Thyroid RANT

Good for you for losing the weight with the thyroid. I read the whole thread and some members asked what helped you lose. I am also interested to know how you managed the condition with diet and exercise. I gained a few pounds after getting diagnosed and I have been making them go the heck away slowly but surely.

With the Drs I had I had to be my own patient advocate. They didn't know what was wrong with me for about a year, said I was allergic to wheat without running any tests, when I changed MDs, I wasn't allergic to anything with that one who had run tests.
I had to argue that it would be beneficial to see a nutritionist as I was losing a considerable amount of hair. At that point before I saw that doctor I was falling asleep on they way to and from work, while I was there, and drinking more coffee than anyone should consume, and eating very little calories 1000/day to try to desperately maintain my weight.

The nutritionist helped me alot, they got me to purchase a food scale so I would have accurate calorie counts, when I started feeling better I got a fitbit to help me get a more accurate tdee, along with a heart rate monitor that further educated me that cardio machines at the gym are very generous, and that my heart rate seems slower than others.

I figured this out with my doctor: getting 1-2 pounds a week to go away when your thyroid hormones are in check with a 500-1000 deficit per day is very doable. But it has to be your actual real deficit, until the hormones were right and I was trying to lose I was losing only a half of a pound a week. My Dr explained to me that until the hormones are right you simply aren't burning that much. So until the hormones were close to normal I just watched my calories like a hawk and tried to exercise when I wasn't sleeping.

Until those hormones are right, or at least with me, it was very very difficult because I felt sick all the time, and I'm sure other folks have had that feeling too. If you get in with a good physician in the beginning you are very fortunate but try not to be too harsh on others who have not had that. The people posting are probably looking for constructive advice from others who have had the same issue.

Good for you for losing the weight with the thyroid. I read the whole thread and some members asked what helped you lose. I am also interested to know how you managed the condition with diet and exercise. I gained a few pounds after getting diagnosed and I have been making them go the heck away slowly but surely.

With the Drs I had I had to be my own patient advocate. They didn't know what was wrong with me for about a year, said I was allergic to wheat without running any tests, when I changed MDs, I wasn't allergic to anything with that one who had run tests.
I had to argue that it would be beneficial to see a nutritionist as I was losing a considerable amount of hair. At that point before I saw that doctor I was falling asleep on they way to and from work, while I was there, and drinking more coffee than anyone should consume, and eating very little calories 1000/day to try to desperately maintain my weight.

The nutritionist helped me alot, they got me to purchase a food scale so I would have accurate calorie counts, when I started feeling better I got a fitbit to help me get a more accurate tdee, along with a heart rate monitor that further educated me that cardio machines at the gym are very generous, and that my heart rate seems slower than others.

I figured this out with my doctor: getting 1-2 pounds a week to go away when your thyroid hormones are in check with a 500-1000 deficit per day is very doable. But it has to be your actual real deficit, until the hormones were right and I was trying to lose I was losing only a half of a pound a week. My Dr explained to me that until the hormones are right you simply aren't burning that much. So until the hormones were close to normal I just watched my calories like a hawk and tried to exercise when I wasn't sleeping.

Until those hormones are right, or at least with me, it was very very difficult because I felt sick all the time, and I'm sure other folks have had that feeling too. If you get in with a good physician in the beginning you are very fortunate but try not to be too harsh on others who have not had that. The people posting are probably looking for constructive advice from others who have had the same issue.

I fell asleep in the car once. Scariest thing ever! Those little rumbly, noisy things by the yellow line that they have to let people know they crossed the line? Thank God for them! That's what woke me up. I didn't wear a seatbelt then and if I hadn't woken up...best not to think about it.

Waking up behind the wheel is very scary.

People don't really understand what "fatigue" means when it's serious.

They don't understand a lot of things.

They really think that nobody has a real problem and is just using it as an excuse.

Decades! I went decades watching people not believe it.

I am really tired of the endless "hypothyroid" posts. "I cant lose weight because of my hypothyroid...."

Geuss what, YOU CAN! I did and SO CAN YOU

Does it make you feel tired, more hungry and lethargic when you thyroid is off? YES IT DOES

Having a hypothyroid is not a free pass into laziville, it just means you have to dig deep and WORK HARDER than other people, it does not make your fitness goals IMPOSSIBLE

SO STOP BLAMING YOUR THYROID!


-End Rant-

Thank you for this post. They just seem to be endless

As someone without a thyroid, it is hard, it can be done, even if it is a lot slower than "normal" people. It just take discipline, exercise and time. We just need to stay focus and think long term.

Diet is very extremely important - cut out the junk, white flour/rice etc, sodas, sodium, soy, sugar. Eat as clean as your budget allows, this will go a long way in helping to reduce some of the symptoms.

Lately I have reduced my carbs to 150 - 175 grams per day, (some days I consume less, but no more than 175). I find that I am not as bloated and feel a lot better. I eat three meals per day, with most of the carbs eaten at breakfast, then lunch and at dinner very few carbs eaten.

I know when I was diagnosed (Hashimoto's) and went to my very next session with my trainer and told him the news, he asked me: "so, what are you going to do now?" and I responded: "I'm going to have to work twice as hard and it's likely to take me twice as long to lose the weight, but it's not going to stop me." He nodded and said: "let's go." and then kicked my *kitten*.

It's taken me two years to lose just over 90 pounds. In that time, I was diagnosed with the thyroid, plus PCOS, plus I tore most of the ligaments in my ankle that took about nine months to heal.

It's slow, it's grueling, and at times, unbelievably depressing to struggle with each pound. BUT, it can be done. Having said that, I do have compassion for those who are so overwhelmed with their diagnosis and think it's impossible. You are going to have to dig deep and find that inner beast mode.

^^ this
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I also know that I can't speak for everyone with thyroid issues. My experience is mine, that's it. Individual results may vary.

OP< your post was arrogant. Just because you have the disease doesn't mean that you should assume that another sufferer's experience is just like your own.

Oversimplified OP is oversimplified.

ETA: my sister also has hashi. Her experience has been very different from mine. It's like a freaking moving target with her. She's hyper, then hypo, oh look, she's hyper again. It's been horrid for her. Her weight goes up and down. Her moods go up and down. It's insane.

Mine is consistently hypo, which is easier to medicate for, but the levels can fluctuate and it's tough to know whether a stall is because of behavior (even though you KNOW you are doing it right, you still second guess yourself), or your burn levels are set too high, or insertwhatevervariablehere____________ Yes, I've been able to make progress, grabbing onto those times where things work as they should. But you just have to look at someone like my sister to know that my experience is not like everybody else with thyroid issues, ever.

Thank you for your post, OP! I ended up with hypothyroid due to genetics, and wasn't medicating it very well. So, when I decided enough was enough, I knew that was the first place to start!

MFP and counting calories actually helped me find the correct dosage. I had a large bump in medication that put me into the hyper category so it got lowered. Suddenly, I couldn't lose anything. It was really frustrating, but since I could see that what I was doing should be working, I talked to my doctor, have the right dose, and everything is awesome!

To the people who want to bash on the OP because she doesn't want to listen to everyone wallowing in self pity when it really, really isn't needed: Sounds like a personal problem.

Oh, goodie. Another person who had it easy has joined in to whine about how hard it is for her to read about people who had it harder.

Do go on. Tell us more about how rough it is for you to read about.

Is it possible that the people with thyroid issues are actually having their own little rant when they say they can't lose weight because of their thyroid issues??? Then when their rant is over, they pick themselves up and just get on with it.

Perhaps they are venting their own frustrations, disappointments - they are not likely to asking for sympathy or pity... some compassion maybe.

Thank you, as a hypothyroid sufferer I get real testy when told someone cant lose weight because of their thyroid, yeah gimme another excuse please............

My hair sucks, I am tired, lethargic, blah blah

when my hair gets dry and my skin gets dry and it is tough to get out of bed that means thyroid check time..... Dr just recently upped my meds after 2 years as thyroid levels had increased again

but it is never an excuse to say something CANT be done, IN FACT when I was in my 20's and early 30s I was able to go medication free for years simply by maintaining a healthy weight, diet, and excersize.

That only lasts so long though as I got older I had to control it through meds, but just proves that it can be done f you want it.

It depends, everyone's thyroid condition is different. I have thyroid issues. I had Hyperthyroidism issues that were so severe that I had to go through two radioactive iodine treatments because medication wasn't enough. Before I had treatments, literally almost all of my hair fell out and my neck was swollen. I was always overeating but I never gained significant amounts of weight. When I finally started to get my thyroid under control I gained 50lbs because I went from extreme hyperthyroidism to hypothyroidism. So far I have lost 20 pounds of the 50 that I have gained. I am not using it as an excuse, but thyroid issues do make losing weight harder and thyroid issues causes anxiety/depression which makes it hard to find motivation.