Fruit? Smoothies? Hashimoto's?
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andestep
Posts: 3
I will preface this question with a little history about my journey. I have Hashimoto's thyroiditis (It's an auto-immune disease) and for me, I have had little to no success with weight loss for the past three years. I have gained nearly 70 pounds since my diagnoses and it seems that my body weight is not necessarily related to my diet and exercise. Hard to believe, I know, but its' true.
I've read about the Paleo lifestyle and how incredible it is for people with auto-immune diseases. I have been eating Paleo for 17 days and am never looking back. I am not weighing myself until I've completed 6 weeks of eating this way (I hate the word DIET) so I can't really speak about weight loss, but losing weight is my ultimate goal. I am still new to this and have found quite a few different opinions about these questions because it seems that all the authors of the different books have slightly different opinions/recommendations so I'm looking for some "real people" opinions.
I have a few questions for y'all!
1. Is there anyone else out there with Hashimoto's who has been able to lose weight through the paleo lifestyle?
2. I eat fruit a lot but have no idea what the recommendations are for someone trying to lose weight, any suggestions for servings of fruit each day for weight loss?
3. I have to eat about 75% of my meals in the car because of my job so I make green smoothies with frozen berries, spinach, and almond or coconut milk. Are smoothies like this considered Paleo? Thoughts on a fruit smoothie beverage like Odwalla, Bolthouse Farms, Naked, Etc.? I have to do the best I can with my lifestyle but want to lose weight to get my health back.
4. Anyone else out there who eats dried figs and dates? I've read conflicting opinions about these types of foods.
Thanks for any input!!
I've read about the Paleo lifestyle and how incredible it is for people with auto-immune diseases. I have been eating Paleo for 17 days and am never looking back. I am not weighing myself until I've completed 6 weeks of eating this way (I hate the word DIET) so I can't really speak about weight loss, but losing weight is my ultimate goal. I am still new to this and have found quite a few different opinions about these questions because it seems that all the authors of the different books have slightly different opinions/recommendations so I'm looking for some "real people" opinions.
I have a few questions for y'all!
1. Is there anyone else out there with Hashimoto's who has been able to lose weight through the paleo lifestyle?
2. I eat fruit a lot but have no idea what the recommendations are for someone trying to lose weight, any suggestions for servings of fruit each day for weight loss?
3. I have to eat about 75% of my meals in the car because of my job so I make green smoothies with frozen berries, spinach, and almond or coconut milk. Are smoothies like this considered Paleo? Thoughts on a fruit smoothie beverage like Odwalla, Bolthouse Farms, Naked, Etc.? I have to do the best I can with my lifestyle but want to lose weight to get my health back.
4. Anyone else out there who eats dried figs and dates? I've read conflicting opinions about these types of foods.
Thanks for any input!!
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Replies
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Fruit should be eaten 'moderately' - which to me means two to three time per week. Also, the fruits that you eat should be on the low end of the glycemic scale: berries, apple, cherries, etc. High sugar fruits (and high starch like bananas) should be avoided.2. I eat fruit a lot but have no idea what the recommendations are for someone trying to lose weight, any suggestions for servings of fruit each day for weight loss?
Although people eating in the primal and paleo traditions like to use figs and dates to 'cheat' on sugar intake, they should be avoided. As Mark Sisson says, "it's all about the insulin". Anything that provokes an insulin spike should be avoided: grains, starchy roots, sugar, and high-sugar fruits.4. Anyone else out there who eats dried figs and dates? I've read conflicting opinions about these types of foods.
The focus should be on eating whole foods, organically grown, and simply prepared. Think like a hunter/gatherer: eat what you can forage or kill, and either eat it raw or simply cooked.0 -
The green smoothies you make sound good, but the premade fruit drinks from the store are usually way too sweet and full of carbohydrates. Make the smoothies really nice and green with lots of kale and good stuff like that. Many Paleo or Primal people who are big into smoothies will add protein powder; Mark Sisson sells a good one on marksdailyapple.com. The usual rule for losing weight on Paleo is to restrict your overall carbohydate intake to 100 grams per day; luckily here on MFP you can easily see what is going on with your carb intake.
However, I'm thinking about your car-eating issue. Why does it have to be a smoothie? Chunks of roast beef in a tupperware would be fine for eating on the go, perhaps with some chunks of roasted squash. Nice crispy slices of bacon, spears of asparagus, florets of broccoli. Try something different, why not?0 -
Thanks for the help! These are good suggestions for me. I think I see where I can fine tune things for weight loss. The initial adjustment period was a little rough but I think cutting back on fruit and dried fruit will be completely doable. The car thing is tough because sometimes I have exactly one minute to get some food in me before I meet with my next client so the smoothie drinks seemed to go down fast and easy if I sip them over the course of a couple hours and toss some nuts in with it, but I think meat and veggies will work too if I can plan ahead better.0
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i have hashimotos!!!!! i have been doing paleo since the beginning of december and lost 26 lbs!!!! i had gained 50 lbs since being diagnosed and always seemed physically un able to lose weight, i mean i would diet and exercise and not lose a pound. i immediatly saw changes while doing paleo. and also found out i have celiacs which is another autoimune disease. its an autoimmune response to gluten. a lot of people with thyroid disease have celiacs and vica versa. celiacs is almost a non-issue for me since going paleo because i have eliminated all wheat anyways. you should add me on here! i am so happy to find another hashimotos doing paleo haha. and i just went to my endocrinologist a few weeks ago and she said my thyroid levels were fine (after 2 mo0nths of paleo and on 137mcg of synthroid) i have to go back in 6 months and i am really interested to see how my thyroid levels have changed. she asked me how i lost the weight and i told her exactly what i was doing, eliminating grains and starch and she told me that was the BEST thing to do as far as having endocrine problems! she said i was eating all the right foods and eliminated all the stuff thats bad. im so glad to have my endocrinilogist on board with me. because she deals with a lot of diabetes patients she sees just how important it is to keep insulin in check, and knows its sugars and starches that effect that. congrats on paleo and good luck! i would love to hear your progress!!!0
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I also have Hashimoto's Thyroiditis. In one of the many Paleo books I read, there is a link to Hashimoto's and gluten, which is why endocrinologists everywhere should be promoting a Paleo/Primal diet.
As far as losing weight, I think you need to cut way back on your fruit intake. I typically will only do a single serving of fruit a day but now I'm rethinking that maybe twice a week would be sufficient for a little while until I get closer to my weight loss goal (thanks MonkeyDharma). Doing Paleo, I've lost 25 lbs since January 9th and I feel good. I don't have the stomach bloat and gas problems I had before.
How does the rest of your diet look like? Are you getting adequate amounts of fat and protein?0
