Thyroid Desease

[Teddy3]

:) I take .175 synthroid and I don't loose any weight

[FromVA]

I am taking .2 synthroid (thyroid removed) and have lost 30 lbs Atkins. First several months on Induction, then moved to OWL. Also exercise 30 to 45 mins 5x week.

[doreen T]

:) I take .175 synthroid and I don't loose any weight
hi there,

As long as you're getting an adequate dose of thyroid hormone, then you will be "normal thyroid" .... meaning you'll be in the exact same boat as someone who has a normal thyroid and is struggling to lose weight. Thyroid hormone isn't a weight loss miracle ;) You need to be faithful to the diet, do exercise and maybe explore other reasons for slow loss, such as a history of yo-yo dieting, especially low calorie "starvation" diets, or hormones (birth control or menopause), other medications for blood pressure etc, or maybe you have a food allergy such as dairy products.

If you read Dr Atkins book, New Diet Revolution, you'll find he addresses these problems and more, and a chapter on Extreme Metabolic Resistance for those persons who can't seem to get into ketosis or lose weight even with strict Induction.


hth,

Doreen

[FromVA]

I should have been a little more specific, too. My thyroid was removed 7 years ago and it took quite some time for my system to recover from being a mess for long time. My thyroid went back and forth from under to over producing...in otherwords, I was suffering from "Hashimoto" as well as "Graves". Not only was I suffering from thyroid disease, I was also peri-menoposual. I gained weight during all this, but gained the majority after the thyroid was removed. It took a long time to get the correct dosage of medication pinpointed, and then time to get to the point where I realized I needed to buckle down and lose the weight. All that being said...the weight didn't fly off, but I followed Atkins "cleanly" and took to heart his advice to eat until I wasn't hungry, but not to stuff myself. Compared to some people who post on this forum, I have lost slowly. But I have lost at a steady pound a week and have never stalled. I don't count calories, but do keep in mind the fact that I can't eat all day, or eat piles at meals, and expect to lose. Following Dr. A's recommended foods and fats, I had more trouble with making myself eat than with eating too much. And I also took to heart his admonishment that "exercise is non-negotiable". I don't have the energy I had before my thyroid trouble so exercising is much harder for me, personally, than the eating restrictions. You need to read his book, follow his plan, and if you are honestly doing all this and still not losing weight, try a different plan. I lost more, faster on the Zone, but it is not a plan I can live with for the rest of my life.

Doreen is right...my endo told me if asked about thyroid function, with the correct dosage of hormone replacement, I am considered "normal thyroid", even without one.

[Monet]

There is a bit more to thyroid function than just TSH however. For some reason, some people can have normal TSH, but still be hypothyroid. I am one of them. For some reason, I can not convert T4 to T3, so taking a T4 drug (synthroid, unithroid, levothroid, etc.) can make my TSH 'normal', but not do a thing for symptoms. I also take a T3 compounded drug, and that helps a lot. I don't lose easily though. If your doctor checks the whole thyroid panel, and everything looks normal, you may have other metabolic problems that can inhibit weight loss, such as insulin resistance. You might want to ask about having your insulin levels checked, especially if you carry weight around the middle, and tend to be hungry a lot, and crave carbs something fierce.

[FromVA]

Have read a lot about T3 helping with low thyroid and with symptoms. I would certainly recommend having this checked as well, regardless of the TSH reading.