Weight loss and underactive thyroid

[bahama daydreamer]

Anyone have any ideas how to lose weight with underactive thyroid? I have been really watching what I eat for 2 months now and have lost 7 pounds. I've been on several diets over the years and don't have much luck with weight loss. I usually lose about 10 pounds then slowly gain it back. I've also been told that I'm borderline for Metabolic Syndrome. I have been taking Smartburn and eating Lean Cuisine for lunch and supper. Breakfast is a bowl of bran cereal. It's very depressing, please help!

[adoptmom]

You might try reading up on some of the smarter carb (not no carb) diets like south beach or protein power. My SIL had really good luck with PP and she has low thyroid.

[VICKIVICKI]

MY THYROID IS NOT SLOW, ITS DEAD1 7 POUNDS IN 2 MONTHS FOR PEOPLE LIKE US IS INCREDIBLE!i AGREE WITH THE LAST POSTER AS FAR AS LOW GLUCOSE FOODS,WHICH IT SOUNDS AS THOUGH YOU ARE AVOIDING THEM ALSO. HAVE YOU TRIED PUMPING UP THE EXERCISE LEVEL[AND NOT DOING THE SAME ROUTINE EVERY DAY] THOUGH, AS I MENTIONED EARLIER,. 7 POUNDS IN 2 MONTHS IF YOU'RE HYPOTHYROID IS AWESOME. I ALSO TAKE THE SMARTBURN AND TRY TO ALWAYS BE MOVING SOME PART OF MY BODY ALL OF THE TIME. ARE YOU LIKE ME,. IN THAT THE STRAW HAIR IS ALSO A PROBLEM? AND DOES THAT BRAN CEREAL HELP ALOT WITH,. UM,. ONE OF THE OTHER ANNOYING PROBLEMS WE HYPOTHYROIDS HAVE?

[Chorts]

MY THYROID IS NOT SLOW, ITS DEAD1 7 POUNDS IN 2 MONTHS FOR PEOPLE LIKE US IS INCREDIBLE!i AGREE WITH THE LAST POSTER AS FAR AS LOW GLUCOSE FOODS,WHICH IT SOUNDS AS THOUGH YOU ARE AVOIDING THEM ALSO. HAVE YOU TRIED PUMPING UP THE EXERCISE LEVEL[AND NOT DOING THE SAME ROUTINE EVERY DAY] THOUGH, AS I MENTIONED EARLIER,. 7 POUNDS IN 2 MONTHS IF YOU'RE HYPOTHYROID IS AWESOME. I ALSO TAKE THE SMARTBURN AND TRY TO ALWAYS BE MOVING SOME PART OF MY BODY ALL OF THE TIME. ARE YOU LIKE ME,. IN THAT THE STRAW HAIR IS ALSO A PROBLEM? AND DOES THAT BRAN CEREAL HELP ALOT WITH,. UM,. ONE OF THE OTHER ANNOYING PROBLEMS WE HYPOTHYROIDS HAVE?

 

I'm hypothyroid and it takes a chisel to get the weight off. I've been doing Curves for about 6 weeks now and I've lost 5#. My goal is to be 115#, which is still 15# over my weight when I delivered my first child. OK....I confess...I'm only 4'10" too :D. As of today, I'm 123# I will tell you for sure, DRINK WATER! 64 oz a day. That might sound like a lot but it's only 4-16 oz bottles. When I started drinking I started losing plus the fact that it helps with the um....you know....the OTHER problem. I'll be 62 this June, so between my age and my hypothyroid, losing weight is difficult. I don't diet but I do watch how much I put in my mouth. Instead of a bowl of ice cream, I'll just have a couple tablespoons ful and eat it slowly in order to savor it. I have given up red meat because I've got 3 stents in my arteries to my heart. giving up the red meat has helped in my lower fat consumption, which my cardiologist wants. I'm so totally against the Adkins diet for that reason.....way too much fat....not good for your heart. We need to eat sensibly and in a way that we can maintain. Ok.....that's my 2 cents. :)

[Sandycruise]

Anyone have any ideas how to lose weight with underactive thyroid? It's very depressing, please help![/QUOTThis is a great thread idea! Whatever your situation, I just wanted to tell you that you are not alone. I suspect Thyroid might be one of my issues, though my blood test orders are sitting in my junk drawer right now.:rolleyes: I can tell you that you are not alone here. These boards are a great source of support and advice. (I already saw that you've recieved both on this thread). This is a long-haul situation, no matter what the cause, this staying fit and healthy. I hope you find some, most, or all of what you are looking for here.

[bahama daydreamer]

Thank you for all your support. I hate to say it but I'm glad to hear I'm not the only one. Everyone I know that's on a diet loses weight while I stay at a 7 lb loss. I do notice a difference in how my body looks and I have had more energy but just not enough. I don't get alot of exercise. I work 10 hr shifts 4 days a week and I'm too tired when I get home to exercise. I have been trying to go for a walk most nights and I've tried some dance videos but can't do it everyday. I've decided not to give up as I know the difference in my diet is better for my health. Not only am I hypothyroid but also hypertensive with high cholesterol levels. Keep the support and advice coming and yes, the bran cereal does help with that other problem. The one I like the best is Raisin nut bran.

[donnaw]

I actually start a thread on the WW boards daily. I have managed to lose 50 lbs. and keep off 40 of them (cruising has its' price). Some tricks that we have found, and it is a very large group.

 

Here is a short list of suggestions/ideas and in some cases, hints, to make your life easier:

 

1) Take thyroid replacement alone and a minimum of 1 hour before eating.

 

2) Take it with plenty of water. Levoxyl especially, has a quick disolving coating so you really need to wash it down.

 

3) Take HRT, iron and Calcium supplements as far from your thyroid replacement as possible.

 

4) Be consistent. Medication dosage will be adjusted correctly if you are very consistent with how you take the meds and how and what you eat.

 

5) Some foods should be limited due to their anti-thyroid effects. Good list at about.com but some of the items are soy, broccoli, cabbage, brussel sprouts. Check about.com for more.

 

6) Many of us are glucose intolerant (resistant) so if you find your having problems then take a look at your diet. I personally, can not eat raw baby carrots since I crash about 2 hours after eating them.

 

7) A large number of us do much better on high fiber/high protein. However, fiber should not be too close to taking medication since it will impact the release of T4/T3 in the system.

 

8) Exercise and water are even more critical for us than the general WW population.

 

9) Do your research and stand up to your doctor. Bring the appropriate print outs to your appointment. If this doesn't work then it's time to find a different doctor. Recent studies indicate that normal TSH is between .3 and 3.0. This is not recognized by all labs/doctors so you need to actually know the actual numbers to see what the doctor is basing treatment on. Saying “normal” is not good enough!

 

There is absolutely no reason that we should feel older than we are! Replacement therapy works for this condition and the keys is to find and maintain the correct level to increase our quality of life. Except for a few rare cases, we will be doing this forever so the research you do now will have a very long term effect.

 

My doctor also suggested that vitamin B1 helps even while on medication. If you are not being medicated then make sure you have iodized salt in your diet, loads of water and try to stay away from soy and other problem foods. Great site for information on problem foods is:

http://thyroid.about.com/index.htm

 

Hope this helps!

[kakalina]

I too have a thyroid problem. I take Levoxyl. I was doing pretty well until I was badly injured about 18 months ago. I was bedridden for six months and put on over 60 lbs. I am lightly handicapped and have a problem with exercise.

 

I simply can not lose this weight and am at my wits end. I am over 55 years old and that seems to make it more difficult too.

 

 

I hope I can find some support and some tips here.

 

Trisha

[Lady Vidora]

This is a very interesting thread....I am hypothyroid too. I have been on meds since my teens (interestingly I'm taller than anyone in my family and for in my late teens there were serious concerns about my being anorexic--not a chance;) ). It seems my thyroid kind of burned itself out. I never, ever heard of the timing of levoxyl. I take other medications, so I don't know if I can do it like that, but it's probably been a couple of years since I've had it checked. Like I said, I've been on the same dose for more than a decade. Since I have lupus, it's hard to say when fatigue and things like that are a sypmtom of my thyroid. Something to think about.

However, I got on the treadmill, uphill for 30 minutes and went 1.1 miles. This after five days of nothing. Yay for me!

[donnaw]

This is a very interesting thread....I am hypothyroid too. I have been on meds since my teens (interestingly I'm taller than anyone in my family and for in my late teens there were serious concerns about my being anorexic--not a chance;) ). It seems my thyroid kind of burned itself out. I never, ever heard of the timing of levoxyl. I take other medications, so I don't know if I can do it like that, but it's probably been a couple of years since I've had it checked. Like I said, I've been on the same dose for more than a decade. Since I have lupus, it's hard to say when fatigue and things like that are a sypmtom of my thyroid. Something to think about.

However, I got on the treadmill, uphill for 30 minutes and went 1.1 miles. This after five days of nothing. Yay for me!

 

Definitely Yay for you! Lupus is another auto-immune that goes hand in hand with thyroid along with diabetes. Does make it much more challenging for you!

 

A little history may get you thinking. Finding info on the WW boards changed my life three years ago. I had been hypo for ten years at that time. The doctor had managed to get me on synthroid, BP meds for arythmia, a diuretic to combat the BP med, cholesterol meds, hrt, allergy and asthma meds with an occasional other thrown in. Found the info on Mary Shomon's site and called the doctors office. Had been there a month before and been told a little high normal but no med changes needed. After arguing with the lab people, they finally told me my tsh was 6.2. At this point I had already read that the standard was .3 to 3.0. Made the earliest appointment that I could and moved everything else that I was taking to bedtime. When I had my blood test before the appointment, I was down to 3.6. I walked into the doctor's office with a manilla folder and finally convinced him that I wanted to be at 1.0. Within a year, I was off everything except levothroxin and 1/2 of the lowest dosage of premarin. I have stayed off since then. If I have an arythmia attack, I move up my blood test.

 

Moral of the story: thyroid has a tremendous impact on the entire system and the side effects are quite often considered as separate issues. Your understanding of your condition and how it is effecting you is critical to your feeling your best. Know what you are taking (drugstore.com is a great site to get information from) and figure out how you can arrange it to get the time for your meds to work.

 

This all sounds quite easy but for those of us who still have working thyroids, it is a challenge. The function of our thyroids tend to vary which just adds more challenge to the mix. Best approach - know what to expect and know the signs when a problem is developing. I thought when I was diagnosed that I knew it all since I come from a long line of hypo's. It took 50 lbs. and joining WW for me to finally realize how little I actually knew! I currently alternate .125 and .137 levothroxin which may be putting me below .3 (blood test next week). If it is slightly below then I will switch to 3 days at the higher dose and 4 at the lower. I started using drugstore.com when I realized that my insurance carrier was going to be a pain about getting the scripts early. It is slightly cheaper online (without using the insurance card) and allows me to get 3 months of each dosage so I don't have to worry about fogetting to pick up medication before we leave town.

 

Just some thoughts and hope it helps!

[bahama daydreamer]

DonnaW

 

Thanks for all the info. I have been on Armour Thyroid for close to 20 years and was never told to take it before eating. I was taking it with the rest of my medications (blood pressure, allergy, vitamin, & aspirin) along with breakfast. I am changing the way that I take it and maybe that will help. I just recently had my TSH levels checked and it was a little below normal. They did a T4 and said that everything was ok.

[donnaw]

Big Warning here: Know your numbers! A little below or above normal is a very scary thing. There are two sets of standards out there and way too many labs are still using the old standard which places normal between 2. and 5. The new standard between .3 and 3.0 is only used by about 1/2 the labs. However, it appears to be where most of us feel best. We have had several hundred hypos on the WW thread and almost all report that most of their symptoms disappear at 1.0. Just something else to think about and I am now off my soapbox.

 

Have a great day!

[adoptmom]

I too have a thyroid problem. I take Levoxyl. I was doing pretty well until I was badly injured about 18 months ago. I was bedridden for six months and put on over 60 lbs. I am lightly handicapped and have a problem with exercise.

 

I simply can not lose this weight and am at my wits end. I am over 55 years old and that seems to make it more difficult too.

 

 

I hope I can find some support and some tips here.

 

Trisha

 

Trisha- Around here the local YMCAs have water exercise classes for people who have difficulties doing regular exercises. They even have special chairs made for people who use wheel chairs. You might check into it. Even if it doesn't help you lose the 60 pounds it will help you with regaining muscle strength. I was ill and bedridden for 9 weeks several years ago. I know how hard and painful that is.

 

Tami

[Mississippigirl]

I have an underactive thyroid as well. I started me diet in the middle of February. I have lost 21 lb.s I take Levothyroxine every night before bed after I walk on the treadmill for 40 minutes. I hardly ever screw up on my diet. I eat alot of lean quizines and smart ones ( I love them). Also I control my portions of meat and some veggies, I love steamed broccoli with spray butter.I can eat all of it I want. My doctor told me it was as if I had no thyroid, but I am only on 75 mcg. I can't remember what my levels were when i was diagnosed. I went to the doctor for something else and he looked at my neck and told me my goiter was enlarged. This really freaked me out because I thought I was going to get fat....lol......I already was!

[bahama daydreamer]

I'm envious of your weight loss, Mississippigirl, but good for you. I wish I could lose like that. I did buy the "Thyroid Diet" book yesterday so hopefully I'll find something that works. I checked my levels today and they were TSH-0.24 and Free T4-0.7. I was told these were ok. What do you all think? I have changed the way that I take my meds so maybe that will help. I also started taking CLA along with Smartburn. I'm reading about other supplements so I may be taking more.

[Mississippigirl]

How can I check my own levels?

[bahama daydreamer]

I'm sorry, I meant I checked with the Dr. to see what they were. I just had my blood test recently. I don't think you can check your own.