Too fat to breath

[Mumx2kat]

Hi I'm kirsty I'm over weight with a bmi of 39 I have a under active thyroid (I take medication for this) I eat healthy and do plenty of exercise every day but the fat just won't move
And when I lay down I can't breath properly
Does anyone else have this problem

[MarkRuffaloCrumble]

Are you on Thyroxine? What are your levels like?

If your levels are within range (and optimal rather than only just within) it might be worth looking into trying Natural Dessicated (pigs) Thyroid (NDT) instead.

There are lots of helpful groups online, try looking up Stop the Thyroid Madness (STTM) website for a great place to start.

If you're on Facebook there are some really helpful groups who can send you links for buying T3 or NDT online from reliable sources and talk you through the steps to take when changing meds.

There are separate groups for UK/Europe, groups for those on T3 or NDT, others addressing gut health and adrenals. They're really helpful and the admins go above and beyond to help people take control of their health.

If you want the links send me a message x

[BIWI]

OK.

What do you eat on a typical day?

And what exercise are you doing?

[RunnerOnTheRun]

Hi,

Please tell us what you are eating and drinking, and your activity levels. I am a weight management coach, I would like to help you.

When you say you can't breathe, do you mean you go to sleep and then wake up gasping? Sleep Apnoea? If so, please see a doctor as a matter of urgency.

[TaIkinPeace]

kirsty
before you do anything else you have to identify "hunger"

breakfast = 2 pints of water and then something high protein, no carb.
snack = a pint of water
lunch = 2 pints of water and then something veg heavy
snack = a pint of water
supper = whatever you like

if you cannot drink the water, save the food till you have

it sounds odd, but it will work :-)

[MarkRuffaloCrumble]

All the 'what are you eating and what exercise are you doing?' posts are missing the point that the OP has a serious medical condition affecting her metabolism!

It's widely known amongst patients that the standard cheap medication provided by the NHS rarely fixes this condition. Eating less and moving more is not a cure for a fucked up metabolism!

[mudandmayhem01]

Excess drinking of water can be dangerous, especially alongside other medical conditions. Drink for thirst is the sensible advice now.

[BIWI]

Well, MarkRuffalo, because the OP seemed to be asking why the fat wouldn't shift?

[QuiteLikely5]

Even if you do have a thyroid problem the level can be ascertained to show its within the normal range demonstrating that the level of treatment given is correct.

Your body did not just create the weight you must have eaten a lot of extra calories.

Could you have a food addiction?

You may be able to get an oxygen tank from your GP to assist with your night breathing

[BIWI]

... and she posted in 'Weight Loss Chat'

[RunnerOnTheRun]

Assuming she is on the right medication she should be able to lose some of the fat, I completely understand that eating less and moving more DOES NOT WORK. For anyone. It causes long term metabolic damage.

Let's get the overall picture before advising on a nutrition strategy.

[BIWI]

AND none of us gave the crass advice to 'eat less and move more'

[Springdew]

Eat less move more doesn't work? Long term damage? Whaaaaaat??! Please educate me as that's what I'm doing as from today.

[BIWI]

Here's an explanation

[Mumx2kat]

Thankyou kindly

[Mumx2kat]

I eat low carb cereals every morning I only have skimmed milk

I I will snack on ether an apple or banana

Lunch it's toast and jam

Then another fruit snack

And for dinner rice and veg
Or pasta salad or fruit with yoghurt

Then supper if any walk milk and three biscuits

[ItsLikeRainOnYourWeddingDay]

That's not enough food and what you are having is not great choices - ie toast and jam for lunch.

I would imagine your blood sugar levels are all over the place. Have you been tested for type 2 diabetes ?

At your weight you should be able to have 1500 cals a day and still lose weight. You need to fill up on protein and veg.

[Mumx2kat]

Exercise is plenty
Every day
Walk dog 1 hour in morning
Walk dog 1 hour lunch
Walk dog 1 hour evening
Gym 1 hour cardiovascular and weight lifting

Every week swimming aqua airobics

[Mumx2kat]

I can't breath when I lay down regardless if I'm awake or asleep

[BIWI]

Your diet is massively high in carbs, which won't be helping you if you're overweight/not losing weight. You need to eat more protein and fat, and cut right back on the carbs. Only eating toast and jam for lunch is silly! Where's the nutrition in that? Who told you that was healthy?!

So try eggs of some description for breakfast; something like a tuna mayo salad for lunch, and then meat/fish + veg/salad for your evening meal. Cut out the snacking on fruit (if you're hungry, snack on veg like celery or cucumber, or cheese, or nuts)

However, even though I disagreed with the manner of their post, MarkRuffalo does have a point about your medical condition. Is it controlled by your medication?

[Mumx2kat]

Yes it is

[RunnerOnTheRun]

Hi Mumx2kat,

That is a very poor diet indeed, not nutritious enough and high in refined carbs. There really isn't any such things as a low carb cereal.

Follow Metabolic Effect on FB, Rebelfit on FB, Mark's Daily Apple...to name just a few! And also take a look at the Whole30 Program. It is essentially eating no processed foods at all (which you are doing), and cleaning up your diet and also learning how and why we need to reduce our sugar intake to reduce our risks of Type 2 diabets, heart disease etc.

I do a lot of weight training, what type do you do and how long for? It is definitely great that you are moving around a lot and are out and about but the food is causing you some issues. Jam on toast is horrendous for blood sugar levels and is cereal and pasta/rice.

[TaIkinPeace]

BIWI is a low carber. I'm not.
But she is utterly and absolutely right that your diet is much too high in carbs.

Cereal for breakfast is great for growing kids and disastrous for adult women.
Switch to something like scrambled egg on a slice of ham
Get some proper fat back in your diet - semi skim milk is better for you than the expensive water that is skimmed

try to give up the snacks - give your digestive tract the chance to "hoover into the corners"

and go for much more veg and protein and much less carbs
see if you can go "low sugar" for 4 days a week

[MarkRuffaloCrumble]

No protein at all by the look of it, which won't be helping to make you feel full or to help your health generally.

Underactive thyroid can be made worse by gluten, so all that bread and biccies won't be helping your condition either.

You say your condition is treated but if you look at some of the resources I mentioned you may find it surprising that people who are told they are 'within range' by the GP or Endocrinologist actually feel much better when adding in other types of medication (T3 as well as Levothyroxine) or addressing other factors such as adrenal function, vitamin deficiencies etc.

With thyroid problems you can't rely on your metabolism to change your body shape, because your metabolism is at the mercy of your tablets. No matter how hard you work, if your thyroid doesn't work, it can't speed up the rate at which you burn calories etc. unless you take more tablets, which of course doctors are reluctant to support due to health risks of over-medicating.

I liken it to having a car with an accelerator that doesn't work. Levothyroxine is like a brick that you tie to the pedal. It keeps you going along at a pace, but it doesn't give you much room for speeding up or slowing down as needed. Other people may be able to ease their foot off the pedal, but with an underactive thyroid your choice is a bigger brick or a smaller brick!

[havalina1]

I agree with MarkRuffalo, I've a baby with congenital hypothyroidism and it really really needs to be kept in check. Often there are absorption issues so you may need other adjustments to get you feeling good.


A good endo should be looking at how you are feeling symptomatically as well as reading your bloods. You may need to be somewhere specific in the range to feel OK.

[ZestyDragon]

I have an underactive thyroid and am a comfort eater as well. BMI of 41.

What I have found over the years is I stick to a diet/eating plan, lose weight and then start gaining for no reason that I can find - and then realise I need to up the dosage. Get depressed, eat etc .

Since January I have lost 23 pounds. I joined MFP, realised that quite often I wasn't actually eating enough and now stick with 1750 calories a day. There have been weeks where I have lost nothing - and a month where the scales told me I had gained 7lbs (turned out the scales needed a new battery ) but weight is coming off. My DH, at the worst times has hidden the scales and just encouraged me to keep going. I take a lot of levothyroxine and I have realised that weight loss is very much slowed by having an underactive thyroid but it can work as long as you keep going.

Tbh your diet isn't great. You don't seem to eat enough. For me I do the following:

Breakfast - Branflakes with rice milk (60g cereal) or eggs on toast
Lunch - homemade soups/beans on toast/huge chicken or tuna salad and fruit/yogurt
Dinner - I usually make stuff from scratch - stews, curries, pasta sauces, chunky soups etc - lots of veg in my food.
and I always have an evening snack so save 200 calories for that