Hypothyroidism/Hashimoto and weight loss

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wannabtight
wannabtight Posts: 187 Member
in Motivation and Support
Reaching out to see if others have conditions that contribute to weight gain and weight loss plateaus. I'm on .187mg of levothyroxine and exercise daily, watch what I eat but I have plateaued. Feeling discouraged and have monitored my measurements and there has been no change. Looking for support and encouragement, ideas on how to speed up the fat loss?

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  • barriecr
    barriecr Posts: 32 Member
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    Hi, when I read your post I felt a sense of relief that someone else is experiencing the same problem I can emphasize wit you, I'm on, 100 mcg of levothyroxine. Like you I started out okay and plateaued. I have been to my doctor and asked if my I needed to increase my medication. He told me my T4 was were it should be and I should try and cut my calories back to 800 a day. I have increased my cardio to an hour a day, and not lost any weight. Yes, it is hard to stay motivated and I do want to give up, but I cannot. I am totally committed to losing weight and will continue to looking for a way. If I come up with any ideas that work I will be sure to share. Keep the Drive Alive and please don't give up.
  • mgookin1
    mgookin1 Posts: 72 Member
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    I have hypothyroidism, but not taking medications. I just started my weight loss journey, so I haven't struggled yet, but I know struggles will be ahead of me lIke thet have been in the past. . I am just taking things day by day, and I know that once I hit that point of struggle, I have plenty of reasons to continue my journey regardless of the number on the scale.
  • cpalumbo89
    cpalumbo89 Posts: 71 Member
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    I would suggest switching from levothroxine to Synthroid. Our doctor would say constantly that there was no difference and it wouldn't help if you switched. My sister switched anyways and lost about 15 pounds in a year without doing anything extra. When she saw the doc for her yearly visit his response was huh must've been the medicine. She's now using myfitnesspal and has since January and lost another 7 pounds since then, no problem. My sister and I both had hoshimoto, then thyroid cancer and we don't have thyroids. So even if your doctor says there is no difference, there is.
  • azulvioleta6
    azulvioleta6 Posts: 4,196 Member
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    I have both--along with three additional metabolic diseases.

    I've lost 90+ pounds and have kept it off.

    I make up for the very low BMR by exercising a lot. Eating a lower/moderate carb diet also makes a huge difference for me. My upper carb limit per day is 100G...but I do better around 75G/day.
  • Bettina82
    Bettina82 Posts: 30 Member
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    I have struggled with hypothyroidism for 14 years. My dose of levothyroxine has been all over the place. Weight loss for me seems to take forever... I know how frustrating it can be :(
    I think my metabolism is just super slow even with the meds! What kind of exercise do you do every day? Also, do you weigh and measure your food? Once I started doing that I saw I was eating too much. Hang in there! You can do this!
  • Fuzzipeg
    Fuzzipeg Posts: 2,298 Member
    edited April 2016
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    There is a hyper hypo thyroid group on here. Please do not listen to doctors who tell you to live on 800 calories they are talking out of the back of their heads. Hashimoto's lowers your metabolism as does starvation which is what 800 calories a day effectively is. Eating too little exposes you to malnutrition you will be lacking in vitamins and minerals you need to be healthy. Please look for your own countries thyroid support site or Stop the Thyroid Madness site they have so much good information, not least how to understand the number which are thrown at us. STTM also has a list of US doctors who are supportive of thyroid patients.

    Most people with Hashi, that is with antibodies if you are fortunate enough to be tested for them, or hypo without are only ever given t4 supplementation. Increasingly science is showing that this may help some but more people are still not gaining benefits. Trying to obtain t3 the active thyroid hormone supplementation is very very difficult even for those who can show a reasonable probability that their problem is genetic, instances of hypo thyroid on both sides of their family.

    I recommend reading and learning as much as you can about Hashimoto's from authoritative sites, hospitals, registered doctors. Blogs can contain so much misinformation its only one persons thoughts not necessarily based in science. All the very best.

    Added. One site gives 300 possible symptoms which can be found in the Thyroid Patient cohort, weight is only the tip of the iceberg. Thyroid hormones play a part in respiration, reproduction of cells and children (aspects of menstruation, digestion using the broadest of headings.
  • wannabtight
    wannabtight Posts: 187 Member
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    cpalumbo89 wrote: »
    I would suggest switching from levothroxine to Synthroid. Our doctor would say constantly that there was no difference and it wouldn't help if you switched. My sister switched anyways and lost about 15 pounds in a year without doing anything extra. When she saw the doc for her yearly visit his response was huh must've been the medicine. She's now using myfitnesspal and has since January and lost another 7 pounds since then, no problem. My sister and I both had hoshimoto, then thyroid cancer and we don't have thyroids. So even if your doctor says there is no difference, there is.
    Levothyroxine and synthroid are the same thing, Synthroid is the just the brand name. They are both on my prescription label. What do you take now?
  • wannabtight
    wannabtight Posts: 187 Member
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    Bettina82 wrote: »
    I have struggled with hypothyroidism for 14 years. My dose of levothyroxine has been all over the place. Weight loss for me seems to take forever... I know how frustrating it can be :(
    I think my metabolism is just super slow even with the meds! What kind of exercise do you do every day? Also, do you weigh and measure your food? Once I started doing that I saw I was eating too much. Hang in there! You can do this!
    I don't weigh and measure my food but should start. I do mostly cardio for exercise but am going to start weight training once I get a gym pass.

    Fuzzipeg wrote: »
    There is a hyper hypo thyroid group on here. Please do not listen to doctors who tell you to live on 800 calories they are talking out of the back of their heads. Hashimoto's lowers your metabolism as does starvation which is what 800 calories a day effectively is. Eating too little exposes you to malnutrition you will be lacking in vitamins and minerals you need to be healthy. Please look for your own countries thyroid support site or Stop the Thyroid Madness site they have so much good information, not least how to understand the number which are thrown at us. STTM also has a list of US doctors who are supportive of thyroid patients.

    Most people with Hashi, that is with antibodies if you are fortunate enough to be tested for them, or hypo without are only ever given t4 supplementation. Increasingly science is showing that this may help some but more people are still not gaining benefits. Trying to obtain t3 the active thyroid hormone supplementation is very very difficult even for those who can show a reasonable probability that their problem is genetic, instances of hypo thyroid on both sides of their family.

    I recommend reading and learning as much as you can about Hashimoto's from authoritative sites, hospitals, registered doctors. Blogs can contain so much misinformation its only one persons thoughts not necessarily based in science. All the very best.

    Added. One site gives 300 possible symptoms which can be found in the Thyroid Patient cohort, weight is only the tip of the iceberg. Thyroid hormones play a part in respiration, reproduction of cells and children (aspects of menstruation, digestion using the broadest of headings.

    Many thanks for all the information. I will begin researching today.
  • wannabtight
    wannabtight Posts: 187 Member
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    On a positive note I am down 1 lb!
  • crazypeachs
    crazypeachs Posts: 55 Member
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    cpalumbo89 wrote: »
    I would suggest switching from levothroxine to Synthroid. Our doctor would say constantly that there was no difference and it wouldn't help if you switched. My sister switched anyways and lost about 15 pounds in a year without doing anything extra. When she saw the doc for her yearly visit his response was huh must've been the medicine. She's now using myfitnesspal and has since January and lost another 7 pounds since then, no problem. My sister and I both had hoshimoto, then thyroid cancer and we don't have thyroids. So even if your doctor says there is no difference, there is.

    i'm concerned with what your doctor said. i, too, had hashimoto's (not diagnosed til the path report came back after cancer) and my doctor and all the research i did indicated that when you have no thyroid you must be on name brand (whatever name brand you choose) thyroid hormone. the various manufacturers make the thyroid hormone at different levels and so, if you use different manufacturers (as inevitably happens with generic), you have to have your thyroid levels checked every month or so to be sure your levels in your blood are at the therapeutic levels they should be. you may want to see an endocrinologist that specializes in thyroid cancer (or post-thyroid cancer treatment)
  • barriecr
    barriecr Posts: 32 Member
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    Fuzzipeg wrote: »
    There is a hyper hypo thyroid group on here. Please do not listen to doctors who tell you to live on 800 calories they are talking out of the back of their heads. Hashimoto's lowers your metabolism as does starvation which is what 800 calories a day effectively is. Eating too little exposes you to malnutrition you will be lacking in vitamins and minerals you need to be healthy. Please look for your own countries thyroid support site or Stop the Thyroid Madness site they have so much good information, not least how to understand the number which are thrown at us. STTM also has a list of US doctors who are supportive of thyroid patients.

    Thank your for the group and site information :smile:
  • blues4miles
    blues4miles Posts: 1,481 Member
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    wannabtight wrote: »
    watch what I eat

    What does this mean?

    Plenty of people on here with no thyroid issues find they will plateau because they aren't weighing and logging all their food.

    Past that, I'll say it doesn't necessarily matter what your dosage is so much as what your TSH levels are. In my experience with friends who have low thyroid, it can sometimes take a couple months AFTER your levels get corrected to see benefits.
  • afatgirl2016
    afatgirl2016 Posts: 6 Member
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    Ahh, I'm so happy to see this thread. I've had hypothyroidism for almost three years now, and while there's worst things to have, it's such a downer when you're trying to lose weight!! Although I'm on a low dosage, I find that the weight doesn't melt off like it used to. I joined the gym at the beginning of last year in a bid to lose the weight once and for all. I went hardcore, did classes the works (this was all minus the app) but found that I only lost 7lb in a month! I gave up and quit the gym and I'm 10kg up since then!!! So I'm back on the grind again (minus the gym) but I feel like my weight has plateued. It's only been a couple of weeks but I'm not feeling very motivated!!! I'm due another blood test before September to check my thyroid levels again. Doctors are not that great at advising.

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