Hypothyroidism

Expect it to take some time to make sure you're on the right dosage of medication. Because a too-high dose is potentially dangerous, the normal routine is to start you on a low dose, then have you take it for several weeks to allow the effects to develop and stabilize. Then they give you another blood test, and possibly adjust your dosage. This process may be repeated several times, in some cases. Be sure to take your medication exactly as per the directions (usually means taking it on an empty stomach, then waiting a certain interval before eating, and there may be more: read those instructions!).

The good news is this: Clinical research suggests that the calorie-burn "penalty" for even untreated hypothyroidism does not exceed 5%. The implication is that you can still lose weight by calorie counting, but you may find that you need to reduce calories a bit (not massively) below where others of your age/size might need to be.

Even so, the right approach is to start with MFP's recommendation, and stick with it for 4-6 weeks (at least one full menstrual cycle if you're a premenopausal woman). This is because the scale can bounce around due to water weight and such (which are just part of how a healthy body functions), and that fluctuation can make the scale weight difficult to interpret in the shorter run. After those few weeks, you'll have enough data to estimate what your average weekly weight loss is. Then, if needed, you can adjust your calorie goal to achieve a sensible moderate average weight loss rate going forward.

One potential complicating factor is that fatigue is a common symptom of hypothyroidism, and fatigue may reduce activity level. Daily life activity is a major component of our calorie expenditure, so that can make weight loss a small bit more challenging, as described above.

Hypothyroidism may add some extra challenges to the picture, but it's not universal weight loss doom. Weight loss is possible even when untreated or undertreated, and once your medication dose is fully dialed in, weight loss should be no more difficult than it is for anyone else (which is not the same as promising it'll always be easy ).

I'm pretty severely hypothyroid, and have been for nearly 20 years, but am adequately treated on medication. About 4 years ago, I lost 50 pounds, nearly a third of my bodyweight, and have stayed at a healthy weight since.

You can do this: Best wishes!