Weight and hypothyroidism

EllieMo · January 2015

Hi all

I wonder if anyone would give me advice/comments/experiences on weightloss with hypothyroidism.

After losing 3 stone is the first 9 months of last year, I started to feel very run-down. I started to gain weight, which I put down to not exercising (because I didn't have any energy!). Blood tests showed me to be severely anaemic, B12 and folate deficient, and my thyroid result was 'borderline'. I was told to have further tests on thyroid 8 weeks after the first, once the aneamias had been treated.

I had the second tests last week, and I've been diagnosed with mild hypothyroidism, and prescribed 50mcg Levothyroxine per day.

I'm exercising 4 times a week - 2*2 hour bike rides a week, 30-minute jogs, 2-4 hour walks at the weekend, and monitoring my calorie intake. I've stopped gaining weight, but I'm not losing any either. It seems too easy to blame it on my thyroid diagnosis, but I'm struggling to see any other cause.

I'd be interested to know if other had problems when they were first diagnosed, and how long it took to settle down? I'm concious that it can take a while to find the right dosage of Thyroxine

debneeds2beskinny · January 2015

I have had that for quite a few years, and it does seem to make it difficult to loose weight. I maintained for a long time, got sloppy with my eating habits and put it all back on in a heartbeat. So I am back at it again. It does take a little while for the meds to kick in, so now that you have leveled off, you may start to see a weight loss starting again. I would keep up with what you are doing and if you don't see another slight loss in a month or so contact your doctor. They may have to up your meds some.

clambert1273 · January 2015

levels have to be in check first.

Then comes down to very accurate calorie counting - which means weighing every. single. piece of food that you come in contact with. I have also found that utilizing TDEE method with straight shot on calories and tweaking weekly is better than recording calories + calories burned since the burned can be off quite a bit.

All hypo does is have the propensity to gain faster - it affects the BMR. Once you find the sweet spot for cals, meds etc.. then it will be easy.

Amisha136 · January 2015

Stop eating gluten. I have Hashimoto's Thyroiditis... when I kill the gluten and eat clean, whole foods, things turn around quickly. Good luck!

blankiefinder · January 2015

Ellie, it is entirely possible to lose weight with hypothyroidism, if it's treated. Your diary is closed, do you weigh your food with a food scale? Also, do you eat back your exercise calories and to what extent?

If you open your food diary, we can be a lot more help

rides4sanity · January 2015

What is your calorie intake?

Do you have any specific rules you follow with your diet? Any food plan can work, just curious if you are an everything in moderation, low carb, low sugar, high protein, vegan, lactose intolerant, etc...

Do you track your exercise calories? How? How intense are your workouts? How many of your exercise calories are you eating back?

radmack · January 2015

With thyroid, I sometimes feel that I have to work harder at losing weight than I might otherwise. My loss also might be slower, but I can still lose weight. I've now lost over 50 pounds but my average weekly weight loss is only about .6 pounds.

shellcatori · January 2015

hi I found out today my thyroid is under active after having had half of it removed last year. I am looking for Weight loss buddies who understand what I'm going through. I think the doctor will give me tablets when I see him next week but I don't know. I was told it's mild hypothyroid. Please feel free to add me we can all support each other.

paulaviki · January 2015

I have hypothyroid and a vitamin B12 deficiency. I'm on 100mcg of Levothyroxine a day and getting B12 injections every 3 months. I've been back on this since the 4th Jan after gaining a shed load of weight, but have managed to lose 6lbs since. I think it is harder with hypothyroidism, and both my Dr and my Dentist (she has a lot of family members which have this) have said you have got to exercise to help with the weight loss as without doing this your body doesn't metabolise the same and burns the fat slower.

I'm not sure how true that is, but I am now excercising 3 times a week as well as calorie counting so we shall see if it helps! My meds aren't 100% stablised yet and my dosage may well increase next time I have blood tests.

GoneGirl50 · January 2015

I had radioactive iodine treatment in 1999, which destroyed my thyroid gland. I take Levothyroxine daily. I put on a lot of weight the first 6 months. My doctor said that was normal, and that it would level off. The dosage of Levothyroxine can be adjusted, but you may have to find the right doctor, because as soon as they get you into a normal range, they tend to keep you at that dosage. If you research online you will hear many hypothyroid patients complain about this. In addition to the weight gain I have ridges in my fingernails, sensitivity to cold, hair loss, eyebrows shortened, and memory problems, which are all indicative of low thyroid levels. I would never have agreed to radioactive iodine treatment had I understood the consequences.

With that said, I am managing to lose an average of one pound per week. I also have some hypoglycemia, so a key for me was to spread my calories out into 350 - 425 per meal. I do not weigh, or obsess with every morsel that I eat. I only eat back half of my exercise calories, and I keep everything nutrient dense. I take a multi-vitamin, and calcium supplements with food. You are not supposed to have calcium within an hour or so of taking your Levothyroxine, so I had to adjust my routine or breakfast choices. 50mcg is an extremely low dosage. Maybe take a look at where you are falling in the normal range, and ask your doctor to bring you up to a higher point within normal.

EllieMo · January 2015

Thanks, everyone, some useful info there.

I know 50mcg is a low dose, I've been told to have further bloods in a little while and have my meds adjusted if necessary.

So possibly may have to settle for a maintain for the time being!!

rides4sanity · January 2015

You don't have to settle. We do have to work harder than "normal" folks, but it is doable. I find I do better when I limit my sugar intake, not eliminate carbs, just limit sugar. Diet soda also reeks havoc on my system, but I drink it all the time... Go figure...

rides4sanity · January 2015

I'm not saying you are making excuses, especially since this is new and you are still getting your dosage set. I just thought you might find this interesting.

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/blog/rides4sanity/view/challenges-not-excuses-perception-is-key-725293

GoneGirl50 · January 2015

Another thought: If you have recently started or increased your exercise, you will gain muscle, which weighs more than fat, and you will have some water retention in your muscles for 2 - 3 days following a workout. I think this is called DOMS, and it happens to me routinely. I just have to remind myself that a calorie deficit and exercise will result in weight loss and a better shape. The numbers on the scale may fluctuate, and sometimes you have to ignore that.

Kcordes1 · January 2015

I was on levothyroxine for the past 7 years and slowly gained 20 lbs over that time. Nothing I did would get that trend to reverse. I went to the doctor every 6 months to complain about not feeling well. She would only change my dose but wouldnt switch meds even when i asked her if there was something else to try. I felt moody and like crap most of the time. I finally got fed up a month ago and switched to a naturopathic doctor. She did a pretty comprehensive blood draw and shared all of the results with me. She explained what it all meant, how my body was trying to compensate for what it wasnt getting. She switched my meds to Armour and had me stop eating gluten and dairy. I've lost 5 lbs in a month. I feel so much better on this new medication. She said if Armour didn't work for me then I could go back to levo and supplement it with another med that I forgot the name of. Yippee i have options! I also am taking a supplement for adrenal support twice a day which us helping greatly.

So my key learning is to switch doctors if yours only will adjust your Levo up and down!!!! Maybe all you need is a different med and some adrenal supplements to get your body feeling healthy again! Its done wonders for me.

WaterBunnie · January 2015

I'm a few weeks behind you. I've just had 6 weeks on ferritin to battle iron deficiency and my TSH is battling slightly to keep my thyroid levels stable and they wanted to put me on tablets when I was diagnosed with the anaemia but we decided to test again when the iron was checked again to decide then whether I was to go on levothyroxine as I intimated I was a little concerned about going onto something I'd have to take for the rest of my life.

I'm a lot less dizzy lately so the anaemia must be getting better but I've lost 7lbs so far this month so don't think the hypothyroidism can be stopping my loss too badly. I do exercise regularly though and use a FitBit to adjust my calories which is more realistic than using the database.

livb528 · January 2015

I've had hypothyroidism since 2012 and I agree with a lot of the advice above. Unfortunately, I have to really work out to lose weight. (30-40 min 3-5x a week) And I also try to cut out most wheat and eat low glycemic. I still eat sweet potatoes, quinoa, oatmeal, small amounts of rice, and ezekiel bread (sprouted bread). I also try to have healthy fats. I am not perfect but it really helps. It might be a blood sugar thing with me too.

As far as medication goes, I was originally on levothyroxine but didn't really feel too much better. Then I went to an endocronologist that put me on levo plus cytamel. (T3 and T4) I felt a tiny bit better but it wasn't until I got put on armour that I finally feel like I am starting to really feel better. I also take iodine, selenium, and vitamin D because I was very low.

Weight and hypothyroidism

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