Hi folks,

I'm 36 and have Hashimoto's. Treated on Levothyroxine.

Whenever I start reducing my carbs below even 100, I start to have exaggerated hypo symptoms. Brain fog, saying the wrong word, cold hands, and anxiety. I have tried adding supplements such as potassium, magnesium, and increasing sodium but I still have the symptoms.

I think this is an increase in Reverse T3. The same thing often happens to me when I deal with an illness such as a bad cold or even have a change in thyroid medication dosing (up or down). My system really has trouble adjusting to change.

I'm frustrated -- at 5'5" and 195 lbs, I would really like to lose weight. I don't believe that avoiding saturated fat is healthy or that grains are healthy.

I started out following the advice from Primal Blueprint, and am looking into the Schwarzbein Principle as it appears to be a more gradual program.

Does anyone else have tips for how to adjust to LC while hypothyroid/Hashimoto's?

I just take a thyroid med that has T3 in it. That seems to help a lot.

I doubt it is anything to do with your thyroid or your medication. I think you would find that these symptoms would probably stop if you persevered and that they are more likely related to carb withdrawl. One other option would be to start out at higher carbs and gradually reduce to find a level that you can lose at but not feel bad. It would be slower loss but still all good I wish you the best of luck!

lc4good - I respectfully disagree. Although not Dxd hashi, I've been medicated for hypo since 2008 (and have no other health issues other than being overweight) and have many of the same symptoms as the OP when VLC / LC. For me, it seems like below 50g carb throws me for an absolute loop - I've been through carb-withdrawl (2003 / 2004) - symptoms should abate within a couple days - maybe 2 weeks at the utmost. This went on a month - I finally added 2 servings of fruits and lo-and-behold, symptoms abated immediately. I will add I was eating copious amounts of vegetables every day before adding the fruit, so I certainly wasn't ZC or even VLC.

I am the same. Too low on the carbs or calories will leave me feeling weak and tired. Illness also affects thyroid function.

I would suggest to worry about nutrition first. The more nutrient dense your food is, the more satiated you'll feel. Get your carbs from a variety of fruits and vegetables. Eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a queen, and supper like a poor man. Don't eat within four hours of bedtime.

And keep your stress level down as much as possible. Even light exercise helps with that. I go for a walk every night after supper with my neighbor. We call it "walkie-talkie". We get some exercise and talk about our day. It's exercise and counseling all in one.

ElisaOS,

Your symptoms are not the experience of the majority, but they are not rare, either. You might want to read the following posts on Paul Jaminet (author of the Perfect Health Diet) on this topic:

• Low Carb Paleo, and LDL is Soaring – Help! (3/2/11)
• Answer Day: What Causes High LDL on Low-Carb Paleo? (3/3/11)
• Low Carb High Fat Diets and the Thyroid (8/18/11)
• Carbohydrates and the Thyroid (8/24/11)
• Mario Replies: Low Carb Diets and the Thyroid, II (8/30/11)
• High LDL on Paleo Revisited: Low Carb & the Thyroid (9/1/11)

Also, here’s an MDA forum discussion thread, started by someone experiencing this problem.

Don't do total low carb all at once. Build your body up to a little at a time. for example cut out bread week one and use low carb wraps instead, then get rid of pasta and potatoes replacing them with dream fields . Replace low sugar and fruits and vegetables next. This will take longer but it may help.

Why not see if you can lose at 100 grams then? If the SAD is approximately 300 grams (I'm sure I used to eat even more than that) then you're reducing your carbs a lot by doing that. If you don't lose weight after a period of adjustment, then maybe try lowering them gradually.

I have Hashimoto's and find I don't do well reducing my carbs much below 50-70 on a regular basis, insomnia being the worst result.

This was a big factor in my switching plans from Atkins to South Beach. When doing Atkins induction, I lost about 10lbs over the course of 3 weeks, then nothing.... for a VERY long time. I just couldn't get my weight to budge, I was having thyroid symptoms all over again, I even regained 6 lbs. Then I switched to South Beach which is a higher carb plan but still considered low carb. The weight began coming off slowly but steadily again, I felt better, healthier and happier. No more thyroid symptoms and I feel so much better.

Maybe you just need a higher carb plan. I have read that you need a fair amount of carbs to keep your thyroid meds working. Too few and it becomes too much stress on the thyroid again, even medicated. So, I upped my carbs and switched plans to South Beach. I don't know if what I read was true or not, I'm not a doctor. I do know that it is working for me.

When I started low carb dieting my doctor took me off the generic meds and put me on the name brand. He said the therapeutic time was longer and that it worked better with low carb. The cost is only like 4 dollars more a month but It's working.
Now if I could just find something to replace my gallbladder.