Losing weight with Hypothyroidism

[kaleenb]

I was diagnosed with hypothyroidism about 2 months ago. I was very happy to find out that my 10-15 pound weight gain was connected to it, I thought I would drop that weight pretty quickly with this medication but i've only lost 3 pounds in a week. Is this normal? How quickly did you lose weight? Please help. I feel self concious around my boyfriend of over a year. I don't like it. I want my smaller body back. He's a work out buff and he looks good but I've tried to lose the weight so bad I'm just about to give up. HELP!!

[doreen T]

3 lbs in one week is awesome!! The big spectacular 10 lbs in one week are usually from folks who have a lot of weight to lose in the first place; you don't have too much to lose, so it's reasonable to expect to lose a smaller amount from week to week. Ultimately you and the bigger person will reach your goals at the same time ... and besides, when the bigger person reaches the weight you are at now, their weight loss will slow down to a lb or 2 per week too.

Being hypothyroid and NOT treated or UNDERtreated can slow the metabolism, and make it difficult to lose weight, or can make you gain weight if you have the tendency. Being low thyroid doesn't automatically mean weight gain, there are quite a few underweight hypothyroids out there.

Thyroid hormone replacement is not a diet pill. What it does is take the place of the hormone that your body isn't producing anymore. When the levels have reached normal (your doctor will be taking blood at regular intervals to check) then your metabolism will be the same as a normal person's and your weight loss efforts -- diet and exercise -- will be the same as for anybody else.

Click here for About.com's Hypothyroid pages (http://thyroid.about.com/cs/hypothyroidism/index.htm). Especially read Thyroid Disease 101: The Starting Place and Hypothyroidism--Common Questions & Answers Post-Diagnosis. The whole site is excellent, I suggest you bookmark it to your Favorites.

Lowcarb is recommended for low thyroid, to help prevent blood sugar and insulin dips and swings. As well, you would be wise to consider avoiding sugar and refined carbohydrates for good .... as these are the foods that cause elevated cholesterol, not fats ... and hypothyroids can have problems with cholesterol.

hope this is helpful

Doreen

[kaleenb]

When you say sugar, do you mean sweet foods?

[doreen T]

Check out the article Sweetener Information in our Tips column. Just click on the red menu bar at the top. Some sweet foods, such as fruits, may be fine for you to eat, when your weight is stable. Fruits also contain fiber, pectins and important vitamins and minerals. Some artificial sweeteners may be fine for you to consume as well.

Please read the About.com Hypothyroid pages, which I've given the link to you above, and in the other thread where you asked about your medication. There is lots of information there, including a section on Diet and Weight Loss. Look in the topic menu on the left side of the page (of the About.com site). It will explain the importance of eating an unrefined diet that's lower in carbs, higher in quality proteins and fats, and avoids sugar like the plague.

Doreen

[sabrina]

Hi kaleenb, I am sabrina and I have hypothyroidism as well. I have been diagnosed with this for about 12 years. I've been on synthyroid for 12 years as well. I never had a weight problem until about the past 5-6 years. The past 2 years it has been my fault because I have let my weight get out of hand. When I was younger I used to model from the time I was 15 until 23. No way did I ever think I would get fat. I had put on a few pounds in the beginning with this but I managed it. When I became pregnant with my daughter in 98 my weight ballooned. After my daughter was born I got down to around 180. But I dont know if the pregnancy put my body out of wack because no sooner did I get down to that weight, the number on the scale increased to where I am at today. Alot of it came from depression, rocky relationships with my daughters father. To me my daughter was well worth the weight gain but I am at a point in my life that I am not happy with myself and I dont want my daughter to think that being overweight is ok because mommy is. I want to be a healthy thin role model for my daughter. I still am very pretty and I carry my weight very well, dont mean to sound conceited, but I have been at both ends of the stick and I like it better at the thin side. Please, please hang in there, and make sure that your doctor checks your blood regularly for med's. My doctor is really good about mine. The weight will come off maybe not as fast but it will come off. Also make sure that you don't become best friends with the scale because if you have read alot of the journals and post, the inches tend to come off quicker. Sabrina