Losing weight with thyroid issues

meganmdewar
meganmdewar Posts: 14 Member
edited November 2024 in Health and Weight Loss
Hi there! I'm new to this site. I used to use Daily Plate before they shut down. In my late 20's I was always around 125. I'm 5 2'. However fast forward, marriage, career, baby, now a hectic schedule with a husband that works 50hrs+ a week and a 5 year old, time to myself to be active is non-existent. I can usually squeeze in a 30min walk with my dog at lunch, but its not helping. I'm currently sitting between 140-144. Way more than I want to be for my height.

I don't eat junk food, but I don't know why I'm so heavy. In the past year, I've been having thyroid issues, which my Endo told me does result in a lower metabolism, so I've been trying to eat more yogurt, vinegar, teas (metabolism booster). Also, if I don't eat every 3 hours, usually a piece of toast/apple/banana, I start to feel dizzy. I'm so discouraged. I'm already get up at 6:15, get ready for work, get my daughter ready and to school, work until 530, start dinner, do all the household stuff, then start getting her ready for bed at 8, I don't get to sleep until around 11, so I might get 7 hours of sleep a night. Having a hard time finding time other than 30 mins a day, and not everyday. :neutral:

I've thought about just doing some at home leg/arm/belly exercises, but do those really work, since I'm not cutting out a dedicated 45 mins to do them all at once? Any ideas are appreciated!

Replies

  • annacole94
    annacole94 Posts: 994 Member
    Define "thyroid issues". Are you medicated? What's your TSH? Have you had other bloodwork done?

    If you're properly medicated, you lose like everyone else. If you're not, it's more of an uphill battle.
  • cathipa
    cathipa Posts: 2,991 Member
    You need a calorie deficit to lose weight. Exercise will increase NEAT so any that you can do is best. If your endo has you on levo and says your levels are fine then it is not the thyroid that's contributing to your weight.
  • CSARdiver
    CSARdiver Posts: 6,252 Member
    What did MFP give you for your calorie budget? You don't have a lot to lose, so ensure you are setting yourself up for success and a .5 lb/week loss.

    What does "thyroid issues" mean? Physicians in general receive little to no training on weight management and the average MFP user has a better understanding of the caloric relationship to weight loss/gain.

    Thyroid disorders can impact your Resting Energy Expenditure (REE) by ~5%, so that amounts to 80 kcals/day out of a 1600 kcal/day budget. Eating junk, clean, <insert fad term here> means nothing. Calorie is king, so get a food scale and weight each portion of food - your banana, toast, including the butter/jam you add and get an understanding of how many calories you intake. Log meticulously using MFP as a start and see if you are eating within your budget.

    Exercise will help pad this budget, just as a second job would help pad your financial budget, but the critical factor in this is your caloric intake. If you are gaining weight, then you are simply eating more than your body needs.

    I'm sans thyroid gland for 17 years and have no issues losing weight.
  • not_a_runner
    not_a_runner Posts: 1,343 Member
    Surprisingly, there's lots of people on here with "thyroid issues". I'm basically reiterating at this point, but oh well. Hypo myself, lost 60+ lbs a few years back, 30+ more recently.

    As mentioned, if you're medicated properly it's not much different than weight loss for anyone else.
    Eating "clean/healthy" foods can still result in calorie surplus, it's important to weigh and log no matter what you're eating. Assuming you're not logging at all yet (as you did not mention calories) - I would start with the recommendation that MFP gives you and see what happens. For me it has been pretty accurate when I stick to it, despite being hypo.
    Since you're a relatively small person, your calorie needs are probably not extremely high, so it can be even more important to log accurately. Exercise can help allow you to eat a bit more, I find that it helps me feel a lot better and sleep better as well.
  • meganmdewar
    meganmdewar Posts: 14 Member
    Thanks for all the replies!!

    I am not medicated... about 18 mths ago, they diagnosed me with Acute Thyroiditis (thought I might have graves, but thank God it cleared up.) My levels went from normally around 3-4, down to .5, after few more tests he saw that my body was attacking my throid, for whatever reason. We started getting bloodwork every month, and now historically in the past 12 months (I go for bloodwork every 3mths now) I range between 4.95 and 8.0. Endo said I shouldn't need medication unless I'm over 10? Should I ask about getting a low-dose medication?

    I am currently trying to consume between 1200-1400 calories. I do weigh my food, and I also eat every 3-4 hrs. (Apple+Banana/ HB Egg/ Carrots+PB2/ stuff like that for my snacks) I'm also trying to stick to 35% Carb, 30% Fat, 35% Protein macros. I am teetering between 140-144. I'd like to be around 135. So while its not a LOT of weight to lose, it is still very discouraging that I'm not eating junk to get to my calorie count and I'm just not losing any of it.

    I understand CICO concept, and with having a desk job, I am not very active... but I do walk 30mins a day and try and play outside with my daughter every day running around the house, bike rides, whatever. But I'm wondering if I am even burning 1400 calories a day? And if I should stick closer to the 1200?
  • CSARdiver
    CSARdiver Posts: 6,252 Member
    meganmdewar wrote: »
    Thanks for all the replies!!

    I am not medicated... about 18 mths ago, they diagnosed me with Acute Thyroiditis (thought I might have graves, but thank God it cleared up.) My levels went from normally around 3-4, down to .5, after few more tests he saw that my body was attacking my throid, for whatever reason. We started getting bloodwork every month, and now historically in the past 12 months (I go for bloodwork every 3mths now) I range between 4.95 and 8.0. Endo said I shouldn't need medication unless I'm over 10? Should I ask about getting a low-dose medication?

    I am currently trying to consume between 1200-1400 calories. I do weigh my food, and I also eat every 3-4 hrs. (Apple+Banana/ HB Egg/ Carrots+PB2/ stuff like that for my snacks) I'm also trying to stick to 35% Carb, 30% Fat, 35% Protein macros. I am teetering between 140-144. I'd like to be around 135. So while its not a LOT of weight to lose, it is still very discouraging that I'm not eating junk to get to my calorie count and I'm just not losing any of it.

    I understand CICO concept, and with having a desk job, I am not very active... but I do walk 30mins a day and try and play outside with my daughter every day running around the house, bike rides, whatever. But I'm wondering if I am even burning 1400 calories a day? And if I should stick closer to the 1200?

    You need a full thyroid panel (TSH, fT3, fT4, rT3) to understand what this means, but the new "normal" for TSH is 0.2-2.0. If you feel fine, then don't worry so much about the numbers, but how you feel.

    I jockey a desk as well and did not make this transition well. I put on ~70 lbs over 14 years, so your learning curve is well above mine.

    I made several changes in my team to make us more active. We eat at our desks and take walking meetings, do squats at the desks, whatever it takes to get it done. Same with home - my wife gets up at 3:45 am to hit TRX at 4 am every morning. I workout after 5 pm and then we make sure to do something with the kids that involves activity. I also wake up with the kids and run through basic calisthenics every morning before getting them off to school.

    May try sticking to 1200, but don't go crazy. The big trick of this is learning you satiety patterns. Mine was drinking 16 oz water 30 mins prior to meals. Really helped when I was losing and now that I'm more in maintenance this has become routine.
  • meganmdewar
    meganmdewar Posts: 14 Member
    Just found them:
    TSH: 5.470
    T4: 12.1
    T3: 19
    Free Thyroxine Index: 2.3
  • meganmdewar
    meganmdewar Posts: 14 Member
    CSARdiver wrote: »

    I made several changes in my team to make us more active. We eat at our desks and take walking meetings, do squats at the desks, whatever it takes to get it done. Same with home - my wife gets up at 3:45 am to hit TRX at 4 am every morning. I workout after 5 pm and then we make sure to do something with the kids that involves activity. I also wake up with the kids and run through basic calisthenics every morning before getting them off to school.

    :o Oh my lands! When do you sleep?

  • CSARdiver
    CSARdiver Posts: 6,252 Member
    meganmdewar wrote: »
    CSARdiver wrote: »

    I made several changes in my team to make us more active. We eat at our desks and take walking meetings, do squats at the desks, whatever it takes to get it done. Same with home - my wife gets up at 3:45 am to hit TRX at 4 am every morning. I workout after 5 pm and then we make sure to do something with the kids that involves activity. I also wake up with the kids and run through basic calisthenics every morning before getting them off to school.

    :o Oh my lands! When do you sleep?

    What is this sleep you speak of? ;)
This discussion has been closed.

Categories