Calories?
a_dogsbestfriend
Posts: 12 Member
Hi everyone. I am hypothyroid (after having Graves and not treating the Graves, it eventually turned to hypo) and take 150 mcg of Synthroid and 5mcg of Cytomel twice a day. I gained 50 pounds when my thyroid took a turn. I have eliminated gluten and sugar (most of the time), and am doing a low carb, low calorie diet BUT NOT LOSING ANY WEIGHT! This week I stopped eating back my exercise calories to try to get things moving, but no change on the scale. I'm doing 1400 calories a day and now not eating back exercise calories.
It is so frustrating. I've read things about eating more / eating less, and would love to hear from YOU GUYS about what has worked for you. Is anyone losing with hypothyroid? And if so, did you have success up-ing your calories or by cutting them significantly?
Any input would be greatly appreciated. THANKS!
It is so frustrating. I've read things about eating more / eating less, and would love to hear from YOU GUYS about what has worked for you. Is anyone losing with hypothyroid? And if so, did you have success up-ing your calories or by cutting them significantly?
Any input would be greatly appreciated. THANKS!
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Replies
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It took me all of 2013 to lose 20 lbs. My endo says that b/c I take Synthroid (88mcg), I can lose weight just like anyone else. Yes, I lost, but really, really slowly.0
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Hi, editorgrrl. Did you have to lower calories to lose the weight? OR did you go with the "Eat more to lose more" philosophy?0
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I ate TDEE - 20%. I tried eating more, and stopped losing.0
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I'm hypo after having my graves disease treated with radio iodine and it has taken me almost 2 years to lose 70lbs. I eat around 1200 calories a day and I'm not the most strict with eating my exercise calories back. Sometimes i do, and sometimes I don't. That way if I'm over one day i don't freak out.0
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Thanks, Kristers. I like the idea of being flexible with exercise calories. My endo told me to "eat like a bird," so I guess lowering my calories is the way to go. I just need to be patient, right?0
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My endo told me to "eat like a bird," so I guess lowering my calories is the way to go. I just need to be patient, right?
This list has seen me snark this before...my endo told me he's also hypo, same #s as me. Yet, he doesn't take anything for it and just "pushes through" - my point being that endos are sadly not the reliable source of wisdom that they damned well ought to be.
The directions to you were ridiculously unclear. I strongly recommend having your doc (endo, GP, dietitian, whoever) MEASURE your RMR. It's non-invasive and simple. Then you can use one of the online calculators like scooby's workshop to figure out a reasonable daily caloric goal for you. Based on your own real numbers.
Yes, 1400 seems so reasonable, but without knowing your individual RMR...could be way off.
It *does* get better, btw.0 -
It's taken me about 11 months to lose 21lbs. The first several months, I was undermedicated, so that made it harder.
I second the suggestion to have your RMR tested directly- it's super helpful information.
The other big thing that has helped me is taking a closer look at my nutrition, and working with my Dr to address some nutritional deficiencies so that my medicine could work optimally.
It's a slow road. Still possible to lose weight! I'm 5 5", currently 177, and my current maintenance calories are around 1950/day. I aim for 350-500 cal/day deficit, but consider it a win if I stay under 1850 on days when I'm especially hungry.0 -
See, this is a great example of "everybody's different." I had the complete opposite reaction to this. I thought "she's so lucky to have an endo who understands, rather than dismissing her valid concerns." Every 3 months, my endo tells me I can lose weight just like everybody else. Meanwhile, I've been eating like a bird since November 2012, and I haven't even lost a dress size. I started at 1,200 gross (I'm really short, and had a starting BMI of 28). Now I net 1,250 (1,400 gross), and I get snark in my news feed about "certain people aren't eating enough."
This list has seen me snark this before...my endo told me he's also hypo, same #s as me. Yet, he doesn't take anything for it and just "pushes through" - my point being that endos are sadly not the reliable source of wisdom that they damned well ought to be.My endo told me to "eat like a bird," so I guess lowering my calories is the way to go. I just need to be patient, right?
The directions to you were ridiculously unclear.
Before I was diagnosed w/ Hashi's, I gained 20 lbs. in what felt like an instant. My body (and mind) felt foreign. "Eating like a bird" (and Synthroid) helped me feel like me again.
YMMV, and I hope no one has to eat as little as I do. It ain't fun, but the alternative was (for me) way worse. Now that I've lost the weight, I've changed my focus to getting stronger. Being so patient for such a long, long time taught me that I'm already stronger than I ever gave myself credit for.0 -
I am at maintenance right now, but I feel like my metabolism, even when I'm properly medicated is just slower than normal. I am on Armour, and feel great - my main lingering symptom is being cold 24/7. That being said, the meds can never 100% replace what a healthy thyroid does.
My baseline maintenance calories are currently 1300 (I am 5'3" and very small framed) - I eat back all of my exercise calories on days I do exercise (I use an HRM for cardio and a fitbit to estimate general calorie burn all day). MFP initially set my maintenance baseline to 1,450, which I tried for 5 weeks. Even though I am the food-weighing/portion control/exercise measuring FREAK, I gained up to two pounds each week for those 5 weeks. I gained a little/slowly on 1400 as well. I may try 1350 in a few weeks and see how that goes.
I would love to have my RMR measured - I think I will look into that. It would be interesting to see where I fall vs. the average person my size, vs. MFP's recommendations.
Everybody is different, and I don't think it is possible to lose weight unless you are optimally medicated. But that being said, I think hypo metabolisms are just a little slower than everyone else's, unfortunately.0 -
I am hypo and eat about 1600 plus about half of my exercise cals. I will binge if I eat too few cals. I am still trying to find the right balance myself with this silly little thyroid issue
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See, this is a great example of "everybody's different." I had the complete opposite reaction to this. I thought "she's so lucky to have an endo who understands, rather than dismissing her valid concerns." Every 3 months, my endo tells me I can lose weight just like everybody else. Meanwhile, I've been eating like a bird since November 2012, and I haven't even lost a dress size. I started at 1,200 gross (I'm really short, and had a starting BMI of 28). Now I net 1,250 (1,400 gross), and I get snark in my news feed about "certain people aren't eating enough."
This list has seen me snark this before...my endo told me he's also hypo, same #s as me. Yet, he doesn't take anything for it and just "pushes through" - my point being that endos are sadly not the reliable source of wisdom that they damned well ought to be.My endo told me to "eat like a bird," so I guess lowering my calories is the way to go. I just need to be patient, right?
The directions to you were ridiculously unclear.
Before I was diagnosed w/ Hashi's, I gained 20 lbs. in what felt like an instant. My body (and mind) felt foreign. "Eating like a bird" (and Synthroid) helped me feel like me again.
YMMV, and I hope no one has to eat as little as I do. It ain't fun, but the alternative was (for me) way worse. Now that I've lost the weight, I've changed my focus to getting stronger. Being so patient for such a long, long time taught me that I'm already stronger than I ever gave myself credit for.
I see how you mean, and *I* wasn't very clear myself What irked me was the lack of clarity as to what "like a bird" means. When your metabolism's low, there's so little room for error that I think it deserves quantification - and for that matter, measurement.
Her endo's response was way better than what you got, agreed. What I just don't get is why they aren't uniformly *measuring* and giving fact-based, useful support. I mean, you would hope that we'd all automatically get RMR and an offer for referral to a nutritionist to work with the results, you know? Endos KNOW metabolism is affected, so the collective lack of helpfulness aggravates me no end.
</rant>
ETA: on a more cheerful and YMMV note, I net 1310/day (eating back exercise cals). 1200 was gonna get someone hurt - if I didn't freeze & hibernate to death first :bigsmile:0 -
Have you considered switching to armour thyroid? I have Hashimoto's as well and tried every combination of synthetic prior to switching to armour and it has been vastly superior in every way. Low calorie, low carb is definitely not the answer as it causes your T3 to slow production - I average anywhere from 1550-2000 calories depending on the day/my activity level and am able to lose. Honestly the key has been a balanced diet that is a bit higher in protein with good complex carbs and healthy fats - but the most important factor for me and being able to eat more (besides switching to armour) is lifting weights. If you are not doing it, you should start - there are a lot of beginner programs - start with bodyweight or dumbbells, increase ultimately to barbells - complex lifts (bench press, squat, Deadlift, overhead press , rows etc...). The more muscle you have the more you will burn and the more you can eat - regardless of your thyroid condition if your levels are stable and in range.0
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I'm still being tested but feel much better on 100 mcg. I can exercise which would have been impossible to begin with. I'm gaining weight on 1200 cals plus some exercise cals though. My weight had stabilised at about 20 pounds overweight. So not sure what to do. I can't help but think that eating as I was was borderline hypo and continuing to exercise is the way forward. I wasn't overweight when younger but ate alot of calories .0
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I have asked 100s of times for my endo to switch me to Armour. He refuses. I really need a new doctor. He says Armour is not reliable -- every batch is different, etc. But I've heard tons of success stories regarding Armour. May be time to switch doctors.
I just recently started lifting again. I agree that strength training is my best bet.
The whole hypo thing is just so frustrating. I appreciate all the information.
I will ask about the RMR testing. Thanks, all!0 -
I had my RMR tested at a university hospital's exercise physiology research lab. If you're trying to find a place that will do the direct breath measurement type of test, as opposed to the bodpod method (where they estimate based on body composition, which can be substantially off for hypo folks.)0
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I've tried the method where you work out how many calories it will take to maintain your goal weight and just eat that. I don't have a huge amount to lose. I'm 11 stone at the mo (5 foot 2) and want to get to 9 stone. I'm averaging about 1600/1700 a day and I'm steadily losing a pound a week. Although in my experience this will drop to 1/2 a pound a week when I hit about 10.7. I also unintentionally calorie cycle, so some days I'll be way under and some days way over. My body seems to like this - keeps it on its toes! I couldn't lose a thing on 1200 calories and it also made me really angry being that hungry!
I'm also vegetarian, so not sure if that makes any difference. Oh and drink litres and litres of water every day and the only caffeine I have is green tea.
With regards to exercise, I haven't started back at the gym yet, but I do walk a lot. I never eat these calories back though unless I'm genuinely really really hungry.
I also found that unless my TSH level was low, I couldn't lose at all. Mine has been steady at 1.2-1.4 for the past two years now. I'm on 100mg of thyroxine a day which I take at night before bed.
Good luck!0 -
I love reading all of these success stories! I am in the same position as the OP - we need to remember there is hope :flowerforyou:0
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Yeah, I didn't know this group existed when I started. There was no one to tell me my endo was being kind of a jerk. No one to tell me I would lose really slowly but I would lose.
When you're a thyroid success story, please pay it forward!0 -
Agreed! Finding a lot of hope with these success stories. Thanks all for sharing what has or has not worked for you.0
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Hi everyone,
I haven't been diagnosed yet. I'm waiting for the doc to review the ultrasound and lab work. But I'm pretty certain that it's coming. Anyway, I just found this group and wanted to say that this thread has been exceptionally helpful. Hopefully, once I can get established with the doctor that I actually need some kind of treatment for my thyroid, I can begin to get things on track again with my weight loss. Thanks so much!0 -
I'm glad we are all helping each other. Community is key!0
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I'd ask your doc what your numbers are for TSH, Free T3 and Free T4. Never settle for letting them tell you you're "normal." Kaiser uses 4.0 as the ceiling for TSH, while the American Association of Clinical Endocrinology recommends 3.0. The old standard was 5.0.
My old doc and I came to the conclusion that I function and feel better at the lower end of the normal range. My new doc has listened (I can very persuasive--or downright annoying). My levels still fluctuate, but I try to stay between 1 & 2.
I always eat at least 1200, but usually try to stay below 1600, even on hard exercise days. Its easy for me to gain. I try to stick to complex carbs, and try to get more protein than the norm. I do much better with a lot of protein. And it helps keep me full. I avoid added sugar and get lots of fruits and veggies (usually in the form of smoothies I make). I also make sure I get at least 7 hours of sleep a night (unless I get called back in to work).
The pills aren't magic. They help and treatment will eventually work, but you need patience. Anyone who tells you that you'll be "back to normal" right away or implies you should be, needs some compassion.0 -
Interesting. My primary care physician didn't want to give me synthroid when I was at 4.43 because he said the number used to be 5.0, with a certain tone. He gave me some synthroid because my mother has hypo, but there was a lot of tone implying, "You don't really need this." When it stopped being so awesome (constipation, bloating, sleeping more, moody as hell), I got a referral to an endo who said he aims for 1.0 and looks more at .33 as the absolute floor.
My endo said 1200-1400 calories a day. I set myself to 1300, eat back my exercise calories, and don't go over or under by 100. Seems to be okay so far, but it's only been a short time. I make sure to get at least 15g a day of fiber and try to limit sugar to being 10% of my calories (4 cal/g=32.5g of sugar for 1300 calories). My goal was something I could live with forever, so I'm okay with carbs being part of my diet, just not loads of sugar.0 -
I am at 1438 per TDEE-5%. I actually lost more weight upping my calories slightly. I take synthroid…my endo won't switch me either (same reasoning). I am actually feeling a lot better so I'm not interested in "switching" at this point (just remember that everyone is different so do what works for you).0
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I got a dx of Hashi after I suddenly put on a ton of weight. I was/am very active, eat healthy (a little too much but still) and was up to over 250 pounds. I lost 45 pounds almost as quickly once I started taking synthroid. And there I have stayed. So frustrating. I feel like hypo has given my body a new set-weight that it really doesn't want to go under.
That said, once I started tracking all my calories and added heavy, compound lifting I have been losing - and I usually eat back most of my workout calories. Plus, I am not the most accurate counter.
For me, (especially before synthroid) unless I am really, really active I gain weight. I run 35-60 minutes 5-6 days a week and lift weights. When its not winter I also bike and walk for transport and garden and hike..... but then as soon as winter rolls around and all I can do is run on the treadmill the weight starts coming back.0 -
^^^This. Before I was diagnosed w/ Hashimoto's, I first lost a lot of weight (I was thin for the first time in my life), then gained it back plus 20 lbs. more. It felt uncontrollable, but when I started logging everything I eat accurately & honestly, I saw that it was directly related to how many calories I eat.Once I started tracking all my calories and added heavy, compound lifting I have been losing.
Now I eat at a deficit & I'm losing. Really, really slowly, but I'm losing.0 -
I have been stuck for 3 months and I'm so frustrated. I can't remember my numbers but my TSH was a bit over 3 last time and he refused to do anything even though I've lost 1/3 of my hair and haven't dropped a pound in months. He just tells me to eat less and exercise more. Never mind that I try to average 1200 calories net (some days I'm low, some I'm higher--consumption is around 1350) and exercise an hour a day, 5-6 days a week. Since raising it to 1350, I've gained 5 lbs then stuck there in the same 5 lb up and down range, but I'm hesitant to lower it. I allowed myself more calories for several days over the holidays and thought that was the problem (even though adding up all of the extra calories *might* have been worth a pound or two) but since then, I've been really diligent and still can't lose. I was hoping the increased calories would prove to be the magic that everyone touts on here...eat more, lose more. Instead I gained and stalled.
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I have Hashimoto's and I'm on 100mcg L-Thyroxine. I use Fitbit + HRM to estimate my burns, average more or less 500 kcal deficit daily ( eat about 1800-1900 kcal, burn 2300+ ) and I am just about maintaining 68 kg ( I'm 170 cm tall - 5 ft 7 ).
I have tried almost everything in the past - fasts, Cambridge diet ( 400 kcal / day ), low fat, low carb etc. etc. Nothing has ever worked. At least eating about 1800 kcal I am not feeling like I am about to faint and ( usually ) don't get crazy strong cravings.0 -
I had iodine radiation for my Graves and went hypo...taking the same meds you are. I lost 55lbs but i had to keep mine to a strict 1000to do it. I ran a lot as well. I would still like to get lose 15 more, the last pounds are hanging on strong though. I just started incorporating weights to see if that will help. Best of luck!0
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Have you considered switching to armour thyroid? I have Hashimoto's as well and tried every combination of synthetic prior to switching to armour and it has been vastly superior in every way. Low calorie, low carb is definitely not the answer as it causes your T3 to slow production - I average anywhere from 1550-2000 calories depending on the day/my activity level and am able to lose. Honestly the key has been a balanced diet that is a bit higher in protein with good complex carbs and healthy fats - but the most important factor for me and being able to eat more (besides switching to armour) is lifting weights. If you are not doing it, you should start - there are a lot of beginner programs - start with bodyweight or dumbbells, increase ultimately to barbells - complex lifts (bench press, squat, Deadlift, overhead press , rows etc...). The more muscle you have the more you will burn and the more you can eat - regardless of your thyroid condition if your levels are stable and in range.
^this. I too have to have 1400-2000 calories and higher protein. It took me a while to find the numbers that work but this is it. 1200 made me crabby and gaining weight.
Also when did you last have your levels checked? If you are losing weight ask your doctor at what level of weight loss you need to have your levels rechecked. Mine is every 10 lbs of loss. My dosage has changed 3 times in the last year as I have lost weight.0
