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Gained 10lbs in one month on paleo diet

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  • lindsey1979
    lindsey1979 Posts: 2,395 Member
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    I only got tested for TSH, T4, free T4 and T3 uptake. I guess my doctor will know which test I need to take according to my symptoms.

    Do you remember what your numbers are for those? Sometimes, some docs are using old standards -- I've seen it for both TSH and the Free T3 and Free T4. It's super common for those that have Hashi's -- because the antibodies bind up the thyroid hormones and it's literally impossible to know if they're blocking 20% or 80% (or any percent) or your active thyroid hormones. So many specialists use symptoms and blood tests to guide those with Hashi's.

    For me, for example, I still have horrible hypo symptoms if I'm below normal or in the low-normal range. They get better at mid-normal range but for them to go away altogether, I have to be in the upper third of the normal range. Some doctors won't treat those with Hashi's at all (until their thyroid is destroyed enough to go full over hypothyroid) or so long as they're "within range" even though they're still experiencing horrible hypo symptoms.
  • debou5
    debou5 Posts: 42 Member
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    I lost my hair recently like 2/3 of it because of my treatment but I met a girl who has the same disease has me and got the same treatment and her hair loss was because of hypothyroidism. My husband often complain about my cold hands/ feets. I do not go every day to the bathroom but I won't say I'm constipated, I'm pretty tired after meals, and I got no libido.. -_- This is specially why I got tested and my weight gain lead me to find that thyroid disorder could explained the low libido and the weight gain.


    No I do not know, I try to not eat more than 1/2 cup of shredded coconut but I'm not buying nuts anymore because I easily overeat them. I'm planning on logging my food on MFP for the next two weeks to see how much I eat.
  • debou5
    debou5 Posts: 42 Member
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    Yes I got the numbers, TSH: 3.40 mIu/L, T4: 9.0 mcg/dL, total free T4 index (T7): 2.3 mcg/dL, T3 uptake: 26 mcg/dL
  • Akimajuktuq
    Akimajuktuq Posts: 3,037 Member
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    I actually read than running for more than 30 is not that good because it gives stress response to your body. I also used to run for a year for about 30+ everyday and I actually did not notice any changes on my body so I changed my workout routine and now I'm following a guide which includes strength training, and power walk.
    If I reintroduce rice it is because I enjoy eating sushi and I wanted to test it to see if I'm intolerant it is not something I'll be eating every day nor every week. So eating a cup of pineapple with milk once a week makes me gain weight just like that?.... It is so frustrating -_- . My doctor is in France so I actually went ahead and went to get a blood test without seeing any doctors because besides weight gain I have other symptoms that could be explained by a thyroid disorder. I'm going to wait to go back to France and ask my doctor what I need to get further tests.
    I'm not eating large amount of fruits. Apparently in the larabar there is 1/4 cup of fruits and this week I had 1 cup of pineapple and 1 apple.
    About the coconut milk, I'm usually buying the one in can which only contains coconut milk.
    I basically did the whole 30 kind of I eliminate everything they say to eliminate and I'm on the reintroduction phase so I'm only reintroducing food I know I'll eat once in a while. I'm done reintroducing dairy so I'm going to limit my consumption until I finished every dairy products in my fridge then I'll avoid them. I limit my consumption of nuts because I overeat them and I limit my consumption of fruit, I need to limit my consumption of larabar :(.
    I was wondering if I am not eating too much fats, in my salad I put 10-15 olives, 1/4-1/2 avocado and some olive oil. Then after dinner I eat shredded coconut and in the morning I usually drink coconut milk with cocoa powder depending on what I had for breakfast. Is it too much or it does not really matter? I know that in the Whole30 book they said you got to choose 1 source of healthy fats but in my salad I get almost 3..

    Thanks for your answer

    You post that you are concerned about weight gain, then have issue when the sugar is mentioned. One Larabar has a LOT of sugar (just searched the database and looked at one, 31 grams of carb, 24 of which are sugar for an item that weight 48 grams!). You can eat them all you want, same with fruit, but if you are going to ask the question and you have a high intake of sugar, that's the first thing I'm going to point out. Fruit is not "bad" but some people need to limit sugar regardless of source. I'm one of them. A cup of pineapple is most of my carbs, and all my sugar, for an entire day.

    Maybe you didn't gain weight at all? Maybe put the scale away for a month?

    So, it can't be the sugar so must be the fat? So cutting back on fat will reduce your weight? I know of millions of people doing just that and it isn't working long term for them at all. I was one of them.

    I agree that chronic cardio (including marathon running) is NOT good for health. I don't think anyone who loves to run should stop running but people running to extremes just because they believe it to be healthy should do more research because there is much potential for harm.
  • Dragonwolf
    Dragonwolf Posts: 5,600 Member
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    I actually read than running for more than 30 is not that good because it gives stress response to your body. I also used to run for a year for about 30+ everyday and I actually did not notice any changes on my body so I changed my workout routine and now I'm following a guide which includes strength training, and power walk.
    If I reintroduce rice it is because I enjoy eating sushi and I wanted to test it to see if I'm intolerant it is not something I'll be eating every day nor every week. So eating a cup of pineapple with milk once a week makes me gain weight just like that?.... It is so frustrating -_- . My doctor is in France so I actually went ahead and went to get a blood test without seeing any doctors because besides weight gain I have other symptoms that could be explained by a thyroid disorder. I'm going to wait to go back to France and ask my doctor what I need to get further tests.
    I'm not eating large amount of fruits. Apparently in the larabar there is 1/4 cup of fruits and this week I had 1 cup of pineapple and 1 apple.
    About the coconut milk, I'm usually buying the one in can which only contains coconut milk.
    I basically did the whole 30 kind of I eliminate everything they say to eliminate and I'm on the reintroduction phase so I'm only reintroducing food I know I'll eat once in a while. I'm done reintroducing dairy so I'm going to limit my consumption until I finished every dairy products in my fridge then I'll avoid them. I limit my consumption of nuts because I overeat them and I limit my consumption of fruit, I need to limit my consumption of larabar :(.
    I was wondering if I am not eating too much fats, in my salad I put 10-15 olives, 1/4-1/2 avocado and some olive oil. Then after dinner I eat shredded coconut and in the morning I usually drink coconut milk with cocoa powder depending on what I had for breakfast. Is it too much or it does not really matter? I know that in the Whole30 book they said you got to choose 1 source of healthy fats but in my salad I get almost 3..

    Thanks for your answer

    It's very difficult (if not impossible) to help you troubleshoot when you first say what you're eating and make it sound like it's an everyday or nearly everyday thing, and then turn around and say you only do that once a week.

    Here's what you initially said you've been eating in your recent response:
    I usually eat beef patties with a smoothie (avocado, 1 cup pineapple, 1 cup almond milk) or with some shredded coconut and milk or I eat lamb with kelp noodles. For lunch I eat a salad with a bunch of veggies and a Larabar, for dinner it is usually some meat, half of my plate veggies and I had to reintroduce rice so I eat maybe 1/4-1/2cup of rice.

    The parts that I've bolded are what give the impression that you're eating these things more than just once a week. Without any other information regarding times, and with an empty diary, we've nothing left but to assume that you're generally eating these things either every day, or multiple days a week. Note on the rice part that it says you had to reintroduce rice. You made no mention that it was part of your plan, nor how many days in the week you had it.

    I think what you need to do is eat like you have, but log your foods for the next week or so. Don't restrict, try not to alter what you eat to fit the macro goals on MFP. Just eat and log it. It doesn't have to be 100% perfect (ie - you don't need to weigh every morsel), but try to be fairly accurate -- pay attention to where you fill the milk in the blender, use measure spoons, etc. At the end of that week or two, take a look and see where you're naturally falling. This will help you gauge where your sugar levels are at, where your macros are falling, and how much you're taking in.
  • lindsey1979
    lindsey1979 Posts: 2,395 Member
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    Yes I got the numbers, TSH: 3.40 mIu/L, T4: 9.0 mcg/dL, total free T4 index (T7): 2.3 mcg/dL, T3 uptake: 26 mcg/dL

    You TSH number alone puts you hypothyroid (anything about 3 is considered hypo now -- the standards were changed from 5 sometime around 2003, but a lot of labs haven't changed this over -- and some still suggest the upper limit should be lower, some where in the 2-2.5 range). For optimal levels, this is what I've seen:

    TSH = 1.5 (optimal), FT4 = 1.26 (optimal), FT3 = 322 (optimal)

    Test
    Lab Low
    Optimal Range
    Lab High
    TSH
    0.5
    1.3-1.8
    5.0 (though now 3.0)
    Free T4
    0.8
    1.2-1.3
    1.8
    Free T3
    230
    320-330
    420
    Free T3*
    2.3
    3.2-3.3
    4.2
    *Some labs divide FT3 results by 100 thus 230 is the same as 2.3, etc.

    The only other one I'm familiar with is Free T4, and that looks high. I'm used to the range being 0.8-1.8. I'm not sure what T3 uptake is -- but from what I quickly found on the net is that the normal range is 10-26, so you're at the upper limit of normal.

    So, it's totally possible that you may have a reverse T3 issue where you're producing a lot of T4 but it's not being converted into the active T3 and you still feel hypothyroid. Or that conversion is being prevented from high cortisol levels and inflammation (see Chris Kresser article below -- no. 2)

    I'd strongly suggest you go see a doctor that specifically specializes in thyroid/metabolic disorders. Far too many GPs and endos simply aren't that well educated on thyroid issues (I went to 4 before shelling out the dough for the specialist and only wish I'd done it 10 years earlier when I saw the first doc).

    http://chriskresser.com/5-thyroid-patterns-that-wont-show-up-on-standard-lab-tests (see pattern no. 2 -- sounds like it might be you)
    http://thyroid.about.com/cs/newsinfo/l/bltest_values.htm
    http://www.drrind.com/therapies/thyroid-scale
  • debou5
    debou5 Posts: 42 Member
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    I saw his article the day I got my test this is why I am still doubting that I don't have any issues.
    I'm sorry about how I described my breakfast, I started this week to stop eating pancakes for breakfast so the beginning of this week I ate kelp noodles with spinach, mushrooms, and lamb, then I was eating patties and I got a smoothie with it (I saw the recipe on Chris Kresser ebook for autoimmune disease). I have that issue that probably everybody who is gaining weight on the paleo diet has: I think that because it is paleo it is ok so I get a smoothie with fruit and almond milk or cow milk and I get a larabar later during the day and I do not realize how much sugar I eat and how it could affect my weight because it is natural... This is why I have to start logging my food again so I see what I eat. I used to do it everyday but I keep forgetting to do it.
  • debou5
    debou5 Posts: 42 Member
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    This is what I thought too. I will see with my doctor in France to get more tests.
  • debou5
    debou5 Posts: 42 Member
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    I was wondering, how much sugar is it okay to eat every day?
    I realize that I do eat a lot of sugar and I did not even notice, there are days I'm going to eat a larabar then I'm going to make a drink with 2 dates, cow milk or almond millk and cocoa powder and for the past two days I've been drinking a smoothie so more sugar... That's why I'm writing here, it is hard sometimes to see your own mistakes. Anyway, so I was thinking, if I eat a larabar It should be the only source of sugar I get during the day right? Is 30g if sugar per day is okay or can I have a little more?

    Thanks again for your answers, it is helpful.
  • Akimajuktuq
    Akimajuktuq Posts: 3,037 Member
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    I was wondering, how much sugar is it okay to eat every day?
    I realize that I do eat a lot of sugar and I did not even notice, there are days I'm going to eat a larabar then I'm going to make a drink with 2 dates, cow milk or almond millk and cocoa powder and for the past two days I've been drinking a smoothie so more sugar... That's why I'm writing here, it is hard sometimes to see your own mistakes. Anyway, so I was thinking, if I eat a larabar It should be the only source of sugar I get during the day right? Is 30g if sugar per day is okay or can I have a little more?

    Thanks again for your answers, it is helpful.

    How much sugar you eat is up to you. Trial and error. Maybe breaking the habit of sugar is worth trying? Many people are addicted to high sugar consumption - yes, even Paleo people.

    Why choose the Larabar over more vegetables and whole fruit? I think you might find foods more filling, and the sugar less problematic when they are whole, not liquefied or processed into a bar.

    Dried fruit is something I do my best to avoid - just like eating candy as far as my body is concerned.
  • debou5
    debou5 Posts: 42 Member
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    I eat a lot of vegetables but at the end of each meal I do not reel satisfied, I always need to eat a bar or some shredded coconut, or nuts, fruits does not appeal to me as much.
  • SerendipitySkye
    SerendipitySkye Posts: 202 Member
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    I would try to walk away from all sugar and stick to one low glycemic fruit a day or every other day. An apple first thing in the morning before you eat anything else really helps to get your system moving and then you are done for the day with fruit. After I do that, (about an hour after), I eat a healthy breakfast of protein and vegetables. But, I would try ditching any and all sugar so your body can reset itself. May take awhile depending on your bodies need to heal. Once your weight is moving in the direction you want, you can slowly work in a bit at a time to see what your body can handle without a negative impact.

    ~Skye :flowerforyou:
  • Akimajuktuq
    Akimajuktuq Posts: 3,037 Member
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    I eat a lot of vegetables but at the end of each meal I do not reel satisfied, I always need to eat a bar or some shredded coconut, or nuts, fruits does not appeal to me as much.

    Lots of the food I love now did not "appeal" to me in the start of my Paleo journey. I chose to do what was best for my health and over time learned new habits and developed new tastes. You need protein, fats, AND vegetables in a meal. And whole fruits make a nice snack/dessert.

    Much of your wording shows that you are resistant to doing something different ("I always need to eat a bar") so that's fine, but asking for advice will not be helpful if that's the mindset.

    If you like what you are doing, that's great, then stop worrying about every little blip on the scale and keep keeping on. :flowerforyou:
  • debou5
    debou5 Posts: 42 Member
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    Yes you are right. I have one bar left so I'll resist the temptation to buy more and I will buy low glycemic index fruit instead for my dessert or to add to my breakfast and I will keep the shredded coconut for my dessert for dinner.
  • debou5
    debou5 Posts: 42 Member
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    I just read something interesting "A study by the European Journal of Applied Physiology found out that people who perform long, slow (and boring, seriously!) cardio actually suffered from a decreased T3 thyroid hormone production." Maybe the fact that my T3 uptake is low because I have been doing long slow cardio for almost 2 years... Hopefully it will increase now that I changed my workout routine.
  • Nutmeg76
    Nutmeg76 Posts: 258 Member
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    You may want to look into a 21 Day Sugar Detox as opposed to Whole 30.

    I have had issues with reverse T3 and T3 uptake in the past and going too low carb made it worse. The important thing for me though is to still keep sugar low and get carbs from non-fructose sources. Yes, all carbs are broken down as sugars but not all sugars are handled the same way in the body.
  • debou5
    debou5 Posts: 42 Member
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    I'll look it up. My problem is that I eat too much sigar without realizing it. I'm paying a little more attention now except today because it is my birthday so I'm enjoying myself but I'm going to be more careful in the future. I made homemade Larabar but it is not good for me to have that in the fridge I have a tendency to grab a few pieces during the day and I end up eating too much of it so I'll only get these once in a while. I don't eat fruit besides coconut. I got to watch my carb intake now... I get to reintroduce eggs tomorrow so breakfast is going to be way easier.
  • LeenaGee
    LeenaGee Posts: 749 Member
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    Happy Birthday for yesterday debou5. Hope you had a great day!!
  • debou5
    debou5 Posts: 42 Member
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    Thanks!! ^^
  • allaboutandy64
    allaboutandy64 Posts: 4
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    Great Post!

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