Hyperthyroid but trouble losing?

Christismylife
Christismylife Posts: 93 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I have Hashimoto's (hypothyroidism) that's been well controlled with medication for the last 14+ years. Surprisingly on my last blood test, I was slightly on the hyper side, and so my doctor reduced my dosage. I was really surprised because if anything I thought I might be hypo. I have been having trouble losing weight. My understanding of hyperthyroidism is that it can cause weight loss, not the opposite. I was just curious if anyone else has experienced trouble losing weight when your thyroid levels are off on the hyper side.

Replies

  • kommodevaran
    kommodevaran Posts: 17,890 Member
    How are you tracking your food intake?
  • SCoil123
    SCoil123 Posts: 2,110 Member
    I have hashimotos as well. With hashis levels bounce around in my experience. I've found that in general I burn 200-300 less than another women with similar stats and activity level regardless of what my hormones are showing in blood work, I'm also more prone to excess water retention which can mask loss. I adjust my calorie goal to account for that slight burn difference and lose as expected when logging correctly
  • CSARdiver
    CSARdiver Posts: 6,252 Member
    What was your TSH result? Normal range is 0.4-4.0

    Thyroid really has very little to do with weight management. The levels you're talking about are in micrograms and this is distributed throughout your entire mass - just to keep things in perspective. It's akin to putting a drop of dye in a swimming pool.

    From clinical observation this impacts your Resting Energy Expenditure (REE) by ~5%. This is on total thyroidectomy patients going from full supplementation to zero supplementation. This amounts to 80 kcals/day out of a 1600 kcal/day calorie budget.

    My TSH level is maintained at the 0.2 level having had a total thyroidectomy. I have no issues gaining or losing. I put on 70 lbs over 14 years. I lost 60 lbs in 2014 after joining MFP and logging caloric intake. Since then I have gone through multiple phases of bulking/cutting with no issues.
  • CMNVA
    CMNVA Posts: 733 Member
    Only severe hyperthyroidism (think Grave's) will cause weight loss. My TSH is kept very low due to having thyroid cancer. It's pretty tough for me to lose now that I'm older. My endocrinologist said that most people outeat what they are burning, even when hyperthyroid.
  • Christismylife
    Christismylife Posts: 93 Member
    kommodevaran wrote: »
    How are you tracking your food intake?

    I have been counting calories on MyFitnessPal. Did this about 5 years ago and the weight seemed to come off fairly quickly. I let myself gain about 20 pounds over the last couple years, so I have been trying to get it off. Now it doesn’t seem to be budging much.
  • kommodevaran
    kommodevaran Posts: 17,890 Member
    Christismylife wrote: »
    kommodevaran wrote: »
    How are you tracking your food intake?

    I have been counting calories on MyFitnessPal. Did this about 5 years ago and the weight seemed to come off fairly quickly. I let myself gain about 20 pounds over the last couple years, so I have been trying to get it off. Now it doesn’t seem to be budging much.
    Have you set an appropriate calorie target - what's your height and weight?
    Are you using a food scale, correctly?
    Are you logging everything that has calories?
    Are you using valid (validated by you) food entries?
    Are you using the recipe builder?
    How fast are you expecting to lose weight?
    How often do you weigh yourself?

    Follow-up questions for general interest:
    How much did you have to lose when weight seemed to fall off?
    Has your lifestyle changed in the meantime?

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