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Underactive Thyroid and Insulin Resistant

hdutoit17
hdutoit17 Posts: 83
edited January 12 in Health and Weight Loss
My sister has an underactive thyroid and is insulin resistant, so she is struggeling a lot to lose weight.

Any help, excersice and diet advice from people with the same problem please. Would love to help her.

Replies

  • trudijoy
    trudijoy Posts: 1,685 Member
    how long has she been on thyroid meds? It takes time to settle before you can start effecting change x

    Naturally, once her meds are settled, coconut oil and kelp can make a huge difference, as con a diet high in iodine, especially where it's naturally occurring. Once her system is in check it will operate more normally.
  • Chadomaniac
    Chadomaniac Posts: 1,785 Member
    she should definately avoid simple sugars , keep protein high , weight train (increases metabolism + lbm) , and eat regularly (said to help increase thyroid )
  • trudijoy
    trudijoy Posts: 1,685 Member
    , weight train (increases metabolism + lbm) , and eat regularly

    absolutely definites :)
  • how long has she been on thyroid meds? It takes time to settle before you can start effecting change x

    Naturally, once her meds are settled, coconut oil and kelp can make a huge difference, as con a diet high in iodine, especially where it's naturally occurring. Once her system is in check it will operate more normally.

    She has been on meds for about 2 years now. Her excersise includes jogging or riding on the bike machine in the gym.

    I am not sure what her diet is at the moment, but she doesnt eat a lot or frequently. She did try it once though and it didnt change her weight. Maybe she didnt give it enough time.

    Thanks for the replies.
  • _Ben
    _Ben Posts: 1,608 Member
    The most important thing is honestly to discuss it with her doctor and keep up with all her screening/blood sugar testing. With type 2 diabetes, a change in diet and exercise are very important, but she just wants to make sure to keep up with any prescriptions, such as glucophage and/or insulin, as well as all her testing. Diabetic patients (in general) are notorious for nonadherance (not following the proper directions of use on their medication), and to maintain a proper loss, she needs to stay on top of it
  • 000WhiteRose000
    000WhiteRose000 Posts: 266 Member
    And don't touch soya - it's messes with the thyroid.
  • trudijoy
    trudijoy Posts: 1,685 Member
    She eats infrequently and in small amounts? Hello, metabolic damage. Take it from a thyroid patient who self starved.... She has to eat
  • islandmonkey
    islandmonkey Posts: 546 Member
    how long has she been on thyroid meds? It takes time to settle before you can start effecting change x

    Naturally, once her meds are settled, coconut oil and kelp can make a huge difference, as con a diet high in iodine, especially where it's naturally occurring. Once her system is in check it will operate more normally.

    She has been on meds for about 2 years now. Her excersise includes jogging or riding on the bike machine in the gym.

    I am not sure what her diet is at the moment, but she doesnt eat a lot or frequently. She did try it once though and it didnt change her weight. Maybe she didnt give it enough time.

    Thanks for the replies.

    What meds is she on? What dose? Does her doctor test her free T3 and free T4, or just her TSH?

    Has she been tested for Hashimoto's antibodies?

    Have you been tested for thyroid issues?
  • tropicpalm
    tropicpalm Posts: 39 Member
    I have the same problem, so I feel her pain. Exercise and low carb (not NO carb, but the right carbs) eating are major components to shifting things. It's slow going for us, but it can happen with consistency. All of the previous advice is right on. I have found that when I add meditation and positive affirmations to my day, I am able to stick to the changes. I can get discouraged by the slow weight loss when everyone else seems to be able to "get away" with so much more than I can. Also, I have found that I do much better when I am on Armour thyroid meds rather than Synthroid (or generics). That was recently tested by my new doctor who insisted that Synthroid is "much better because the dosage is more consistent". Within days I had gained back 6 pounds and all of my symptoms of low thyroid function had returned. I went back to her and she sent me to an endo who put me back on Armour, giving me a logical explanation for why this happened to ME! I was so impressed that he didn't just dismiss me as a different kind of hypo - hypochondriac! lol From this, I would suggest that if she still has symptoms of low thyroid (tiredness, brain fog, weight gain, aches and pains, brittle nails, thinning hair), that she discuss a change of meds with her doctor, not just dosage. My "numbers" looked fine on the lab, but it has something to do with a person's ability to change the T3 hormone to T4 so that it can be used by the body.
  • tlacox1
    tlacox1 Posts: 373 Member
    I was diagnosed with Insulin Resistance and my doctor placed me on a special diet that restricted a lot of starches. The main thing was to avoid corn or corn starch and man, you would not believe the things that contain that. Basically, anything in a box has some type of corn starch in it for preservatives. I lost weight FAST. Of course, then I had two babies and put the weight back on because I quit eating right. My own fault for that.
  • I'm insulin resistant and I'm doing ok calorie counting.
This discussion has been closed.