What type of diet is best for me?

If you're being treated for hypothyroidism, your doctor will tell you if you need to avoid certain foods, or make sure to consume certain other foods. That's a medical thing.

Now, if you want to lose weight, it's pretty simple arithmetic. If you're on thyroid medication, your body should function relatively normally, should it not? In any case, there is no circumstance whereby the tried and true eat-fewer-calories-than-you-expend method won't work. Eat fewer calories than you expend. It doesn't have to be a super dramatic amount, just make sure it's less. Over time, you'll lose weight. It really is that simple. As to what you should eat within your calorie limits—it doesn't matter from a weight loss standpoint. Eat whatever is best for your other health concerns. Just watch the numbers.

It really is that simple.

okay, but do you have advice for me if this has not worked? my levels are normal and I do not eat more calories than I use, even if I were to not exercise.

Sure, you're probably not accurate enough in your record keeping. You have to keep a food diary, and make sure you're tracking your food ACCURATELY. You're consuming more calories than you realize. It could be a mistake of as few as 100-200 calories a day. But that small bookkeeping error can keep you from losing weight. Maybe you're overestimating how many calories your body expends in a day, in any case, you're eating at maintenance levels, not weight loss levels. Start being VERY strict about your record-keeping, and then make sure you're in a consistent calorie deficit EVERY DAY. No "cheat" days. Lots of people starve themselves with absurdly low calorie levels for days on end, then binge on the weekends. Guess what? That just wiped out the effects of all that starving. Instead of starving yourself a lot, then cheating, just starve yourself a tiny bit each day, until you lose the weight.

And don't forget that you have to redo your math as you lose weight. You can't have the same calorie goal if you weigh less than you did when you started. Find your numbers, and then stick to them. No cheating. If you want to have a "cheat meal", that's fine, but make sure you don't go over your daily calorie total. What you eat isn't as important as your total calories for the day.

If you're being treated for hypothyroidism, your doctor will tell you if you need to avoid certain foods, or make sure to consume certain other foods. That's a medical thing.

Now, if you want to lose weight, it's pretty simple arithmetic. If you're on thyroid medication, your body should function relatively normally, should it not? In any case, there is no circumstance whereby the tried and true eat-fewer-calories-than-you-expend method won't work. Eat fewer calories than you expend. It doesn't have to be a super dramatic amount, just make sure it's less. Over time, you'll lose weight. It really is that simple. As to what you should eat within your calorie limits—it doesn't matter from a weight loss standpoint. Eat whatever is best for your other health concerns. Just watch the numbers.

It really is that simple.

okay, but do you have advice for me if this has not worked? my levels are normal and I do not eat more calories than I use, even if I were to not exercise.

Sure, you're probably not accurate enough in your record keeping. You have to keep a food diary, and make sure you're tracking your food ACCURATELY. You're consuming more calories than you realize. It could be a mistake of as few as 100-200 calories a day. But that small bookkeeping error can keep you from losing weight. Maybe you're overestimating how many calories your body expends in a day, in any case, you're eating at maintenance levels, not weight loss levels. Start being VERY strict about your record-keeping, and then make sure you're in a consistent calorie deficit EVERY DAY. No "cheat" days. Lots of people starve themselves with absurdly low calorie levels for days on end, then binge on the weekends. Guess what? That just wiped out the effects of all that starving. Instead of starving yourself a lot, then cheating, just starve yourself a tiny bit each day, until you lose the weight.

And don't forget that you have to redo your math as you lose weight. You can't have the same calorie goal if you weigh less than you did when you started. Find your numbers, and then stick to them. No cheating. If you want to have a "cheat meal", that's fine, but make sure you don't go over your daily calorie total. What you eat isn't as important as your total calories for the day.

I definitely make sure I record my food when I cheat. but cheating is usually buying vs making coffee or something easy to track like a bagel (i specifically log where I got it from, too). I try to overstate my food when I am unsure or don't finish every bite of food. The days I don't track are the days I am too busy to eat during the day ( I can know in my head what I eat in one meal) or I just don't have an appetite at all. Today was one of those days, I worked after school 2 days so today I stayed in bed, I had 2 pieces of fish (the junky battered kind you heat and eat from the freezer section) and a swiss miss hot chocolate. I shouldn't eat those things but I do occasionally.

And what about beverages? How do you track your food? Do you keep a diary, or just a "running total" in your head?