No matter what you eat, CALORIES DO COUNT...eat too much of anything and you will gain. The trick is to find your level for losing. You should not be trying to lose more than 1-2 pounds AVERAGE per week. I say average because if you keep track for several weeks you will see a pattern of weight loss emerge. I lose 3-4 pounds the first week, 1 pound the second, 0-1 the third and nothing the fourth and fifth and then it starts over. Everyone's body is different. The more you exercise, the more you need to eat. I have about 1600 calories per day and walk 30 minutes. I use 2% cheeses, lean cuts of meat, egg whites more often than whole eggs, 2% milk, olive oil. Your best friend can be your food diary to help you get in touch with how much and what you are really eating and help you find where you'll lose. Hope this helps.

Hi, I'm new and have hypo, PCOS, and I'm insulin resistant. You may want to be tested for insulin resistance if you're not seeing results. I wasn't seeing results and got tested and wala. The CAD diet is really working for me because of the insulin resistance. My old doctor never would listen when I said I didn't feel very well even though my levels were "normal" now I have a Dr. that listens and says he may up my meds a little any way so I can lose weight better. Sorry to hear you can't get Health Care!! That's a real bummer. Good Luck on whichever plan you choose.

Hi, I am on Atkins, and I have lost 11 pounds in 2 months. I'm satisfied with that, and my Endocrinologist says it is okay for me to stay on it. I am hypothyroid, and I take Levoxyl and Cytomel.

Hey thanks for the replies everyone =)

Is being tested the only way to find out if you're insulin resistant? Because I think I am since I can't lose weight.. But then on the other hand, I don't think I am since I *can* eat excessive carbs and not gain weight.. I've found that fat makes me gain more weight then excessive carbs.. So eck.

Congrats on losing that much so quickly

I was on Levoxyly once for a short time and I felt really dizzy..I also got really bloated and gained 12lbs in a week. Thats when I quit it lol Although I'm still dizzy now. =/

I don't remember if I was on Cytomel or not. I've heard they work better combined tho because I gues its the t3 and T4 or something like that..lol And synthroid only has one of them.. Hmm. maybe I didn't give it enough time when I was on it or something..

SlimShady, what medication are you on now? You are right about Cytomel being T3. I learned about it by reading a lot on the tyhroid.about.com website. Also, Mary Shoman, who moderates that site, responded to my personal email questions.

The Levoxyl that I take is T4 - the generic name is Levothyroxine. But Synthroid, Levoxyl, and a few others are all Levothyroxine; pure T4. The generally accepted idea in conventional medicine is that if you take T4, the body will manufacture its own T3. However, in some of us, our T3 levels may look okay on blood tests, but we still feel awful. My doctor was willing to experiment with giving me Cytomel. I have been on it for a year, and it has made a world of difference in how I feel.
Best of luck to you

I've been on synthroid for like a year and half now. I still have a hypo symptoms though, but my doctor says my "levels are perfectly normal, as if I had a real thyroid" (mine was removed) And because of that, she won't even let me try anything else.

I wanted to go on armour because of it being natural and the T3... But there aren't too many doctors around my area that prescribe it. But maybe now I should just try and find a doctor that would atleast prescribe that for the T3 instead.. The 12lbs I gained though the first meds they put me on scared me though lol Atleast I don't gain on synthroid..but still.

And I've heard of her on the about.com site. I read alot of things on it, but I never really went to the message board because I don't like the layout. Its confusing lol.. I gotta try it though.

These Endocrinologists can be very very conservative!!! None of 'em like Armour. My doc was willing to try Thyrolar if I wanted it; it is like synthetic Armour, a combination of T3 and T4. I had asked him originally for that. He thought Cytomel + Synthroid or Levoxyl would be better because you can adjust the combination. It's really important to get a doctor you feel comfortable with. It can be such a pain!!! Good luck

p.s. I was hyperactive when I was a child then had radioactive iodine when I was in my 20's, which nuked my thyroid completely.

Iknow!! What the hell is their problem with armour! I've heard alot more people satisified with armour than synthroid. It makes no sense! I don't even have an Endo anymore. My regular family doctor has been handling everything.

Thanks for the info. That makes sense how you can adjust the combo and all. Maybe whatever I was on at first wasn't the right dosage and thats why I was dizzy and gained 12lbs. My doctor now mentioned that "no doctors here would change your meds because your levels are so normal" So with that exact comment, I'm scared to even mention Cytomel. I realllly don't like this lady. lol She dosen't take *Anything* I say seriously. I just hope finding a new doctor dosen't take another year.

If anything, I'll go back to my old Endo, I hated him too, but atleast he was more apt to listening.

Thanks again.

I am just reading this. Why don't you post your results including the lab ranges? Are you on the high or low side of normal? Have you had your adrenals tested?

Also, I guess I am a little confused. Did you have thyroid cancer? Why was your thyroid removed?

Thanks, Donna

ps. about.com really does have a great website about all of this.

I am a thyroid patient and know how confusing it can be trying to figure it all out! Theoretically the Drs. should do that for us -- but not all are knowlegeable about total treatment. I agree with the posters that mentioned about.com as a tremendous help in understanding. On about.com they have a info page and message board where others post Dr.s they have found helpful or to avoid in your location. Also at http://www.armourthyroid.com/ has a similar site for a dr. search

I have found when I mention Armour that the family physicians treated me as though I had 3 heads! But I have read so many instances of it helping many. I finally found an endo that knows about it and considers it & also is finally testing for T3,t4 and antibodies. I empathize with you as it can take a long time to find someone who will test for more than TSH levels , but it is vital.

I have lost around 25 lbs. over the last 2 years via first Suzanne Somers and now *mainly* The Schwarzbein Principle"(I am not perfect!) which I would describe as 'controlled carb plans'. When I tried the strict induction part of Atkins I found my hypo symptoms worsening (especially constipation ,hair loss, & fatigue)and only lost 5 lbs. and gained it back while remaining strict, so I figured that was not working for me and tried the others. I discovered *I must consume a moderate amount of healthy carbs to lose * -- note I said *moderate* amount as the above mentioned programs encourage! I also find I *must* exercise consistenly, about 20-30min. 3-5xs wkly. walking at a hearty pace and 2-3xs about 15 min wkly. weight resistance ( I think this is especially important--have you seen Oprah lately?--I think she attributes her new look to weight training) http://www.jorgecruise.com/ can be helpful in a gradual start this way.

Another tool I have found useful is http://www.fitday.com/ for seeing the proportions of my daily diet.

A pedometer can be a helpful , relative inexpensive aid to observing the amount of cardio exercise one is obtaining and seeing if you can 'kick it up'

My conclusion is that one can be hypo and lose gradually, but it takes a lot of effort and a Dr. that knows his/her business , working toward treating thyroid disease.

Ya thanks people, but I wrote this in July and my thyroid is normal now lol..and I can't edit that part out so....

Hi Slimshady,

I could not find a doc to help me out until I went to see a holistic physician... you need to find one that is a medical doc, not just a herbalogist... they are great, I did a search on google.com and typed in Holistic physican and the area I live in.. the one I go to now said to me on my first visit - "I treat the patient, not the test results"... my tests always came back normal.. but we adjusted my meds based on how I felt.. and both holistic physicians I have seen prescribed armour thyroid meds... I pay out of pocket for this doctor..but to me its worth it.. I wont go back to a conventional one..

And this doc is the one who told me I needed to be on a low carb diet to lose weight.... that was back in February of last year. I have lost 26 pounds so far... sometimes it has been very very slow... I stall alot.. just coming off a 2 month one now.. it can be very frustrating not seeing the scale move... at first I ate the recommended amount of calories and lost weight slowly... then I stalled... then one week I forgot to eat my snacks and was not eating as much... and I lost a pound each week after that... so for me ... I only eat when I am hungry.. and then til I am full ... I am sure I am not getting the 10x calories rule.. but it seems to work for me... I also cut back on the work outs... the more I worked out did not make a difference.. shorter less frequent work outs seem to be working better for me... did you take your measurements? I noticed I lost inches sometimes even when the scale did not move.

I know I will stall and it will be a long one.. I just think of it as my body taking a break and will lose weight again when its ready... I keep the faith.. that it has to come off sooner or later... and I never ever think about ditching this way of life... it is hard to keep the faith sometimes but I look back on even the smallest improvement and think I will get there.. just gonna take me longer than everyone else.

I think the stalls are longer and more frequent for us.. it takes a while for our bodies to adjust to what we are doing... just pay attention to what you are eating and doing.. and if you lose a pound that week... try to think of what you did differently.. I do not work out at the same times anymore.. I vary what I do so It is not so predictable.. the key is to pay attention to what your body is saying....

Hang in there... I was like you in the begining and thought I was never gonna lose weight.. and now I have to go shopping and buy new clothes!!!

Hi All,

I was on the Atkins thread but was shunned since I only made it 5 days on the induction and quit. I could not stand even the thought of another egg or piece of cheese or meat. It was too harsh for me, but I certainly do believe low carbing is the way to go.

I am newly diagnosed with hypothyroidism (have had it for years but just now got a doc who is an endo) and he put me on Armour thyroid last August starting me out at 30mg a day, when my morning temperatures were 95 degrees. He has upped my dose consistently and I am now up to 210mg a day with a temp of 97 degrees. He says it seems as though my thyroid is practically not working at all and he may need to put me up to the full dose of 300mg for a while. Which is fine with me, but I CAN"T LOSE WEIGHT still. He said the pounds would just fly off when my thyroid was working right - not! I am still 20 to 30 pounds overweight (one former doctor said I was not fat, just not comfortable in my skin - haha). No matter what I do this weight will not come off. I was even on Meridia for a year by a previous doctor, and the 15 pounds I lost from that came all back as soon as I was yanked off of it.

So I am glad to find this empathatic site and hope we all find some answers. I will look up those websites you all suggested.

Thank you so much!