Hypothyroidism and myfitnesspal

If you take synthetic thyroid meds and your dose has been deemed right for you, then you can consider yourself a 'normal' person and diet and exercise like anybody else.

I've got hypothyroidism too but you don't need to alter your diet or exercise for it. You should be medicated and if your levels are normal, like momma3 said, you can consider yourself to be a normal person and carry on as normal.

My mother suffers from both hypothyroid and hypoglycemia. Her doctor recommends what he recommends for almost everyone: eat a low-carb, high-protein diet, except for right before a workout: eat or drink plenty of carbs right before you exercise, to fuel that effort. And eat a little something with protein in it every three hours while you're awake, to keep your metabolism on an even keel all day long.

I have to agree I have hypo as well as long as I take my meds Im fine I eat right and exercise like crazy and I am fine you may want to check with your doctor to ask how many calories a day you should be eating I eat between 800 to 1200 a day and it hasnt bothered me about my thyroid.

There are a couple of threads on here on hypothyroids, the posters have provided much needed perspective.

I pretty much follow the concept of MFP in terms of calories. I follow my husbands diabetes diet in terms of food balance. I keep my weight goal at 1/2 lb a week, because I want to maintain a even metabolism. I have averaged 3/4 lb weightloss per week since I joined the site in early April which is the fastest I have lost weight in my five year concerted effort to move toward good health.

It has been very hard for me to get to a point where exercise has reaped rewards rather than aggravation and exhaustion. If you have been out of the exercise world for a long time, I would advise starting up very slowly by increasing your activity level in life, walking a block or two; cleaning out a cupboard when you find yourself wanting to sit and read a book or watch TV. I'd up the ante every month in terms of activity. I have worked my way up to an active life style that includes but cardio and strength. I have just added stretching and flexibility. It is a beautiful fall day here. I started it by walking my dog 25 minutes, I will work 8 hours, go to body pump (strength exercise) for 50 minutes at lunch, come home and walk the dog for an hour.

I have been hypothyroid for over four decades. I have found that my metabolism likes me to make incremental not abrupt changes. I still stay in touch with my doctor routinely because my thyroid can chug along fine with the medication for years and suddenly for no apparent reason, I am either taking too much or too little medication. I have worked very hard over the past five years to attain my weight loss, but it is very SLOWWWWW. Many people have lost in a year what I have lost in five years.

Hypothyroidism makes metabolism changes and subsequently weight loss a little harder, but it does not make it impossible, just slower. Part of what I did five years ago was make a decision that I would do everything in my power to help my body stay healthy and fight disease.

This is something you should ask your doctor, not a bunch of strangers on the internet. People mean well, but only your doctor knows the limits your body can handle and can suggest ways to better exercise and eat to assist in weight loss.

NOT TRUE. My doctor knew jack sh#t about thyroid. I had to ask repeatedly to be tested for hypothyroid and she swore that I was fine. Not only did I have a TSH of 60, I had to come back years later and ask that I be tested for Hashimoto's which she swore I didn't have. Guess what???? I tested positive for the antibodies. So please...the "strangers" here probably know more than your average doctor.

Maybe you need a new doctor.

This is something you should ask your doctor, not a bunch of strangers on the internet. People mean well, but only your doctor knows the limits your body can handle and can suggest ways to better exercise and eat to assist in weight loss.

NOT TRUE. My doctor knew jack sh#t about thyroid. I had to ask repeatedly to be tested for hypothyroid and she swore that I was fine. Not only did I have a TSH of 60, I had to come back years later and ask that I be tested for Hashimoto's which she swore I didn't have. Guess what???? I tested positive for the antibodies. So please...the "strangers" here probably know more than your average doctor.

Maybe you need a new doctor.

Unfortunately, I have to agree. I LOVE the doctor I have now, but he's the first doctor in 20 years who actually listened to me. That's one out of around a dozen I tried. Too many docs take one look at you, see an obese person, and assume that all of your health problems are because you're fat and lazy. When they should be finding out whether the obesity and lethargy are symptoms of some other problem. My doctors would always do a thyroid test, and maybe a diabetes test, and tell me I was "fine." They'd tell me I had high cholesterol and try to give me a prescription for Lipitor or something similar, without ever discussing diet or exercise or other options. They'd say "you just need to lose weight," I would tell them that I watched what I ate very carefully and exercised regularly, and they would say "then you should be losing weight" (basically, they called me a liar). I *knew* there was something wrong, because a person who eats normally and exercises regularly should not gain 10 lbs a year. But the doctors were useless.

My current doctor actually listened, then did some extra tests, discovered that my metabolism was screwed up, and gave me a diet that would fix it. Since then I've been cured of mood swings & depression, I have energy again, and I've lost almost 35 pounds. So my advice is to listen to your doctor, but also listen to yourself and your body. And if your doctor won't listen to you & your body, find another doctor who will.

We have the same condition.

I take my tablets regularly which stop me from feeling sleepy and I am now working on my fitness levels and my diet. So no special diet for me but I definitely need a healthier diet :-)

My tips are

1. Take your medication as per instructions ( ie my medication is every morning before breakfast)
2. Improve your diet - introduce one healthy food that you like into your diet each week until it becomes a (good) habit eg. eat an apple
3. Exercise a little more today than you did last week

Now - if only I took my own advice!

Take care of yourself and good luck with your energy levels! :-)

Regarding the doctor - I HAVE EXACTLY THE SAME! A lot of specialists dismiss the new studies about the Hashimoto's i have, ive had to educate them! There needs to be more awareness!