Hypothyroidism and losing weight

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Anyone else here have hypothyroidism and have found it hard to lose weight? Any tips? I take my medicine on a daily basis and my doctor recently tested my blood hormone levels and everything is normal and working like it should. I have lost 14 pounds since march 1st. Any tips anyone can give me ?

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  • bizzyeck
    bizzyeck Posts: 45 Member
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    My advice would be that having a thyroid issue and losing 14 lbs in 14 week is more than the average person in your shoes should expect. Be happy and continue what your doing.

    Not trying to be snide it just takes us longer and we have to work harder. I have lost 18 lbs in 20 weeks but been at an "up and down" of the same 2 lbs for 10 weeks.

    I do wish you luck because it's very frustrating to have your MD say your levels are normal, lose weight slowly, and be tired as heck all the time.
  • jesseviexo
    jesseviexo Posts: 21 Member
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    Sounds interesting. I might need to look into this.
  • errkastarbucks
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    I was diagnosed with hypo almost 2 years ago and had a thyroidectomy 1.5 years ago and I still don't have my levels right. But, I have lost 25 pounds in the last 12 or 13 weeks. I take my meds every morning and drink a bottle of water with them. Then, I have a protein rich breakfast, and if I get hungry before lunch I'll have a small snack (apple, orange, trail mix) and then have lunch.. usually I'll have a veggie heavy lunch, or grilled chicken. I will eat something small for dinner, a tuna wrap or a deli sandwich. I'm not usually hungry that late. My meds give me some serious dry mouth, so I'm always thirsty. I get 90-120 ounces of water a day. I think that might have something to do with the weight loss, I'm usually full from water. But I never feel deprived. I try not to go over 1200 cals a day though.

    Hope it helps.
  • imageaddict
    imageaddict Posts: 6 Member
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    There's a correlation between auto-immune thyroid problems and gluten intolerance...finding out if your thyroid problem is auto-immune would be the first step you should take, and if yes, then an elimination diet to find out what foods you're sensitive to. Getting offending foods out of my diet has helped me be more successful at losing weight.
  • Joydriven
    Joydriven Posts: 46
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    The number of hypothyroid diagnosis that are actual Hashimoto's, an autoimmune disease, are close to 50% or more. So, if you are diagnosed with hypothyroidism, get checked through blood work for an autoimmune antibody. I had a thyroid nodule which upon biopsy showed I had Hashimoto's.

    Seriously, if you are hypothyroid, you have an over 50% chance of having Hashimoto's.

    Which just means you need to look into dietary adjustments to get your health back. And your metabolism back to functioning better which improves your ability to metabolize food. Which means your better able to eat and metabolize what you eat into energy so you feel better.

    ETA: when I realized my thyroid issue was more than just that, an actual autoimmune issue, i went with the Auto Immune Protocol diet. So far, it's working we'll.!
  • kuntrinurse
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    My levels were right for the last couple of years. My doc added liothyronine (T3). I've lost 10 lbs in the past 2 months without changing my diet at all. Of course, that gave me the incentive I needed to get serious about getting this weight off. Before the T3, I cut carbs out of my diet and went strictly high protein for a month and only lost 2 lbs! Talk about getting depressed!!! Basically the doc said the levothyroxine (T4) was circulating in my system at the right level because the TSH was in the normal range, but it wasn't converting to the T3. T3 is what actually controls your metabolism. Unless your doc has done a T3 uptake, there is no way to tell if its converting. Ask him for a copy of your labs. Good luck!
  • errkastarbucks
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    I've been wondering about the T3. My doctor never mentioned it, and I'm surprised because she had thyroid cancer (like me) and we both had our removed, so we have no thyroid working. I think I may go to the doctor again to see about the T3. Do you take it with your regular thyroid meds?
  • kuntrinurse
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    I actually split the 25mg tab and take it twice a day because it has a very short half life. The T3 uptake test will tell if your T4 is converting.
  • jesseviexo
    jesseviexo Posts: 21 Member
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    Thanks everyone for the info! I will definitely be looking into this.
  • JustPeachy044
    JustPeachy044 Posts: 770 Member
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    I have been hypo since birth. Some things I have learned:
    1. Take meds first thing in the morning with a glass of water. Try to not eat for 30-60 minutes afterwards to give your medication time to enter your bloodstream.
    2. Don't drink hot beverages within 30 minutes of medication. Especially coffee.
    3. Minimize or avoid soy products and cabbage.

    I haven't heard about the link between auto-immune disorders, gluten intolerance, and hypothyroidism. Going to investigate those posts to see what I can learn.
  • 2stepscloser
    2stepscloser Posts: 2,900 Member
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    I was diagnosed with hypo in 2010.

    I take my meds (levythyroxine 125mg) in the morning and wait an hour to eat, but I do drink coffee within 20-30 minutes of taking them. I've actively tried to lose weight since January and have found that within 5-6 days of activity and eating higher protein/ lower carb, my body responds best. In the last 6 months, I've lost almost 60 lbs. It's doable but hard work. I obviously have a lot to lose and I know my WL will slow at some point.
  • Kitteeee
    Kitteeee Posts: 66 Member
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    Hi!, I have Hashi's (hypothyroid), I was diagnosed at the age of 10 years old, I am on Synthroid, and my doc says my levels are ok, although I always feel tired, my doc doesn't want to hear anything about T3 hormone grr!.
    Besides that, I have been watching my calories and exercising since the end of February and I have lost 52 pound so far (I am VERY far from my goal though, I am considered morbidly obese).
    I haven't had too much trouble losing the weight so far, I have adjusted my calories to what my BMR says and I decided how many calories I wanted to lose per week. So, for example, my BMR is 2332, so that is my calories allowance daily (as sedentary), and it takes -3500 calories to lose 1 pound in a week, so you divide that by 7, so daily that is -500 cals you need to burn or not consume, I want to lose 2 lbs a week, so that is -1000 calories a day I wont eat or I will burn.. so 2332 - 1000 = 1332, and that is the MINIMUM I can eat, as when I exercise (I have a HRM which I recommend), I can eat back the calories! :), so far it had been working perfectly :), maybe this might work for you too :).
    You can friend me too if you'd like :).
    P.S. I am not on any special diet, I eat what I want within my calorie allowance, and I sometimes go way overboard like this weekend lol!, my zia's b-day was on Sat, and we had a father's day dinner today lol!, I don't ever feel too bad about it, as tomorrow is another day, and I know I will get back on track during the week :).
  • pradeepkurup79
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    Hi,

    You can check out this gem of an ebook which has helped me a lot heres the link : http://www.thehypothyroidismsolution.com/?hop=noobie6
  • Eatkansasbeef
    Eatkansasbeef Posts: 71 Member
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    Bump