Interesting article about how hypothyroid pts should calucul

loulou0612

http://thyroid.about.com/cs/dietweightloss/a/eatingenough.htm



I have lost weight in the past but have been struggling the last 4 weeks,exercising 5 days a week for about 30 minutes(sometimes a little more) and have actually only gained a pound...It looks interesting and a little scary to imagine eating all those calories...

geezalawheez

According to this formula I should be eating about 7 small meals a day for a total of 2300 calories. It definitely a scary concept to eat more than you're used to in order to lose weight. Has anyone else heard anything about this theory or have any experience with it?

seaglass2

While I understand everyone's body is different this would not work for me. I did the calculation and I wasn't consuming as many calories suggested (even with the 200 deduction for thyroid condition - which I found interesting), 1925, I was at about 1800 as I kept a food diary for a week to see where I was to gauge where I needed to go.

I also think that going down to the bare minimum for me would bring my metabolism to a grinding halt.

I am trying to find the right mix of calories and exercise that is the optimum for me to bring about weight loss. It is trial and error at this point.

I know people say that it's just a matter of taking in less calories than you expend but I have had weeks where I have exercised for an hour a day, eaten 1400 calories and drank 8 glasses of water and nothing happens on the scale - or even worse, I've gained a pound!

Maybe if you are at a plateau you can try changing your calories and alternate for example (use numbers that make sense for you) 1200, 1400, 1600, 1200, 1400, 1600....

I have not done this yet but plan on giving it a try when I hit the wall.

Donna

Dogwood111

My jaw is on the floor. I wonder if its worth a try. I am on day 15 here at MFP. Was down a few pounds. But as of this morning the scale said I was 2 pounds heavier than 15 days ago. I have been under 1200 all but 1 day. And on average have worked out every other day.
So I am feeling like my body is not responding. Maybe more meals and more calories are needed?
Thanks for the link to the article!

loulou0612

I agree I am gonna give it a try too, I am typically not that hungry but I can see how having to keep your body in a constant state of metabolism may work when nothing else does....I am gonna get as close as I can today and Will keep you posted!!

shakybabe

mine worked out at 1,375 to lose 1 lb every 10 days, MFP gave me 1,350 to lose 1/2lb a week, my BMR is now 1,280 at 140lbs.

tecallahan

Mine was 1475 calories -- only 200 more than I am eating. not sure that would work for me -- I know they say that raising your calories doesn't cause your weight to go up, but they don't have my thyroid! :explode:

stacywx2

I had heard th-s, too, but, oddly enough, I got my daily from Jillian regarding calories. I used the formula I found there and subtracted the 200. If my memory serves me correctly, I believe my results were different, but you might want to verify. I am currently using the number I got from Jillian's website. I also changed my % to 40 protein, 35 carbs, 25 fat. This is still hard for me to achieve, but honestly, it seems this is working for me. I also eat one (1) Brazil nut a day, sometimes 2, for the selenium. I was aiming for the selenium to help my grave's eye disease, but apparently selenium helps convert T4 to T3. Jillian also just posted an article about nutrients today, listing selenium as an important supplement/mineral.

shvits

Thanks, yes, interesting. Right now am loosing weight with MFP suggestions, but if I stop will try increasing calories. I have found I am eating more protein then they recommend. I snack on yogurt and stuff like that. Fills me up.

OkieinMinny

I will be interested how this works, this bumps my calories WAY up and I am just way too freaked out to do this - I have been trying to play with my calories also to find the right blend....

DenverKos

It's not that far off from what I'm doing now, and if I change my weight loss from 1 1/2 lbs/week to .75 lbs/week, it's within 100 calories. I'm not at that low of an intake, not under 1200 cals, especially on exercise days. I guess I'm trying to say I'm pretty much in line with this. If I plateau I might give it try, or start incorporating more calories in a little at a time until I get up to that level so my body isn't in shock.

loulou0612

I am going to try it today, It increases my calories by almost 800 calories but with MFP in the last two weeks I have only gained...I will let everyone know how it works out!

loulou0612

So this morning, is my almost 4th day of this new eating plan, Read the article on Tue and ate more that evening and then Wed and Thursd. as much as I could..So Far lost 0.6lbs.....I was actually hungry yesterday and slept a little better...So far I say it may work...

Dogwood111

I am going to try this.
It increases my calories by almost 400 and that makes me a little scared, because I am a shorty. I like the idea of mini-meals...I think that is what I am going to try and focus on- 4 or 5 meals @ 300 calories. I changed my calorie/food percentages to match the article. 40 protein/35 carb/25 fat.
Fingers crossed

tecallahan

hmmm... you are persuading me! I would do almost anything to sleep a little better!

Just1forMe

I will be interested how this works, this bumps my calories WAY up and I am just way too freaked out to do this - I have been trying to play with my calories also to find the right blend....

I just found this thread today and read the article. I am going to give it a shot. Per the calculations, I raised my calorie goal from the 1450 it was at to the 1830 it recommended. You all realize that MFP's goals are "plus exercise calories" and the articles goals seem to include your exercise in the calculations. In other words, my daily goal will be 1830 and I will NOT eat my exercise calories as I was with the 1450 goal MFP gave me. I also upped my protein from 35% to 40% as recommended. I am willing to try anything. I am SO rigid with my diet and exercise at least an hour 7 days a week and I can NOT lose weight...I am up 4.5 lbs right now from my low weight for absolutely NO reason. I can't wait until I can get on medication...if that will even help

tecallahan

Forgot to mention, that I bumped mine up according to that formula - about 10 days ago or so. Didn't really make a difference. I didn't lose or gain. So, going back to 1200 + will eat some of my exercise.

0AmyMarie0

Mine wasnt that far off. Says I should be eating 1436 calories a day, I've been eating just under 1200 and exercising (eating back SOME exercise calories but not all)

MmmDrop

I dunno... in my opinion, that site is just way over complicating things. I use MFP's calculations, I don't eat hardly any of my exercise calories back, I do however split my meals up to where I eat about 6 times a day. I do an hour of cardio every day, and every other day I add in about 45 minutes worth of strength training with heavy weights.

I've been losing on average 1 pound a week which is what my MFP settings are at - sometimes I lose 2 a week.

My thyroid meds are optimized though and I feel absolutely amazing. When they weren't, I felt like crap, and it was impossible for me to lose weight regardless how many calories I ate, or how much I would work out. When you're optimized, you WILL know, and you will be able to lose weight, even if its coming off really slow.