which works better for you?

I am looking to starting a new diet and I am looking for everyones opinions on it.. I was recently diagnosed with hurthle cell carcinoma a type of thyroid cancer and have had my thyroid totally removed. I am going to talk to the drs this week and next to get there in puts but I was wanting to kind of educate myself some on them before I went..

Low-carb definitely works best for me. Which is ironic, because I avoided it most of my life, because I thought it was "so unhealthy." My few earlier attempts at low-carb, reinforced my belief, because I felt extremely ill on very low-carb.

For me, Atkins induction level (< 20g carb) is too low. I not only feel ill, the symptoms do NOT go away in 2 weeks (as promised in the book). In fact, they only get worse (to the point I've actually passed out).

I've since discovered that it probably was a blood sugar issue. So as long as I keep carbs moderately low, but not "too low" I feel great and lose weight much more consistently (and am far, far less hungry - which is a miracle in itself).

First of all, I just wanted to say that I'm so sorry that you are facing thyroid cancer. I went through the same thing 11 years ago now, and it really is a life-changing event. But the good news is that it IS a curable form of cancer, and you can and will have a normal and healthy life in its wake. I felt depressed for quite awhile after my surgery (also a complete thyroidectomy), partly due to not having an adequate dose of thyroid hormone yet, and partly due to the diagnosis at the age of 31. But 11 healthy (just a little too fat! lol) years later, and 3 beautiful babies later... I can tell you truthfully that it hasn't held me back at all and I rarely even think about it anymore. I wish the same for you. ((hugs))

Now as for the diet, when I was diagnosed and went through my treatment, it was the one time in my life that I was on Atkins. I had lost about 25 pounds on it, and while finding that I was constantly craving sweets breads and fruit, I felt otherwise well. The best part was that although I was low thyroid for quite awhile after surgery (to get through the testing phase when you have to have no thyroid hormone in your system), I didn't gain weight on low-carb. And that's almost unheard of for someone who's REALLY low on thyroid hormone for weeks. So it definitely works. But I couldn't do it forever - it was just too restrictive for me. I went off it after 2 years, and gained all my weight back over the next 2 years or so.

So now I'm doing calorie counting, which for me, is far less restrictive and matches my lifestyle better. Not low fat, just calories in, energy out... I aim for 1400 a day and try to exercise 1/2 hour a day. It's been working (my ticker doesn't show that I was up to 274 at my highest 3 weeks ago and have since lost 11 pounds... too depressing to change it at the time lol). So it does work too. You just have to figure out which method will enable you to keep it going consistently long term.

All the best on your journey... I wish you peace, strength and health.

For me it's been low carb. I did the low fat - calorie counting thing for a long time and managed to low fat-calorie count myself up to over 300 pounds.

So I decided I had absolutely nothing to lose and after doing some research decided that it wasn't so crazy to give low carb a try. With low carb I've been able to drop weight at a pretty good rate without constantly being hungry. I know that "they" say a calorie is a calorie and it's all about calories in vs. calories out but for me it's really not.

With calorie counting/low fat I was eating an average of 1200 calories a day - this would allow me to maintain or experience only very modest gains. If I wanted to lose weight my calorie count would have to drop below 1000. With low carb/higher fat I eat between 1500 and 2500 calories a day and I've lost 55 pounds since May 30th. My activity level is the same so clearly low carb is the winner for my body.

I have been a professional yo-yo dieter my whole adult life & they both work just the same, you just have to find which one you can tolerate the easiest

For me its low carb, although it is restrictive on the food list, atleast your not starving! Lol

Good luck!!

I agree the most important thing is finding a plan that YOU can stay on. I have stuck like glue on my plan (on plan every day since I started in May) and am getting the best results of my life. 55 lbs in 20 weeks.

My plan is low fat AND low carb. I am doing the Dukan Diet and eat lean protein, no fat dairy (a little bit of low fat is ok) and veggies. Plus 2 tbs of oat bran a day. There is a list of 100 foods that fit those categories and that is what you eat. However, there is no limit on how much you can eat, so if you are hungry, you can eat whatever you want of any of the foods on the list.

As restrictive as it sounds, it has been the easiest diet to stay on that I have ever tried. In my brain, I can think that carbs, sweets, etc. still sound good and it's not like I am grossed out by them or anything, but I have NO cravings. I just put out a big bowl of candy at work (part of a fundraiser thing we are doing), smelled it and said yum and then easily walked away from it.

Good luck with whatever you decide, and also, with your recovery.

Also remember to ask your doctor, because your health issues may play a role not only in which diet works best for you, but which would be healthiest.

I have low-thyroid issues (borderline, and my doctor and I decided not to medicate yet). My doctor told me that low-carb tended to work better for folks with low-thyoid. But having your thyroid removed, is probably a different issue entirely, because you're going to be on a thyroid medication.

However I've read that certain cancers respond differently to different diets. Some thrive on fats, others on carbohydrates.... (mind you, the reading I've done has been in non-professional books and magazines - so I don't know how much to trust the information. That's why it's important to talk to your doctor(s).

I am a high fat, high protein, low carb gal. By low carb, I am talking under 100 net grams a day. I still eat fruit and all veggies. I just avoid flours, rice, pasta, bread, etc. It is totally doable and I felt so much better after getting all those carbs out of my body. I also calorie count.

This is me as well. I've tried low fat and I feel a heck of a lot worse doing that then when I reduce my carbs. I've read plenty of things that make me avoid low fat like the plague now. If you do decide to go that route please don't restrict too much. Not enough fat is harmful just like too much fat.

Thank you all for responding...

Is the Dukan Diet similar to the Atkins diet? I have never heard of it. Good luck to you on it and keep us posted on your prgoress.. it sounds wonderful

I have my note book here taking notes so I can take them with me to the dr and ask his input on it.

I tried low carb (Atkins) about 8 years ago with some success, but like previous posters felt incredibly ill so didn't last long.
I started low fat moderate calories (1800) in January and it was a slooowwww process to lose about 30 pounds. However, I am much more educated now about food and it's effects on me now than at any p onoint in my life.
I recently started doing South Beach which focuses on healthy proteins and low glycemic foods. This has worked better for me than anything else that I have tried in the past.
I'm not familiar with Thyroid cancer and do wish you a speedy and total recovery. Definitely speak with your Dr and let us know what he/she recommends.
Best Wishes!

Whatever works for you. I lost 150 lbs doing low fat and I'm a general fan of a low fat diet.

Neither! I don't think of fat as the enemy. I count calories so I don't overdo it on fat because it's calorie-dense. But the body needs some fat to function properly, and some fats are known to be quite good for you. Moreover, a balance of fat, protein, and fiber in a meal or a snack is the best thing to keep me feeling satisfied and energetic.

I also don't need to avoid carbs particularly. I tend to stay away from relatively empty carbs like rice or pasta, again because I just find them too calorie-dense for the amount of nutrient and satisfaction punch I get from them. I would rather eat a heaping pile of vegetables sauteed in olive oil than a small portion of even brown rice for the same calories. I just enjoy my meals more that way.

When I look at the breakdown of my foods over the course of a day or a week (using tracking software such as Fitday), I find that I feel my best on a balanced diet where ~30% of my calories come from fat, ~30% from protein, and ~40% from carbs. I don't drive myself crazy trying to reach these balances, but over more than 2 years of this process my meal and snack choices have gravitated into this range. It works best for me.

Best of luck with the thyroid cancer - that must be so scary for you and your family. I really do wish you all the best.

It's a lot lower fat than Atkins. Not that Atkins is REALLY about just eating bacon and eggs and fatty steak and heavy cream, but all of those things are allowed on Atkins and with the exception of eggs, none of them are allowed on Dukan.

Oddly enough, for a person who managed to get to 261 lbs (and I don't think that was even my all time high), I don't love fatty foods. My natural preference is for things like skim milk and low fat cheese and frozen yogurt rather than super rich ice cream. So Dukan is just a better fit for me and I am very happy with the food I eat. I think that is critical - I would never ever be able to stay on a plan where I was forcing myself to eat food I didn't like or where I couldn't eat if I was hungry because I had run out of calories/points.

That's why I think a thread like this is so helpful - as you read everyone's posts, you can think about the factors that are going to matter the most to your and then either find a plan or design something yourself that fits the way you like to eat. Because you really can lose weight on any plan - low carb, low fat, low calories or some hybrid. The biggest factor is a plan that you will be happy enough to stay on long enough to lose the weight. I've tried many other plans in the past, including Atkins, but for me, this is the most effortless diet in terms of staying 100% on plan. I hope everyone has or can find the plan that feels that way for them!

I do a combination of calorie counting and low carb, limiting my fat intake to healthy fats (nuts, seeds, extra virgin olive oil, low fat dairy, lean meat). I keep my carbs under 100 grams per day, coming mostly from fruits, vegetables and twice a week I have some wholegrain bread. Around 40% of my calories come from protein, 30% from carbs and 30% from fats.

It's not a good idea to limit either your fat or carb intake too much, your body needs both to function properly. Going under 50 grams of carbs per day is not recommended, for example (I don't know what the minimum value is for fats).