Doc recommends South Beach (for life, not as a diet)

See another Doctor. I had a thyroid problem and saw 3. The last one told me I wouldn't need to be put on medications for life and fixed me with short term treatment and BAM I lost weight.

Your case will be different but I honestly think you should see a few other people before committing to a life style change like this.

My other 2 GPs tried to convince me to jump on the hormone tablets for life and start looking into optifast, another said Keto (Atkins) Yeh, no.

I really don't trust most GPs now days. But if you've spoken to a few you'll have a better idea of what to do.

I have done low carbs and it did nothing for me. I just had really oily poo. I found weighing and counting everything I eat, eating between 1200-2000 zigzagged throughout the week worked for me, though I had to weight everything and I had to log everything.

You could also try south beach for a month and see if you like it. If it's something you end up enjoying then it's a great life plan indeed! If you don't like it then there's no point trying to commit for life to something you hate as it will back fire.

I guess its all trail and error in the end. I think I lost almost 65lbs doing the counting. I gained 15 back when I went over seas, ate everything in sight and didn't count for 3 months. haha but I'm back on track now

I hope you find something that works for you perfectly! :flowerforyou:

If you haven't seen an endocrinologist, do that as soon as you can. If you do nothing else, do that.

I had to stop my Synthroid for a bit and the pounds just came piling back on.

Being hypo means you have less energy. When your body has no energy, it wants food. Badly. Especially carbs. And it will cause a very strong desire for more food (especially carbs) on a regular basis. It doesn't matter how much you've eaten. Because it has no energy, it pushes for more. You may as well tell a starving person not to eat as tell a hypothyroid person to avoid carbs.

Even if you manage go low-carb and eat very few calories, you won't lose weight like people whose bodies work, because yours doesn't.

You have to get the hypo thing under control if you want to lose weight. Even under control, it's still harder than it is for others, but at least it can be done.

It's possible he recommended low carb because with hypo, you generally burn less calories too. Going low carb will help allow you to get get adequate protein and fats (essential nutrients) and provide the greatest satiety levels for the given calories. Personally, I wouldn't adhere to a specific low carb diet, but rather use the below group to educate yourself on techniques to guide you.



http://www.myfitnesspal.com/groups/home/394-low-carber-daily-forum-the-group

i've been doing atkins (basically a stricter version of south beach but both are low-carb ways of eating) on and off for the last... damn... 17-ish years. i've had my reasons for switching back and forth from low-carb to the standard american diet (meaning crap, basically), but i've always felt better physically and mentally on low carb. here's a few things i've picked up along the way.

1. learn to cook. if you don't know how to cook, learn to cook.
2. learn to love cooking. if you hate cooking, at least learn to like cooking.
3. for at least the first month or so, ignore all the replacement foods out there. stick with ingredients to make things, not prepackaged things. even if that package of low-carb tortillas says that it's only got 5g of net carbs, stay away from it at least in the beginning.
4. #3 becomes a lot easier when you stick to the outer perimeter of the grocery store... produce, dairy, meat counter. scoot past the bakery as quickly as you can, do not pass GO, do not collect $200.
5. if you don't have a membership to costco, get one. the quality of their meats and produce is far better than a lot of what i've seen in the grocery store, except for maybe winco. the prices are comparable.
6. in the process of tackling #1 and #2, start learning what foods can replace others. i picked up one of those vegsketti thingies that makes long spiraling julienne "noodles" out of things like zucchini, summer squash, mexican grey squash, cucumbers, or any similar veggie. those zoodles replace all pasta for me (hubby and son are fine eating that stuff). cauliflower can be grated and steamed and replace rice... the taste won't be the same (it's still cauliflower), but the texture will be similar and can be used as a base for stir frys or curry-sauced dishes. large lettuce leaves (romaine, red, green, or even iceberg sometimes) can be used to make wraps for sandwiches.
7. when eating out, don't be shy about asking for things without bread. just about any sandwich can be made into a salad. burgers can easily be eaten with a knife and fork. low-carb diets are mainstream enough that just about any restaurant is going to be able to accommodate you, including fast food places.
8. stock up on healthy fats... olive oil, coconut oil, avocado oil. they are not your enemy. sugar is what you want to avoid, so if you're fat-phobic you're going to have to get over that.
9. i realize that south beach isn't considered a ketogenic diet, but if you find yourself feeling tired, headachy, and grumpy a few days in, DO NOT PANIC. if you've got your carbs below 20g per day, THIS IS NORMAL. it's called "keto flu" and happens when the body runs out of glucose from dietary sources and switches over to burning fat for energy. you know how marathon runners will "hit the wall" and then get their "second wind"? that's exactly the same process, just drawn out a little longer. i don't know what the carb levels are for the beginning phases of south beach, so it's possible they're kept high enough that you don't experience that. just give it a few days and do NOT give up.

one of the things i've found is that i can go longer between meals when i'm eating more fat and less carbohydrate. i don't obsess about when i'm going to eat again. and after a while, breads and cakes and cookies just lose their appeal. you'll probably also find that after a few weeks, your taste buds will start picking up on inherent sweetness where you didn't notice it before.

there's also a low-carb group within MFP where you can get a lot of information from other south beachers. the main boards tend to be not so tolerant of anything that doesn't adhere to the concept of "just eat less" for weight loss.