Thyroid levels?

I am seriously considering having my thyroid levels checked.  I gain 2-3 pounds if I miss a week of working out but keep my calories about the same.  I work out 3-4 times a week for 45 minutes plus 2 days I add lifting weights.

Has anyone gotten any results by seeing a doctor?

Here is my general food eating habit for the week.

Breakfast- English muffin with 9 grams of fiber with a smidge of cream cheese.  Fiber 1 yogurt.  Water.

Lunch- Different things everyday.  About 500 calories, high in protein and fiber. Water.

Dinner example- Small portion of red meat, salad, no bread.  Sometimes small portion of potato or peas.  No bread at all.  A few nights a week I will have a Corona Light.  Dinner just depends on what my husband has made while I was at school.  I always eat what he makes, but I don't load up my plate.

Snacks during the day- 2 pieces of fruit, nuts before class starts or another yogurt.  Three or 4 days a week I will get a coffee on the way to work with 2% milk and sugar.

I don't eat out but 1 or 2 times a week.

Unless you're really, really tired for most of the day(and by tired I mean basically nonfunctional after 6PM at night, every night), you're probably not hypothyroid.  Go ahead and get your thyroid levels checked if you want, but the inability to lose weight is really one of the minor symptoms of hypothyroidism.  There are lots of websites with complete lists of the symptoms, but fatigue is the main one.

tgg:

About 2 years ago I found out I had extreme hypothyroidism.  I had been feeling really bad for about 5 years prior.  I suspect my thyroid function was deteriorating long before that because I had gone to a doctor about 10 years ago asking why I couldn't lose weight.  Rather than check my thyroid, the Dr. said, "You just have to go to bed hungry."  Then over the next few years, I continued to feel worse and worse.  I slowly got to the point that I could barely function.  I went to 4 different doctors and was finally diagnosed with Fibromyalgia (which can be caused by not treating hypothyroidism).  So, I began to feel a little better - but still was only treating the symptoms. 

Finally, when I moved to Denver and started seeing a new doctor, she said, "Let's check your thyroid, just for fun."  My lab results came back w/my TSH level at 37.5!!!  Normal levels are between .01 and .5.  When I asked why no other doctor thought of this, she said it was probably because my thyroid wasn't oversized, so they may not have thought of it.

Anyway, I see an endoctronologist now, and I feel fantastic.  I am on 135 mg of Levothyroxine (took over a year to build up to that dosage).  And, I finally have the energy to exercise (I couldn't get off the couch except to go to work two years ago). 

So all of this sounds like a happy ending, however - it is extremely hard for people with hypothyroidism to lose weight.  Even when they're on meds.  Sometimes I get very frustrated, but so far it hasn't been enough for me to quit.  I'm not sure if it's true, but I read another post that said a person with hypothyroidism must burn over 6000 calories to burn one pound off, when normal people have to burn 3500 calories to burn that pound.  Like I said, I don't know if it's true, but it sure feels like it.

So I highly recommend that you see your doctor.  Perhaps you can first do some research on other symptoms.  My symptoms were:  Extreme fatigue, muscle soreness (without exercise), dry skin, sensitivity to cold, very thin nails, chronic constipation, and a few others.

Good Luck - keep us posted.

Thyroid levels are very easy to check.  Tell your doc you're concerned... it's as simple as having bloodwork done.  The reason a lot of people go undetected is because checking your TSH levels isn't part of routine bloodwork.  You need to get your doc to give you a lab sheet to specifically check those hormone levels.  Good indicators that you're thyroid levels may be off are fatigue, weight gain, anxiety, etc.  Also, consider whether someone else in your family has thyroid problems.  Supposedly they are genetic. 

Hope this helps, good luck!

If you're concerned you should have your thyroid levels checked.  I actually had blood drawn for this yesterday since I've been sleeping way more than normal and have lost approx 25 lbs.  The doctor said weight loss/gain can have an impact on thyroid.  It's a bit different for me, though, because I'm on thyroid replacement meds.  The doctor also said it could be adrenal glands, so if the thyroid levels are OK that's my next step.  It can also be lack of vitamin B12, which is my case I know it's not since I take a B complex every single day (makes a huge different energy-wise).

I know you won't want to hear this, but you may be carb sensitive like me and it may have nothing to do with thyroid.  If I ate the amount of carbs you do I'd gain weight.  I eat 100% whole wheat bread at breakfast only (more time to burn it off if I have it early in the day), I stay away from yogurt since it has so much sugar - a better choice might be fruit (I know you'll say that has carbs, but more complex carbs so it digests slower), a better choice on your english muffin would be real peanut butter (more protein so digests slower) especially if you're using the low fat kind of cream cheese (higher in carbs), stay away from alcohol, stay away from starches with dinner (even brown rice, potatoes, etc).  For me that's just too late in the day to eat starch and it causes me to gain.  It's these little tweaks that have helped me lose weight.  Also, if you're gaining when you don't work out you may need to recalculate your maintenance level for calories, which changes (gets lower) as you lose weight.

I don't know if this will help, but it's what I've learned thru trial and error.  I hope you figure it out.

Thanks everyone for your advice.  I will take all of it into consideration.  And starting tomorrow  I am going to cut WAY back on my carbs and see what happens with that after a couple of weeks.  Wow,  that's going to be tough.  I'm going to be grumpy for a while.  I'm still considering getting my bloodwork done just so I can rule out a thyroid issue.  I really don't want to take medicine for that the rest of my life.  But I will do it if it comes to that.  Thanks again for the advice.

I think you're probably eating way more calories than you think.  Make sure you really log everything down to the ounce.  That's my two sense about that but in concern 98% of us have a thyroid that doesn't function properly.  Even if is in the normal range, that doesn't mean that it is performing to its optimum level.  An easy, quick solution.  Go to the drug store and buy some dyed iodine.  Put a two inch spot on your skin, if it soaks in in 24 hours then you have a low iodine level which greatly affects your thyroid.  Place a spot of iodine on everyday until it stops soaking in.  It will kick your thyroid up into high gear.  You have to love how the body works. 

I have had my thyroid checked several times over the past few years because I have MANY of the symptoms, but my levels are always in the "normal" range.    I don't know about others, but my doctor won't treat symptoms.  But like des says, 98% of us don't have thyroids performing at optimum levels. 

des - the iodine thing really works, huh?  I'll have to try that. 

st01 - is being carb sensitive sort of like having a gluten allergy/sensitivity? 

des-salazar:  that is a great idea!  I  will  go to Walgreen's in the  AM.  Thanks for the tip.

The iodine works great.  Your energy level will improve in a few days.  I'm a big fan of holistic solutions.  The iodine will never hurt you, if your body has enough iodine it won't absorb it.  It took me about a week of putting it on for my levels to get to normal.  I put it on once a week now just to keep my thyroid working at the optimum level.