Alan Aragons formula for an obese woman with hypothyroid

CharleneExtreme
CharleneExtreme Posts: 372
in Health and Weight Loss
I've been hearing great things about this man and after calculating my calories using his formula, I thought "Wowza!! Goodbye starvation." What I worry about though, is there's no mention of body fat. I know he advocates eating a lot of protein though so I probably don't need to worry.

My problem is that I'm obese with a super high body fat percentage. I tried NROLFW's requirements and gained weight. I hear its not always accurate for short/overfat women like me, and I actually read about Aragon's formula from Lou Schuler in the jpfitness forum (someone was asking if NROLFW's nutrition info was still valid after reading Supercharged, I believe).

I'm also wondering if i could implement IF after calculating those macros? If so, how would I be able to do that? Would it be best to cycle my carbs and fat or would that be unnecessary? I didn't see it mentioned anywhere.

The formula also uses the amount of hours you work out. I think I'll just put that at 0 and use my fitbit & HRM simultaniously, to figure out my workout calories, since my metabolism is a joke.


Oh and just in case its relevant, my goal is to lose 40lbs to get into the 120's, and also to get my body fat to an acceptable level!

Replies

  • MyaPapaya75
    MyaPapaya75 Posts: 3,143 Member
    are you on thyroid meds?
  • CharleneExtreme
    CharleneExtreme Posts: 372
    Yeah levothyroxine. I know, they're crap, but the doctors over here won't give me anything else... :-/
  • MyaPapaya75
    MyaPapaya75 Posts: 3,143 Member
    I take levo 100mcg u have to take it just right and dont try any funky diets stick to calorie counting thyroid is a funny thing.....I take my pil at night so it can absorb properly...u may want to try it
  • Will_Thrust_For_Candy
    Will_Thrust_For_Candy Posts: 6,109 Member
    Honestly I think you will be just fine if you weightmeasure your food, count your calories and stay in a deficit. Give it a good solid period of time before making any changes and then re-assess. IMO there is no need to get crazy with carb and/or fat cycling or IF'ing at this point. Just say in a caloric deficit and you will be golden.

    Should IF or carb cycling make these changes more sustainable, then by all means go for it. But by no means is it necessary for success.

    Good luck!
  • Mistizoom
    Mistizoom Posts: 578 Member
    There are plenty of hypothyroid women who do well on low carb diets. If you are, "obese with a super high body fat percentage" you are likely also insulin resistant (tends to go along with hypo, esp. Hashi's) and would benefit from a low carb diet. No need to carb cycle. IF can help but I have found it isn't necessary for me, and in fact, I tend to eat more on days I forget to eat breakfast.
  • hookilau
    hookilau Posts: 3,134 Member
    I've been hearing great things about this man and after calculating my calories using his formula, I thought "Wowza!! Goodbye starvation." What I worry about though, is there's no mention of body fat. I know he advocates eating a lot of protein though so I probably don't need to worry.

    My problem is that I'm obese with a super high body fat percentage. I tried NROLFW's requirements and gained weight. I hear its not always accurate for short/overfat women like me, and I actually read about Aragon's formula from Lou Schuler in the jpfitness forum (someone was asking if NROLFW's nutrition info was still valid after reading Supercharged, I believe).

    I'm also wondering if i could implement IF after calculating those macros? If so, how would I be able to do that? Would it be best to cycle my carbs and fat or would that be unnecessary? I didn't see it mentioned anywhere.

    The formula also uses the amount of hours you work out. I think I'll just put that at 0 and use my fitbit & HRM simultaniously, to figure out my workout calories, since my metabolism is a joke.


    Oh and just in case its relevant, my goal is to lose 40lbs to get into the 120's, and also to get my body fat to an acceptable level!

    My stats sound very similar to yours. I'm 5' tall and started at 160, currently I'm at 137 but my goal is 120's as well. I don't think cycling carbs does a whole lot of good. Either you are low carb or not. I have a different metabolic issue, was likely IR and now T2D, so ridiculously Low carb was how I needed to go in order to lose (as in less than 30 g/day).

    I've heard lazy thyroid is different though and can be tough to deal with depending on meds. I agree that starting with a caloric deficit and exercise is a good place to start. Something else to consider, once you start going low carb, you become temporarily more sensitive to carbs. This can lead to a cycle of gaining water weight seemingly overnight when one increases carbs & can be confusing and really, more complicated than it should be.

    Good luck :drinker:
  • cmriverside
    cmriverside Posts: 34,458 Member
    I've been on levo for 30 years.

    Keep it simple. Stay within your calorie goal, don't stress the details so much. Really important to get enough protein, then fat, and fill in with carbs.

    Don't complicate it. It isn't that difficult.
  • shirleyh1946
    shirleyh1946 Posts: 100 Member
    I was on Synthroid and Levothyroxine for years-never worked for me so I went on Armour . It's working better than the other Meds.
    Good Luck.:smile:
  • CharleneExtreme
    CharleneExtreme Posts: 372
    The problem is I don't know which calorie goal will work for me. I've done high & low calories and gained weight. Same with the almost perfect macros nrolfw gave me. By no means am I sedentary either. I know how to manage my thyroid. The meds seem to be normalising it.. My main issue is that, when on nrolfw I gained all over and my body fat increased. My macros were perfect. I think it was the fact was so short. Maybe I ate too much for my height. Damn it I don't know! I'm so frustrated. When I plug in my details to some calculators I'm given 1200 calories, which depresses the crap out of me. The reason I want to try Aragon's method of calculating macros is because I get at least 1900. But I'm apprehensive after my experience with NROLFW's calories which were a similar amount.
  • Lunarbeanie
    Lunarbeanie Posts: 107 Member
    Hi Charlene, why are you saying that Levothyroxine is crap?
    Should I be concerned? I also take that - 225mcg/day.

    Curious! Oy!
  • annakow
    annakow Posts: 385 Member
    good idea to take a pill at night! thanks
  • Will_Thrust_For_Candy
    Will_Thrust_For_Candy Posts: 6,109 Member
    The problem is I don't know which calorie goal will work for me. I've done high & low calories and gained weight. Same with the almost perfect macros nrolfw gave me. By no means am I sedentary either. I know how to manage my thyroid. The meds seem to be normalising it.. My main issue is that, when on nrolfw I gained all over and my body fat increased. My macros were perfect. I think it was the fact was so short. Maybe I ate too much for my height. Damn it I don't know! I'm so frustrated. When I plug in my details to some calculators I'm given 1200 calories, which depresses the crap out of me. The reason I want to try Aragon's method of calculating macros is because I get at least 1900. But I'm apprehensive after my experience with NROLFW's calories which were a similar amount.

    Okay, now I'm understanding your confusion better :smile:

    So is Alan Aragon's formula like 14-16 calories/lb for maintenance? You will have to remind me as it's been quite some time since I last read his stuff (plus all the other stuff I read gets jumbled in my brain :laugh:).

    I mean the important thing to remember is that these are all just guidelines based on general population, so nothing is guaranteed 100% to work. What did NROLW have you on for calories? Have you tried using the calculator on Scooby?

    http://scoobysworkshop.com/accurate-calorie-calculator/

    How long did you give the NROLW a try? It's not uncommon to "gain" when you start lifting but it's not a fat gain, rather your muscles filling with water and glycogen. Often you need to give it a bit before you will notice it go away.
  • MyaPapaya75
    MyaPapaya75 Posts: 3,143 Member
    The problem is I don't know which calorie goal will work for me. I've done high & low calories and gained weight. Same with the almost perfect macros nrolfw gave me. By no means am I sedentary either. I know how to manage my thyroid. The meds seem to be normalising it.. My main issue is that, when on nrolfw I gained all over and my body fat increased. My macros were perfect. I think it was the fact was so short. Maybe I ate too much for my height. Damn it I don't know! I'm so frustrated. When I plug in my details to some calculators I'm given 1200 calories, which depresses the crap out of me. The reason I want to try Aragon's method of calculating macros is because I get at least 1900. But I'm apprehensive after my experience with NROLFW's calories which were a similar amount.
    I understand your concern on the calories to be honest it takes time for your body to learn how to eat within caloric goal for me I am 4ft 11in...I have a range of 1200-1500 I give myself a range I learn to eat at the lower end most days and when I am hungry I add in the higher calories..I find a range is best...rather than a set calorie per day
  • ercamacho
    ercamacho Posts: 7
    There are plenty of hypothyroid women who do well on low carb diets. If you are, "obese with a super high body fat percentage" you are likely also insulin resistant (tends to go along with hypo, esp. Hashi's) and would benefit from a low carb diet. No need to carb cycle. IF can help but I have found it isn't necessary for me, and in fact, I tend to eat more on days I forget to eat breakfast.

    I agree with her - especially if you've had hypothryroidism for any length of time. I found within 2 years of diagnosis that I became insulin resistant...it became VERY bad right before starting a lower carb regimen. My doctor did an extended blood glucose test to see exactly what my body was doing as I couldn't lose on 1200 calories (would gain)...couldn't lose on more calories FOR SURE (even though they were from decent choices)...couldn't lose on less than 1200 until we determined exactly what my blood sugar was doing. I also couldn't lose on low-carb (Atkins approach) alone. I need to calorie count as well which makes it a bit more difficult to do, but I'm 56 pounds down...so it's doable. I limit my carbs to 70-90 a day...sometimes a bit less. So it's not as strict as Atkins, but still lower carb since the insulin resistance makes my body unable to process any carbs correctly when I eat more than 20-30 per meal. Just wanted to share...

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