Iron Deficiency - the unsuspected culprit

I have been STRUGGLING to lose weight for just over 18 months now. I eat really well, I strength train, I run, I walk, I count calories, I have a physical job where I am moving on my feet for at least 8 hours 4 days a week and I am a busy mom, student and wife. I am in school to become a nutritional consultant so I do have an idea of what to eat and what not to and I STILL can't lose weight.

I hired a personal trainer in Novemeber of 2011 and even he is baffled by why I can't lose weight! He suggested I get my blood checked for thyroid issues. My Naturopath suggested that when I go for the blood test to check my thyroid I should get my iron checked as well because through my family doctor blood tests are covered but not through my Naturopath so I got my iron checked as an after thought.

I am the kind of person that takes a while to get any kinds of tests done so this has been a while in the making. What spurred me to go was gaining 8lbs in the last 2 weeks for no reason. I went on Tuesday and had my appointment with my doc this morning. My thyroid was a little on the low side but still within "normal" range but my iron is seriously low. For a woman your iron should be about 70 a man's should be over 200. Mine is at 12. WOW. My doctor told me that this is tprobably the cause for my lack of weight loss. When you are deficient in iron your body holds onto EVERYTHING! Check this quote out!!

"Most iron rich foods are animal in origin. For this reason, it can be tricky for vegans, vegetarians and people who avoid red meats to get enough iron in a day. Luckily, there are plenty of supplements you can take, but if you’d rather get iron through your daily diet, you’ll want to incorporate some red meats and other foods rich in iron into your diet.

Iron is important for weight loss as your body needs iron to produce red blood cells, which are required to oxygenate and burn fat and calories. This is why starvation diets don’t work: if you don’t eat foods that are high in iron, you won’t effectively lose fat, only muscle and organ weight. You need to have food high in iron if you want to stay in shape.

If you don’t have any good sources of iron in food, you may feel lethargic and fatigued even when you’ve eaten and rested. People who get enough iron in a day tend to be more up and active throughout the day.

To be clear, overdosing on iron will not help you burn fat more quickly. Oxygenated blood is a necessity for any effective fat burning, but that doesn’t mean that an extra piece of liver will result in double-time fat burning. You can overdose on iron just as easily as you can overdose on sugar, so be reasonable while arranging your diet."


So, my doctor has perscribed me a iron supplement needless to say. A water pill to get rid of all the water my body has been holding on to (he expects a big weight loss in my near future) and a very low dose of Synthroid to help kick start my thyroid!!

I NEVER would have thought of iron causing this reaction. If you are stuck and haven't seen any weight loss I highly suggest getting your iron checked just to be sure. It can't hurt!!