Can someone with a thyroid condition still lose weight?

As long as it's under control with meds, you can lose weight. It worked for me.

i am a hypothyroid patient with regular medication and i 'm loosing weight. hormone replacement therapy to bring TSH level within normal limit for their age and sex will negate any effect that may be due to hypothyroidism. exercise will obviously benefit them and prudent eating to keep bad cholesterol in check will also help immensely to decrease cardio-vascular morbidity associated with hypothyroidism. don't give up, pursue them, encourage them to educate themselves about their condition. take care

It's tricky but doable. First thing first is getting the thyroid stabilized with medication. Even with medication, it can be harder than the average person- thyroid hormones still can fluctuate, and having the tests come back normal doesn't mean it's normal all the time, but it's certainly the first step.

Next step is getting moving. In my experience there's no way around exercise for people with underactive thyroid- it's a must. Taking regular walks is where to start. ASAP.

Next is doing the research on your specific condition and medication, and doing as much as is feasible to help with your diet. For me, those things include a lower (but not LOW) carbohydrate diet, avoiding goitrogens like soy when feasible, getting enough iodine (for me that was un-limiting iodized salt), avoiding calcium/dairy early in the day, taking my medicine several hours before eating, not getting too high fiber, and including saturated fats more liberally, particularly coconut oil. Note that some of these things are contrary to standard dieting advice! I'm not saying the things that work for me will work for everyone, and I'm not that strict about all of them, but everyone needs to do their research and try things out for themselves.

Finally, it's EXTREMELY important to not compare yourself to other people's results and success. Having thyroid disease means that you won't necessarily be able to replicate the path of someone without the disease. It doesn't mean it's impossible, just different. I like to think of it like having the equivalent of a weight-loss learning disorder. It's not that you can't get there, just that your path might be different.

I've lost about 30 lbs in about 6 months, and I had to fight hard for them- but I never starved myself, and I never gave up. Sometimes I'm tempted to be discouraged when I see people with more impressive numbers, but I just have to remind myself that my numbers are AWESOME for ME! I do both cardio and strength training, and I eat all my exercise calories back. It took me a while (6 weeks) in the beginning to lose ANYTHING, but since I figured out the tricks that worked for me it's been pretty steady. That initial period of figuring out the tricks can be really frustrating, but you have to just stick with it. If you don't try, nothing will ever work.

Yeap.
Mine isn't even under control yet....getting there but slowly and since I've been started on medication I'm down about 20lbs (give or take). THE most important thing is to not compare my weight loss with someone who has been on their journey the same amount of time as me.

Also every little loss is so much more important to me than it may be to someone else. I celebrate every single loss no matter how small. 1/4 lb down.....woop! Whereas some people seem to only think that 1lb+ losses count. I had 3 months where I wasn't allowed to do any form of exercise whilst my heart rate was brought under control, I still lost a bit of weight just through diet.

The most important thing is figuring out your TDEE and BMR and eating between them. Thats all there really is to it.
Having a thyroid condition isn't an excuse.
So yeap...it can be done. No excuses :flowerforyou:

as long as you have the right medication (and actually take the pills ehich I stopped for a while) you can still lose weight

it is indeed easy tho to lie to yourself "why even bother when I can't win"

Another yes here. I have an under active thyroid and am on stable medication doses.

I've lost over 40lbs in 4 months.

yes. not as easy considering the thyroid is a big controller of that.. but can be done.. i have graves.. (hyper) but still doesn't make the weight fall off.. even though i am in remission. but it has been a bit of a struggle.

absolutely. I have hypothyroid and am on meds. I've lost 52 lbs since 6/25. Doesn't hinder me one bit!

absolutely. I have hypothyroid and am on meds. I've lost 52 lbs since 6/25. Doesn't hinder me one bit!

While having a hypothyroid can make it difficult to lose weight due to slower metabolism, lack of motivation to get moving, cravings for sugar and carbs etc....you can absolutely lose weight. It has unfortunately become an excuse for many people....as if they think having their thyroid "fixed" would result in weight just magically melting off.

One of the most difficult issues is proper testing and dosing (assuming we're just talking about hypothyroid issues here; hyperthyroid issues are a different story).
* Most doctors just test TSH, when they should be testing free T3 and free T4 (the actual thyroid hormones in your blood).
* Doctors often tell people their results are "normal", but normal doesn't mean "optimal"


But nothing you can do will get this person to stop making excuses. They have to get there themselves.



(And, and I lost 20 lbs while really hypothyroid from anti-thyroid drugs - 1lb/week, through nutrition and exercise)