No Thyroid and No weightloss Happening

wileyvg
wileyvg Posts: 6 Member
edited November 2024 in Health and Weight Loss
Hi everyone,
I had my entire thyroid removed in June 2017 and have been on 100mcg T4 hormone and now 12mcg T3 hormone. My weight has not budged at 186, in 5’4”. I exercise 5 days a week, weight lifting x3 and 1 hour walk x2. I’m on a 1200 calorie diet. I find it hard to eat enough protein (91g day). I am good about the quality of food I eat, only fast food like twice a month. My life is fairly stressful. I’ve seen a registered dietitian. I don’t know why I can’t lose weight AT ALL and I’m very frustrated and depressed about it. Any advice??? Thank you

Replies

  • malibu927
    malibu927 Posts: 17,562 Member
    How are you measuring your intake? Are your hormones regulated yet?
  • wileyvg
    wileyvg Posts: 6 Member
    I’ve had blood work done and the levels all seem normal. And I feel pretty normal now too. Intake? Do you mean food? I use this app to calculate calories and macros
  • Lesscookies
    Lesscookies Posts: 48 Member
    malibu927 wrote: »
    But how are you measuring your food? Food scale? Measuring cups? Eyeballing portions?

    If you don't have a food scale, I suggest purchasing one. If you've been at this for at least three weeks and haven't lost, it's very likely that you're eating more than you think.

    She's right knowing how much calories you're consuming by measuring somehow is important. Measuring cups aren't accurate are you using a food scale?
  • deannalfisher
    deannalfisher Posts: 5,600 Member
    something to remember is that there is a fairly wide range of "normal" for thyroid levels - most labs say TSH as .5-4.5; however, new research puts at .2 -2.5 (I think) and in working with my doc - we have figured that I feel the best on the low low end of the range - so you may still need to tweak dosage some

    @CSARdiver has a lot of good info about thyroid tests etc
  • CMNVA
    CMNVA Posts: 733 Member
    @wileyvg, I've been without a thyroid gland for over 20 years now. Weight loss from the lack of thyroid has never been an issue for me. Getting older, menopause, and decreased muscle mass seem to be my issues that slow me down. Even though things are harder as I've gotten older, I can still lose weight at about 1400-1500 calories. I surely can on 1200 but I feel wretched. I'm surprised you can manage the exercise you are doing with only 1200 calories which leads me to think that you are overeating the 1200 calories due to faulty measurements. I always use a scale and I'm *really* careful about some of the MFP entries. I've found several of them to be incorrect.

    Barring all that, it is important to find out what your TSH and T4 numbers are rather than just having your doctor tell you that they are fine. As deannalfisher said, there are wide ranges for TSH but the American Endocrine Society only approves of one range and it's something like .3 to 3.0 (can't remember specifically) but some labs have a much higher range than that which they consider normal and your doctor could likely be following. I think ideally you want your TSH at around 1.0 to 2.0 and your T4 should be in the upper range of what the lab reports.
  • wileyvg
    wileyvg Posts: 6 Member
    So you guys don’t think my thyroid issues have anything to do with my weight? Most likely I’m over-eating?
  • animatorswearbras
    animatorswearbras Posts: 1,001 Member
    wileyvg wrote: »
    So you guys don’t think my thyroid issues have anything to do with my weight? Most likely I’m over-eating?

    It may be the most likely answer thyroids issues only go someway to damaging metabolism meaning it may be more difficult and you may have to eat slightly fewer calories but it shouldn't totally prevent loss. Measuring accurately with digital scales, counting every beverage, sauce, cooking oil, stolen french fry and condiment accurately and also not eating all of your exercise calories back if you have been doing since MFP might be giving you bigger burns as it won't take into account your condition. x

    If after a few weeks of strict accurate logging you still get no change I think you may need to visit your doctor again. xxx Good luck x
  • ninerbuff
    ninerbuff Posts: 49,046 Member
    wileyvg wrote: »
    So you guys don’t think my thyroid issues have anything to do with my weight? Most likely I’m over-eating?
    Start with the obvious first. Weight loss is calories in out regardless of health. Some may have to consume less than other of the same weight and stature, but for each individual, one has to find out if they are consuming more than they burn.

    A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
    IDEA Fitness member
    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
    Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
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  • animatorswearbras
    animatorswearbras Posts: 1,001 Member
    you could also open your diary to public if you want anyone to see if they can spot any common logging mistakes? Things like missed days, using generic entries ie "homemade lasagne" even though it's not the same recipe as yours or "medium potato" without weighing it. x
  • cheryldumais
    cheryldumais Posts: 1,907 Member
    I have an underactive thyroid, take synthroid daily and have lost successfully. I will say however that I lose slower than most. At 1200 - 1300 calories a day I lost around 1.4 pounds a week. I started MFP at 233 and am 5'5" tall. I'm down to 148. You can do it but it might be a bit slower than expected. I'm now trying to maintain for a while as my loss slowed to less than .5 a week.

    I know it's frustrating and your thyroid may be a small factor but it is likely a case of overestimating your activity level (active vs. sedentary), underestimating your calorie consumption or possibly overestimating your exercise burn. Try weighing your food faithfully and logging everything you eat including a bite here and there of things. You can do it, don't get frustrated. There are lots of low thyroid folks on here who have lost and maintained. Hopefully they will respond too so you can be encouraged.

    Good Luck.
  • kristen8000
    kristen8000 Posts: 747 Member
    wileyvg wrote: »
    So you guys don’t think my thyroid issues have anything to do with my weight? Most likely I’m over-eating?

    In my opinion you are over eating for your body. And the fact that you aren't weighing food is a big sign that you are eating more than you even think you are. Even 200 calories over due to error per day could put you in maintanance.

    Try weighing your food, as much as you can, for 3 weeks and see if the scale moves. Then you have your answer. Because of your thyriod situation it may be harder to lose, but it's not impossible.

    This will take trail and error and LOTS of patience. I do know, that if you follow these recommendations that posters have given, you'll have success. It may not be as quick as you'd like. You may to tailor your expectations to the reality of the situation.
  • wileyvg
    wileyvg Posts: 6 Member
    edited October 2017
    I’ve seriously cut back on my food intake, avocado
  • maggibailey
    maggibailey Posts: 289 Member
    I have underactive and lose just fine. One of the thinnest people I know has no thyroid either and stays incredibly thin. It can make things harder, it can also give people a great excuse not to try. I am absolutely not saying that is you, but I do think that it is used so often by people as an excuse that everyone starts to believe it has much more effect than it actually does. The worst things I have that I attribute to my thyroid are brittle nails, dry eyes and skin and lethargy. Weight has never been one of them.
  • Noreenmarie1234
    Noreenmarie1234 Posts: 7,492 Member
    wileyvg wrote: »
    I’ve seriously cut back on my food intake, avocado

    Thanks for updating will be interesting to see if you start losing now.
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