Lossing weight with hypothyroid

I am also hypothyroid. Do you take the synthetic thyroid hormone synthroid or the generic levothyroxine? When was the last time they checked your TSH level? The new guidelines I have read are .3-3 but some people who are a 2-3 may need to be lower to lose weight and feel more energetic. I was on 75 mcg for a few years when I was first diagnosed but then asked for a higher dose because I had absolutely no energy even though I was in a normal range, so they put me on 100 mcg. I am about to go back to the doctor next week to see about raising it again because my TSH is about a 2.5 and I feel better when it is closer to a 1. I was told by a nurse who is also on 150 mcg that I would probably have to eventually be on 150 mcg (when I was first starting my supplements and I started at 75) because of my build (I am a small frame). I am going to fight for that because I have been kind of stuck for a few weeks now, before that I was stuck for two months, then lost about 5-6 pounds over the course of two months. I have lost about 39 pounds total since last July, but as I am getting closer to my goal it is getting increasingly more difficult. I don't expect to lose more than .5 pound per week and I can't even do that usually.

So don't be afraid to argue for a dosage that works for you because you know your body. They are only going by guidelines if/when they tell you that your TSH is fine. It may be within the "normal" range but may not be fine for you.

Make sure you have a good endo.

Don't compare yourself to what some online math calculator says you should be losing and don't get down if others lose faster.

I don't have a thyroid, so I lose slowly. But there was a time I couldn't lose at all, so I'm very happy about being able to lose! Every pound that comes off is like a dang gift.

If it's slow, so what? Progress is progress!

olly_naty02 wrote: »

Your right! We are not all the same !!! Nor will we all get the same results as others ! Thats a fact. I guess when people metion my excess weight gain then has me worry! But deff not giving up!!!!!!!!

Find a good endo. A good primary should be able to refer you to a good one.

A good endo will fix you! It takes time, lots of screwing around with dosages (and that never ends, that's a lifelong thing, checking back in to see how you're doing), but with any luck at all, they'll get you to a point where you lose weight. Until then, try to eat a healthy diet and do your best with the exercising.

I went decades being unable to lose and after they fixed me, I dropped 80 pounds and am still going along. Slowly! But surely.

Not saying that if I can do it, everyone must be able to...but I say it to give you some hope...and because I wish someone had encouraged me to keep seeking better doctors!!

Regularly take your meds and start counting calories. Use a food scale set to grams to help your accuracy.

Only after this truly doesn't work do you need to address doom and gloom. I'm hypothyroid and have lost ~60 pounds by taking my meds and logging regularly for a little over two years. Don't use it as an excuse. Get out there and go get it!

ETA: Accurate logs can be invaluable when determining proper dosage. At the beginning while getting mine figured out, there was a 3 month span that ended in "normal" blood work but I had gained and lost the same 3-5 pounds over and over so I knew something was wrong. Just remember that all of this is estimates based on population data so you may not lose exactly the predicted amount every week, but that doesn't mean it isn't working or that eating less calories than your burning won't work.

Kalikel wrote: »

If your body doesn't burn calories like other people's bodies do, then you might have to eat 700-900 calories/day in order to lose. This is especially difficult when your body is also sluggish and craving more and more food for energy as well as nutrients. You might even say that it can't be done.

That's just the tip of the hypothyroid iceberg.

Some people really and truly cannot lose weight and all the logging in the world won't help.

There are those who just accept no excuses. Even if you're dead, you should be able to lose. There are those who had a thyroid issue and lost weight and say, "Everyone must be just like me, so if I can lose, everyone else can, too!" But different people have different issues. Even the same person can have changes that affect their ability to gain or lose weight when it comes to thyroid issues.

You will choose to believe whatever you want and I'm not going to harp on it or argue it. But I wanted to say it, all the same.

A woman should eat 1000 calories per day as a bare minimum. 1200 is the recommended norm. Advocating a diet of less than 1000 is dangerous and should only ever be attempted under close medical supervision.

I have Hashimoto's, so I understand your concerns, OP. If you are properly medicated, you can lose weight, albeit perhaps at a slower rate. Please don't risk your body and your health by starving yourself. That's just plain stupid.

Make sure you know what your numbers are, not just that you're "normal." Just because your TSH is in the "normal" range (and if the lab is still using the outdated one, they could say you're "normal" when you're still clinically hypothyroid), doesn't mean it's at a level that is optimal for you.

Ask about TSH, Free T3, Free T4. Your body is supposed to convert T4 (the medication you're on) to T3. But some of us don't do it very well. There's another medication for that: Cytomel. I started to really improve after taking it. There are mixed peer-reviewed studies on TSH due to T3 supplementation, but what they did note was an increase in quality of life for patients, even if their change in TSH was not statistically significant.

I lose weight slowly, but I've lost it and kept it off. Macros were important for me. As was a fitness tracker to keep me accountable for how much I was actually burning. And logging.

My BMR is supposed to be 1296. It's probably closer to 1100. Over the course of a day, without exercise, walking to meetings, to and from my remote lot (at least 10,000 steps every day) and using my standing desk most of the day, I burn about 1350. But at least I know. And knowing is half the battle.

Psychgrrl wrote: »

Make sure you know what your numbers are, not just that you're "normal." Just because your TSH is in the "normal" range (and if the lab is still using the outdated one, they could say you're "normal" when you're still clinically hypothyroid), doesn't mean it's at a level that is optimal for you.

Ask about TSH, Free T3, Free T4. Your body is supposed to convert T4 (the medication you're on) to T3. But some of us don't do it very well. There's another medication for that: Cytomel. I started to really improve after taking it. There are mixed peer-reviewed studies on TSH due to T3 supplementation, but what they did note was an increase in quality of life for patients, even if their change in TSH was not statistically significant.

I lose weight slowly, but I've lost it and kept it off. Macros were important for me. As was a fitness tracker to keep me accountable for how much I was actually burning. And logging.

My BMR is supposed to be 1296. It's probably closer to 1100. Over the course of a day, without exercise, walking to meetings, to and from my remote lot (at least 10,000 steps every day) and using my standing desk most of the day, I burn about 1350. But at least I know. And knowing is half the battle.

I second the recommendation to get TSH, free T3, and free T4 tested.

There are three types of hypothyroidism:
1. Primary: elevated TSH and low T3 and T4
2. Secondary: normal TSH and T4 with low T3 (body doesn't convert T4 to T3)
3. Tertiary: normal TSH, T3, and T4 with symptoms of hypothyroidism. The thyroid makes hormone normally, but the uptake and the cellular level is inefficient.

So for someone with secondary or tertiary hypothyroidism, synthroid or levothyroxine can make symptoms worse.

snickerscharlie wrote: »

Kalikel wrote: »

If your body doesn't burn calories like other people's bodies do, then you might have to eat 700-900 calories/day in order to lose. This is especially difficult when your body is also sluggish and craving more and more food for energy as well as nutrients. You might even say that it can't be done.

That's just the tip of the hypothyroid iceberg.

Some people really and truly cannot lose weight and all the logging in the world won't help.

There are those who just accept no excuses. Even if you're dead, you should be able to lose. There are those who had a thyroid issue and lost weight and say, "Everyone must be just like me, so if I can lose, everyone else can, too!" But different people have different issues. Even the same person can have changes that affect their ability to gain or lose weight when it comes to thyroid issues.

You will choose to believe whatever you want and I'm not going to harp on it or argue it. But I wanted to say it, all the same.

A woman should eat 1000 calories per day as a bare minimum. 1200 is the recommended norm. Advocating a diet of less than 1000 is dangerous and should only ever be attempted under close medical supervision.

I have Hashimoto's, so I understand your concerns, OP. If you are properly medicated, you can lose weight, albeit perhaps at a slower rate. Please don't risk your body and your health by starving yourself. That's just plain stupid.

This. All thryoid issues, even in people without thryoids, come down to this. Your particular sweet spot might be really low. I know mine is. I need to be medicated to a very low TSH value to feel my best and do my best.... to near hyperthyroid levels. Fortunately, I have an endo who understands that this is sometimes normal for some of her patients.

People who don't weigh their food saying they lose slowly should step back from giving advice on things and consider other reasons why their weight loss might be slow.

Hi peachycarol

I weigh my food and my weight loss varies. Some weeks I lose, some weeks I don't. But then the following week I lose more. I think the main reason people are saying the weight loss may be slow is because they don't want OP to get discouraged.

I have Hashi's too. I know untreated hypothyroidism can lower your metabolism by up to 15%. If you are treated it should not slow your metabolism by much.

It can be hard to lose weight on Hashi's but if you find something that works for you, it gets easier. Good luck.