Oh wow- I've never heard of someone doing that. Was that the method doctors used before the surgery? That must have been so hard to go through!
Congratulations on your awesome weight loss! That seems like a lot of weight to lose so quickly, though! 41lbs in two months is a lot! Where did you find the Ideal Protein diet? Is there a website or something I could read about it?
Thanks for the tip about the ticker- I can't wait to get mine! It will be nice to see where I've been, where I am and where I'm headed. That definitely always helps me with motivation!
wow yes congrats to your weight loss... and where can i find this ideal protein diet?
hi everyone im new to this group and just happen to catch this link... i too have had hypothyroisim since i was a little girl probably around 6 i would say.... i stopped growing heightwise and started growing weightwise like crazy... i was about 4ft9in grade 6 and have only grown a whole 2 inches since then i am now 27 years old... my weight has been up and down from a max of 235 to 180.... i didnt find out or actually be diagnose with hypo until i was 18 years old by then my hair was falling out, i had bad breathe, no menstration cycles (coulda lived without lol) my bones havent grown properly (no ankles or knuckles), mood swings like crazy and a meriod of other symptoms ....once i was diagnose i was put on levythyroxin and have been taking it ever since. diff levels and doses time to time depending on my weight gain or loss of course .... ive always had a hard time loosing weight once i get to 180 tho. i usually lose my normal weight by just eating salad all the time and cutting back on junk... but once i get to 180 i just stop and i usually give up... so maybe thats where you all can coe in handy and help me? especially since your dealing with thyroid probs too
but once i get to 180 i just stop and i usually give up... so maybe thats where you all can coe in handy and help me? especially since your dealing with thyroid probs too
Are you saying when you hit 180 your body plateaus and you are unable to get past that despite your best efforts, or that you hit 180 and stop trying to lose any more than that?
If it's a plateau, you're going to have to tweak something to get past it. In my case, recently, I had to cut my carbs drastically but it kick started my weight loss dramatically. Without knowing how you eat already and your current activity level, I can't make any suggestions to what you can tweak though.
If it's that you have a "comfort zone" with 180 on the scale (I used to be that way about 200) then you have to talk yourself past it and re-focus on your goal. In some ways, that's harder to do than to change your diet or exercise, because you have to actually re-set your brain.
Are you working with your doctor on your weight loss goals? I discuss mine with my doctor once a month and she monitors all my blood tests to ensure that I'm still doing fine on my thyroid labs, vit D, cholesterol, etc.
Are you saying when you hit 180 your body plateaus and you are unable to get past that despite your best efforts, or that you hit 180 and stop trying to lose any more than that?
If it's a plateau, you're going to have to tweak something to get past it. In my case, recently, I had to cut my carbs drastically but it kick started my weight loss dramatically. Without knowing how you eat already and your current activity level, I can't make any suggestions to what you can tweak though.
If it's that you have a "comfort zone" with 180 on the scale (I used to be that way about 200) then you have to talk yourself past it and re-focus on your goal. In some ways, that's harder to do than to change your diet or exercise, because you have to actually re-set your brain.
Are you working with your doctor on your weight loss goals? I discuss mine with my doctor once a month and she monitors all my blood tests to ensure that I'm still doing fine on my thyroid labs, vit D, cholesterol, etc.
no no i just cant get past 180 and i get stuck there for so long that i eventually give up trying cause im frustrated ... i do try i tried everything and forever... i work with my thyroid doctor but i only see him every 6 months because my levels are pretty much good every time i go in... all my other stuff is fine i had a peob with hi blood pressure when i was preggo but its gone back to normal now... so idk what to do.
as for my eating habits i eat pretty healthy ... fruits and vegies like crazy salad with every meal (lunch and dinner) drink crazy amounts of water like always have one in my hand... umm i like chicken.. mostly eat chicken i do eat beef but try not to too often... not a big seafood person so when i do eat very very rarely its usually fish and chips when i go out with some friends but like i said that once every idk maybe 5 months... im a huge chip whor*!!!! i could sit down and eat a bag of chiips like its nothing but ive recently just stopped buying them all together and keeping them in the house which was really hard cause im not a big candy or chocolate person... chips were always my snack... as for my exercising well i guess its limited to moderate... i had a baby 4.5 months ago im a single mom raising him and everything lately is evolved around him ... so sleep is slim to none i think ive slept like 15 hours in the past week combined... :S and my stress level is at a high because i dont have much help with him.... so my exercise consists of running around doing stuff for him, i dont drive so we walk everywhere. (which helps) and i like to dance so i just got back into a dance video i used to do as well as Dance Dance Revolution (so much fun).
i just wanted to give a bit of an update on me. I am current chugging along on 150 synthroid after my follow up labs on that amount showed that it was working. My endo was actually more concerned about my glucose level and pre-diabetes (also impacted by an out of whack hypo thryoid), and put me on a dose of metformin to combat insulin resistance. My anti-thyroid levels also increased to over 1K (normal is >15), showing my Hashi's is in full attack on my thryoid.
The biggest change has been doing some heavy duty strength training at the gym with a personal trainer. I think that that has been the biggest kick in the pants to my metabolism. I am building muscle and doing lots of cardio while keeping my calories around 1500/day and a 40/35/25 carb/protein/fat ratio.
It has been trial and error and some strange weeks of gaining despite doing things right, but I *think* I have found the window where things work for right now. I'm using MFP to log every calorie and track exercise, and that has kept me more honest and on track than anything i've used in the past. I also have been doing 2-3x a week of stregth/circuit training for 30-40 mins and 5-6 days a week of at least 30 cardio.
my high weight in august was 283 and I am now 266, so something is working scale wise. But even better, is that the strength training has made my body stop hurting. I feel lighter, less achy, less stiff, and overall more able. it was the hardest thing to push my body to do the work when it just felt like crap, but in two weeks, i already felt better and it keeps getting better. cardio alone didn't do it for me. and strength training alone make my body feel better, but the scale wasn't moving. But when i put them together, i started seeing results. now i just hope that my body keeps it going.
Thanks for the update. That sounds like you have things working great for you! My next blood work is in a month and I think my doc will be testing my thyroid antibodies at that time (among other things) and hopefully we'll find that my dosage is right on, as well. I think it is because I am losing weight (slowly) and I feel pretty good. I still lose a lot of hair every day, but most of my other thyroid symptoms have disappeared.
I was diagnosed with hypothyroid in April...after ignoring my crazy puffy neck thinking it was just fat! I started exercising and counting calories and continued to slowly gain weight until I couldn't take it anymore. I started following the South Beach diet 5 weeks ago and that has been working great for me! I'm down 11lbs already and I feel like all I do is eat! The key for me has been planning my meals for the week. I spent a lot of time searching the web for recipes that sounded good...and saved them in a folder in my favorites. Then on Sundays I plan out all our meals for the week and make the shopping list. Since I don't do the cooking I just leave the meal plan and the iPad in the kitchen counter for my boyfriend
I no longer feel like I'm on a diet...I've changed how we eat and we've actually been having fun trying new recipes. I have no doubt that thyroid issues are not going to keep me from attaining my goal!
One of my favorite ways to get in some cardio is to do Just Dance on the Wii before work in the morning...as long as no one else is home LOL
This site has been a great source of motivation and SB friendly recipes!
Hi All! Great thread!
I have been on 3FC for years, but was just diagnosed with Hashimoto's 2 days ago. I'm currently waiting for bloodwork, as my Endo wants to check for Grave's also, because most of my symptoms the past year have been classic hypERthyriod. (With some periods of hypo, he thinks both disease processes are going on)
I am very fortunate as I am an RN and hubby is a Physician Assistant, so I've really been thoroughly guided every step of the way. "Technically" if the hypo is being managed, weight loss should not be any more difficult than a typical person, however my personal experience with what has probably been hypER for nearly a year, makes me doubt that.
I just wanted to correct, I saw a reply (I read all of them ) that Hypo will lead to Hashi, actually its Hashi that will lead to Hypo. Its just that most people aren't diagnosed in the early stages of Hashi....They are typically diagnosed AFTER Hashi has destroyed their thyroid, and they are hypo.
I was diagnosed early, I believe, because I knew something was wrong(and hubby, he really deserves the credit) and he told me which labs to tell my primary doc to order. My primary doc is a good guy, but he was away on vacation when the poo hit the fan, and I was feeling god awful and I saw his covering doc. She wanted to order a TSH, but my DH requested she run T3, T4, and thyroid antibodies. She actually tried to refuse! Let's just say I won, and those labs were ordered. And surprise! Positive antibodies, low thyroxine.
The real kick in @$$ was over a week after the labs were drawn my doc's office called me, even though they were done the next day. (I get my bloodwork done at our hospital's lab, and PICK UP the results myself and read them MYSELF (or hubby) for reasons such as what I'm about to say: The doc's office called me and told me the labs were FINE!!! (The antibodies were only slightly elevated, and the thyroxine only slightly low, but they were ABNORMAL none the less.) In my primary doc's defense, he was on vacation when all this happened. Unfortunately his covering doc is a bone head.
Without even following up with my primary, I made an appointment with an awesome endo. He's just a terrific doctor! And with him, I have gotten the official Hashi diagnoses. Its possible that I am in early Hashi which can sometimes cause hyper and hypo symptoms, or that I also have Graves. But assuming its just Hashi, I caught it early, before it completely destroyed my thyroid and made me all hypo. I am so grateful, because I thought I was going crazy, The mental fog and the mood swings have been so bad, I was starting to think I was losing my mind. (It was swinging between hypo and hyper) People really don't realize how much a thyroid problem messes with mood! And energy. .. I don't need to go on about that, because you all know.
Now as for weight loss. One of my "symptoms" this past year, has been easy breezy weight loss....and I'm someone that for the love of all that is holy, could NOT lose weight in my 20s. And now its melting off. Don't get me wrong. I'm counting cals and I run (though not much this past week, as now I'm super tired, go figure) but I've counted calories and run before, and its never been this easy.
Also I turned 30 about 6 months ago, and I told the endo that I thought weight loss got harder as women aged...and this has gotten easier. Now make no mistake, if I start over eating regularly, and stop exercising, I will gain weight. My fear is that as the Hashi progresses (and I become all hypo) that weight loss will be difficult. My DH assures me that if the hypo is being treated, that weight loss will not be any more difficult than normal. I am skeptical about that, to say the least. My plan is to try to stay a healthy weight now and not have to worry about weight loss while hypo. But its so hard to continuing running. As the year has wore on, I'm more tired. I've napped twice this week. I. Never. Nap. I am usually a trembling ball of energy. And the past week, I'm like a blob on the couch. I must say, all metabolism points aside, getting moving when feeling so tired is just so difficult.
I'm sorry I hijaked this thread for the moment, I just saw it and it was so helpful reading all the responses.
I got diagnosed with Hashi's in Aug 2011, right before my 32nd bday. However it took until Jan/Feb 2012 for me to really start feeling better with the medication, which started at 50mcg per day, and now is at 100mcg per day for 6 days a week.
I definately feel much better now, more energy and less tired. I had a lot of random joint pains that have gone away. My skin and hair have improved. Before, i couldn't wear most of my shoes because of water retention - that has improved thankfully!! I had chest pains, insomnia, depression, anxiety - all of which has improved or gone away with the meds.
Also, I had high cholesterol, trigycerides, blood sugar etc, all of which stablized with the meds.
the one thing that's driving me crazy is the weight. I gained probably 30 pounds slowly over the 2 years before being diagnosed, and about 20 more pounds in the final 2 to 3 months before diagnosis. That was awful - every week, i had more and more clothes in my closet that I couldn't wear! Honestly, it was a relief to find out why.
In 2010, i had sucessfully lost weight with Atkins and exercise, but then i think that's when the symptoms got much worse and I gained a lot back. Such a nightmare.
I started WW about 5 weeks ago with not much luck. I lost about 2 pounds in the first 2 weeks and then gained 4 in the last few weeks. ugh. I''m also working with a personal trainer 3 days a week. NOT FAIR!!!
So, I think it's Atkins time! it just seems to me that low carb is the best for me, as much as I love my carbs. I also feel hungry a lot on WW right now. I think i'm going to switch over to Atkins if this doesn't improve in a week or so. it's feeling like a huge waste of money right now!!
i have had thyroid cancer with radioactive iodine. i have been on ip
for 15 months i have lost about 50# i am now at a standstill on my
weightloss. anybody out there have simular problems or suggestions
on what i should do? my councelor suggested that i phaseout for a
while. im terrified that i will gain back what i have worked so hard to loose
i started at 230 and i weigh 180 working towards 150.
i have had thyroid cancer with radioactive iodine. i have been on ip
for 15 months i have lost about 50# i am now at a standstill on my
weightloss. anybody out there have simular problems or suggestions
on what i should do? my councelor suggested that i phaseout for a
while. im terrified that i will gain back what i have worked so hard to loose
i started at 230 and i weigh 180 working towards 150.
I too had thyroid ca and am doing IP Congrats on your weight loss! Have you really been doing it for 15 mos or is that a typo? I would agree with your coaches that you should phase out. If you have been on IP for that long, your metabolism is probably dragging and has gotten used to the cal restriction.
I am back on IP after coming off for a vacation (a year ago now). And then, well, take it from me, it is soooo HARD to restart. So speaking from experience, 15 lb weight gain later, you can and will gain weight back if you start eating with old habits. So while you should phase off, still consider yourself "on a diet." Have a plan, be aware and particular about your eating. Increase your cals to about 1500/day by watching/counting closely. Add carbs back in by a healthy ratio. Much like the south beach diet. Go off for a few weeks then cycle back into IP.
I have read that calorie restrictive diets high in protein (like IP) will eventually slow metabolism and if you have a lot of weight to lose, you should consider a phase off every 5 wks to help avoid the slow down. Again, just be very careful in the phase off period and you should be fine. Just remember that the phase off is not a free for all and if you are strong enough to do IP, I know you can do the phase off just fine! Good luck!
I'm actually, oddly, pleasantly surprised to find that there are others out there that were born without thyroids. Thyroid dysfunctionality runs in my family, but until me, everyone had one. I've been on either synthroid or levothyroxin since I was 10 days old. Mom had to crush it into a water dropper to give it to me. My weight wasn't terrible until I hit puberty, and then, of course, the middle school and high school pressure made me feel awful about myself. I tried quite a few diets, but I just couldn't stick to them. I've always been told what will happen if I don't take my pill, but when I got older, I got forgetful. I once went over a month without a pill and my TSH was over 100. The nurses were shocked and were telling me I should have been in a coma, but besides being slightly cranky (like, less than PMS), a tiny bit forgetful, and gaining a bit of weight, I felt fine. I've never believed that people born without a thyroid should be diagnosed with hypothyroidism, because it defies the meaning of the word. Hypothyroidism means an underactive thyroid. How can it be underactive if it doesn't even exist? Athyroidism would be a more appropriate diagnosis. And for some reason, all the expected outcomes of high levels do not apply to me either, not in the severe levels they predict. Now I'm 25, I've had a baby (despite warnings of fertility) and am pregnant again. The worst parts of my levels are my weight, which is why I'm here.
I have sympathy for anyone who suffers from thyroid disease. I am a 53 year old thyroid cancer survivor. In 2009 I had a thyroidectomy followed by
radioactive iodine. I use Armour Thyroid. I have been on ideal protein
since Jan. 2011 I have lost 50# I am weighing 180#.I have been at a weightloss standstill since Aug. 2011. At onetime I was actually a competitive bodybuilder. Currently my body fat is around 30%. I struggle with extreme fatigue, unrestful sleep, and am afraid to exercise because it really zaps me for a couple of days. I am determined to feel and look good. This is my goal!! I am new to this forum and am so very glad it exists.
I was diagnosed as hypo with Hashi's when I was 31 and pregnant with my fourth child. I am now 38 and have not felt good, or even normal, in the last 7 years. I am taking synthroid, but I have never been able to get over the skin problems, lethargy, and horrible pains in my hips. I also have chronic migraines and Fibromyalgia. I have tried to get my doctor to try armour to see if my symptoms will improve, but my regular doctor is not willing to do it and we only have one endo in our town who is also not willing. My levels have not been stable for over a year as I swing from Hypo to Hyper, but I don't notice a difference in symptoms regardless of where my levels are at the time. I always fee like crud. I have decided, again, that I am going to commit myself to diet and exercise and I am praying that it will help me feel a little bit better. Any suggestions from anyone would be great. I'm so glad this forum exists, so I know that there are more people like me out there.
has anyone done the thermometer test (stick thermometer under armpit in the morning) to check for hypothyroidism? I called around a few doctors and some of them are actually not taking new patients right now...going to keep calling around but in the meantime I thought maybe I could do the thermometer thing.
) that Hypo will lead to Hashi, actually its Hashi that will lead to Hypo. Its just that most people aren't diagnosed in the early stages of Hashi....They are typically diagnosed AFTER Hashi has destroyed their thyroid, and they are hypo.
Let's just say I won, and those labs were ordered. And surprise! Positive antibodies, low thyroxine. 
