Under active thyroid and weight loss

I have Hashimoto's disease, which is an underactive thyroid. I too have struggled with weight [among other things]. I've been able to lose weight in the past but the moment I become inactive again, I put it right back on.

I'm now making a total life change with both diet and exercise in an attempt to combat this wonderful condition I was so wonderfully blessed with! Ha!

I wish I had some advice but I too am struggling for advice. Perhaps we can motivate each other!

Good luck!

Hey there! I was diagnosed in 2006 with underactive thyroid. At the time my doctor told me weight loss wasn't impossible but I would "have to work harder". I had just gained 10 pounds and was trying to get it off. I went on synthroid, a very low dose and the blood work all came back fine. I got pregnant with my third, gave birth and lost most of the baby weight. Then last summer I gained 10 pounds practically overnight. I went back to my doctor, and insisted we try a higher dose. He increased it a little, but it helped me feel better and I stopped gaining weight. I have been on mfp since November and have lost 10 pounds. I eat 1200-1400 calories per day and exercise 45 minutes 6 days per week. The weight is slowly coming off. I have heard from others that it can take a long time to get your medicine dose correct. Even though my blood work kept coming back "in normal range" it obviously was not normal for me, and I needed a higher dose. Keep working with your doctor to find the right level of medication for you. Good luck!

I"ve gotta get my dog to the vet, but I'll come back and answer when I return. I have hypothroidism and have lost close to 20 lbs. since August. It CAN be done but it takes work! In the words of Ahnold, "I'll be bahk".

I agree, i am not going to blame my whole weight gain on my thyroid, my choices had something to do with it for sure. I think it's just finding a balance between medication, food choices and exercise. It's nice to see you all have been having success!

i agree! great replies and great advice! thanks alot guys!

for more on this topic [and my weight-loss journey] check out my blog!

http://abiglosertoo.wordpress.com

O.K., I'm back from the vet now. Back in 1997 I had half my thryoid removed. The remaining part did a good enough job of producing thryoid hormone that I didn't need any medication. I have always been very active and enjoyed working out but also really enjoyed food. In the past, if I had a big event coming up, I would crash diet and lose the weight and immediatly go back ot my normal eating habits. Over the past 2 years the weight has slowly crept up but I convinced myself it was age related and that since I only had half a thryoid, I was doomed. In August, the straw finally broke the camel's back when I saw pictures of myself and couldn't believe I had let myself get that far out of line so I made an appointment to see my doctor convinced it was my thryoid. Well, I knew her first words were going to be "are you keeping a food diary?" so I decided to be pro-active and start keeping one. I found this site. Amazingly, once I started eating correct portions (I am not my teenage sons!) the weight started coming off! Well, I went for my checkup and it turns out my thryoid IS out of whack and she is starting me on meds tomorrow. (2 rounds of blood work, holidays, etc made it take this long since August) So, short answer very long, it is possible to lose weight with an underactive thyroid! It takes willpower, measuring, being honest with how much you are eating and exercising. I"m hopeful that being on this medication will help me over my plateau. I've been stuck since early December and have gained and lost the same 2 lbs. over and over. Good luck!!

I also have an under active thyroid, well now I have no thyroid. I do blame it on my thyroid..im tiny 4 foot 9...I did this to myself though because my junior year of high school i stopped taking my thyroid pill & put on 20 pounds...this is my first time trying to actually drop 17 pounds.I'm now in my 2nd year at college & getting married. I wanna do this for me. I always wonder what affect my non existent thyroid will have on me. Just a few days ago i said i'm sick of it controlling my life, so this is for change

I have thyroid issues also. My Dr told me it would be very difficult to lose weight because of it, so I didn't try for a long time.
I gained a lot of weight and always looked bloated.
Avoiding white bread, white sugar and adding extra Vitamin D helped a lot. Walking really jump started my resolve to keep at it. I went from size 16 to size 10 and am still getting tighter and firmer. It took 6 months. Don't fall for any get skinny quick schemes , they just wont work for us . Also, avoid soy products as they interfere with our thyroid meds, Check out Dr. OZ's web site , He has lots of info on thyroid issues.
You can lose weight, and many of us with under active Thyroid have too.It
might take you a bit longer but hang in there.
Good Luck.

Definitely agree with checking to make sure you're not taking something that could interfere with the meds. I have hypothyroid too, and take synthroid for it. But I also have had problems with stomach ulcers and anemia and need to sometimes take iron and prevacid. Doctor right away warned me that iron can affect the meds, and so he told me to take my iron 12 hours apart from the thyroid meds. But I didn't know at first antacids could affect it as well so now I wait 4 hours on that one.

So if you take any sort of mutli vitamin that has iron in it I would ask your doctor if you should space that out from your meds.

I was diagnosed with hypothyroidism in the early 1990's. I have been on all the meds and doses available over the years. I too cannot blame my total weight gain to the hypothyroidism but to a combination of lack of exercise, portion size, and my thyroid being out of whack (many times the doctors would not listen to me when I told them I did not feel good:indifferent: ). I have recently started to watch my portion size, exercise on a regular bases (three times per week is all I can get into my schedule right now) and it seems to be working. Slow but it is at least working. I have tried it all and truly all of us that are hypothyroid are in the same boat....no gimmicks will work for us....just true hard work. Lets all stay together and support one another on this rather long journey.

During a routine physical about March 5th, my primary care physician took blood samples as usual. After she got the results, she told me I have under active thyroid. It felt like a new chapter of my life where I HAD to take medicine everyday. I decided to take it in the middle of the night between 2:30 and 4:30am since I usually wake up once anyway. After taking the thyroid medicine I have to wait an hour before I can eat, so i thought in the middle of the night would allow me to eat breakfast before I leave in am without delaying a whole hour. My doctor felt it could impact me in a negative way if I did not take the medicine with all the hard work of trying to lose weight. I also had a DNA Diet test by Inherent Health and they said under active thyroid wouldn't change my DNA which still means I have to do high energy exercises with low-fat diet to lose weight for the rest of my life. The DNA does not change from taking the Levothyroxin. I wish it did. Anyway, wish me luck! If anyone has tips, I am all ears.

6 months after giving birth to my son - and after gaining lots of weight - the doc ordered a blood test and I was diagnosed with hypothyroidism. I've been working out and eating 6 small, balanced meals throughout the day and I can proudly say that in 1 month I have lost 9.4 lbs. It can be done!

I've also started taking a thyroid support vitamin supplement, as it makes sense to feed your thyroid what it needs to stay as healthy as it can be

I still get very tired days when all I want to do is curl up and sleep but have found that forcing myself to exercise, even if it is just a walk really wakes me up and makes me feel energetic again. Though sometimes of course I give in and sleep

I've found that taking L-tyrosine helps my thyroid, gives it a boost. And I feel the same way about exercise. If I make myself go do it I do feel better but somedays I would rather just sleep all day! This weekend is rough because I work 12 hour night shifts so getting in enough sleep AND spending time with my kids before work makes exercise difficult.

Thanks for the replies about the vitamin supplements . I am just about to join the british thyroid self help group that sends news letters about recommened diet and vitamin supplements and up to date research.

As\there are obviously some of us on here from the UK and some from USA it will be good to swap notes.