Thyroid troubles can be challenging for many reasons, and successfully losing weight is one of them.

I hope that your doctor is giving you some sort of thyroid replacement right now to optimize your thyroid levels. You really need levels below 3, and perhaps even lower than that. My endocrinologist wants to see my TSH around 1-2.

The tough thing about losing weight when hypothyroid is that you can't really be sure about how many calories your body is burning through regular activity because our metabolism can be slower. MFP might estimate you burn 2,000 calories a day and you want to lose 1.5 lbs a week (500 calorie daily deficit) , so they will give you 1,500 calories daily to eat. However, because you are hypothyroid, your body might only be burning 1,700 calories a day. That means that MFP's estimates are all wrong for you. How do you combat this? Here is what I do: I get regular exercise (3-4 times weekly) and don't eat back my exercise calories to account for these errors. The other thing is to make sure that you are weighing all food items with a digital food scale. Weighing food means you can be pretty darn precise about how many calories you are taking in. The only thing you can do for that calories out part is take thyroid meds to get your numbers down and increase your exercise to account for your metabolism being slower.

I hope this all makes sense. It's a very generic example.

Best wishes.

I echo others' sentiments about this can really hard -- it can make you feel like you're going a little crazy sometimes. From what I've learned over the years is that it can be so individual. Some respond great to the synthetics, others respond great to NDT (natural dessicated thyroid), some respond well to one diet, others can eat whatever they want and don't notice a difference, etc. -- and there is often not much understood why there is such a difference.

One thing I'd suggest when you talk to your doctor is to make sure you don't have any additional accessory issues. When I started with my current doctor, he opened my eyes to the plethora of commonly seen accessory issues that come with those of us that have thyroid issues. This wasn't all of them, but off the top of my head the biggest I recall are: (1) adrenal support (cortisol and DHEA in particular), (2) insulin resistance (A1C test probably being the best and (3) common vitamin mineral deficiencies (magnesium, D, iron, iodine, selenium, B, etc.). I didn't have all of these issues but I had a couple of them and was shocked to see that no other docs had even investigated any of them. My vitamin D level was so incredibly low. A adequate range is 20-50, but my doc prefer people be in the 50-100 area for optimal health. Mine was 3. And low vitamin D levels are associated with difficulty with weight. Same with adrenals, iron, etc.

I got them all fixed at the same time, so I can't say if one of them was better/worse than the thyroid issues, but I can say when it got all fixed, the difference was NIGHT and DAY. I lived with so many of the symptoms for so long, I just got used to them and thought they were "normal" for me. It felt amazing to start sleeping through the night, to not always be so incredibly fatigued or lethargic, to not be cold all the time or have to wear a sweater when everyone else is in a t-shirt, etc. And, of course, for the weight to finally come off as expected with CICO. In many ways, it felt like a small miracle.

So, I feel for ya and I hope you're able to get help soon. If you have any specific questions, please ask -- there are a lot of knowledgeable people on this board. And don't let the "don't use it as an excuse" folks get you down. They can be particularly infuriating. After all, if you're seeking help, you're not looking to make an excuse! You're looking for help and knowledge to make the smartest choices possible for your individual circumstances. How some people can't understand that is beyond me.

Hi. I was diagnosed about a year ago. I also had knee surgery this past April. I've not been able to lose anything but my car keys or my temper in years. Now that I am actively trying to lose the weight that has clung steadfastly to my body and invited friends, I'm finding it literally impossible.

I thought I was doing well, even though fatigue and chronic pain issues due to my knees, hips and a crapped out spine limit stamani and movement when it comes to exercise, I've been persistent in my goals...most of the time, I'm a sucker for chex mix, coffee and pizza. My scale noted a small progression, I have been feeling a bit more energetic as well.

Then I stood on a scale at the doctor's office. It said that despite my best efforts, I had gained three pounds.

I am taking prescription Potassium as well as calcium, vitamin D and magnesium, and a low dose of a statin, thank to my doc's advice. The potassium helps with heart palpatations (no fun) and the Vit. D with the chronic joint pain.

Is there any hope of getting out of my fat pants?