Very low body temperature?

aprildiamond42

My body temperature has always been low (97.8 degrees F average as a kid) but after I got hypothyroidism, it dropped a couple of degrees. It is normally between 95-96 degrees, except right after I exercise it may go up to nearly 97.

I read somewhere that the lower your body temperature, the fewer calories you burn. So when I figured my BMR, it came out to just about 1200 calories. (For normal women, it's about 1700)

I did the math! Although I'm not happy about the results, I'm happy to finally have it figured out. If I am eating 1200 calories net, I will never lose another pound. If I net 1100 calories, it will take me 35 days to lose ONE POUND. No wonder I have not lost any weight since I joined MFP 6 months ago and stayed at 1200 calories!

For someone whose BMR is 1700, they are burning 500 calories more per day than I am, so they can lose a pound per week eating and exercising the exact same as I am, while I remain at the same weight.

This is a revelation! So I know I need to exercise at least 500 calories per day and not eat more than 1200 calories total to lose one pound per week. Good to know!


Created by MyFitnessPal.com - Free Weight Loss Tools

Justforthebacon

I have similar issues. I am hypo and cold all the time. I have done the opposite though. I am doing a ketogenic diet and I have increased my calories. I lift weights 3 times a week (no cardio) and I have slowly upped my calories to 1500. I am feeling a LOT better. I think I will increase them a bit more actually. I was in the low calorie mind set for a long time and was miserable and thought I couldn't lose weight with my hypo problem. I don't think if I had only 1200 calories to eat that I would ever be successful. I could barely get outta bed some days.

Nice for you to figure out what works best for you. Wish you well.

aprildiamond42

If I eat 1500 calories one day, the next day the scale shows 1-3 pounds added! Now that I know how few I burn without exercise, all I can do is exercise more to burn more and continue to eat the same.

tecallahan

I think if your are hypo that exercise is as important (if not more so) than calories. My temp never goes above 96.2 and I am hoping that will improve on Armour.

lizard053

My temp used to always be 96.8. Since treatment, my doctor has gotten me back to 98.6 like I "should" be. It has helped me feel sooooooooo much better!

Before treatment, I had to exercise something like 4 hours a day to lose a pound a week, and only eating 1200 calories. Not net calories, by the way. So I was probably netting around 600 calories a day or less. So frustrating! But I lost 40 pounds that way. Took about a year to do that too. I was at another site at the time, and they didn't tell you to eat back your exercise calories. But you know what? I can't eat back my exercise calories now either. I will never lose an ounce if I did!

Glad you realized what's going on for you! Hopefully now you'll get to see the scale move!

0AmyMarie0

So far, 2 weeks on armour, my temp hasn't increased. I remember getting comments when I was pregnant about my incredibly low body temp, now I wonder how long my thyroid has been out of whack with only minor symptoms. It used to be consistently 96.8, now it dropped to the low 95's in the last year.

I'm hoping it increases soon! Though, eating 1200 calories a day, I have been losing now. I think my energy level going up has a lot to do with that though.

lmelangley

I'm finding this very interesting. My husband and oldest daughter, who have normal thyroid activity, have average body temps in the 97.2 range. I've had hypothyroidism for years and have recently developed a lovely goiter that's brought a whole slew of complications, and my body temperature has held steady at 98.6. Just goes to show, we're all different.

aprildiamond42

I have been on Armour for about a year and my temp hasn't gone up - only right after exercising. I was previously treated with NatureThroid, got it through my naturopath (before I moved to an area with no naturopaths). So the meds aren't increasing my temp or my metabolism. But I finally lost one (ONE!) (1) pound! Hooray!

lizard053

Hooray for a pound down! It's endlessly frustrating to find a doctor that understands thyroid conditions. Your temp should be closer to normal if you're being treated properly. And loosing weight is easier when being treated properly too.