New to MFP - Hashi's Patient - Calorie Questions

gabbiest

Hello fellow thyroid sufferers. My name is Gabrielle and I am 20 years old with Hashimoto's thyroiditis. I was 18 when I was diagnosed on March 1st, 2012 but I suspect I have been suffering from it much longer than that. Autoimmune disease and thyroid problems run in my family. My mother has it, she suspects many of her family have it(though they refused to get tested and still do), my younger sister has thyroid problems(still diagnosing, but probably Hashi's too) and juvenille type 2 diabetes.

My question is, how many calories do you consume in a day? I know that our metabolism can be a lot slower than most, so does that mean that we should potentially be eating less than 1200 calories a day? MFP has me down as 1200 a day to lose two pounds a week, which is great, but I can't manage to eat that much most days. This is my fifth day using MFP and I still weigh the exact same(with some fluctuations) and each day I have been under 1200 calories with my body telling me for the most part that I am full. I am also wondering if maybe I need to adjust to my BMR which would likely up my intake to about 1500-1600 calories per day, but those calculators aren't accurate for thyroid patients so it's a catch 22. That's why I would like to know how you determine what amount of calories you should be eating each day.

Anyways, I'm glad to be here and excited to meet all of you. Feel free to add me, I love seeing what other thyroid patitents are doing and encouraging others!

editorgrrl

I have Hashimoto's. With only 31 lb. to lose, a loss of any more than 1 lb. per week is unhealthy. Ideally, set your goal to .5 lb. and learn to be very, very patient. It took me a year to lose 20 lb.

Remember, the goal is to eat the maximum number of calories at which you lose weight, not the minimum.

Read this: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1080242-a-guide-to-get-you-started-on-your-path-to-sexypants

Frigs

You have to figure out your TDEE, Total Daily Energy Expenditure.

It is dependent on your activity, how much you weigh, age, and any medical conditions that slow your metabolism, i.e. thryroid, PCOS, etc.

This is what I did.

Track EXACTLY what you consume over 21 days using a reasonable calorie intake say 1450.
Add up all of the calories that you ate over those 21 days = TC
Calculate the weight you lost over those 21 days ( at 1450, there should be something unless you don't move all day) = WL
Muliply the weight you lost in lbs times 3500 ==> WL*3500 = WLC
Add that to your total calories you consumed ( don't cheat) and divide by the total days you tracked, in this case 21

(WLC + TC)/21 = TDEE

I ignored exercise calories even though I exercise almost everyday, cardio kick box, walking, tennis, pilates cause I'm old. But if you run long distances...you are gonna have to add those calories back in.

Once you have your own personal TDEE...then you know what to do...Reduce it by a reasonable amount each day. Over time...you will have reduced it by 3500 calories...and that's a pound.

My TDEE is 1950 and I eat 1450 per day and am loosing between 1 and 1.5 pounds per week.

It works for me if I stick to it. I did eat 1200, never below, but it's too little and I end up not getting enough calories for fats. Fats are very important for thryroid which dries you out.

Good luck!!!!! My mom is 81 with hashimotos, so it does not have to rule you. It's just a condition you learn to live with.

Good luck on your journey!!!!