Losing weight in general for most women with hypothyroidism tends to be hard. There are many factors that can contribute to this. And we will be touching each potential topic in other blog posts.
In this post I wanted to talk about a few things I do every day that help me maintain my current weight (if not looking to lose or accidentally gain) or lose some of it.
Every person is different. I cannot stress this enough. Our biochemistry is unique to us, and so are our circumstances. Reading, researching, asking people that have been through, and to an extent even trying new things, are just a few of the ways that you will find out what works for you. There may be some things that are clear across the boards for almost everyone that suffers from hypothyroidism.
1. Medication
The first thing a person that is trying to lose weight with hypothyroidism AND are on medication for it are to check their medications. There a number of medications, with different fillers, and dosages. Now, although this is outside of my scope of practice and I cannot give you medication advice, I always say, check with your doctor. It is perfectly fine to read on the medications you were given and alternatives, and talk to your doctor about them. You should be working together for the common goal, you actually feeling human again.
Make sure that you are on the right dosage, the right medications, for your body.
2. Gluten Free
I know, I’ve said what I’ve said. Now, many people can eat gluten for years fine. Eventually, unfortunately, it may catch up to them.
Now one of the quick reasons that researchers have found that it affects us, is because if you have a leaky gut (small permeation in the lining of your gut), the molecules float along the bloodstream. Apparently the molecules in gluten are similar to the thyroid ones. Causing confusion in the body and thus the body goes into protection mode and that is how you get all that swelling. Other reasons it can be the pesticides in the foods that contain gluten are causing havoc as well.
There are so many reasons. But the main focus is to cut gluten for at least 21 days, and see how your body feels. For many people, the edema and inflammation go down so much, they’ve lost “weight”.
3. Sleep
I know, who has time for sleep, am I right? In our overstimulated world, we are constantly ON. We need to shut off to help our bodies relax enough for sleep.
The current recommendation is to be able to sleep, uninterrupted for at least 8 consecutive hours. I’ve read that for people with autoimmune diseases, they need anywhere between 9-10 hours.
There is a lot of science that goes into why sleeping properly is one of the top reasons why we can’t lose weight, and we will visit those soon.
4. Supplements
There is a lot of discussion about which are the right supplements, and do we even need them. From what I’ve seen, at least for me, yes they are needed. Why? For starters, when we are trying to lose weight, we don’t even wanna eat. We are still educating ourselves, trying things out and figure out how the heck to lose weight. In short, we are not meeting our bodies essential needs. For many others, some research has placed that our foods have been altered. And because of this, our soils have no nutrients for our foods. This is a whole topic for another time.
The easiest way to know if you are taking the right supplements if you don’t know much about them, is have your doctor run some bloodwork. Some of this may show up different deficiencies. Common deficiencies for people with hypothyroidism and Hashimotos are Vitamin D, Iron, and B-12. Other ways to know is if you know you are not eating enough protein or don’t eat meat, chances are you are low on Iron and B-12. If you notice mood swings, headache, brain fog and you don’t spend a lot of time in the peak hours of the sun, you might be Vitamin D deficient.
5. Eat
Food is medicine. Say it louder. Now, this is a huge topic. There are so many ways to go with this. But at the core, the most important trait in this is to eat. I mention this, though obvious for many people, many will try to stop eating because the desperation to eat. Not eating will cause an number of issues that may not get you your desired results. If you think over doing cardio and cutting calories hasn’t yielded results, not eating will end up in the same situation, depending where in your journey you are.
At the basic level, make sure you get some food in. Don’t skip meals. Until you decide if you will follow a protocol, do some fasting, work with a dietician or other diets, make sure you are eating. Focus on whole foods, make sure you are getting your protein.
6. Walks
I know, I hear you. Many will share that they walk 15-20 minutes after every meal, hours each day and still no weight loss. Well, first, have you combined everything above to your routine? But walks are overall good for most people. Walking is recommended for heart and other health aspects. It helps keep the stamina up, and like Ms Elle Woods says “exercise gives you endorphins, and endorphins make you happy”. If you are a fan, let me know!
No worries, there are so many micro topics we will be going over to help you lose weight and most importantly, take control of your life again.
Please remember, this is not medical advice, but suggestions from someone that went through the journey. Always ask your healthcare provider and evaluate the things that make more sense to you.
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