Hi everyone. I'm restarting although trying not to focus too much on calories. I'm using MFP more as an awareness tool and hoping to make putting my food diary together a 'habit'.

I'm 50 and 5' 3". I'd like to loose 10 kg but I'm more interested in having a healthier diet and increase my calcium intake and generally have better heart health. I'm an English woman living in Switzerland and I LOVE to go out eating and drinking and I cook a lot at home - mostly from scratch, since I don't work and I have time. I love travelling and have lived in 5 countries.

I have Hashimotos thyroid disease, I have allergic asthma - so exercising outside in the country can be difficult during high pollen times, I have Oral Allergy Syndrome and so I can not eat many raw fruits and some veg, and I had a full hysterectomy a year ago so I have hormones against me too...

My diary is open and I'd love friends with open diaries to get food inspiration from and I'm happy to hear tips and advice from people.

Hello,
My name is Danielle, I live in Texas, and I was diagnosed with hypothyroidism about 4 years ago. It has taken most of that time to get my medicine dose right and for my body to start to normalize. I graduated college this August and no longer have the added stress of school, and feel like this is the right time to start my goal of trying to lose about 30ish pounds. I take Levzothyroxine and can tell when I forget, which doesn’t happen often. I get up around 1:45 a.m. for work and take my meds 1st thing. By the time I leave for work about an hour later I can have my coffee. I will be 44 this year and want to see both of my daughters graduate college, so I hope being able to drop the 30ish pounds will put me in a position for that to happen.

This is the first group I have joined, so it’s nice to be able to connect with people who understand the struggle.

Hello Everyone. I was diagnosed with Graves and lost a lot of weight very quickly. It scared me, but then for a while I just ate whatever I wanted. I'm now on meds and I want to eat a healthy, thyroid friendly diet, and maybe not gain the weight back. I've done MFP before and I need the accountability. Thanks!

Wishusdonnna. You have my deepest sympathy for the long covid and the subsequent "death" of your thyroid, especially if you are in the UK. I looked at your page and it shows EN. I'm down on the south coast.

I fear you will only get levothyroxine on the NHS, that was my experience. For a comatose thyroid let alone one which is not functioning 50 mcg seems very little. The only test willingly done in England is for the thyroid stimulating hormone, (tsh). Ideally one needs a raft of things tested, I can't remember them all. (NICE controls what can be done within the NHS). T3 is essential, this is the active thyroid hormone. It does come in two types, the one which works and the reverse kind. From what I remember reverse is caused by certain mineral deficiencies principally selenium. When t3 is tested and expressed as total t3 it does not discriminate between the active form and the reverse kind. The brain and each and every cell in our bodies need the active t3. The NHS automatically assumes everyone can convert t4 to t3, levo is the synthetic form of iodine, natural iodine is in eggs, milk, salmon, kelp, green veg and more, having the right genetics helps but having a good digestive system is involved to. Its should be good to be tested for autoimmunity, I doubt you have been tested for this either, Autoimmune conditions happen when the gut is strained not working properly so less well digested food particles can cross the digestive barrier and then the body recognises this or these particles and tried to eliminate them as well as some of the body's cells sometimes the thyroid but in Multiple Scleroses (MS) its the nerve covering, the numbers of autoimmune conditions are increasing.

May I suggest you look for the website, Stop the thyroid madness, (STTM) this will give you plenty of information about thyroid issues. there is also a site Hypothyroid mom. There are some American doctors who take a functional approach Chris Kresser, Josh Axe and David Jockers the information they provide is the same, expressed is different way. Chris started training as a doctor in order to improve his health, he is no longer a vegetarian for scientific reasons. David, is keto orientated, his diagrams are good though some might be off put by his religious tone. They all provide e-mail information. All take a functional approach, this happens when............... so we do this, often its eat these foods but can be the use supplements.

I knew I needed more for my health issues, included chemical sensitivity and digestive issues. The doctor who was supposed to be assisting me refused to accept the liquid levo I was taking was causing me digestive pain issues within the 30 minutes of taking it! wanted to send me to the hospital for tests. I'd previously found levo pills made me more sleepy and ill feeling so I stopped taking it, I used kelp pills, milk and eggs to get iodine. I returned to the medics was able to to to immunology, who wanted to work with me till my doctor intervened and said NO, it was a professor in Immunology who told me my condition was at the then edge of science, yes the local endo knew better, NOT. That was before the pain caused by the liquid levo. I had no alternative than to go private. I turned to a BANT registered nutritionist, UK only. I'm fortunate I don't need to travel to see a local one. There are quite a few across the UK. Please look into the registration there are things which will get you as well as humanly possible. They did it for me.

I realise your circumstances are far more complicated than mine. Please read all you can please follow your gut instinct and do what is right for you. Willing you much better health and the best of wish too.

Annie, hope you don't mind my using your name. I've been befuddled by the changes........ I sympathise with your being hypothyroid, I was for years without finding what worked for me, knowing life should be better.

I wonder if you have read some of the links at the front of this group. They contain much thyroid related points of interest.

I hope you have a supportive doctor, one who will test you for thyroid antibodies these are what make the difference between being simple hypo and having an autoimmune condition, Hashimoto's or Graves it seems both can run low but Graves tends to run higher. So much more is known about autoimmunity these days and how to reduce if not reverse its impact so please do not be fearful, better to know your adversary than spend time guessing.

Many doctors will try to assess your situation by doing tsh, thyroid stimulating hormone, all this tells one is if the system is trying to make thyroid hormones or having difficulty. Knowing your t4 is helpful in that it tells you what you have in the way of iodine/levothyroxine available to convert into t3. Testing total t3 only tells you how much you are making but some of us have difficulty converting and make an amount of reverse t3, it does not work, like wiring a three pin plug the wrong way...... For many various minerals and vitamins are enough but others need more because no two persons experience of being hypo is exactly, they may have similarities but we are all individuals.

If you read the Website, Stop The Thyroid Madness they will give you a far better explanation than I. They also have a list of doctors who are helpful to those who have thyroid issues. If you are in the US you might fine one close to you. I've found the functional approach really helpful, the body does this or that because.. then address the underlying cause.. .Another site lists 300 symptoms of thyroid issues so weight gain can be just one of many though it is a common one.

Having got my life back, I'm busier than I was, I know how good it feels to be living and want it for everyone. If you would like to, please message me personally, tell me something of yourself and I'll see what more I can share. We borrow two under 5's they take up a fair bit of time, but its wonderful to be able to. I'm saying getting a reply might not be instant.

Wishing you all the very best.