Hypothyroidism and weight loss

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leo220481
leo220481 Posts: 1 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Hi everyone. I have an underactive thyroid (Hypothyroidism) and it leaves me badly fatigued & has made me gain weight.
I am supposed to be on a low carb diet but it seems as though I subconsciously get scared of eating due to my illness.

I hardly eat throughout the day, I work part time, have 2 young kids & don't drive so walk almost everywhere.

Has anyone else here got hypothyroidism and if yes, how have you lost weight?

Thank you all and Happy New Year x

Replies

  • amgriffin29
    amgriffin29 Posts: 1 Member
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    Yes, I've lost 85lb in 3 years time and have hashimotos. Finding a good doctor who will check full panel as well as look for defiencies is key. Your body needs carbs for energy and thryoid health. Check out a lifestyle called trim healthy mama. You can find on fb and on web. It's what I follow and have been successful and there's a huge support system there. Hope this is helpful. Hang in there!
  • markwhufc82
    markwhufc82 Posts: 3 Member
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    I'm kind of aiming this at @CSARdiver for his/her thoughts.

    My backstory is...........

    I have an under active thyroid. I'm on 200mg of Levo a day, I stick by the 'rules' on taking meds first thing in a morning before food.

    I very rarely even reach my daily kcal goal, let alone exceed it.

    My exercise routine is pretty good to say the least (I'm an Exercise Therapist). 3-4 Cardio sessions a week, plus 4-5 Strength sessions.

    My issue is I now haven't seen a decent spell of weight loss for over 2 years. I've completely plateaued. After diagnosis I lost 2.5st, and that's where I've remained. Still could do with losing another stone ideally.

    Any suggestions?


    Thanks!

    Mark
  • cheryldumais
    cheryldumais Posts: 1,907 Member
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    Yes I am also Hypothyroid. I take synthroid and have lost 105 pounds. It can be done. I will also mention that I didn't lose any weight just from the doc putting me on meds but when I started exercising and eating right the weight came off. What did change was how much better I felt. If you need meds, take them. It will help you with the fatigue and other symptoms and makes it easier to eat right and exercise.
  • cmriverside
    cmriverside Posts: 34,080 Member
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    I've been hypo for decades, the regular meds (levo) seem to work for me.

    I do log my food and have done my own spreadsheet over many years to know exactly how much I need to eat to maintain and to lose. I learned this by buying a food scale, getting my meals and recipes into Myfitnesspal, choosing a reasonable exercise routine and exercise "calories burned."

    It just takes persistence and accuracy over time.
  • CSARdiver
    CSARdiver Posts: 6,252 Member
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    markwhufc82 wrote: »
    I'm kind of aiming this at @CSARdiver for his/her thoughts.

    My backstory is...........

    I have an under active thyroid. I'm on 200mg of Levo a day, I stick by the 'rules' on taking meds first thing in a morning before food.

    I very rarely even reach my daily kcal goal, let alone exceed it.

    My exercise routine is pretty good to say the least (I'm an Exercise Therapist). 3-4 Cardio sessions a week, plus 4-5 Strength sessions.

    My issue is I now haven't seen a decent spell of weight loss for over 2 years. I've completely plateaued. After diagnosis I lost 2.5st, and that's where I've remained. Still could do with losing another stone ideally.

    Any suggestions?


    Thanks!

    Mark

    Welcome Mark,

    I set at any of these issues by eliminating variables based on priority and potential impact. It is important to know where you are in weight, body-fat %. How much more are you trying to lose? What were the results of your last thyroid panel? TSH (0.2-2.0), fT3, fT4, rT3

    Regardless if your weight is stable you are eating at maintenance, so there's an error somewhere.

    The first thing I recommend is to ensure your calorie tracking is accurate. Note there is an inherent 20% margin of error in calorie labeling. Weighing helps tremendously, but still carries the same degree of error.

    Next I would reduce calories by 5% to account for the potential impact of hormones.

    Have you noticed a difference in body composition? With the strength training incorporated you may be in an unintended recomp - burning fat and building muscle, but not seeing any drop in weight.
  • markwhufc82
    markwhufc82 Posts: 3 Member
    edited January 2018
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    Thanks for that @CSARdiver !

    My Body Fat % is currently 28%, I'd ideally like to get down to around 22%, but anything within the healthy range would do. I can't remember the results of my last blood test but my meds were increased from 175mg to 200mg as a result.

    Obviously I too had considered the possibility that I had replaced fat with muscle, but my BF% hasn't really suggested that. Visibly, yes I have made some "gainz bro!", and I'm a lot stronger, but my waist circumference has remained the same (105cm) for around 18months and that the bit that bothers me!

    I trained for and ran a half marathon last year, and was pretty disheartened that the body fat didn't drop off me during that regime.

    If my BF% would drop along with my Waist circumference I'd be happy as Larry!


  • yirara
    yirara Posts: 9,509 Member
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    markwhufc82 wrote: »
    I'm kind of aiming this at @CSARdiver for his/her thoughts.

    My backstory is...........

    I have an under active thyroid. I'm on 200mg of Levo a day, I stick by the 'rules' on taking meds first thing in a morning before food.

    I very rarely even reach my daily kcal goal, let alone exceed it.

    My exercise routine is pretty good to say the least (I'm an Exercise Therapist). 3-4 Cardio sessions a week, plus 4-5 Strength sessions.

    My issue is I now haven't seen a decent spell of weight loss for over 2 years. I've completely plateaued. After diagnosis I lost 2.5st, and that's where I've remained. Still could do with losing another stone ideally.

    Any suggestions?


    Thanks!

    Mark

    But are you really in a calorie deficit? Are you using a scale to weight your food, and are you using correct database entries?

    Are you currently maintaining your weight?
  • CSARdiver
    CSARdiver Posts: 6,252 Member
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    markwhufc82 wrote: »
    Thanks for that @CSARdiver !

    My Body Fat % is currently 28%, I'd ideally like to get down to around 22%, but anything within the healthy range would do. I can't remember the results of my last blood test but my meds were increased from 175mg to 200mg as a result.

    Obviously I too had considered the possibility that I had replaced fat with muscle, but my BF% hasn't really suggested that. Visibly, yes I have made some "gainz bro!", and I'm a lot stronger, but my waist circumference has remained the same (105cm) for around 18months and that the bit that bothers me!

    I trained for and ran a half marathon last year, and was pretty disheartened that the body fat didn't drop off me during that regime.

    If my BF% would drop along with my Waist circumference I'd be happy as Larry!


    Hope that helps.

    When I started MFP 3.5 years ago my first concern was losing weight, which I did at a good rate. Down 60 lbs the first year. I then focused on resistance training and it was a struggle. Looking back I regret not implementing some manner of resistance much earlier. I'm taking 175/200 mcg Synthroid alternating daily and this works for me. The last 6 months I've been focusing on gaining muscle and just switched to cutting fat and goaling to get <10% BF this year.

    For you I would focus on calories - something in the calculation is wrong and this usually comes from tracking intake. Check those calorie dense items first and reduce slowly and see if that does the trick.
  • grumpopuppo
    grumpopuppo Posts: 90 Member
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    I had a bout of hypo from 2008 to 2012. The only thing that made me lose weight was treating the thyroid, nothing else worked. Once I did that, weight became significantly easier to lose. Good luck.
  • bee_bee8
    bee_bee8 Posts: 96 Member
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    I have an underactive thyroid as well, but once I was properly medicated I had no trouble losing weight as easily as anyone else. Not to say that weight loss is "easy" for anyone, but the same rules still apply after step 1...

    * Work with your doctor to figure out an optimal dosage of Levothyroxine or something similar to get your thyroid hormones at normal levels. This will help with the fatigue.
    * Try to fit in physical activity whenever possible. It sounds like you're relatively active and while it's true that you don't NEED to exercise to lose weight, it helped me a lot. When I started doing regular cardio, my energy level increased a ton and my cravings were curbed almost overnight
    * Log your food as accurately as possible in MFP - I recommend getting a food scale. Serving sizes can be misleading when it's something like "1 cup of rice" or "1 slice of bread"
    * Eat what you want, if it fits into your calorie allowance. If you're weighing your food, you can be pretty confident that your food log is accurate. Don't be afraid of food; I've lost 40 lbs so far, and no food groups have ever been off-limits. I still eat sugar, carbs, fats, whatever. This may require rethinking the specific foods you're eating, however - personally I'm a volume eater, so I found recipes that allowed me to eat as much as possible without going over. I don't pizza often, for example, because 1 slice won't satisfy me the way a big bowl of rice and veggies would for the same number of calories.

    Good luck to you!
  • dnunny70
    dnunny70 Posts: 411 Member
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    I have had hypothyroidism since 2000. I have lost almost 60lbs. from my highest--but it took a long time.
    In 2017, I lost 27 lbs.

    Losing weight is possible. I tend to eat a lower carb diet due to how I feel afterward.

    I have found that
    exerise, eating within my calories and water is the formula for me.

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