes providing definitive answers making life much easier.

My dietary issues revolved round casein, as mentioned above then, histamine and salicylate intolerances, the first can be defined as a problem of decomposition being more sensitive than the average. The second, salicylate is a natural substance found in many fruits and veg because it is one method of their eliminating moulds and mildews. Finding foods available on both lists was complicated and totally restricted. I don't recommend eliminations because you can miss out on so much in the way of vitamins and minerals extending the Hashi related issues. I needed leave the regular approach to get my life back. I'm doing better with alternative thyroid and both, firstly using digestive microbes and then adding enzymes because my system did not make them a consequence of long standing untreated Hashimoto's.

I wonder if your doctor has carried out antibody testing, having antibodies is what makes the difference between being insufficient in your diet and being hypo and having an autoimmune disorder, in regular medicine most of us are treated the same only, I like others have benefited from vitamins, minerals and other things. In my View there is no one size fits all, probably not even half of us.

I'm intrigued, your doctor has you on 4 pills a week (360g). I wonder if your treatment might come with smaller pill sizes. I know I feel better using my supplement daily. I would be looking for a way for you to do similarly, keeping your system more even. Years back, I remember two ladies on here saying, they used one size treatment one day and a different one the next, the second lady might have been one 6 days with a higher one on the 7th. This might be something you can explore. (360/7= 51 a fair way short of 52, some pills do come in 50s. There might be something smaller available to give you a regular daily dose, even combining two values similar to the ladies I mentioned above. I can't remember the brands though I do know it is not possible to change one to another without some deep study 2 regular ones in the Natural world come in one set of values the 2 others do differently but I'm not suggesting you change.

My questions are rhetorical, you know your own answers and do not need to broadcast them. I hope I have given you some things to think about which will ultimately help you on your way to your old really well self. I'm pleased you are feeling better than you have for some time, I hope this continues.

You may find help reading either the book or from the web site of Stop the Thyroid Madness. One critism often used against the site is they do favour desiccated thyroid products either the same yours or one of the others. They do provide a list of recommended doctors. I mentioned the Hypothyroid mom above but will add may countries have their own support sites which can be incredibly helpful. I found it helpful to read up for myself till I found my present adviser. I followed my symptoms on these and medical, there are some on-line Doctors, you can track their accreditation, then hospital university sites, blogs and things can be unreliable.

All the very, very best. I hope you can find the best answers for yourself. Take care.

DianaLynn15

thank you Fuzzipeg, it gives me hope that you have had success. My blood work has been taken and I'm waiting on consult with my DR. She may very well suggest that I take smaller amount of medication on the days I don't take any. I will take a look at Stop the thyroid madness. currently I have been plugging along, logging calories & getting about an hour of 3.5 MPH walking in a day. (with 1 rest day) not much weight loss thou

Fuzzipeg

I'm confident, when you have your medication balanced properly for yourself, you will start to feel much better.

I seem to remember there are 4 brands of conventional natural thyroid products available in the US, the active contents are at different levels, in that two are have higher or you could say two are lower in active ingredients than the other two. I've no idea what they use as fillers/binders a problem could lie in those in cross reactions. Then there is the old favourite, for some "reason" something does not help one person when it does so many others, its being an individual.

If you feel you are really not achieving much with this doctor you could try finding another doctor. STTM do have a list of doctors who have helped others who have put them forward, the hypothyroid mom also has a list. Something is reminding that for some with thyroid problems, exercise can be counterproductive, I think this is because another endocrine gland issues are reflected in the thyroid or even one rest day may not be sufficient for you. Only you know how much effort the hour walking is taking out of you, if you feel worn out at the end of it you are doing too much.

I would be inclined to try for a second opinion. I hope the dr talks antibodies with you, if not I really would go elsewhere. Please read up on your symptoms before you see your doctor so you can maintain an organised conversation.