Thyroid issues

Hello to anyone listening. I just started this site about 3 weeks ago, and it is awesome! However, I am very frustrated. The scale has not moved! Not even a little bit, I am working out more, eating 1600 calories a day, my current weight is 175 & I am 5'0 (I don't like giving out that info) but I know someone will need it to help me. I was recently diagnosed with a thyroid problem which I am on medicine for, it is not regulated yet, but we are working towards that. Does anyone if that could be the reason I am struggling. It is so depressing. I am really trying.

Anyone with this problem or help that can be offered would be really apreciated!

Thanks!

How many calories are you burning while working out?  It could be too little or too much calories to kick start things, but we need just a tad more information.

It's more than likely going to be the thyroid issue, but there's that small chance you're not eating enough for the exercise you're doing, or you're eating too much.

How many calories are you burning while working out?  It could be too little or too much calories to kick start things, but we need just a tad more information.

It's more than likely going to be the thyroid issue, but there's that small chance you're not eating enough for the exercise you're doing, or you're eating too much.

.. Now why did that post itself twice..?

It was bored? It likes you?

 

Pepe, it took me 10... yes 10 WEEKS to get the scale to move. I have a slow thyroid but not to the extent that a doctor will treat it. It wasn't till I stopped treating all calories as equal till it began to move.  

My scale moved immediately.  In the wrong direction.  I gained 7 pounds after coming out of starvation mode, but lost it all within the next week and a half.  I'd been losing one to three pounds a week since then.  Except last month, 'cause I was poor and couldn't afford food, so my body said those 500 calories I was lucky to get daily just wasn't cutting it.  Fortunately I didn't gain, I just kind of stayed still.  And now that I can eat regularly again, it's going down.

It's just a matter of knowing what calories, nutrients, and medications if need be work for you. 

For me it turned out also that I put on a few pounds of muscle in that time too. Good times!

That's another thing to take in account.  If the scale is being stubborn, are your clothes?  Do those tight jeans now reveal the grand canyon?  Is your bra strap falling off your shoulder?  It's those annoying little pleasures in life that can hint you're doing something for your body, even if a scale won't tell you that you are.

i have hypothyroidism and i know it takes a HUGE amount of effort to lose weight if your medication isnt regulated yet.  Thats all it is, if your thyroid isnt working properly, the scale wont budge, or it'll budge in the wrong way.  Keep doing what you're doing, but dont be disappointed if it takes a few weeks for the scale to move...it took me 4 months to becaome even somewhat regulated, and all that matters is that you are taking steps towards a more healthy life.

I have hypothyroidism and initially they put me on 50 mcg per day and I noticed no difference in tiredness and weight gain.  They made me wait until 8 weeks of being on meds then they would test it again.  I now take 100 mcg per day.

My advice re:thyroid is to try to keep your tsh(the measure of your thyroid hormone) towards the lower end of the normal range. (the normal range is .4 to 3.0)  I try to keep my tsh around 1.0.  If my tsh gets up closer to 3 or higher I start gaining weight for no reason.  If your doctor refuses to do this, find another doctor who will.  I find it impossible to lose weight when my thyroid is off, in fact I can tell when I need my meds raised b/c I will gain about 6 pounds in 2 weeks. 

Keep trying, it will take time.  Eventually the meds will help you feel better.  You are doing the right thing though.  Also, another fyi, if you get pregnant your numbers will go up really high right away and I needed my meds raised right away! (My thyroid was back to hypo 2 days after I found out I was pregnant and I found out I was pregnant sooner than my period was due b/c I took an early result pt) 

ooops.  dang slow dial-up clashes with my need for instant gratification, so I submitted the following post twice.

I was diagnosed about 10 years ago and even tho' I hate it, I think I am leaning toward agreement with cstefan.   I've come to the conclusion that refined and starchy carbs stick to me like glue.  Now, complex carbs are great.  When I was pigging out on fresh fruits and veggies over the summer I dropped a steady 2 pounds per week.  But the veggies are not what they were a few months ago and winter "hibernation" food is calling my name....so even tho' I have not gone over maintenance calories on any day, and usually stay at my 500 cal deficit, I am not losing anything at all. 

One thing for sure tho, I did not lose one single ounce of fat until I came to grips with the fact that I was using my thyroid as an excuse for the weight.   No excuses!

And on that note I am resolving to increase my complex carbs and decrease the &%#$$# pasta.

Hi I too am new to this site and have a thyroid issue, it is very hard to lose weight until they get your meds regulated. (mine are still not after a year and a half) You will lose weight, just a little slower then people without this problem and I know that that can be hard because it makes you feel like weight loss is an impossible task but  please try not to give up and know that you are not alone.

I have had a total thyroid removal and it has taken 3 years to get my meds regulated.I complained about weight gain and the answer from my specialist was get walking! I did and lost 30 pounds in 6 months but that was walking 3 times a day for 3/4 to 1 hour(i'm retired so I had the time.)

I also did not eat anything white except cauliflower and no wine!

From a size 16/18 Ii went to a 10 and am now a 12 so am back to yoga palates and stepping. It is work but you will feel so good when you get there.

Go girl go!

I have had two thyroid surgeries, the last removed the entire gland (Hashimoto's disease).    It has taken me almost 8 years to really get optimized on the meds and I think I finally have it licked. 

 I don't know which drug you are on but a lot of thyroid patients do not feel as energetic or alert unless they take a drug with T3 as well as T4 in it.  Synthroid and its generics only provide the T4 (which in theory should convert to T3 but in my case my body just didn't do the job).  I take both Armour Thyroid (natural dessicated- which has all the T's) and to boost the T4 I also take Levothroid.  Some people take the Synthroid and then add a T3 only drug (like Cytomel).

  It really is a delicate balance and in my experience you need to keep the TSH down to a lower level as well as having T3 and T4 in the upper range of normal.  This can take a long time and while you are not optimized you can certainly have the weight gain, lethargy, bloating, exercise intolerance, muscle aches and foggy head etc.  It can be hard to find a doctor who will treat you based on symptoms and how YOU feel instead most just go by whether you test in a specific lab range.  The lab range can be as high as 5.5 for TSH .  For most people I have networked with - numbers this high cause them symptoms of hypothyroidism.  I feel the symptoms if I creep higher than 1.  Some people do o.k. up to 3 or 4 but no higher.

Since I brought my TSH down to 1- I finally have the energy and I am finally seeing results on my diet/workout regimen. I found the About.com Thyroid board moderated by Mary Shomon to be a great resource.  There is so much information and you can network with so many other people who have been in this boat.  This board is the only thing that kept me sane for a long time while I fought this disease.  There is a lot of info about diet/weight loss as well.

I am still finding that even with a careful diet and a vigorous workout program it is still hard to budge that scale.  I don't think I am using thyroid as an excuse as the proper functioning of this gland is vital for your metabolism.  That being said it is even more important when you have thyroid issues to be vigilant about your diet and exercise to stay healthy and fit.  When you don't feel well and are tired and achy it is too easy to sit on the couch and eat and sleep.  Good Luck and I will add you as a friend -  we have a lot in common. 

Adding cytomel made a big difference for me as well.  It did not change my test results, becuase we reduced the synthroid when we added it, but it made a tremendous difference in how I felt.

I do, however, have to disagree with the kudos for the about.com thyroid boards.    Although there is a lot of info at about.com, the message boards for the thyroid group were not helpful at all in that as a community, they gave each other permission to not try.  They made it seem that it was ok to not get up off your back side and put an effort in, becuase, you know, the thyroid and all.  The fact that their houses where pig sties, they slept 12 hours a day, and spent most of the rest of it on line reading and posting on that board while popping bon-bons, was OK -  it was their families who have the problem becuase they are unsympathetic.  And it is all their doctors fault for not finding the right combo of magic pill that would change it all. 

Things may have changed in the last couple of years since I quit visiting that forum....I sure hope so.

First, let me say, thanks so much for responding! The support really makes this site so awesome!  I actually DID notice that after looking at my weight log, that in 3 weeks I have lost 2 1/2 pounds, while very very little, heck, it IS something! So that has forced me back into focus mode! also, all the response I got from everyone. They have been slowly regulating my medicine and I go again in about 2 weeks for another check, the funny thing about all this is, I have NEVER had symptoms for thyroid issues, I am a ball of energy, workout 3-6 days a week, always did at least 3-4, am now striving for 6, and am trying to mix it up. But anyway, I am eating 1600 calories a day as I stated, not sure how many calories I am burning during workouts though? I do have a heart rate monitor, and if I could just get the dang thing figured out I could use it But I do Jazzercise 4 days a week, and I am high energy in there, jump a lot, and I just started walking, we walk here at a beautiful place called Red Rocks, and you go up STEPS! LONG steps and we walk one other day too, and the route we take does include several hills, so it could be I am not eating enough? I just worry with the thyroid issue that the calculations that I put in might not be correct? I do not however, use the thyroid issue as an excuse, I still refuse to believe I even have a problem, but the numbers show different. Anyway, I will stop babbling now, thanks for all your advice!

And I will hang tough!

Thanks again

Ginny 

ALoha, I also have Thyroid issues.  I haven't started any medication yet and I've been dieting for about 6 weeks and have only lost 4 lbs.  I know for a fact that I've gained some muscle with my workouts, and my shorts are looser.  I know how depressing it can be to see such a small loss when other people are losing so much faster, but at least it's the first time in a while that the scale has gone down instead of up.  I know that we just have to work twice as hard to see the scale budge.  The hard part is how tired you get when thyroid is low so it's even harder some days to get up and go.  BUT, we can lose.  I was starting to waver a little bit at the end of October, but when I stopped and thought about the fact that I had lost 4 lbs, I decided that I would just have to work really hard for the next four.  Slow and steady can still win.  Keep it up, do it for yourself and don't compare yourself to the younguns on this site who don't have thyroid issues.  Good luck! 

Wow, thanks for the uplifting advice girlfriend!!! You hang tough as well!

Signed: Slow, but steady, pepefun