Hi all..I've bought and read about 1/2 of the PP book; I like the scientific information (as I'm a biochemist!)..and am going to give it a try vs Atkins and not losing for the last 5 months.

Is anyone here hypothyroid and successful w/PP? I am a little worried about 30g carbs /day (since I didn't lose on 20 or less w/Atkins)...but I do believe in a well rounded diet, and the thought of adding in some grains and low GI fruits is worth a try! I'm aiming for 70-75g protein/30g carbs and 25g fiber each day.....with my fat hopefully high enough (~100g/day). Any advice will be appreciated; I'll probably post a few menus in a few days for feedback.

thanks!

Hi,

Your current weight is almost exactly where I started and goal is the same as mine. I, too, am hypothyroid (am taking synthroid), and NEVER lost on Atkins. I figured the worst thing for me to do was to increase carbs. Boy was I ever wrong. It wasn't until I raised my TOTAL carbs to 60 (20 per meal) and cut back on fats that I finally lost weight, and it just melted off. I spent some time keeping calories to about 1000, just to get things started, and then I would slowly up them by adding back fats like nuts to about 1400, then I'd go back down again. I always kept my protein to around 120g per day. I know a lot of Atkin's advocates say that too much protein is bad for you, but this wasn't the case with me at all. I do not get full from eating fat. I can eat a lot less calories when I keep my protein high and carbs around 60. I've heard many times before that hypo's really have to eat more carbs than on Atkins for some reason, and it certainly was true for me. Please feel free to ask more questions. Good luck!

Interesting stuff, Wendy! I have been adding a little more carbs in, but perhaps adding in more would help.

WendyOH...great..now I'm encouraged! Any chance you could post some 'representative' menus for me? I don't mind dropping the fat, as you recommended; heck, at this point, I'll try anything!!!

Currently (well, after 1 full day on PP), my calories were about 1500, carbs were 37 (total, not ECC) + those in coffee/cream/splenda, my total protein was 100g as was my fat g. What is your target daily fat g?

I think menus from you would be the most helpful.

also, just a quick question; do you take your synthroid in the am or the pm?
thanks!

I am glad that you are encouraged. That's why I responded, b/c I was feeling so much like you must be, STUCK doing Atkins, wishing I had never begun. I felt terrible at 20g carbs per day, never lost weight, but any time I tried to climb the carb ladder, I'd gain. Well, the reason I gained was b/c I was just eating too much fat and calories, not b/c of the extra carbs. I also wasn't eating enough protein to keep me satisfied. I typically eat a very boring menu, and I like to "feel" like I am eating as much as possible, even though the calories are still reasonable. For breakfast, I will typically eat some chicken sausage links (from Trader Joe's) and either some regular cottage cheese or some lowfat plain yogurt with a couple T. of DaVinci's syrup stirred in. I always also have some kind of fruit for breakfast, either a small apple, or about 10 large strawberries, or sometimes a medium orange. Also, b/c I've read that coconut oil is good if you are hypo, I always take 1 t. of it in the mornings with my breakfast. I've been doing it since I started losing weight so I haven't stopped. After eating my breakfast, I take my daily BC pill as well as my synthroid. You are not supposed to take synthroid with food UNLESS you take it sublingually, which is what I do. So I stick a synthroid under my tongue after breakfast and let it dissolve. Also, I had just started taking my synthroid this way last year when I started to lose weight, so I have obviously kept it up.

For lunches, I will usually have one of the following combinations:

-couple egg + couple white omelet with 2 oz 2% colby
-cottage cheese, 2 hardboiled eggs, 1 lite string cheese
-5-6 oz tuna, w/ 1 T. canola mayo
-salad w/ canned turkey, parmesan, some kind of lite italian dressing

I almost always add almonds to my lunches to up my calories to about 400 or so. I will also either have at least two veggies, like a whole tomato and a green pepper, or else I will have another serving of fruit, something to get me to around 20g carbs for the meal.

For dinners, I rarely have fruit, but load up on the veggies! I love these jalapeno chicken sausages from Trader Joe's and melt mozzarella over them. I also love lean ground beef hamburgers with a slice of lite swiss cheese. Sometimes I will ground lean beef, add mushrooms, some sugar free marinara and serve it over some cooked zucchini with parmesan on top (giving me that spaghetti feel). I will also make chicken fajitas without the tortilla of course. I add some of my 2% colby, peppers, onions, and load on the guacamole My favorite veggies to complement a meal include sauteed zucchini with parmesan, sauteed spinach and artichokes in a cream cheese/butter sauce, salads, and I am on huge kick of steaming cauliflower and making mock mashed potatoes (very filling). Sometimes I add some nuts with dinner or else have a little natural peanut butter mixed with light cream cheese and some sugar free syrup. I do not use lowcarb bread products, b/c they are loaded with soy which is supposed to be bad for the thyroid.

I do chew about 4-5 pieces of sugar free dentyne gum per day, drink decaf and regular green tea with meals, and have water the rest of the time. I rarely drink pop, and if I do it's only diet rite for me.

Occasionally I make up some of Bawdy's lowcarb cheesecake, which is very good, but I tend to overdo it, so it's only for special events.

I sometimes will have a glass of chardonnay, but usually see a slight increase on the scale the next day.

That's basically what I do. I hope this helps!

Oh, and I don't really have a target fat gram amount; I always focused more on calories. If I was really trying to lose weight and keeping calories closer to 1000 (which would only be for a few days), then I wouldn't eat any nuts and only the leanest meats during this time. I always kept protein and carbs constant, and would raise fat when I was trying to give my body a break and to rev up metabolism again. I do not believe it is healthy to stay too low on calories or else your body will adapt, and I certainly do not intend to eat 1000 calories per day for life. When I eat clean, I seem to maintain well at around 1450 calories, with occasional indulgences and variations.

WendyOH..thank you for your kind response and menus. I have to admit that I am 'nervous' to give PP a try, mostly because of the increase in carbs. BUT...as you put it so nicely, the combo of higher fat AND calories vs. adding in low GI fruits, might be what's 'doing me in' w/Atkins!?

Can you please take a look at this menu for me from yesterday and let me know if it looks good? I appreciate yours (or anyone elses) feedback; I'm determined to lose these 15lbs....!!!

ps. I've read that green tea is a no-no for hypothyroid, due to the fluoride; it seems it hasn't detrimentally affected you, and I do also drink it sometimes. One thread re: losing weight w/green tea makes me want to try adding 3-4 cups/day for a month and see if it makes any difference!

MENU:
B: 3 egg omelette + peppers/2 slices bacon/mushrooms/1 slice tomato+1 slice provalone, 1/2 apple +cheddar cheese, decaf coffee+splenda+1/2 and 1/2

L: 2c broccoli soup (broccoli, chix broth, 1/2 and 1/2 (1/4c), small slice onion, garlic-all pureed) + whey shake (1 scoop whey mix (16g protein/1g carb) w/1/2 and 1/2 and water and 1/2c strawberries

snack: 1/4c ricotta + 1 tbs coconut+splenda, vanilla and cinammon

D: chicken sauteed in Atkins bake mix/olive oil, wax beans, more ricotta as above.

Way2Goal-Recently, I have noticed a few posts about hypo's staying away from green tea. I don't know what to think about that. I drank 1 cup of Celestial Seasons honey lemon ginseng green tea all through my weight loss. I probably started drinking it about the same time I started losing weight (many things seemed to come together at that point, drinking the tea, taking the teaspoon of coconut oil, taking the synthroid sublingually, lowering the fat, upping the protein, and upping the carbs), so I have no idea which exactly helped with my weightloss When doing protein power, I usually drink this 1 c of tea in the afternoon. Even though it has caffeine, it actually helps me to relax, clear my head, and curbs any hunger until dinner. I've tried not drinking it, but usually feel worse. I also usually drink a cup of decaf green tea with breakfast, but that's to help out getting warm. I am definitely a hypo and freezing most of the time!

Here's some thoughts on your menu, mostly based on my own experience, so you may not have the same problems I have. Your breakfast looks very good. My only concern is the bacon, but not b/c of fat. I try to limit it b/c of the nitrites in most bacon and I usually retain water from it. Also, when you say "Splenda", do you mean the granular? I haven't used the granular since I started losing weight. I always use DaVinci b/c it is my understanding that it is truly carb-free, whereas the granular has some maltodextrose or something as filler.

For lunch, again it sounds pretty good. What kind of chicken broth are you using? It's another thing I haven't done well with b/c so many are high in sodium and have MSG in them, even if they are not called MSG, it goes by another name which I forget.

Your snack sounds very similar to things I had a lot while losing weight, although I typically used cottage cheese. I never used vanilla, so I don't know if it's something to be wary of. I always used flavored DaVinci syrups with no problem instead. And I did use 1/2 t or so of cinnamon with NO problems. I actually think the cinnamon helped with cravings. I've used unsweetened coconut with no problems as well to make lowcarb no bake cookies. Yum!

For your dinner, you may want to double check the ingredients of the Atkins bake mix, b/c last time I checked I think there was soy as a major ingredient. This might not affect you like it does me, but it is one big thing I try to avoid as much as possible. I think there is a new product called Carbquik that I haven't tried yet, but it does not contain soy and people RAVE about it. Might be something to look into.

I hope you don't think I am being overly critical about your menu. I just want to share my experiences with things that might be a problem for you as well. I don't want you to give up on Protein Power if it doesn't work b/c of something like soy, when it is not really Protein Power that is causing the problem, if that makes sense.

I noticed that your signature says CAD/CALP. Have you had experience with that plan too? If so, how did it work for you? CAD is something I have experimented with since achieving maintennance, but have never been able to sustain it long-term. I always ended up feeling too bored with my choices during the day, and would overdo at the RM's even if it wasn't with carbs. I would always find myself up a couple pounds and then return back to Protein Power. I do eat much more variety and better choices while lowcarbing. I am currently doing Protein Power most of the time and allowing myself 1-2 CAD days per month, so that I don't feel deprived. It's too early to tell if this is something I can maintain for life.

Well, I hope this helps!

WendyOH: thanks again for a great (and personalized) post!. I appreciate the look at my menu; I'm glad that you think I'm on the right track; feels like I ate ALOT that day..but my weight is steady..and I'm still hoping for it to slowly drop. FYI: I use the low sodium chicken broth in a can.

I will check out the Atkins mix as we know, we're not supposed to have soy (although if I used it 1x/week, I dont' think that's a problem; my endo said to avoid it in EXCESS).

Last August when I decided I needed to do more about my weight (I did LA Weight loss and it didnt' work!)..I read and tried CAD. Since I was also diagnosed as insulin resistant...and had symptoms of a HUGE carb addict when I ate alot of them..I figured I should try. I lost 10 lbs in 4 weeks (I was ecstatic)..but then I had trouble limiting the reward meal to the 1 meal/day, and started 'rewarding' myself ALOT. I didnt' gain any back, but knew I couldn't 'tease' myself w/the forbidden carbs 1x/day and control it. I switched to atkins and didnt' lose a thing! So, here I am at protein power...I like the diet...still working on upping carbs and lowering fat..as that's the opposite of Atkins; Feels GOOD to eat 1/2 apple w/cheddar, though!

Way2Goal,

I wanted to check in and see how your Protein Power "experiment" is going. I agree, it's definitely nice to have some fruit again. I love fruit and just cannot imagine being without it. I know that Atkins allows fruit, but never at the levels of fat I was consuming. I don't think that Protein Power is that much different than Atkins, except that there is an emphasis on adequate protein that is important at least for me to feel good and in control. Hope things are going well for you!

Wendy..thanks for checking on me; I think I can definitely 'live' w/protein power, but I fell off the low carb wagon on Sat (ate 3 cookies!!!!)..but, I'm right back on. I find the weekends (unstructured) much harder than the week. so..I'm ready to tackle my demons!

I've bought some whey protein powder (since I'm hypo, I stay away from the soy) and I make shakes at 2pm w/1/2c strawberries and water and 1 TBs heavy cream + ice/splenda. I find that holds me over until dinner, as this is my snacking time.

Have to admit I still feel guilty about eating carbs. Do you think it's better to 'spend' my 50-60g carbs on fruits alone (I eat strawberries 1/2, or blueberries 3/4c or 1/2 apple)...or should I do low carb bread here and there?....I REALLY want to continue to lose, and have now been at 164 +/- 2lbs for over 6 months now!!! I have blood test and endo visit coming up in early March..so I'm hoping to get full panel of my lab results...maybe I can tweak my TSH a little, but last I checked, it was hovering at 1.