Hi everyone my name is Anastasia I've been reading some really supportive messages people have posted on this forum which just lifts my spirit tremendously! (which was especially needed today) So I decided to join. I'm not really sure what I'm doing with this whole weight loss thing but I know I need help heehee. I have 30 pounds I want to lose and I also have hypothyroidism and nodules on my thyroid which makes everything that much more fun not so much. For the most part I'm pretty healthy, eat right & exercise but those pounds just don't feel like taking a hike grrrrr
And that's pretty much my story kind bummed somewhat confused but I look forward to making some friends learning some things and why not make some progress! fingers crossed
Thanks for reading
A

Hi AnastasiaP
I'm new to site also. Glad you are here. I assume you are receiving treatment for your hypothyroidism?
I have been following the intermittant fasting plan to lose winter pudge. It's way easier for me than messing around with counting calories.

Hi Yogini99

Happy to meet you. I've been prescribed T4 75mg for the past 1&1/2 yrs but have no changes to report my symptoms remain & my temp remains really low
I've read about intermittent fasting but have never tried it how does it work?

Hi Anastasia but Slow down a minute. No diet is going to start working if the meds are not working. What does your doctor say you should do to lose weight? And about your persistent symptoms?

I've also got hypothyroidism but i don't know anything really about nodules. You will read a lot of stuff here about hypothyroidism but if you have an extra dimension none of it may be at all relevant to you.

I have never heard of anyone taking T4. Most people take thyroxine. Is that what you mean by T4?

Anyway, I presume you are in contact with your doctor about this and what do they say? I would think you see an endocrinologist if your symptoms haven't improved in this much time.?

Certainly i can say that the meds can be working but you can still be fat if you do not control/moderate what you eat.

So that's where you'd have to start surely?

But if the doctor just says its about your diet and exercise, well then, i guess that's what you have to do.

Work out something that will suit you. It can take a while if you haven't done it before. There are no quick fixes. The protein low carb people suffer a lot for the first few weeks, then they seem to settle into a more or less comfortable way - going on their reports.

Intermittent Fasting is one way if you have a problem with late night eating. But you still have to get your calories right. Because you can eat two meals a day but if your calories are through the roof, you won't lose weight. I know this for a fact because i did it for one month on a monastery. Yes i put on weight eating two meals a day before midday. I couldn't resist having several desserts at lunch.

My way is healthy balanced eating, mainly three times a day, minus things that trigger a binge - in my case that's just all sweets and i don't miss them. But i also don't restrict calories severely, do formal exercise, or eat much that is considered unhealthy food. I did discover that its a good idea to eat protein at every meal, which is a new thing for me to make myself do. But i am enjoying that because it means i can eat peanuts sometimes as my protein. (i'im fairly vegetarian). Well I try. I have been losing easily and regularly since i started.

my fitness pal is a useful tool site. I don't count calories daily. Too much time, too boring. But i do keep a detailed food dairy.

But if you have mood issues too, then i strongly recommend reading the articles on seratonin, leptin, insulin and fibre and maybe also dopamine on the nutrition wonderland website. I learnt a lot there.

I have depression also (not at the moment) and now that i know that stuff about how hormones increase our appetite etc, i take much more care to keep my mood up. I deal with stuff quickly and effectively so that my seratonin levels don't plummet causing a binge. This is probably not an issue for ordinary overeaters.

First off, hi Anastasia, I'm new to the site too. I don't know how intermittent fasting interacts with your condition and I would contact someone who does (not a GP) before attempting it.

That being said I've never seen someone succeed on the plan eating 2 meals a day unless they're very very active. It's not long enough between meals to really let your intestines rest but it's plenty of time get you desperate for carbs (i.e. desserts in the post above).

The two versions I've seen work for some are 1 meal a day, typically dinner, and alternate day eating (much harder in my experience) where like it sounds you only get to eat every other day. I've found in the past that after you get used to it you don't get hungry during the day but these plans are very hard to follow because you have to sit around and watch your friends eat all the time or void your social life.

I think there are probably better options available and there are a variety of methods available to limit your insulin exposure without fasting.

Good luck and take care!

Hi, and thanks for your interest/help I'm totally new to this. Have never been on a forum before & don't know how to check if someone posted, I'll learn.

Pattience I'm currently living in Athens Greece my medication is levothyroxine (T4 is what they call it here) yes my endocrinologist did prescribe it. Nodules are growths (not cancerous yay) mine happen to be on my thyroid as well. As for diet and exercise I've been on a 1200-1400 cal diet fro the past 4 yrs. I go to the gym 4 days a week (2 days weights, 2 days cardio) and i do pilates once a week. I don't eat many grains potatoes & brown rice are the only things that don't upset my stomach.

I have been to nutritionists they have all kinds of breads & even cereal in the meal plan & I can't eat that it wreaks havoc on my stomach. It was a waste of money for me.

The thing is when I bring up my weight & my symptoms (dry hair, skin, nails, scalp, cold all the time, 35.2 degree-really low body temp) to my endo he says I'm not a dietitian(about my weight), & that he's happy with my labs and he hopes I see my symptoms alleviate but he doesn't feel the need to change my medication. I've been to another endo also, I tell them my symptoms and they take 1 look @ my labs and say yeah "your blood work looks pretty good" and they don't care about my symptoms.

I know it takes time but its been a while and I can't seen to get any traction.
Thank you for your suggestions I'll take a closer look @ my diet I guess.

Hi Anonee Moose

You're totally right. I was checking intermittent fasting out on line and apparently with hypo the worst thing you can do is fast it totally messes up insulin. So there goes that ha ha.

I'll continue my search thank you for your support & all the best with your journey. On an unrelated note I was looking at pics of California yesterday my best friend just got back from a trip. Looks beautiful, have a great day.

In that case you probably need to increase your calories but given the lack of information you've given us, one can't be sure.

however many people who have stalled in weight loss seem to respond better to an increase in calories.

Your skin hair nails could be bad due to lack of some vitamin or mineral in your diet. Or the local water.

Your body temperature is perilously close to hypothermia according to the site i just looked at.

And you are not diabetic? That's another reason for lower body temperature apparently.

Hi Pattience
That's so nice of you to look that up! ha ha I know it's funny (but really not) that's been my normal body temperature all my life (since I can remember like 12 or 13 yrs old). My doctor @ first didn't believe me until he took my temp in the office. Then gave me a thermometer and told me to track it for a month I did. It ranged from 35.2-36.3 (95.36-97.34) & then he just brushed it off by saying "its normal for you".
I'm 30 turning 31 next month. I'm 5'4, i weight 158 currently my goal is to get back to my university weight where I felt most comfortable 120-125. Born & raised in Canada, currently live in Greece. My diets around 1400 cal, mostly protein, veg, rice, potatoes, fruit no real bread or gains stomach can't handle it and its best fro anyone around me if you know what I mean....um I don't know what else don't smoke, don't drink....I don't know what else to say...
Thanks for you support and your advice have a great day and congratulations on your success!

oh forgot nope not diabetic.

I don't have any other ideas to offer. It all sounds reasonable. Mind you, my intake is 1400 and i don't do any formal exercise. So you could probably eat a little more without any harm.

If you've been doing the same routine and same diet with calories for that long, it's very possible your body has just taken on the habit and there won't be any changes. Our bodies, unfortunately for those of us overweight, have this big ability to adapt to a 'routine' and stabilize itself in that pattern. You have to trick your body with changes to create other change, if that makes sense? Do different intensities of exercises, flip flop the days, change your calorie intake, etc.

Very true about mixing up the exercise routine. I would not rec. IF with hypothyroid either. You sound like you have a good regime overall. Do you eat gluten at all? Sounds like you don't but want to check in. I am reading a book called "Wheat Belly"
Wheat seems to cause a lot of systemic symptoms in people.

I really do love the BREAD got to admit it but I've decided to give up grains and see how I feel, it did use to upset my stomach quite a bit. I've been grain free fro 6 days (I know not long but for me progress) and I feel better, no stomach pain and higher energy levels...1st weigh in Wednesday so we'll see. Thanks for the help all. Oh I also found a website about a person's journey with hypothyroidism the "Miss Lizzy" blog it's been an interesting read. anyone else come across this?