Not eating enough?

amiewilder wrote: »

Do any of you get the red letters saying you didn't eat enough when you finish your food diary for the day? I have hypothyroidism so I can't eat as much as a "normal" person without gaining and I can't eat another bite for the day. But I hate those red lettered words screaming at me that I am not eating enough. Not everyone is the same. I like this site and am glad I can keep track of what I am eating, but I don't like that.

Uncontrolled hypothyroid has marginal effects on BMR -- only 5-10 percent ish. Controlled, well-medicated hypo has no effects, and we can lose just the same as expected as other people with normal thyroid function.

And if you're *not* well controlled, you need to work with your doctor to get that improved -- because uncontrolled can *also* lead to water retention and other more serious issues like depression, constipation, suicidality, cognitive function disruptions, and hair loss. But you first need to rule out other errors with your logging in the absence of those symptoms.

Are you weighing and tracking everything that you eat? Logging errors are much more relevant than blaming your thyroid.

Those warnings are there for a reason. Yes, people are different, and all of us have days where we may eat very little, but for the vast majority of people, regularly under-eating is going to negatively affect their health. As has been said, you have to fall below 1000 to see that message, and no one should regularly be eating less than that unless their diet is being managed by their doctor.

As has been mentioned, a failure to lose weight at generally accepted calorie levels can usually be attributed to logging inaccuracies or other factors. Also, if a person is so short, sedentary, and/or relatively small to begin with so as to require such a low calorie allowance, any weight loss is going to be very slow and easily masked by water weight fluctuations when talking about anything less than several months time. If your thyroid is being treated, stick to 1200 meticulously logged calories (with the use of a food scale) for 3 months, and if you still don't see results, talk to your doctor. If you are finding you are "too full", try sneaking some smaller amounts of calorie dense foods (cooking oil, peanut butter, nuts, full-fat dairy, avocado) into your day.

amiewilder wrote: »

Do any of you get the red letters saying you didn't eat enough when you finish your food diary for the day? I have hypothyroidism so I can't eat as much as a "normal" person without gaining and I can't eat another bite for the day. But I hate those red lettered words screaming at me that I am not eating enough. Not everyone is the same. I like this site and am glad I can keep track of what I am eating, but I don't like that.

If you have been consistently eating 1000 calories or less for the last 28 days and you haven't lost 8 pounds or so, you are eating more than you think.

There are logging errors that people commonly make that we might be able to spot if you change your Diary Sharing settings to Public: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/account/diary_settings

amiewilder wrote: »

cmriverside wrote: »

I've been hypothyroid for decades. Controlled with meds. I don't find I have to under-eat. I would suggest talking to a good endocrinologist. It should only make a difference of less than 100 calories EVEN IF you weren't taking meds. 1200 is even too low for most people to be able to get sufficient nutrition. Under that and you really risk health problems.

How tall are you?

How much weight do you need to lose to get into a healthy BMI range?

How long have you been logging food, and are you using a food scale? If not, it's likely you're eating more than you think anyway.

I took Synthroid for a couple years and it did nothing. My Dr kept upping the dosage and it still didn't help. So I stopped taking it and actually started to feel better.

I am 4'11" and need to lose 80lbs. I eat low carb/low calorie because it is the only thing that works with the weight loss. Now I do not get the message everyday, just a couple times. Most days I eat around 1200 calories and 20 grams of carbs.

Go back to your doctor or find a better endocrinologist. Stopping your meds is not the answer. Uncontrolled hypo brings on massive water weight, which could be the problem you're seeing.