Thyroid issue - not having great success losing weight
trish2016
Posts: 156 Member
I am having trouble at the moment with my weight being up and down ex. last week I lost 4lbs and then put on 5lbs over 3 days my appetite is all over the place I have an over active thyroid which I am being treated for at the moment but as this is Ireland of course everything takes 10 times longer to get sorted. Has anyone any tips to aid my weight loss I was down nearly 3 stone by May and then started putting weight back on with the thyroid issue as it makes you so hungry all the time you would eat constantly. I am feeling really down over the whole thing.
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Replies
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When thyroid issues are involved weight loss unfortunately can prove to be very difficult. It doesn't matter how much you cut or count calories it just seems like you never get results. I really don't know what your situation is and it's something you would need to speak to your doctor about at length but if your finding nothing else is working gastric bypass may be an option for you. A close family member has had similar problems losing weight. She has thyroid issues and despite trying everything under the sun nothimg has worked. After lots of consideration she finally decided to go with gastric bypass. With all that said it's not without it's risks and might not be the right solution for you however if all else has failed it is a potential option.19
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are you medicated for your thyroid issues?
if your levels are controlled, then losing weight is no more difficult than for the rest of the population - @CSARdiver can talk the more science-y stuff
normal weight fluctuations - I doubt you ate 14000 calories under maintainence last week (for a loss of 4lbs) or 17500 this week for a gain of 5lbs - log your weight EVERY DAY and use a trending app to actually see what your weight is doing
log and weigh everything12 -
I am hypothyroid (on med for it)- but still find it really tough to lose weight- I've lost about 4 pounds but it's taken 6 weeks eating 1400 cal a day. (I cannot eat less and feel well) My partner has lost 15 lbs in this time frame- (yeah he has a lot more weight to lose, but it's discouraging nonetheless) So I guess patience is essential when you have thyroid issues.10
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Hi Trish, just hang in there and do the best you can until your thyroid levels are sorted out. It can be an emotional roller coaster. Also, 4-5 pound weight fluctuations aren't unusual for anyone, so no need to freak out about that.
I'm not sure how potatoyeti got to gastric bypass as a solution for a thyroid imbalance issue, yikes! You need to get your thyroid sorted out anyway, so fix that and see how it goes before doing anything more extreme. Creating a calorie deficit is the only way to lose weight, and that should be easier once your thyroid is leveled out.
Good luck, you can do it!14 -
I'm sorry you are feeling down. The first thing to know is that weight shifts of 4-5 pounds in either direction are pretty normal. They can happen because of hormonal changes, water retention due to exercise or salt intake, constipation, etc.. It's hard, but you have to ignore the blips and focus on the long-term trend. Thyroid issues can complicate weight loss if they are not well treated. If you are still having other symptoms besides weight issues, keep being proactive with your healthcare provider until you are feeling better.
As mentioned above, I don't see gastric bypass as particularly relevant here. Thyroid issues can be treated effectively through other means, and it's not clear to me how gastric bypass would address thyroid problems.4 -
deannalfisher wrote: »are you medicated for your thyroid issues?
if your levels are controlled, then losing weight is no more difficult than for the rest of the population - @CSARdiver can talk the more science-y stuff
normal weight fluctuations - I doubt you ate 14000 calories under maintainence last week (for a loss of 4lbs) or 17500 this week for a gain of 5lbs - log your weight EVERY DAY and use a trending app to actually see what your weight is doing
log and weigh everything
Never thought of a trending app most days last week I ate 1500 kals and on the weekend I was away and ate more but not so much that I pile on 5lbs from Friday to Sunday,0 -
probably water weight and sodium - can cause fluctuations4
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I'm on a low dosage of medication for Thyroid one tablet a day and 4 beta blockers a day for the heart I am waiting on two more blood tests in the hospital and the health system here is very slow so doctor said he will assess my levels after that. I would never opt for gastric bypass at all its just not an option for me firstly the cost is crazy and I am a foodie love cooking and eating food I was doing really well from January to May gave up alcohol and stuck to the plan rigidly then it just all flared up. I will try the trending app see how that works.5
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Update for everyone to date I have put on exactly 1 stone BUT my docs called and said I can stop the beta blockers and also the Thyroid gland tablet can be halved so I am delighted because my weight just kept going up and up and the doctor only said to me after that a side effect for some people of these tablets is weight gain even if you have an over active thyroid. I can now start to try to get that stone off and continue to lose weight again I hope anyway.9
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As a lifetime thyroid patient, I'm gonna take a guess that the beta blockers and a too-high dose of the thyroid were the cause(s). I hope you find it easier for you now.
HypERthyroid can cause the heart palpitations (not sure if that's why you were on beta-blockers.) Stay on your doctor to monitor your bloods for at least a year. I know here we can go in for just a blood draw without having to see the doctor. That makes it more streamlined, I would ask for every three months a blood draw/reassess.1 -
Hang in there!
Being aware of what thyroid does and does not do is important. It has a minimal impact on your metabolism. Resting Energy Expenditure (REE) is modified by ~5% - that is 80 kcals/day out of a 1600 kcal/day budget.
What thyroid can do is have a dramatic impact on your appetite and satiation levels, making you constantly hungry even though you have plenty of calories. This makes calorie counting and maintaining a routine critical for weight management.
What dose of levothyroxine are you on? Do you know your last TSH results? Have you received a full thyroid panel including TSH, fT3, fT4, and rT3?
As for the weight shifts? I would count that as water weight. Your body reacts to any hormonal imbalance by taking on water to protect the cells. Hydrate and this should return to normal after ~1 week. FYI my water weight fluctuates ~5 lbs throughout the day.
Unfortunately you're dealing with the NHS, so hopefully you have a physician who will fight against the system for you. This makes weight management even more critical as it is nearly impossible to maintain any sort of hormonal balance while overweight. Just be safe - take any weight loss in a slow, safe manner.
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Usually an over active thyroid causes weight loss, not gain. Though, as others have said, the fluctuations you're reporting aren't out of the ordinary.
Hang in there and be patient! My sister was hyper--there were lots of otc meds she had to stay away from because of the condition. As well as all caffeine.1 -
I also have an overactive thyroid called Graves Disease: the meds keep the weight on along with the beta blockers. But with persistence, the weight will come off. Slowly. But it will. Keep pushing!1
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potatoyeti wrote: »When thyroid issues are involved weight loss unfortunately can prove to be very difficult. It doesn't matter how much you cut or count calories it just seems like you never get results. I really don't know what your situation is and it's something you would need to speak to your doctor about at length but if your finding nothing else is working gastric bypass may be an option for you. A close family member has had similar problems losing weight. She has thyroid issues and despite trying everything under the sun nothimg has worked. After lots of consideration she finally decided to go with gastric bypass. With all that said it's not without it's risks and might not be the right solution for you however if all else has failed it is a potential option.
Why on earth would you jump to bariatric surgery without knowing anything about the OPs situation except that she's losing and gaining about 5 lbs.??? Good grief!
OP, I agree the weight fluctuations are probably water. I suggest you set your calorie goal to no more than .5 lbs. a week (to give you enough calories to address the hunger issue) and be patient. Wish I had some more insight, but it sounds like you'll need to work through this part slowly. Given that you've already succeeded in losing a good amount of weight, I would have a lot of confidence you'll find your groove again
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Hang in there!
Being aware of what thyroid does and does not do is important. It has a minimal impact on your metabolism. Resting Energy Expenditure (REE) is modified by ~5% - that is 80 kcals/day out of a 1600 kcal/day budget.
What thyroid can do is have a dramatic impact on your appetite and satiation levels, making you constantly hungry even though you have plenty of calories. This makes calorie counting and maintaining a routine critical for weight management.
What dose of levothyroxine are you on? Do you know your last TSH results? Have you received a full thyroid panel including TSH, fT3, fT4, and rT3?
As for the weight shifts? I would count that as water weight. Your body reacts to any hormonal imbalance by taking on water to protect the cells. Hydrate and this should return to normal after ~1 week. FYI my water weight fluctuates ~5 lbs throughout the day.
Unfortunately you're dealing with the NHS, so hopefully you have a physician who will fight against the system for you. This makes weight management even more critical as it is nearly impossible to maintain any sort of hormonal balance while overweight. Just be safe - take any weight loss in a slow, safe manner.
I was on 1 x 20mg of Neomercazole per day and 4 tabs of beta blockers per day, two in the morning and two in the evening for heart palpitations. My appetite did go up and nothing could fill me but then I was really controlling my food intake and still the weight was going on I do boxfit twice a week and was out running with a dog 3 times a week and still it went on but I hope now that I am off the beta blockers and only on 10mg of the thyroid tablet it can ease up and I can work on getting it off. Some side effects of the tablets are weight gain the doctors here in Ireland tell you nothing they just talk about your results but I am in the hospital Nov 2nd so will ask for a print out of all the blood results.2 -
So another update I was called back to the hospital and I have graves disease which is what brings on the over active thyroid, he put me on 10Mg of Neomercazole and said I will be called back in Feb 2018 for another blood test. I still feel really hungry all the time but know that I must be very conscious of this and calorie count everything, I also have not drank alcohol much really which always puts weight on for me. I am just aiming to get down to 13stone by May 2016 I currently weight 16st 2lbs so I think that is a realistic goal for me now knowing what I have wrong with me. The doctor said that the medication as such doesn't make you put weight on but more so its your appetite goes up.2
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So another update I was called back to the hospital and I have graves disease which is what brings on the over active thyroid, he put me on 10Mg of Neomercazole and said I will be called back in Feb 2018 for another blood test. I still feel really hungry all the time but know that I must be very conscious of this and calorie count everything, I also have not drank alcohol much really which always puts weight on for me. I am just aiming to get down to 13stone by May 2016 I currently weight 16st 2lbs so I think that is a realistic goal for me now knowing what I have wrong with me. The doctor said that the medication as such doesn't make you put weight on but more so its your appetite goes up.
Thanks for the update. Sounds like you have a good physician. Keep logging and really learn the difference between appetite and hunger. Keep up communication with your doctor and even show them your MFP diary, just know that most doctors know little to nothing about weight management.2 -
I'm actually up 20Lbs in total now its really gotten me down so in the new year I am going to try very hard and try lose 2lbs a week my first goal is 14stone and then I will work from there its upsetting because I am very active and it seems like nothing I do will stop the weight going on. I will enjoy xmas anyway and work on it after that.1
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This by far is not a fix but for me if I drink something like chicken broth it helps. The salt and savory satisfies me and the liquids for a period of time makes my stomach feel like it's had something. To say the least I drink at LOT of chicken broth. In fact I drink a LOT period. Sure I need to get 64oz in a day but most the time I drink to deter myself from wanting to eat. Maybe it will help, won't be a cure but at least help you not be so miserable as they try to get you medically balanced.2
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Holidays are horrible times to try and lose weight, but do what you can. Just don't beat yourself up for missing goals when there are so many parties and social events around food & drinks. Ride that momentum wave after New Years and get back on track. You got this!0
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Hi, sweetie. Before I was DXd with Hashi's, although I did lose weight when I cut my calories (that was always consistent even when I was so sick I couldn't get out of bed) I found myself really, really hungry. My doctor said (somebody verify/refute this at will) that hypo-T people may be severely hungry due to the body screaming for more energy, and from a bio perspective that "should" mean more food since food = energy (under normal circumstances). So that undid me over and over again. I'd be shoving the food in like a monster, at least when I could stay standing.
Things DID straighten out. Get and stay medicated to optimal levels. Seriously, you can lose weight as a hypo-T. I have lost 60 lbs. Good luck and don't lose hope.3 -
Hi, sweetie. Before I was DXd with Hashi's, although I did lose weight when I cut my calories (that was always consistent even when I was so sick I couldn't get out of bed) I found myself really, really hungry. My doctor said (somebody verify/refute this at will) that hypo-T people may be severely hungry due to the body screaming for more energy, and from a bio perspective that "should" mean more food since food = energy (under normal circumstances). So that undid me over and over again. I'd be shoving the food in like a monster, at least when I could stay standing.
Things DID straighten out. Get and stay medicated to optimal levels. Seriously, you can lose weight as a hypo-T. I have lost 60 lbs. Good luck and don't lose hope.
Your physician isn't incorrect, but not specific. Hypothyroidism can cause increased appetite signals - those immediate onset feelings that you need a specific food. Note a key difference between appetite and hunger. Hunger is slow building and takes hours for the signal processes to engage.
The weight gain comes from the increased caloric intake. Your body doesn't need the additional energy or food, but now has more food incoming than it needs due to the increased appetite signals (not hunger signals).
Much of this is a mental game and you need to retrain your brain to learn the difference between hunger and appetite. This is key to success in everyone's weight management success, but critical with hypothyroid patients.3 -
Started my new eating plan yesterday I made all my home made soups and smoothies and cleared the presses of any processed or rubbish foods, I did plan on going gluten free and dairy free but after tasting some of the options for food that are free from both of those I realised I wont be able to give up all gluten and diary as alot of the food is really disgusting but I have given up salt and sugar and most of my lunch today is gluten free so I am just going to try fill myself up on healthy foods like fruit and drink loads of water and basically try retrain my brain to think it doesnt need more food like it tells me most of the day. I am back to boxfit this evening too so that will help I hope.0
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Jancandoit7 wrote: »I am hypothyroid (on med for it)- but still find it really tough to lose weight- I've lost about 4 pounds but it's taken 6 weeks eating 1400 cal a day. (I cannot eat less and feel well) My partner has lost 15 lbs in this time frame- (yeah he has a lot more weight to lose, but it's discouraging nonetheless) So I guess patience is essential when you have thyroid issues.
I know you feel it wasn't much but that truly gives me hope that I can least hopefully keep my weight steady as I've read stories that involves uoyo 5 stones. Hope all is ok or better now x0 -
cmriverside wrote: »As a lifetime thyroid patient, I'm gonna take a guess that the beta blockers and a too-high dose of the thyroid were the cause(s). I hope you find it easier for you now.
HypERthyroid can cause the heart palpitations (not sure if that's why you were on beta-blockers.) Stay on your doctor to monitor your bloods for at least a year. I know here we can go in for just a blood draw without having to see the doctor. That makes it more streamlined, I would ask for every three months a blood draw/reassess.
how do beta blockers cause weight gain?
I take 1200 mg sectral [acebutolol], i have no issues losing weight1 -
Colorscheme wrote: »cmriverside wrote: »As a lifetime thyroid patient, I'm gonna take a guess that the beta blockers and a too-high dose of the thyroid were the cause(s). I hope you find it easier for you now.
HypERthyroid can cause the heart palpitations (not sure if that's why you were on beta-blockers.) Stay on your doctor to monitor your bloods for at least a year. I know here we can go in for just a blood draw without having to see the doctor. That makes it more streamlined, I would ask for every three months a blood draw/reassess.
how do beta blockers cause weight gain?
I take 1200 mg sectral [acebutolol], i have no issues losing weight
I don't think beta blockers directly cause weight gain, but they do slow your heart down. I tried them once, very small dose, and I was astounded how low my heart rate was (upper 40s). For sure, that has to have some impact on your metabolic burn rate.0 -
Hang on in there! The hunger from an overactive thyroid can be horrible, I went through this over 20 years ago. I found that starting the anti-thyroid medication gave me the double-whammy of bringing my thyroid back to "normal" levels, but I still had the intense hunger so I gained weight. (Made even worse by being told not do do any strenuous exercise until the levels were sorted due to the increased strain it puts on your heart (but you should be ok now if you've been taken off the beta blockers - enjoy your boxfit class! )
Hopefully your thyroid levels will be under control soon. You might feel you go up and down a bit while still remaining in a clinically "normal" range, but the good news is that the hunger starts to go, and you will be able to lose weight. Just keep on weighing, measuring and logging your food and stay active.
If it helps, I came off all the thyroid blocking meds after 18 months and my thyroid has remained at normal levels ever since. You'll get there.
(I'm only in here losing weight now as my lifestyle became more sedentary over the past couple of years and I gained weight because I ate too much!)0 -
Colorscheme wrote: »cmriverside wrote: »As a lifetime thyroid patient, I'm gonna take a guess that the beta blockers and a too-high dose of the thyroid were the cause(s). I hope you find it easier for you now.
HypERthyroid can cause the heart palpitations (not sure if that's why you were on beta-blockers.) Stay on your doctor to monitor your bloods for at least a year. I know here we can go in for just a blood draw without having to see the doctor. That makes it more streamlined, I would ask for every three months a blood draw/reassess.
how do beta blockers cause weight gain?
I take 1200 mg sectral [acebutolol], i have no issues losing weight
I don't think beta blockers directly cause weight gain, but they do slow your heart down. I tried them once, very small dose, and I was astounded how low my heart rate was (upper 40s). For sure, that has to have some impact on your metabolic burn rate.
Yes but I'd rather have a controlled hr than arrythmias. no one should be taking them if they don't have tachycardia1 -
Colorscheme wrote: »Colorscheme wrote: »cmriverside wrote: »As a lifetime thyroid patient, I'm gonna take a guess that the beta blockers and a too-high dose of the thyroid were the cause(s). I hope you find it easier for you now.
HypERthyroid can cause the heart palpitations (not sure if that's why you were on beta-blockers.) Stay on your doctor to monitor your bloods for at least a year. I know here we can go in for just a blood draw without having to see the doctor. That makes it more streamlined, I would ask for every three months a blood draw/reassess.
how do beta blockers cause weight gain?
I take 1200 mg sectral [acebutolol], i have no issues losing weight
I don't think beta blockers directly cause weight gain, but they do slow your heart down. I tried them once, very small dose, and I was astounded how low my heart rate was (upper 40s). For sure, that has to have some impact on your metabolic burn rate.
Yes but I'd rather have a controlled hr than arrythmias. no one should be taking them if they don't have tachycardia
Agreed. I was just answering the question about possible weight gain and not advocating for or against them either way. I took them because of a high heart rate (around 120) when I had undiagnosed anemia. They worked TOO well on me, even at the lowest dose.
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Colorscheme wrote: »Colorscheme wrote: »cmriverside wrote: »As a lifetime thyroid patient, I'm gonna take a guess that the beta blockers and a too-high dose of the thyroid were the cause(s). I hope you find it easier for you now.
HypERthyroid can cause the heart palpitations (not sure if that's why you were on beta-blockers.) Stay on your doctor to monitor your bloods for at least a year. I know here we can go in for just a blood draw without having to see the doctor. That makes it more streamlined, I would ask for every three months a blood draw/reassess.
how do beta blockers cause weight gain?
I take 1200 mg sectral [acebutolol], i have no issues losing weight
I don't think beta blockers directly cause weight gain, but they do slow your heart down. I tried them once, very small dose, and I was astounded how low my heart rate was (upper 40s). For sure, that has to have some impact on your metabolic burn rate.
Yes but I'd rather have a controlled hr than arrythmias. no one should be taking them if they don't have tachycardia
I took beta blockers for 15 years due to severe migraines. It had nothing to do with tachycardia.
Beta blockers slowed me down so much, made me feel sluggish and depressed, so I sat in front of the TV and ate myself right up to 220 pounds. I wasn't able to motivate myself into exercising or to stop the carbs until I was off the beta blockers. It was worth it to me to prevent the crippling fifteen-times-a-month migraines, but it did affect my moods and energy.0
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