I can’t lose weight

[Weightissues]

I was always a size 8
Put on a lot with pregnancies but lost easily after bf and just eating healthily.
Have had a thyroid issue for years which never seemed to affect weight (underactive)

Anyway I’ve put on 2 stone that I cannot get rid of. I’m bf my baby so that should be burning what 250 calories a day ? Doesn’t seem to be
Thyroid medication increased - no effect

8 weeks ago I decided to stop any biscuits chocolate etc cut out ALL sugar in coffee and tea and not to eat after 630 pm. Nothing happened

3 weeks ago I upped my exercise to do even more walking (I do a lot anyway it’s now 1.5-2 hours a day for baby napping and school runs)

I am eating 3 healthy meals a day. Not much variety as I’ve been trying to stick to a similar amount of calories a day. I haven’t lost any weight. I’m stumped. Is it age (I’m 36?) I generally don’t feel great either

Just for info this is my usual intake each day
Coconut yogurt (150g), a sprinkle (a dessert spoon) granola, teaspoon chia seeds, blueberries, a med banana, raspberries, water, coffee with semi skimmed milk OR plain porridge with berries

Mid morn tea with milk no sugar sometimes a small apple

Lunch is usually a sandwich (chicken and salad or similar) a big bowl of salad as well. OR a boiled egg and wholemeal toast Water

Mid aft tea no sugar,

Dinner will be fish or chicken with new potatoes or brown pasta loads of veg and I have Greek yogurt and fruit for dessert

Portions aren’t big but I try to eat enough dinner as baby feeds a lot in the night

I used to have biscuits and chicken but cut that all out when the weight wasn’t going but how can I not have lost a pound in 2 months I feel heavy and horrible

biscuits and CHOCOLATE! Not chicken !

Do you actually count calories, do you use a fitness tracker or heart rate monitor to track your energy expenditure & the maximum you should be taking in?

No never ..... maybe I should
The only thing is a step counter I always do about 20000 steps a day !

Some women say they just couldn’t lose weight when breastfeeding.

But I agree that unless you log your food with something like MyFitnessPal, you might be eating more calories than you think.

I’m a big fan of low carb personally. Even if you don’t want to go the whole hog, cutting out sugar (which you’ve already done, I know) and starchy carbs (bread, pasta, rice, potatoes) will make a huge difference.

Bread, pasta, potatoes, salad dressing - all calorific.

Some fruits have more calories than others, porridge is fairly calorific especially if you’re not weighing it out.

For me to lose two pounds a week my daily calorie limit is 1200.

I would use my fitness pal app, it’s free and weigh your portions.

I have the salad plain
For porridge it’s 1 sachet of Quaker Oats and 150 ml milk (coconut or almond)
A sandwich I have 2 slices of hovis seeded
Potatoes I have 6-8 baby new potatoes always
Pasta I have occasionally 3oz dried weight

I will look up all the calories of this because something is wrong

Greek yogurt I have a small pot

Sounds like my dh when his thyroid was low. Have they checked the increased thyroid meds have actually had an effect though?.

The last tsh test it was 1.9 so that’s fine as usually i feel bad if it’s over 2.5
I’m taking 100mg a day now
I have noticed though that despite the tsh level being ok I am constipated again and tired but maybe that’s something else but it feels like thyroid issues

I think you need to keep complaining to the dr, it’s not ok for you to feel crap all the time.

I can't lose weight while bf either, and also have underactive thyroid. Calorie counting is the only way to be sure of what you're having.

I don’t have the symptoms like feeling cold and miserable atm but I do feel like it could be thyroid related with the weight but with a normal tsh I’m confused.
Maybe I just need some more bloods done
It’s so frustrating to not see the numbers on the scales change at all .....

The walking seems great. I agree with running your foods through a calorie checker for a week or two. It really helped me learn and be better at picking foods.

There are many apps and sites, but MyFitnessPal lets you scan in things and gives a lot of usually accurate details (nothing will be perfect). I'd include everything, particularly the seeds and granola as well as those starchy items because as great as chia and similar seeds are & I wouldn't drop them, they can take up a good portion of my fat calories and for me means I may drop other things that don't do as much for me.

Also, weight is affected my a lot of things. It's easier to see if you're losing fat by taking photos or using measuring tape compared to a number of the scale as water, food in the digestion track, things like that can affect it as well (possibly more so when breastfeeding). You don't want to lose muscle, some resistance training - just some bands, particularly for the upper body which doesn't get much stimulation from the walking - might also help.

Previously with bf I lost loads of weight so maybe it’s my age ? I think as well with the nicer weather I do feel self conscious and not good about myself due to it and I’ve been trying so hard it feels unfair to have nothing to show !
I’ve been really missing having snacks in the evening not eating after 630 has been so hard !

It’s your thyroid. Most hypothyroid patients don’t feel well until their TSH is below 1, sometimes much closer to undetectable, and their FT4 is in the top 25% of the range. When are you having the tests? It should be first thing in the morning and fasting.

You’re still having symptoms - medication should be increased until your symptoms improve, regardless of blood tests. Some people also need T3 in order to feel well but that’s increasingly hard to get on the NHS. You’d need a referral to an endocrinologist if your GP won’t help you.

My thyroid levels have been borderline for years so doctors wont do anything. I have all the symptoms. I can’t shift weight either. My weight has varied enormously based on whatever hormone treatment I’ve been on for endometriosis- one made me gain three stone, another I lost that and 2.5 more stone... Female hormones play a massive massive role in weight, far more than people realise.

Tests have not been fasting the gp said anytime ....maybe I need an appt to discuss it. I only saw the endocrinologist once they tested antibodies said it was under active due to hashimotos and then discharged me

Would it be worth testing out when you're eating? If you're feeling rubbish and it's really hard not to eat in the evening, maybe delaying eating in the morning and eat more in the evening?

I know some people feel better going to bed fuller and feel sluggish or more hungry if they start eating earlier so just skip breakfast and eat similar food/calories they would have eaten then in the evening and feel better.

I do think with age I've had to test out things to feel better more as my body sometimes seems less forgiving on certain things as it did when I was younger.

TSH levels halve through the day - they peak in the middle of the night and are then half that by the afternoon. Some people also say that they get results that don’t reflect their symptoms if they’ve already taken their meds that day.

I’d definitely go back to your GP and say you’re still having symptoms even at this level, that the level is not optimal and you want to try increasing the dose again to see if symptoms improve. This is often necessary after pregnancy as this can exacerbate thyroid issues.

Have a read of this page, under the hypothyroidism subheading
www.thyroiduk.org.uk/tuk/diagnosis/getting_diagnosis.html

You become more resistant to insulin over the years, and insulin is the fat storing hormone. You don't need maths to lose weight, you need to understand basic biochemistry. Increase healthy fat over carbohydrates and you'll lose excess weight and increase your energy and is a much healthier way to eat than a low fat one, low fat diets increase blood sugar and therefore insulin levels.