Trying to lose weight with hypothyroidism

[chunt]

Hello all, 

I am a newbie here but not so new to losing weight, I have in the past lost 60 pounds so I could become part of the military. 
I love my career and everything as far as that goes is excellent and has been for the past few years. 

However, and this is a big however, in September I had been diagnosed with hypothyroid, and had some uncontrollable weight gain that I was unable to manage even with calorie restriction and exercise, I wasn't really eating because I was sleeping for 14 hours a day. Since then I have gained a total of 30 pounds from this condition while my doctors were in the process of adjusting dosages. 

My doctor said my levels are almost normal and I really really want more than anything for this extra weight to go away, other than the fact it has to go away (weight and fitness standards) I just dont feel like myself in my own skin. I have been seeing a nutritionist for the past 3 months and while seeing that person has helped maybe putting a wrangle on what the weight potentially could have been (worse) I have not lost any weight. 

Before finding out what was wrong with me I did try some of the fad diets and found that they hurt more than helped (not enough nutritional support to do large amounts of PT). I really would like some kind of advice from others on here that might have had hypothyroid issues and see what maybe helped them.

Having all that said, I am trying out the fitbit force and aria scale (gets here on tuesday) and was wondering if this helped others achieve their goals?

[trainer]

Some slightly depressing research indicates that many people who gain for this reason find it next to impossible to lose that weight, even once the meds are right. Talk to your doctor (possibly even find a specialist) and see what can be done. I know it also depends on age as well so you might be young enough that you can beat this.

[Ebebi27 · Accepted solution]

Yes, it is hard to lose weight with hypothyroidism, but it can be done! I have had hypothyroidism for 14 years which started after I had my first born. It took several doctors and almost 2 years before they finally got my meds right, and then I had to face losing the weight. I gained 33 Lbs, and once my meds. Started working, I was able to lose 20 of those Lbs. And keep it off. I did this by working out at a gym with a trainer 3 days a week doing 2 hour sessions. I lost 20 lbs. In 3 months. I did not go crazy with dieting. I just monitored my calories on myfitnesspal.com. It won't be easy, but it is definitely doable. Good luck!

[chunt]

Ow, that is very depressing research. I'm pretty young, only 26 and not losing really isnt an option because I need to lose the weight to keep my career. I have been seeing a doctor for this for months who also sent me to a nutritionist too. I hope the fitness tracker (force) and the wifi scale can help motivate me to do more once my meds are right.  

Before all of this started I was moderately active running 9-12 miles a week. And doing weight lifting too. The docs told me the weight should start dropping off once my levels got better. 

[chunt]

thanks Ebebi27 for your motivating words! That helps show me that it can be done. What types of things did you do with a trainer for workouts? 

[Ebebi27]

The biggest and best thing to do is cardio for an hour. It is best to break it up into 2 1/2 hour sessions. My trainer was also a light weight body builder and so she had me lifting quite a bit. She would rotate what body parts we worked on and alternate so I would not injure myself. Weight lifting was the biggest rush and I burned so many calories! We also did quite a bit of work with a balance ball and I did my sit ups on the ball. It made your muscles work harder and gave an intense workout. It was hard work, but after I got through the second week, I loved it!

[BostonApril · Accepted solution]

I have also been hypothyroid since having my first child 14 years ago. I am presently 45.  I do find it VERY difficult to lose weight. I do okay maintaining as long as I watch my diet and keep active at the gym, but to actually LOSE anything is more difficult for me than for most. Even though my thyroid levels are supposdly within the normal range with medication, my metabolism seems very slow. 

I have lost weight doing Weight Watchers, but it was a slow slog. There were weeks I didn't lose, or lost only .2 pounds.  It was rare to see a full pound lost in a week, though I was keeping loyal to my point plan. I frankly think that program has changed so much in the past 20 years that it is not as effective as it once was. They change it too frequently in order to require members to stay with it.  

I have only had Fitbit for 5 or 6 weeks but I am finding it easier to monitor my activity, and it does encourage me to hit my goals. Whether this will wear off in time, I do not know. I seem to be losing at a better pace right now. I am tracking easily, I am in passive competition with some friends I have acquired, and now my husband is using it and so we are both taking an interest in our goals and diet. That helps!

I would say that your diet is every bit as important as your activity level. You will not lose by diet or excercise alone. 

For excercise I dry to make it to the gym 6 days a week. I have BodyPump (weight training) on Sundays, Zumba Mondays, BodyCombat (Kickboxing/Martial Arts/Boxing moves) on Tuesday, Wednesday for the winters I am skiing, Thurdays is BodyCombat again, Friday BodyPump again, and Saturday is BodyAttack (High Intensity Interval Training).  If I don't meet my step goals during my scheduled group excercise class, I have started using the treadmill for 30 mins before leaving the gym. I hav a step goal of 10,000 and try to make that daily. Some days I over achieve. Some days I under achieve. Right now I am averaging close to 9K a day. 

[Twiddler1967 · Accepted solution]

Hi,

I would suggest that you consult with an endocrinologist also. Most doctors say your levels are "normal". It may show as good based on a range, but you need to be tracked based on how you feel. Mine added a secondary hormone medication called Cytomel which helped in addressing my exhaustion. I had a total thyroidectomy 3 yrs ago was put on Synthroid and still had no energy. Cytomel was like someone took a weight off of me.  I go to the gym 3-4 times a week and log everything I eat thru my fitnesspal. The weight is coming off, but it's still a struggle. My fitbit has helped me to stay accountable and on track.

Yours in good health

[chunt]

I will have to check with my doctor about the cytomel, I asked to see a specialist in the early stages in this process and was denied (military docs can do that) but he has been great to work with since. 

I have noticed some of the exhaustion has gone away with the synthroid but I havent been able to shake any of the weight, but my levels are still not normal. 

[Inga]

the fitbit and website is what made the difference for me. I logged everything I ate and allowed my fitbit to figure out how many calories it would allow me each day.  I can't even tell you how happy I am to be back to the weight I was in my 20's with far less hassle or guesswork than I have investeted in the last decade of diet and exercise. 

Relax and log your foods and let your fitbit coach you. 🙂

[chunt]

Hello, I wanted to check in with everyone after using the force and aria for a week I lost 2 pounds so far. I'm kind of achey but that just means it'll stay off. 

I followed what it said with the calories in and out and tried to keep the 500 deficit that said I would lose one pound but I lost 2 so I am very happy and excited and confident that even with the thyroid issues I CAN make the weight go away 🙂 

[Inga]

YAY, good for you!

[chunt]

Thanks Inga

[Twiddler1967]

I'm happy for you

Spoiler

[chunt]

I think we can all beat this thing, even though I had to do ungodly amounts of activity to see the scale moved, it moved. 

[nottaken101]

I have trouble losing weight due to antidepressants but am finally getting there with the help of a weight loss coach. 

It's tough when your energy levels are so low. Setting modest goals helped me. We don't like to look at it that way but we're doing well if we lose a pound of fat a week.

Any more than that and what we're doing is probably unsustainable. Good luck!

[chunt]

Hello everyone. I figured I would pop in at the end of every week here. 

Update: I did not lose weight this week, I attributed that to despite increased activity, I lost 3 pounds last week and my plan said I would only lose one so my body is doing whatever the heck it wants. I feel better and actually went for my first 4 mile jog since the thyroid went down in august. I feel pretty good, upping the protein like my nutritionist said to has really helped in that respect. I am going to go again for round 2 tomorrow, the park I like in the area has some crazy hills and I can really feel it. 

According to these reports I need to sleep more. So this week I will focus on that and see if that itself makes a difference (I suspect it will).

Fitbit trainer really wants you to go hard. I have to do 900 activity calories daily on this thing this week. 

I will report my findings at weeks end. Have a wonderful day everyone. 

[meaty64]

Sounds like you have dealt with weight issues before the hypothyroid diagnosis.  After maintaining healthy weight for many years,  I gained 15 lbs and got that diagnosis.  If you are a numbers person, you will find Fit Bit and the scale manna from heaven.  Plus follow a good nutritional diet that is balanced in all the major food groups.  If you are not sure, I have found the Mayo clinic Diet plan to be the best out there, nothing wacka-a-doodle!  Also, if you have a couple of gym buddies or friends with the same interest that want to join you, it can be incredible fun..little competition, too!  Everybody wins when you are giving each other the support to improve and be the best they can be.  Trust me, you won't have to look very far for buddies in your endeavor.

[chunt]

meaty64 I sure did, before enlisting in the military I had to lose a whopping 60 pounds- normal metabolism- no known thyroid issue at that point (more years ago than I care to count) I did every whacky diet out there to make the weight go away until the end where I did it the old fashioned way --copious amounts of excercise and healthy eating. I was at an awesome healthy weight for 3 years until it stopped working where I gained like 30lbs. 

Ive always been the health nut friend and wish I could make some gym buddies, but I'm ok doing it alone like I did the last time. between last night and this morning the scale dropped a pound and a half but I figure thats from the long bout of walking  and jogging I did yesterday and today. 

[missbuilding123]

I have hypothyroidism, and I have lost 15 lbs. It's not easy, but Weight Watchers helped, as does FItbit. I think of HT as kind of like menopause--it may be tougher to lose weight, but not impossible. Actually, I just think it's easier to gain.  So, once you get it off, keep it off! BTW, a few years ago I had some devastating news regarding HT (I have Hashimto's disease) and fertility. If you want more info hit me up; a lot of doctors do not have the guts to telll you themselves. I learned the hard way.