I was under the impression that long periods of caloric deficiency can lead to increased cortisol levels. You've lost a lot of weight, so I wonder if that has something to do with it. I suppose it's possible that eating maintenance for a while would help lead to lower cortisol levels. Prolonged calorie deficit seems like it would be more likely than simply carb intake. But I'm no doctor or anything. Curious what others have to say.

I was under the impression that long periods of caloric deficiency can lead to increased cortisol levels. You've lost a lot of weight, so I wonder if that has something to do with it. I suppose it's possible that eating maintenance for a while would help lead to lower cortisol levels. Prolonged calorie deficit seems like it would be more likely than simply carb intake. But I'm no doctor or anything. Curious what others have to say.

I believe my weight loss has probably brought on these issues faster. I'm fairly certain, though, my thyroid is underactive and has been even before I began weight loss. The slowing of thyroid is usually pretty gradual, and right now, my thyroid hormones are only moderately imbalanced, but as I understood it, an imbalance causes increased cortisol. I'm just wondering if there is a way to lower cortisol levels through diet beyond eating at maintenance until I can get on the right treatment plan for this thyroid issue. I'm a bit afraid that if I go to maintenance, I will gain.

If you gain, you are by definition not at maintenance

I was under the impression that long periods of caloric deficiency can lead to increased cortisol levels. You've lost a lot of weight, so I wonder if that has something to do with it. I suppose it's possible that eating maintenance for a while would help lead to lower cortisol levels. Prolonged calorie deficit seems like it would be more likely than simply carb intake. But I'm no doctor or anything. Curious what others have to say.

I believe my weight loss has probably brought on these issues faster. I'm fairly certain, though, my thyroid is underactive and has been even before I began weight loss. The slowing of thyroid is usually pretty gradual, and right now, my thyroid hormones are only moderately imbalanced, but as I understood it, an imbalance causes increased cortisol. I'm just wondering if there is a way to lower cortisol levels through diet beyond eating at maintenance until I can get on the right treatment plan for this thyroid issue. I'm a bit afraid that if I go to maintenance, I will gain.

If you gain, you are by definition not at maintenance

True, but the point your missing is the general formula for "maintenance" doesn't attribute for hormones, so its not like I could accurately predict what would be maintenance.

What has your weight done in the past 2 months?

This is an area I know pretty well.

[History: I almost died when I was 14 from "adrenal fatigue" which became adrenal failure. It was a result of the horrible combination of anorexia/chronic undereating (read: high stress on body) and extreme underdosage of thyroid hormone. I had a complete thyroidectomy (possible cancer; ended up benign) the year before, we moved 1000 miles away, and the pediatric endo still in her learning periods and periodically monitored by a resident thought I still had part of my thyroid. She no longer works with thyroid patients, I've learned not to long ago).

Most recently, I dealt with cortisol elevation again. This time, it was a result of going through thyroidtoxicosis--I had had very HIGH thyroid hormone for a prolonged period (0.00) due to the high dosing the endo recommended to keep any possible cancerous tissue down + "You're young and can handle it." Ended up in the hospital again, ended up getting tested for Cushing's, etc. etc. Endo is pretty sure I've just been very unlucky to have my thyroid issues go so far in either spectrum to utilize my adrenal glands to the point of illness. There's been mentions of possibly checking out my pituitary, but for now, we're just trying to manage the thyroid levels. My cortisol is finally normal.]

In both cases of above, I gained weight--first time, I was very underweight. Second time, I was finally a normal weight, though still undereating. I've tracked and monitored my calories in a very unhealthy way for a long time, but with cortisol issues and--especially--cortisol treatment, I gained weight regardless. A combination of starving away LBM, steroid treatment, and the underlying issue, resulted in a roughly 30 lb gain each time. Neither is a "gradual" weight gain. It is very, very rapid. And with both treatments, it took roughly a year before I was given the okay to exercise again. I wasn't even allowed to go on roller-coasters.

The only recommendation, diet-wise, I ever had from my endo and naturopath were to actually up fats and sodium a bit in regards to cortisol issues. For thyroid, it was reducing carbs, but my endo's said 180 or below is fine (so not really "low").

Neither issue would ultimately "change" your calorie goals or "maintenance" level, particularly as cortisol issues are serious issues: increased calories are needed, which is a bummer because aesthetically, no one wants to gain weight or "stay" heavy.

I've never, ever heard of any sort of "thyroid imbalance" being a marker for PCOS. PCOS is highly dependent on hormone levels of estrogen, progesterone, and testosterone; I have *read* that there are correlations with cortisol issues.

Um, holy tl;dr: I agree. Track calories and exercise. Go for low-intensity workouts if you're legitimately concerned about cortisol issues and are waiting to look into that.

No... what happened was that he tested for thyroid markers which showed an imbalance. He presumed PCOS, but I did not have the symptoms of PCOS, and in the ultrasound showed that my ovaries were fine, so we are back to square one with what is causing the imbalance in my thyroid markers. Because I have an extensive family history of hypothyroidism, I asked him to test my thyroid initially, but learned that he misinterpretted me and had only checked the thyroid hormone levels, and did not test my thyroid specifically. Now, I'm waiting for those test results to come back.

I was just wondering if I can affect some diet changes that might get me started back on the right path. But I'll just stick with what I'm doing for now until the results of the thyroid test comes back. I should know something next week.

for what it's worth - you can have PCOS and NOT have polycystic ovaries. I've had typical PCOS ovaries, and then the ovaries (and my cycles) resolved themselves - but I still had all of the other metabolic issues/concerns with PCOS. Right now my cycles seem to be stable, and part of my endocrine hormones in balance. Cholesterol, and insulin and blood sugars are still not "normal" and may never be. I'm still losing hair, and still growing it in "manly" places. (though how that's possible with my testosterone levels normal I don't know). My cortisol level is okay depending on what test you use. Thyroid panels seem to go up and down from mid normal to just within normal range.

Has your doc checked your fasting insulin levels?

Also - thyroid and PCOS seem to happen quite frequently together - last I knew they haven't figured out why, or how they're related but yes - women who have PCOS often have issues with thyroid, and vice versa. Typically though when testing for PCOS they're doing a hormone panel to check progesterone, estrogen, testosterone, but also FSH and LH - and sometimes even when your panel comes back normal - it's helpful to look at the ratio of LH to FSH (it should be around 1.1). An ultrasound of your ovaries should not be the only diagnostic tool your doctor is using to diagnose PCOS.

Ask for a copy of your labwork - investigate things on your own both in terms of PCOS but also thyroid etc. Unfortunately - some doctors are better than others. I went 10 years undiagnosed with PCOS... and gained a lot of weight because of bad diet advice from docs (they were pushing a high carb diet), but also because I didn't get the proper treatment. I developed type 2 diabetes and gained 100 lbs before I finally found a doc that figured it out.

I've never, ever heard of any sort of "thyroid imbalance" being a marker for PCOS. PCOS is highly dependent on hormone levels of estrogen, progesterone, and testosterone; I have *read* that there are correlations with cortisol issues.

My LH and FSH are slightly imbalanced. Those are regulated by the thyroid and stimulate egg production. When the ovaries don't produce eggs (due to cysts), then it can cause the imbalance, but in this instance, there were no cysts so something else is causing the imbalance. Since the thyroid produces those hormones, then hypothyroidism seems a likely cause. Given that I am having many other symptoms (unusual hair, struggles with fat burning, sensitivity to cold) and an extensive family history with hypothyroidism, I'm pretty sure that is the cause. I'm jumping the gun a bit, obviously, because the test results on my thyroid haven't come back yet.

They're regulated by the thyroid in the same way everything is. The thyroid and pituitary glands regulate EVERYTHING, but that doesn't meant they're specifically those hormones. It'd be the same thing as saying "Well estrogen is regulated by thyroid." To an extent, it's sure connected, but thyroid levels wouldn't be a marker for anything to do with it. That's odd that your doctor referred to LH and FSH as thyroid markers, they're generally considered specifically pituitary, and in connection to reproductive hormones. TSH is really the only "non-thyroid" level explicitly linked to thyroid issues as it's specifically produced by the pituitary to regulate the thyroid (which in turn, regulates T3, T4, RT3, etc.), which in turn regulates everything else. (circleoflife)

Curious, but what do you mean by "unusual hair"? Excessive hair growth is definitely a symptom of PCOS (and Cushing's, incidentally). Losing and thinning hair is linked more to hypothyroidism.

So far, your issues seem much more like possible PCOS than thyroid problems.

I have some thinning around my bangs, and coarse hair on my neck and around my areola. My periods have been normal.

Estrogen, testosterone, and progesterone were all normal. The LH to FSH ratio is 1:2.8. The doc said 1:3 indicates PCOS and said that 1:2 would be considered normal.

Sounds like potential PCOS, definitely (like I said, LH and FSH are reproductive hormones; they stimulate estrogen, testosterone, and progesterone). I wonder if, in months times, those reproductive hormones would also change and you're potentially "catching" it early.

What's your calorie intake right now, though? Before you'd mess with macros, it'd be good to have solid weeks of tracking/weighing everything to see if a potential issue is really causing weight issues.

Regarding the struggle to lose weight, Is it possible that it would be an intake issue? What has your daily calorie level been? Can you open your diary?

No... I'm not going to open my diary. I've already been that route with Sara and Sidesteel.

I haven't been monitoring my weight for awhile now. I've been eating inconsistently. I wasn't making strength gains progress when I was lifting so I stopped.

This question wasn't about my personal diet, just whether or not cortisol could be managed through carb regulation.

The question was about your personal diet.

And did Sara & Sidesteel give you advice? Did you implement it? Did it help?