Underactive thyroid and weight issues
deetox68
Posts: 9 Member
its very hard to lose weight with an underactive thyroid, even though on medications, but I still keep trying even though not much drops off, and then a few days later it comes back again. I dont want to be this size, I was slim when I was younger, I suffer from chronic long term pain as well. But I guess it is what is it. This is me just saying how I feel out loudly. I am only 5.1 as well so any weight gain shows more. Doctors tell you to lose weight but they dont give you any support to do so and no weight programmes seem to be available on the nhs. They dont even suggest anything, so people end up paying out lots of money go join some weight company team to lose weight. What works for one person may not work for another. We all want to be healthy and a good weight but some times its not always possible. I am also coming up to menopause times as well. With underactive thyroid you can go swim and gym and exercise and cut back, but the weight still dont drop off much. Sometimes I wonder to myself and think. well whether I like it or not, this is what it is, get used to it and get on with it. Accept now that this is your weight and its not going to drop much. No matter what you do. Because it seems to be going that way.
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Replies
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I am 5'1". I have hypothyroidism. I am post-menopausal. I have several chronic medical conditions that leave me in pain all the time.
I have lost 90 pounds and I exercise daily.
Weight loss is not materially different for everyone no matter what you might have been led to believe.
It might be slower than you'd hope, and those silly hormonal scale fluctuations can be frustrating, but if you come to understand how it truly works through creating a calorie deficit and trust the math, you will see an overall downward trend over time.
You can drop your weight, but you need to take ownership of it to do that. You need to own ever calorie and own the reality of your age and body size and activity level meaning that you burn only so many calories a day and having that equate to a certain calorie budget. From that budget, you can create a deficit.
You can give yourself a bigger budget by increasing the amount of physical activity you do. Even with chronic pain conditions, you can start out small and make gradual increases in what you do. I started out walking with a cane and am now a daily runner and get over 20K steps most days. I also do resistance training 3 days a week.
Start by tracking your food accurately. Get a food scale and weigh all solid foods and measure all liquids. I found this to be key to my loss. I also found cross-checking which data base entries I used to be important. Reading the forum stickies was a great way to find out how to go about doing all of this and why it's so important.
Read. Learn. Absorb from those who have succeeded. And stop giving up without even starting.31 -
I hear you and feel your pain. I have no thyroid due to cancer and despite best efforts I am still 40lb overweight. I log approx 1400-1600 cals a day, train 3-4 times a week and do 10k steps most days. It has taken me nearly 3 months to lose 7lb! It's such a lot of effort for little reward. Most days I am hungry and if I deviate a little off plan I am punished with a gain. I put on 1lb on my weeks holiday and it took me 10 days of 1400 cals a day to lose it. It's soul destroying. I have no advice, just wanted to share your frustration and say keep plodding on. I think we do need less cals than the average person with a functioning thyroid.9
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I feel you. I struggled for so many years to lose the weight with hypothyroidism...until I decided enough is enough I have finally lost 13kg in 8 months by doing the following: Reducing my portions by half of what I would normally eat and filling the other half of my plate with a simple salad of tomatoes, cucumber and green apple(almost zero calories, but filling). This helped me not feel hungry. I eat the same thing for breakfast every week day...meusli with greek yoghurt. For exercise, I just walk in a quiet part of my neighbourhood - no music, no phone, no traffic. I found it easier to maintain walking as opposed to running which can be exhausting. Sometimes the scale does not budge for weeks but I celebrate my non-scale victories, like clothes fitting better, feeling stronger and skin looking clearer. Just tell yourself you want to be healthIy and strong, and weight loss is an added bonus. Be patient with yourself and don't give up. Like theledger says, keep plodding on...9
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I have hypo thyroid and menopausal .having great success with my fitbit linked with this app!!4
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I am 53 years old, female, short. Am on thryoxine supplements after having hemithyroidectomy due to a tumour.
I lost weight and have since maintained for nearly 4 years.
Yes, Untreated hypothyroidism will make weight loss difficult - but once you are on adequate supplementation CICO will apply to you just as to everyone else.
Treated thyroid issues do not interfere with weight loss - and that is everyone, since treatment is cheap and straightforward.6 -
hypo thyroid also. I found exercise to be the key to success. I think my body just needs at least a 15 minute warm up in the morning to function better throughout the day. Don't give up it can be done.3
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paperpudding wrote: »I am 53 years old, female, short. Am on thryoxine supplements after having hemithyroidectomy due to a tumour.
I lost weight and have since maintained for nearly 4 years.
Yes, Untreated hypothyroidism will make weight loss difficult - but once you are on adequate supplementation CICO will apply to you just as to everyone else.
Treated thyroid issues do not interfere with weight loss - and that is everyone, since treatment is cheap and straightforward.
or even treated if your numbers aren't right - there is a HUGE range for thyroid bloodwork for "normal" but its about knowing your body - working with my doc, we know to keep mine at the TSH low end (TSH .8) and T4 higher because I function better - but it took a while for doctors to understand that, because when I was at 3.2 (still in the normal range) I felt like crap5 -
I have hypothyroidism, pcos, several autoimmune conditions that have me constantly in pain and ive lost 145lb
Honestly hun you need to stop the excuses. Yes the CO part of the equation is slightly less with hypothyroidism but its less than 5% difference
When you joined and input your data mfp gave you a daily calorie number based on the rate of loss
Find foods you want to eat that fit into this number and weigh your foods and measure liquids
Then find an activity you enjoy and can stick with
The nhs is on its *kitten*. Sorry but the weight loss programmes they used to run appear to have been stopped. You could always ask the gp if you can see a dietitian
No need to buy expensive pills and potions
No need to join a diet company if public weigh ins arnt your thing
Check recipies online or other peoples weight loss blogs for menu ideas10 -
I have been on thyroid medication for 28 years. I have been my heaviest on this meds, and currently, I am at my lightest on this meds, having lost 115 lbs since Oct 2015. If you are on the right medication and dosage, you can lose weight like anyone else. Dont use your condition as an excuse not to try your hardest.6
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Another with hypo here.
5'1'', been on meds for almost 10 years.
A few years ago I lost 60+ lbs (unfortunately gained it back because of binge eating, not related to my thyroid. Although I wasted entirely too much time telling myself it was because of my thyroid. When in reality I was eating thousands of calories every day and not exercising at all, not that I could've exercised enough to negate how much I was eating anyway... Of course I felt terrible and gained tons of weight.)
I'm currently down 40 lbs again from my heaviest.
I don't think weight loss is easy for anyone. Maintenance is hard too. I totally agree that doctors are usually less than helpful.
What has worked for me is to log my food, use a food scale to ensure accurate logging. Try to get some exercise a few days a week (exercise helps me sleep better as well). And being CONSISTENT. One huge day of eating can be enough to wipe out your weekly deficit.3 -
Another hypo here, & was actually 98lbs my entire life, even after 2 C-sections, but then came menopause, followed by a terrible auto wreck, now I am obese:( . . . not too far into the obese category, but yeah, it sucks & I hate it!!! If I exercise hard, it sets off pain, so I can only exercise gently ... talk about a no-win situation. And the older one gets, the stress of exercising on the joints is problematic. I do have a Concept2 rower, which I like a lot, am trying to do 10 minutes a day, along w/ walking, etc ... so glad I found this wonderful site, community, group, thread ... wishing everyone the Best of Success~3
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I'm 60 and have been on thyroid meds for about 15 years. Once I was on the right dosage, my slow thyroid made no difference in my weight loss or gains, nor did menopause. I gain weight when I eat badly (I love sweets) and lose it when I eat less and exercise more.
If you haven't done so, you might ask for a complete thyroid panel. Most of the time they just look at TSH but your T3 and T4 levels can be really off without your TSH showing it. That could make a difference in the meds that you take.3 -
I have been on thyroid meds for years. Lost 40lbs so far this year calorie counting and exercise. If you are properly medicated shouldn't be an issue4
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I had a total thyroidectomy in 2000, over the next 14 years I put on 70 lbs. This had nothing to do with hypothyroidism - I transitioned from a high active military career to a cushy civilian job in academia and continued eating as if I was running 6mi/day and swimming 2mi/day only I wasn't running or swimming. I discovered MFP and just maintained a moderate calorie deficit, increased my activity and lost 60 lbs the first year.
Don't overestimate the impact thyroid has on metabolism. From clinical evidence and patients at normal range to going completely off medication this only amounts to an ~5% decrease in BMR/REE. That's 80 kcals/day out of a 1600 kcal/day calorie budget.
A key point is this and all hormonal disorders is that hormones are free cycling in your body, so simply being overweight complicates matters and makes hormonal balance impossible. The best course of action is to maintain a safe moderate caloric deficit until you get to a healthy weight.
Avoid anyone telling you that you can't lose weight, or trying to sell you some absurd thyroid diet. It doesn't exist and these people are profiting off of misery. Diet does not fix thyroid disorders, only medicine and/or surgery can do that.5 -
All of this is great advice, but where is OP?0
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deannalfisher wrote: »paperpudding wrote: »I am 53 years old, female, short. Am on thryoxine supplements after having hemithyroidectomy due to a tumour.
I lost weight and have since maintained for nearly 4 years.
Yes, Untreated hypothyroidism will make weight loss difficult - but once you are on adequate supplementation CICO will apply to you just as to everyone else.
Treated thyroid issues do not interfere with weight loss - and that is everyone, since treatment is cheap and straightforward.
or even treated if your numbers aren't right - there is a HUGE range for thyroid bloodwork for "normal" but its about knowing your body - working with my doc, we know to keep mine at the TSH low end (TSH .8) and T4 higher because I function better - but it took a while for doctors to understand that, because when I was at 3.2 (still in the normal range) I felt like crap
Yes, agreed, it can take some tweaking to get the supplementation level right - but not enough to really stop anyone losing weight.
Which totally untreated hypothyroidism could.
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what a miserable way to look at things... i am hypothyroid, have PCOS, suffer from chronic migraines, as well as anxiety and have successfully lost almost 70lbs. anything is possible if you want it bad enough.7
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All of this is great advice, but where is OP?
My thoughts exactly! I was hypothyroid for near 10 yrs up until March when I had a total thyroidectomy due to cancer. I am working on getting my levels where they need to be and have an RAI therapy upcoming (can't wait for that low idoine diet<< insert sarcasm here) but I am in no way going to let that stop me from at least trying to lose weight! Every one in this thread had really given me some hope that it can be done! I'm very fresh into my journey (yet again) but I feel this time I have a grip on it! Keep up the great work everyone and don't let excuses run your life OP!!2 -
TorrizzleWillSizzle wrote: »All of this is great advice, but where is OP?
My thoughts exactly! I was hypothyroid for near 10 yrs up until March when I had a total thyroidectomy due to cancer. I am working on getting my levels where they need to be and have an RAI therapy upcoming (can't wait for that low idoine diet<< insert sarcasm here) but I am in no way going to let that stop me from at least trying to lose weight! Every one in this thread had really given me some hope that it can be done! I'm very fresh into my journey (yet again) but I feel this time I have a grip on it! Keep up the great work everyone and don't let excuses run your life OP!!
I'm not going to downplay it RAI just plain sucks. Drink tons of water and try to stay active, even if it's just walking. The low iodine isn't horrible, there are quite a few low iodine options out there. This is very much a mental game because you will feel exhausted. You have to force your brain to stay active and interested in everything.
I doubled up on courses when I did this to force myself to keep active. Actually came out of this a much better listener which helped tremendously.2 -
I'm not going to downplay it RAI just plain sucks. Drink tons of water and try to stay active, even if it's just walking. The low iodine isn't horrible, there are quite a few low iodine options out there. This is very much a mental game because you will feel exhausted. You have to force your brain to stay active and interested in everything.
I doubled up on courses when I did this to force myself to keep active. Actually came out of this a much better listener which helped tremendously.
What do you mean doubled up on courses? What courses? I have a huge list of questions for the Endo & Nuc Med Drs.
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Been hypothyroid for decades, now on the right tablets for me and finally discovered I was lactose intolerant last year. Also have spinal arthritis. I started on MFP on 1 May and now 16 pounds down, I record everything and if I have a meal out I record the one with the most calories (even though I am tempted to record the least). Oh and I weigh everything!
I tire easily and recover slowly so walk briskly every day and do cardio once a week
What works for me might not work for you but log everything, keep a calorie deficit and fit exercise into your lifestyle and it will work4 -
TorrizzleWillSizzle wrote: »
I'm not going to downplay it RAI just plain sucks. Drink tons of water and try to stay active, even if it's just walking. The low iodine isn't horrible, there are quite a few low iodine options out there. This is very much a mental game because you will feel exhausted. You have to force your brain to stay active and interested in everything.
I doubled up on courses when I did this to force myself to keep active. Actually came out of this a much better listener which helped tremendously.
What do you mean doubled up on courses? What courses? I have a huge list of questions for the Endo & Nuc Med Drs.
Sorry - college courses. I was entering into grad school at the time and took multiple additional courses.
Bring data along with the questions - I would even bring excerpts from your MFP diary. Just know that most physicians have less knowledge about nutrition and weight management than your experience MFP user.0 -
Sorry - college courses. I was entering into grad school at the time and took multiple additional courses.
Bring data along with the questions - I would even bring excerpts from your MFP diary. Just know that most physicians have less knowledge about nutrition and weight management than your experience MFP user.
Ohhh!! Thank you! I'm trying to figure out how to stay isolated for however long I need to be! I have 2 young kids, no family or friends here (without kids or animals anyways) and a full time job so isolation will be a bit of a challenge LOL can't wait << again insert sarcasm here1 -
TorrizzleWillSizzle wrote: »All of this is great advice, but where is OP?
My thoughts exactly! I was hypothyroid for near 10 yrs up until March when I had a total thyroidectomy due to cancer. I am working on getting my levels where they need to be and have an RAI therapy upcoming (can't wait for that low idoine diet<< insert sarcasm here) but I am in no way going to let that stop me from at least trying to lose weight! Every one in this thread had really given me some hope that it can be done! I'm very fresh into my journey (yet again) but I feel this time I have a grip on it! Keep up the great work everyone and don't let excuses run your life OP!!
concur with @CSARdiver - RAI sucks! I did a full round 4 months after surgery and then a year later a tracer to see if I needed to do another one - the cookbook I got from the hospital had some good recipes (the bread was surprisingly good) - the big bad was no cheese or chocolate!! because of the dairy component
are they going to do thyrogen shots, or just wean you off your meds to raise your TSH?1 -
TorrizzleWillSizzle wrote: »Sorry - college courses. I was entering into grad school at the time and took multiple additional courses.
Bring data along with the questions - I would even bring excerpts from your MFP diary. Just know that most physicians have less knowledge about nutrition and weight management than your experience MFP user.
Ohhh!! Thank you! I'm trying to figure out how to stay isolated for however long I need to be! I have 2 young kids, no family or friends here (without kids or animals anyways) and a full time job so isolation will be a bit of a challenge LOL can't wait << again insert sarcasm here
with kids the isolation is going to be hard - do you have any family who could take them for a week? (that was how long I had to be in isolation or limited contact?) I worked with my company to be able to telework for the week that I was in isolation - I only did part-time hours, but it kept my mind engaged while I felt like crud1 -
I was isolated for 5 days. I was lucky and wasn't married/didn't have kids at the time and informed my classmates and teachers while going through this. The more you push the fluids the better off you will be. Also highly recommend taking multiple showers as well.
Also didn't do the thyrogen, which really sucked. I think this is standard process now though.0 -
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A lot of people on here are going to try to downplay your struggles because they like to push this narrative that everyone has an equal shot, and no one has any "excuses" to be fat. Even though that's not the case. Some people are 6'3", have a fast metabolism and have to eat 2,500 calories a day to lose. Some people are 5'0", hypothyroid, physically disabled and have to basically starve for months on end to lose 1 lb a month. Some people have totally normal healthy bodies and some people have brain cancer. Life isn't fair. But because we're talking about weight, which some people have linked to character, you won't get as much sympathy.4
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Several people are on MFP with the same (or worse) issues than you face.
@GottaBurnEmAll @CSARdiver and @TresaAswegan come to mind.
A few have already replied.
Your post seems very negative and comes across as you feeling sorry for yourself.
In short:
1) You aren't that special or different; your thyroid issues make a little harder than it is for some people
2) Work harder in your exercise program and do it more. Hit the weight room or something. You aren't working hard enough.
3) Be more precise with controlling your calorie intake. You are just eating too much. Period.
4) Accept that it is not easy and stop feeling sorry for yourself. Hold yourself accountable for what you choose to eat.
5) Rinse and repeat
How much does your thyroid issue affect weight loss? Maybe 5% per @CSARdiver
So your TDEE might be 1425 if mine was 1500.
Even if it was 10% harder that would still only be 1350 vs 1500 calories.
Harder but in no way impossible.
Stop making excuses and feeling sorry for yourself.
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A lot of people on here are going to try to downplay your struggles because they like to push this narrative that everyone has an equal shot, and no one has any "excuses" to be fat. Even though that's not the case. Some people are 6'3", have a fast metabolism and have to eat 2,500 calories a day to lose. Some people are 5'0", hypothyroid, physically disabled and have to basically starve for months on end to lose 1 lb a month. Some people have totally normal healthy bodies and some people have brain cancer. Life isn't fair. But because we're talking about weight, which some people have linked to character, you won't get as much sympathy.
I have already responded to this thread, but let me spell some things out for you to illustrate the position of one of the people who is encouraging the OP:- I have a benign brain tumor which somewhat impairs my cognitive functioning (my posts on here often reflect this)
- I have chronic daily migraines. Most are minor. Some aren't.
- I have celiac disease.
- I have degenerative disc disease which has led to scoliosis.
- I have osteoarthritis and psoriatic arthritis.
- I have Hashimoto's disease.
- I am post-menopausal (I will be 55 in a couple of months).
You know what made all of this worse? Being fat and inactive and doing nothing about it. You know what else makes it all worse? Feeling like a victim to all of it.
So I don't choose to be.
I have to live with it, but I don't have to let any of it define me. Neither do you or anyone else. Why would you want to?
If you or anyone else wants their limits to define their view of themselves, I think that's a pretty sad way of looking at things.
You can choose, instead, to focus on what you can do. So what if you only lose a pound a month -- and as for that, a properly medicated thyroid patient in menopause will lose weight just like everyone else does, saying otherwise is in almost all cases relying on faulty data to back up your claim -- in other words, you're not eating as little as you think you are or burning as much as you think you are when you claim to be losing weight abnormally slowly.
Victim or victor? What will you be? Focus on what you can do or what you can't do?
Knowledge is power. If weight loss isn't working right, it's not that you're a victim of anything but a lack of knowledge about how it works. Your math is wrong.
The hardest thing I had to learn about losing weight was how to be accurate in accounting for food intake and energy output. I fooled myself for a long time about both and thought I was a special case for whom weight loss was "hard".
It really wasn't hard once I learned more. It's funny how that same scenario seems to play out over and over again for successful people here on MFP13
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