Over 40 thyroidism

Hi,
I'm a fellow traveler with over 40 years of hypothyroidism and only 11 of those years treated properly for it and only 1-1/2 years being stable.

I am losing weight now, finally. It took getting stabilized on thyroid medication for a full year before I noticed weight loss.

I've read extensively on hypothyroidism on professional sites to fully understand what I needed to do to lose weight.

Here's some things I found work for me:

1. Be at the optimum range for thyroid functioning for one full year at least. This is considered stabilization of thyroid functioning.
2. A TSH fluctuating between 0.75 to 1.25 has been my optimum range. Some people can go lower, near 0.50 and higher up to 2.0. I found that closer to 1.0 works best for me.
3. A moderate exercise program with emphasis on strength training and limiting exercise time to 20 - 30 minutes once a day. Two days cardio and three days strength training works best. I aim for the lesser amount of minutes rather than the upper range.
4. Taking specific vitamins: multivitamin, B-Complex, B-12, and magnesium are the most important ones I take.

The most important lesson I've learned is to not overdo exercise. Trying to get in long, vigorous sessions actually backfires on me and I gain weight. The thyroid doesn't like excesses in exercise especially anything vigorous, strenuous, and long. I've read many blogs by those with thyroid disease and they say the same message again and again: Intense exercise causes the opposite results.

My aim for weight loss is 1.5 week. If I lose more then great.

Ae you on Synthroid?

RKIANA2018 wrote: »

Hi,
I'm a fellow traveler with over 40 years of hypothyroidism and only 11 of those years treated properly for it and only 1-1/2 years being stable.

I am losing weight now, finally. It took getting stabilized on thyroid medication for a full year before I noticed weight loss.

I've read extensively on hypothyroidism on professional sites to fully understand what I needed to do to lose weight.

Here's some things I found work for me:

1. Be at the optimum range for thyroid functioning for one full year at least. This is considered stabilization of thyroid functioning.
2. A TSH fluctuating between 0.75 to 1.25 has been my optimum range. Some people can go lower, near 0.50 and higher up to 2.0. I found that closer to 1.0 works best for me.
3. A moderate exercise program with emphasis on strength training and limiting exercise time to 20 - 30 minutes once a day. Two days cardio and three days strength training works best. I aim for the lesser amount of minutes rather than the upper range.
4. Taking specific vitamins: multivitamin, B-Complex, B-12, and magnesium are the most important ones I take.

The most important lesson I've learned is to not overdo exercise. Trying to get in long, vigorous sessions actually backfires on me and I gain weight. The thyroid doesn't like excesses in exercise especially anything vigorous, strenuous, and long. I've read many blogs by those with thyroid disease and they say the same message again and again: Intense exercise causes the opposite results.

My aim for weight loss is 1.5 week. If I lose more then great.

To the bolded above:

Hey there! I know you mean well, but let's debunk this a bit. Everyone has different personal experiences to share. I can tell you what you wrote above, is incorrect. At least for me. I've had hypo a long time, and I'm currently training to run a marathon. Hypo has zero effect on long workout sessions.

Do long, intense workouts that burn a lot of calories cause an increase in hunger? Absolutely. Which leads people to potentially over-eat, thus wiping out their deficit. But to say that the thyroid "doesn't like anything in excess" is not correct.

MButtiker wrote: »

Dieting and working out 5 days/week, struggling to lose 2lbs/week. Any suggestions on what works best with thyroid disease?

Are you sure your weight-loss goal isn't too aggressive fort he total amount you want to lose? What is your current height and weight and what's your goal weight?

RunnerGrl1982 wrote: »

RKIANA2018 wrote: »

Hi,
I'm a fellow traveler with over 40 years of hypothyroidism and only 11 of those years treated properly for it and only 1-1/2 years being stable.

I am losing weight now, finally. It took getting stabilized on thyroid medication for a full year before I noticed weight loss.

I've read extensively on hypothyroidism on professional sites to fully understand what I needed to do to lose weight.

Here's some things I found work for me:

1. Be at the optimum range for thyroid functioning for one full year at least. This is considered stabilization of thyroid functioning.
2. A TSH fluctuating between 0.75 to 1.25 has been my optimum range. Some people can go lower, near 0.50 and higher up to 2.0. I found that closer to 1.0 works best for me.
3. A moderate exercise program with emphasis on strength training and limiting exercise time to 20 - 30 minutes once a day. Two days cardio and three days strength training works best. I aim for the lesser amount of minutes rather than the upper range.
4. Taking specific vitamins: multivitamin, B-Complex, B-12, and magnesium are the most important ones I take.

The most important lesson I've learned is to not overdo exercise. Trying to get in long, vigorous sessions actually backfires on me and I gain weight. The thyroid doesn't like excesses in exercise especially anything vigorous, strenuous, and long. I've read many blogs by those with thyroid disease and they say the same message again and again: Intense exercise causes the opposite results.

My aim for weight loss is 1.5 week. If I lose more then great.

To the bolded above:

Hey there! I know you mean well, but let's debunk this a bit. Everyone has different personal experiences to share. I can tell you what you wrote above, is incorrect. At least for me. I've had hypo a long time, and I'm currently training to run a marathon. Hypo has zero effect on long workout sessions.

Do long, intense workouts that burn a lot of calories cause an increase in hunger? Absolutely. Which leads people to potentially over-eat, thus wiping out their deficit. But to say that the thyroid "doesn't like anything in excess" is not correct.

This is more a matter of perception. You didn't go from sitting on a couch to running marathons. This is the common mistake most people make - going from minimal activity to over-doing it in the gym.

Hypothyroidism has a tremendous impact on long steady state cardio, so much so that several elite level athletes are being treated for hypothyroidism. Not that this makes this insurmountable, but one should prepare and understand how thyroid disorders actually impact the body.

Your thyroid gland operates in a similar manner to your thermostat and if you have a diagnosed disorder it isn't going to react optimally to drastic changes. You can train your body to overcome this, but this takes time.