Starting over with Thyroid issuse

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lagcrg
lagcrg Posts: 38 Member
in Introduce Yourself
I am 35, mother of 3 teen boys, and have had a low thyroid for over 11 years. I am 5' 5" and 180lbs. My goal weight is 150. The low thyroid has caused me to gain weight and I am sure it doesn't help with my energy(low). I was here over a year ago and lost about 12 pounds, but I have managed to gain that back. So I am here again. I know I don't always eat "healthy" so I am working on those choices and I am trying to just "get moving". I love going out for walks and have been trying to add walk/run, I also have a "mild" Zumba dvd and the 30 day shred. I like them both but don't always have the motivation to use them. Would like accountability and advice to help with this, especially from anyone who also deals with thyroid issues.

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  • BarbaraCarr1981
    BarbaraCarr1981 Posts: 903 Member
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    As long as ur taking the right dose of thyroid meds, you should be good to go! I've been hypothyroid for over 20 years (Type 1 diabetic too) and Im only 31 now. I've never been over weight but YES I've had my years of body abuse like sugar, fat, alcohol, no exercise. My heaviest was 170 but that is considered a healthy bmi as I am 5'9". My lowest weight was 139lb and I FELT AWESOME THERE!!! Currently I am working towards that. I'm 150lbs right now but even if I don't drop to 139lb I still wanna look like I did by lifting these heavy weights 3 times a week and eating at a calorie deficit. It's amazing how many inches someone can lose without dropping any weight just from heavy lifting. There is proof of it right here on MFP. I want to post the next proof when my time comes. Good luck with your goal and don't like Hypothyroidism stop you!!!
  • ShereenW
    ShereenW Posts: 5 Member
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    hi, Im in the same boat, 35 with 3 kids under 10 year of age. I have been hypothyroid since 2002. I had my dr switch me to a decicated thyroid replacement Amour and ad a T4 cytomel and I tell you it has made a world of difference. Also I have been trying a Paleo way of eating since April 1 and it has been amazing. :)
  • aims_86
    aims_86 Posts: 74
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    I feel like you're my thyroid twin! I also have Zumba & 30day shred, just been for a 30 mins training session on couch to 5k.

    I'm 26, 5'5" and 180lbs.

    If I eat healthily, exercise then I know I can lose weight. I did the Cambridge Diet last year, it helped me shift nearly 2 stone. But then I put 15lbs back on because I didn't care.

    I think the best advice is to find that motivation from somewhere. It's a mental thing with me, I know i can do it.
  • RoseTears143
    RoseTears143 Posts: 1,121 Member
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    I know your pain. I have been struggling with Hashimoto's for around 11 years now, went undiagnosed for the first 8 years. Once you get on a medication combo that your body can work with it wil make ALL the difference. I finally got on NDT last August. Granted it took my body 8 month to adjust to that change, I am SO much better since. I am now working towards getting on NDT with less fillers to go along with my new healthy and clean eating lifestyle. It only makes sense to take less processed medication as well! :-) Not every med combo will work for everyone the same. I tried synthroid, levothyroxine, levothyroxine/cytomel combo - none of that made me feel any different than not takinganything even though it brought my TSH to the "normal" range. I didn't start to feel a difference until a few months after being on Armour Thyroid, I take 120mg/day.

    Aside from that, when you have a thryoid issue, diet is very important. My advice would be to cut grains, or at the very elast gluten, out of your diet. Eating gluten can make thyroid issues worse. Eat a lot of fresh fruit and veggies, and lean protein sources. It will take a while for your body to balance out but you will feel so much better. Start slow with exercise, even just walking for 20 minutes a day to get your metabolism working. I learned the hard way with trying to push too hard too soon when I did Insanity last year - I made it to about week 6 and started to crash pretty hardcore and began a spiral downward to a pretty awful hypo swing that took me 6 months to crawl out of. So listen to your body and slow down when it tells you to. A healthy lifestyle is about a lifestyle, not a race to get skinny. :-) You can do it!
  • ShereenW
    ShereenW Posts: 5 Member
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    I totally agree on getting on the right meds and doses for you. Im 5'7 and I live by the tape measure more than the scale. I want to incorporate more lifting into my excersize. I currently am doing couch to 5 k and Jillian Michaels 30 day shred.
  • ShereenW
    ShereenW Posts: 5 Member
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    I totally feel like you are my twin lol So glad you are here
  • Prettee2B
    Prettee2B Posts: 39
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    Good day guys- I am 38 years of age and new to the community I just recently made committment to weight loss journey, looking for support, ideas and to support and share ideas.
    Enjoy your day
  • lagcrg
    lagcrg Posts: 38 Member
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    Thank you all for your replies. It's sometimes easier to work through things when you realize you are not the only one with that issue. For those that mentioned meds, I had stopped mine for a time but I am currently getting them back to good levels, so I know that will help once all is good. My family already does less gluten because my husband has a sensitivity to it. But I have always craved grains/carbs and still struggle with eating less or none of this. Thanks again for the replies it helps.
  • kklotay
    kklotay Posts: 33 Member
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    I know how you feel as I have lived with hypothyroid for 17 years. I always believed that my weight gain was due to thyroid (part of which it was) and it was impossible to lose weight for me until.......until a nutritionist at gym convinced me in 2009 that I could lose weight. He did an assessment and gave me some numbers like total calories and carb, protein and fat ratios to use. I did not know what to do with it.

    Then I just started by keeping track of what I was eating with calories, carb, protein and fat that I looked up using Google. I used a simple spreadsheet and made my own database of foods that I was eating. Then I started adjusting the proportions and portion sizes. It was a lot of hardwork in the beginning, but it paid off. I started with 173 lbs. and lost 20 lbs. just by adjusting my diet and another 13 by diet and exercising. I went down to dress size 6 from 14.

    The reason I am able to lose it and maintain it is by eating foods that I was always eating, but with adjustments. I gained about six lbs. back since and now I am just working on that.

    So, the gist of the story is that don't give up. You can do it.
  • RoseTears143
    RoseTears143 Posts: 1,121 Member
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    I totally agree on getting on the right meds and doses for you. Im 5'7 and I live by the tape measure more than the scale. I want to incorporate more lifting into my excersize. I currently am doing couch to 5 k and Jillian Michaels 30 day shred.

    haha YES!!! I'm 5'6" or so..but everything else sounds the same :-D. I don't care about my weight on the scale - my goal is to get back down to a size though. :-) It will happen!!
  • lagcrg
    lagcrg Posts: 38 Member
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    So I don't really worry much about the scale although it would be nice to see it go down. I have always told my husband that I don't care if my clothing size stays the same I just want to lose my belly. This is where most or all my weight is. However, I already know that if I lose the belly, I will be able to change sizes. So it would be a win-win.
  • Ladyslippers
    Ladyslippers Posts: 186 Member
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    Sounds like you've got a good plan for moving forward. I have an appointment on Monday to find out what (if anything) is going on with my thyroid and other hormones. I found out in January that my thyroid is enlarged. Had two nodules biopsied (both came back consistent with benign findings, with a 2% margin of error). My TSH, FT3, and FT4 were all low--TSH and FT4 were low side of normal, FT3 .1 below normal. The doctors all say "TSH is fine, you're fine." But I don't FEEL fine. I'm also in surgical menopause--it's been 7 years now and I took hormones for the first 8 months then stopped and haven't needed them. Maybe I do now though. Thus the doc appt. Not that I want there to be a problem, but if there is an imbalance, maybe there is some combination of hormones that will help me feel less fatigued and brain foggy all the time. I've lost a lot of weight in the last year and SHOULD feel better than I do. Guess we'll see.

    Thinking good thoughts for all of you!
  • rotill
    rotill Posts: 244 Member
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    It is a road of ups and downs. Since the thyroid gland no longer responds naturally, being perfectly balanced will tend to be a temporary state - then you need to balance the medication again.

    For me, what works the best is regular but light cardio for more energy (I basically use my bike to get around, rather than taking the metro - and I don't have a car any more), and strength to build muscle mass. Muscles assist your metabolism and helps you balance the hormones, both of which you'll need.

    My diet is gluten free (that solved a lot of problems), and low GI.

    Good luck!

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