60 or more pounds to lose and have Hashimoto's and PCOS

LisaTay81
LisaTay81 Posts: 13 Member
in Getting Started
Hello my name is Lisa!

I recently found out I have Hashimoto's and PCOS. I have struggled for 5 years not knowing why I was gaining weight even though I was exercising and eating right.

My main focus to lose weight is because I am trying to get pregnant but my endo wont give me a referral to she a fertility specialist until I lose weight and my TSH levels are at 2.5. I also want to feel better about myself.

I am looking for friends that have Hashimoto's and PCOS and have had success losing weight. I would like to know what has worked for you. How much are you eating and working out? I need some guidance. I feel so lost.

I have been feeling discouraged so it would be nice to have friends that are going through the same things that I currently am.

Please do not add me if you are not an active member or if you do not like to give encouragement on here (meaning you never comment.) I will delete you! I recently deleted a bunch or people because no one talk on here anymore. I come on here for advice not to collect friends.

Replies

  • SharonNehring
    SharonNehring Posts: 535 Member
    Generally a reduced carb diet is recommended for PCOS, as it often goes hand in hand with insulin resistance. The gold standard treatment for PCOS (besides BPC) is Metformin, which is also taken for type 2 diabetes. Good thing about Metformin is it reduces your appetite along with correcting the blood sugar/IR issues.

    Daily exercise is also recommended. It not only burns calories, it burns off sugar which in turn helps in balancing out the IR issue.
    I've found that reduced carb alone doesn't do much for me, neither does exercise alone, but combine the two and TADA, success!

    If you follow the recommendations for a person with type 2 diabetes, it will help the PCOS. You want to evenly space out your carbs over the day, not having them all one meal. Always eating protein with your carbs helps to slow digestion and reduces the sugar spike afterwards.

    I'm here everyday, multiple times really. LOL I love to chat and give advise. I'm a RN who has PCOS and type 2 diabetes, along with a few others. Feel reference to add me if you'd like.
  • LKArgh
    LKArgh Posts: 5,178 Member
    I have both Hashimoto's and PCOS, diagnosed with both 20 years ago. For Hashimoto's you need to be patient, follow your dr's instructions, take your meds, do the blood tests whenever needed, and it will get under control. Be patient, depending on your levels it can get up to a year for everything to be normal, but it could also happen after just a few months. Be prepared that you might need to readjust your dosage until you find what works for you. I do not know how deep the dr explaiend things to you, but untl you get your TSH to the desired number, it is not safe to get pregnant, as you have an increased risk for miscarriage. So it i snot about not getting fertility treatments, you should be actively preventing a pregnancy until you get the ok from your dr. After this, you will be fine, and the only "complication" durign a pregnancy will be blood tests every 2 months, as you might need to slowly increase your T4 over the course of the pregnancy. As for weight loss, when you get your thyroid under control, it no longer affects your metabolism, so the normal counting calories, exercising etc will work, like for everyone else.

    Regarding PCOS, PCOS does not cause weight gain. It makes your body accumulate fat in the belly area, in a more "male" pattern, but it does not cause weight gain. The opposite: being overweight causes symptoms of PCOS to become much worse. If you control your weight, but calorie counting and also have a moderately active lifestyle, PCOS symptoms will get better, or almost completely disappear, depending on how bad your hormone levels are. If you have insuline resistance on top of PCOS (they often go together) and if weight loss and exercise alone do not control this after a few months, then you might need a pre-diabetics diet (not so much low carb, but rather carbs evenly distributed throughout the day) and possibly your dr will recommend metformine. However, it is entirely possible it will never come to this.
  • editorgrrl
    editorgrrl Posts: 7,060 Member
    I have Hashimoto's. I lost way more slowly than most MFPers, so be patient. But I did it just like everybody else—by eating at a deficit. Read this: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1080242-a-guide-to-get-you-started-on-your-path-to-sexypants

    MFP has a Hypothyroidism and Hyperthyroidism group: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/forums/show/770-hypothyroidism-and-hyperthyroidism
  • lucyploop
    lucyploop Posts: 3 Member
    Hello there,

    Coming from a doctor here, whilst Hashimoto's indeed can cause weight gain, PCOS does not. Someone above said the gold standard treatment for PCOS is Metformin - this is incorrect, the gold standard treatment for PCOS is in fact weight loss! This is a similar story for Type 2 diabetes (insulin resistance is implicated in both conditions) - the gold standard treatment for which is also weight loss!

    Luckily we can replace the deficient thyroid hormone that occurs in Hashimoto's. If you get your thyroid blood levels to the correct level, then you will have no more trouble losing weight than someone with no thyroid disease.

    GOOD LUCK!!

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