Low Carb - Confused
skeck
Posts: 46
Hi All,
I've been reading that a low-carb diet is great for assisting in weightloss for hypothyroid people, like myself. I've cut calories and increased exercise and the scale still isn't moving.
So, I'm willing to try to do a low-carb diet and see if that gets things going. However, what other factors play in to this? It seems that foods that are reasonably high in carbs (i.e. Oatmeal) are the foods that keep me FULL. I also am trying to increase my fiber intake... which is often tied to foods that are high in carbs.
I'm just confused. Has anybody gone low-carb and is willing/able to help me?
I've been reading that a low-carb diet is great for assisting in weightloss for hypothyroid people, like myself. I've cut calories and increased exercise and the scale still isn't moving.
So, I'm willing to try to do a low-carb diet and see if that gets things going. However, what other factors play in to this? It seems that foods that are reasonably high in carbs (i.e. Oatmeal) are the foods that keep me FULL. I also am trying to increase my fiber intake... which is often tied to foods that are high in carbs.
I'm just confused. Has anybody gone low-carb and is willing/able to help me?
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Replies
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The feeling of being full with things like oatmeal are sort of false in many ways. You may feel FULL because you have a gigantic glob of hard to digest grains in your stomach, but you are probably not feeling what most low carbers do when they eat, which is satisfaction.
There is a huge difference between being full and being satiated. The fat in low carb foods is what keeps you satiated, and provides you with more energy, since each gram of fat has over 2x the number of calories that you get from carbs.
Low carb tends to help with thyroid issues as well because it works great as a hormone balancing diet. When you eat low carb, you don't have spikes in blood sugar and insulin, and insulin and thyroid hormone have interactions that can further impair weight loss. People with thyroid issues are also much more likely to have or develop diabetes.
There are also several other things that appear to go hand in hand with thyroid issues:
Insulin resistance
High blood sugar
High cholesterol
Gluten intolerance
PCOS
Weight gain
Not surprisingly low carb diets actually aid, or given enough time, reverse most of these issues, which then allows the body to focus on repairing the thyroid function (if possible) or at the very least not piling more and more problems on your already taxed endocrine system.0 -
Agree completely. When you go low carb, you need to increase your fat intake - and don't worry, fat doesn't make us fat :-)
Add fats like coconut oil, olive oil, avocado, almonds, walnuts, flaxseed, salmon and even butter.
The added fat will keep your hunger away. When I did low carb, I did 13% carbs, 25% protein and 62% fat.
Avoid "low fat" yogurt, cheese, etc. - go for the full fat versions - they are better for you.
I would also recommend eliminating processed and packaged foods as much as possible and going with natural selections.
It is normal for sodium levels to be higher when you go low carb -- don't worry about it too much unless you get water retention.0 -
I didn't go low-carb when I started my weight loss journey, but I did substantially cut back on them just because the calories didn't seem worth it to me. So my advice is, try cutting back for a while and see if it works for you. Remember - we're all different.0
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Thanks everyone!0
