Hypothyroidism and Weight Loss?!!

JesusChristLives4All
JesusChristLives4All Posts: 3 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Hey Everyone!
I have hypothyroidism and I'm finding harder to lose weight and especially keep weight off the older I get. (I'm 26 now!) Would love to know if anyone had this disease and how you manage to lose weight! Also looking for some motivation! God bless everyone!! Thanks for reading :)
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Replies

  • not_a_runner
    not_a_runner Posts: 1,343 Member
    I'm also hypo, I lost 65 lbs a few years ago by calorie counting and exercise. I'm currently down about 20 again in the last few months, eating about 2000 calories a day. If your medication is where it should be, you should have no problem losing as long as your calories in/out synch up (which goes for everyone, hypo or not).
  • SCoil123
    SCoil123 Posts: 2,111 Member
    I'm 36 with hashimoto. Its definitely harder but possible. I lost over 80lb and maintained it for years until getting lax and gaining 30lb back. I'm gluten and soy free which helps. You should also check with your doctor about medication because proper meds make a world of difference.

    The most important thing I've learned is that I can't cheat or take a day off ever. I gain faster than friends and lose much slower so I can't afford to risk it. I do Insanity every other day and track everything. I'm down 10lb with 20 to go...it took 4 months but I am seeing progress.
  • JesusChristLives4All
    JesusChristLives4All Posts: 3 Member
    Thanks so much for the advice! I love my diet sundrop so it's going to be hard to give it up but if it's messing with my thyroid is got to go! I try to wait an hour after I take my Levo before I eat. And I wait until the evening to take vitamins. Hope everyone has a wonderful day!
  • JesusChristLives4All
    JesusChristLives4All Posts: 3 Member
    SCoil123 wrote: »
    I have Hashimoto as well. This time has definitely been more challenging. Because I'm not seeing the results as quickly, it just makes me want to give up! And cheat days are definitely out of the question. Thanks so much for the help and good luck on your weight loss journey! Congrats on the weight lost so far!!
  • rebel_26
    rebel_26 Posts: 1,826 Member
    I also suffer from a Hypo diagnosis as well and take levo. I am 50 (soon to be 51)

    If your levo is the proper strength than this medical "condition" shouldn't be holding you back as your re-leveling things out through medication daily. I assume you get the blood work done every 6-8 weeks or at least twice a year to make sure the meds are putting you back in the "normal" mode?

    I thought I could beat it through diet and exercise and stopped taking the meds and the levels returned back to where they were in 90 days later so I suppose I'm stuck taking it the rest of my life unfortunately.

    Track your calories and exercise and you should be able to take off or add weight just as someone who isn't hypo would. I have no issues maintaining my desired weight, but I also realize there are more chronic level s of hypo as well.
  • LisaKay91
    LisaKay91 Posts: 211 Member
    I am hypo and only when my levels were corrected was I able to drop weight in a healthy manner.
    I have no thyroid and take 300mcg of levo and 50mg of cytomel each day along with 10k vitamin D. My levels were in the 150.00-275.00 for over 3 years which caused a host of other health issues.
  • Pawsforme
    Pawsforme Posts: 645 Member
    I'm 53 and have lost about 25 pounds in the last year (since I was diagnosed). Once my levels were in a good range I had little problem losing (no more than normal) I lost the weight the tried-and-true, old fashioned way -- by weighing everything I ate and logging all my calories.
  • Intrinsicat
    Intrinsicat Posts: 473 Member
    All this is very uplifting news, thanks guys. @rebel_26 I have a friend who has been taking hypothyroid medication since she was in her early 30's - she has always had to take it and she just celebrated her 90th birthday - so no worse for the wear!
  • RoseTheWarrior
    RoseTheWarrior Posts: 2,035 Member
    I'm 47 yrs old and been hypo for over a decade; I take Synthroid. I've lost 84 lbs since Sept 1/15 using MFP for calorie counting and a moderate amount of exercise.
  • JennifrClaire
    JennifrClaire Posts: 141 Member
    I am also low thyroid, but the tablets made me so sick I won't take them again. I keep to 1200 calories, and exercise at least 30 minutes a day. I'm struggling lose these last 20 pounds though. I've recently been diagnosed with lipo-lymphedema, too, and that doesn't help.
    Best thing is to remember that giving up will only make things worse. It's worth battling on.
  • mrs_sjlarsen
    mrs_sjlarsen Posts: 76 Member
    I have Hashimoto's and have been incredibly cautious to not use it as a "crutch". When I am taking my meds I can lose weight at 2 lbs per week. If I am off my meds it is slower, but still moves. But definetely notice if I don't carefully weigh measure and watch my calories, fatigue creeps in... this week has been especially difficult and symptomatic for me... I just hold out hope that when I reach my goal weight I will feel better overall!
  • Gisel2015
    Gisel2015 Posts: 4,186 Member
    JennifrClaire wrote: »
    I am also low thyroid, but the tablets made me so sick I won't take them again. I keep to 1200 calories, and exercise at least 30 minutes a day. I'm struggling lose these last 20 pounds though. I've recently been diagnosed with lipo-lymphedema, too, and that doesn't help.
    Best thing is to remember that giving up will only make things worse. It's worth battling on.

    BAD decision stopping your thyroid meds, you are heading for a health disaster, and in the long run weight gain will be the least of your problems. Please go back to the doctor and explain your reaction to the meds that he gave you, have your TSH T3/T4 levels checked again and either ask him to manage your dose or change what ever medication he gave you before. If needed, ask for a referral to an endocrinologist.
    This is a very friendly recommendation.
  • sugom2
    sugom2 Posts: 93 Member
    If your tyroid is low, will it show up when you go for routine bloodwork? I have my bloodwork done every 6 months so they can monitor my cholestrol. Will it show in that type of bloodwork.
  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 34,204 Member
    I've been hypothyroid since chemotherapy 16 years ago (not sure that the chemo caused it; my father was also hypothyroid). I'm now 60 y/o.

    My hypothyroidism is well controlled on levothyroxine, and I had no special difficulties - beyond what anyone else with normal thyroid levels seems to experience - while losing weight. I used MFP's calorie recommendation, and a reasonable weight loss rate goal, to start, then adjusted my calorie level to maintain the target weight loss rate (I had to go *up* in calories a bit from what MFP said, personally) to actually lose at that healthy rate.

    I started last April (2015), and by February/March this year was at my goal weight, 120 pounds (plus or minus 3 as a maintenance range) at 5'5" tall, having lost 63 pounds.

    Some people can have a normal TSH, but still have difficulties with T3/T4 conversion, so their metabolism not what it should be. If your TSH is stable, and you still have symptoms, then perhaps ask your doctor to check T3/T4 levels if she/he hasn't done so already.
  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 34,204 Member
    sugom2 wrote: »
    If your tyroid is low, will it show up when you go for routine bloodwork? I have my bloodwork done every 6 months so they can monitor my cholestrol. Will it show in that type of bloodwork.

    No, the basic cholesterol tests don't include this. Talk to your doctor about symptoms, and see whether a thyroid panel should be done.
  • AJF230
    AJF230 Posts: 81 Member
    My wife is hypo. She's 5'1 and 112 lb, and they check her levels often and tweak her dosage when needed, and she has no issue maintaining weight. Chasing twins around doesn't hurt for exercise either. But if you're hypo, definitely monitor it close so you can avoid it as a barrier to a healthy normal weight.
  • gothchiq
    gothchiq Posts: 4,590 Member
    I have hypothyroidism. I take my meds, I eat only light carb portions, and I work out as hard as I can stand to (also arthritic, so this may not be too impressive.) If I don't work out, I seem to just slow down to match the low calorie level, and never lose fat. Only by working out hard can I lose. Every other day I put in an hour at the gym. Even so, be aware that for us weight loss will be slower. You have to be very stubborn in sticking to your diet and workout routine.
  • gothchiq
    gothchiq Posts: 4,590 Member
    And if levothyroxine makes you sick there are other meds. For me it just plain did not work. So now I take Armour Thyroid, which does work.
  • CSARdiver
    CSARdiver Posts: 6,252 Member
    I'm 45 and have been on Synthroid since 2000 following a total thyroidectomy. During that time I basically quit working out transitioning from the military to a cushy civilian job and ended up about 60 lbs overweight. About two years ago I had enough and discovered MFP - started tracking my intake and increasing my activity and lost 60 lbs in about a year. I've been in maintenance ever since.

  • StacyChrz
    StacyChrz Posts: 865 Member
    I was diagnosed with hypothyroid when I was 8 years old. I am now 40. I have moved around New England a few times in my adult life and have had knowledgeable and not so knowledgeable doctors. I am back to working with a great doc who checks my levels every 3 months. I have been in a great range for a couple of years and when I decided to start working on weight loss it did happen. I do have to log accurately and the weight does come off. I learned, as mentioned above, that eating at least an hour after taking my meds is the best way to take them. I also wait at least 2 hours or more before I take any kind of vitamin or mineral supplement. I also do much better when I exercise regularly at a moderate level or more.
    I also have polycystic ovary syndrome and a gluten allergy. I have learned that I am sensitive to the hormones that naturally occur in dairy products and try to avoid them most of the time. I recently switched to LCHF and although I had been losing weight before, I just feel so much better now.

    Feel free to add me as a friend and ask any questions you may have.
  • brendak76
    brendak76 Posts: 241 Member
    edited August 2016
    I have hashimotos and had no trouble losing a few vanity pounds 2 years ago with MFP and weighing my food. But this last year, despite weighing my food and calorie counting, I've gained almost 15 pounds. I went to the dr yesterday and was SO relieved to find my thyroid levels were way off and I needed a medication adjustment for the first time in 13 years. I thought I'd been feeling off because I gained weight, and I felt like a failure because weight loss is CICO and even though I was trying my hardest I was gaining weight for the first time since my youngest was born 13 years ago. Im relieved to know I'm not crazy and there really was a problem, not just "you're eating more than you think."
  • ssamanthag8s
    ssamanthag8s Posts: 1 Member
    As a child I was always over weight. When I turned 18 I lost 100 pounds and was body building. I would burn 2,000 calories at the gym a day and typically eat 3,500. In 2014 I felt a change with my energy and noticed myself gaining weight despite my diet and workouts. Eventually I was so exhausted I couldn't maintain the life style anymore. I was diagnosed with hashimotos 5/22/16 at the age of almost 21. I found out in April of 2016 that I'm dairy intolerant, gluten intolerant, soy sensitive and have a wheat allergy. So as of April 14th 2016 I've been dairy, gluten, soy, grain & sugar free and have lost 87 pounds as of today. I'm on a 2,500 calorie diet and besides my job and daily activities I'm not working out.
  • JennifrClaire
    JennifrClaire Posts: 141 Member
    How do you approach a doctor on the matter of changing your meds? I had a similar issue 15 years ago with steroids for my asthma. This had terrible side effects (I looked it up in the BMJ ) including a 70 pound weight gain- and my asthma got steadily worse, but they insisted it was fine.
    I took myself off it and lost the weight and control the asthma without steroids but they still -after all these years without a single attack- pressure me to take them no matter what I'm in for.
    I'm afraid of the same battle all over again with the levothyroxine.
  • jenfitnessmama
    jenfitnessmama Posts: 138 Member
    I'm hypothyroid and also struggling to lose weight! Hang in there!
  • JennifrClaire
    JennifrClaire Posts: 141 Member
    I've made an appointment to see my doctor about trying some other thyroid meds or at least a smaller dose or something.
    It's not for few weeks yet.
    In the mean time, I have given up artificial sweeteners.
  • JennifrClaire
    JennifrClaire Posts: 141 Member
    Have been to see Doctor about thyroid. He says levothyroxine is the only game in town, take it or leave it.
    And: no smaller dose, either. He says normally for people like me its 175mcgs not just the 100 that I was given. He reckons an even smaller dose would be pointless. But he wanted to take more blood tests- kidney, liver, cholesterol, etc
    So in the interim, I ordered some natural thyroid on the internet.
    Has any one here tried that?
  • 11win1420
    11win1420 Posts: 3 Member
    please let me add my 2 cents here. I am 60 and have been on thyroid meds for 27 years. If the dose is wrong, your levels won't be right and you will be sick. I take 125mc of Levo and have lost over 100 lbs since October. My doctor isn't happy cuz she says I should be taking 150mc. I have tried that but got nervous, agitated, weepy, shaky and just plain nuts!! But at that dose, my levels are perfect. I prefer to be a little less than perfect and mentally stable.(some discussion about stability might be appropriate here, if you ask my family!)

    You and your doctor have to work together to find the right balance. Your doctor works for you, so you call the shots. I think 175mc of Levo is a lot. but I don't know all the details. You can suggest to your doctor that he needs to work with you on this as you are currently not taking anything and that's really really unwise.

    once your meds are balanced and barring any other condition there is no reason to attribute the lack of weight loss on your thyroid. Its easy to point to an external influence as a scapegoat when in fact the problem is bad logging, over eating and self delusion.

    To my knowledge, unless you don't like them or have a reaction to them, artificial sweeteners have nothing to do with your thyroid. I use Splenda all the time. Still lost weight. Lots.

    so battle on with the weight and arrogant patronizing doctors. Literally, your life is at stake.

  • JennifrClaire
    JennifrClaire Posts: 141 Member
    I hate having to shop around for a helpful GP, but when I ring the surgery to see about my test results -it should be Friday- I'll ask for a different doctor and see what that one has to say.
    It should be me and the medical profession vs The Illness, not me vs the medical profession.

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