Low carb and hypothyroidism

[Puppermint]

I've recently been diagnosed with an underactive thyroid and have started on a low dose of levothyroxine. I really want to lose weight and in the past have done HFLC, but Googling tells me this might not be safe with my condition. It also seems it's really difficult to lose weight with a shitty thyroid

Does anyone have any experience of this condition and eating LC? I've bootcamped before so know there are lots of knowledgeable people on here.

I also usually skip breakfast as a bit of a fast but can't figure out if that's good or bad, depending on which website I read.

Help!

I’m afraid I don’t have any knowledge of the science but I have hypothyroidism and LCHF was recommended to me by my doctor as a good diet to follow.
I did it for years before having to stop last year after I developed the most horrific keto rash from it. But I don’t think that had anything to do with my thyroid issues and it seems to be very rare so it’s not something I’d worry about.

Thanks @FizzyPink, that's interesting. Did you find it easy to lose on LCHF? Lots of the stuff I've read say that it can make it more difficult because it mimics starvation (forcing your body to burn fat for fuel) so reduces thyroid function even further.

I'm so confused right now, there doesn't seem to be any definitive understanding, which makes the control freak in me very stressed indeed!!

@Puppermint

I also usually skip breakfast as a bit of a fast but can't figure out if that's good or bad, depending on which website I read.

Help!

I skip breakfast because I take my levothyroxine as soon as I wake up, with water only, to try to get optimal absorption.

I try to avoid food, got drinks, other medications and even fluoride toothpaste for at least an hour.

I have massive problems now with gluten. I'm cutting that out (just had blood test for celiac) now, while I wait for the results.

I also have autoimmune stuff going on like inflammatory , - it's all linked, isn't it?

I think we all need to find diets that work for us individually tbh. I've never been told NOT to try low-carbing by any of the many doctors I've seen. Just 'eat healthily'.

Wow @SpindleWhorl I'd not even thought about toothpaste, thanks for that comment. It's such a bloody minefield, isn't it.

I've got lots of autoimmune symptoms that I never realised were linked, so lots to learn and discover and overcome. But shamefully, weightloss is high on my list of priorities

Isn't it just? (A minefield.) I only found out about fluoride in toothpaste potentially affecting levothyroxine absorption a couple of years ago. Now I use fluoride-free toothpaste first thing, and regular toothpaste & mouthwash later on.

@Puppermint I'm sorry but I don't know how low carbing might affect your condition. @StuntNun might possibly know, as she has a science background, unlike me! (So have sent the bat signal out for her )

@FizzyPink if you had the rash, it's a sign that your carbs were too low. You can still low carb, but with a higher daily amount of carbs.

Hi, hypo here with lots of immune things and some weight to lose. I've tried both intermittent fasting and LCHF extensively.

Intermittent fasting I found easy to settle into but after a couple of pounds I didn't lose weight. I think it was so easy because my metabolism just dialled down to match and I felt more hypo. I actually lost a kg when I started eating breakfast again which I think switched off the famine signal and sped it back up!

LCHF - felt good on this although over the years I've fallen off the LC wagon more snd more. I did it very seriously for a couple years and again plateaued for months - I think my body can drop the bloat and the glycogen quite fast but then sticks. I probably went too low carb and agree it doesn't suit hypo people.

I think I feel best when I eat moderately low carb, with moderately high protein and fat. More paleo than LC. That's what I'm aiming for now- although still carrying that weight! My conclusion is that the weight pisses me off and affects my confidence, but the quality of life hit I take in terms of brain fog and low energy from punishing diets is worse (and they don't work anyway)

Good luck, it's not easy!

Worth reading Why We Eat (Too Much) - it goes into the effects our western diet has had on our metabolism and is the best insight I've ever been given into this

Peppermint I'm no expert but I do know that eating a very low carb diet can reduce your T3 levels, specifically it seems to interfere with the conversion from T4 to T3. However this doesn't necessarily mean that eating a low carb diet isn't suitable for people with thyroid conditions. If your thyroid hormones are being tested regularly and being managed with medication then you'll be able to see whether there are any potential issues with your diet. Some people choose to carb cycle by having a higher carb meal or day once a week/fortnight/month. Others might decide not to go very low carb and to aim for a slightly higher carb intake, say 40-50 grams per day. These shouldn't be necessary unless your having particular issues keeping your thyroid hormone levels in the desired range. Personally I think the whole low carb - hypothyroidism connection is because when someone goes low carb for the first time it can reveal a thyroid hormone issue that was developing and therefore it looks like the diet caused the hypothyroidism. It's similar to the way some people get an attack of gout when they first go low carb. It isn't that a low carb diet causes diet, it's that in someone who's already prone to gout it triggers a flare in the first few weeks. All that said, I am not a doctor or health professional and if you have any doubts then speak to your own medical team.

I have been doing bootcamp since the end of last year. I have hypothyroid, reasonably well controlled. I have been going on symptoms rather than getting my bloods done. I lost a lot of weight and am really happy with that as nothing else has ever worked for me. I started to feel cold a lot and got the creep of fatigue starting so I upped my carbs a bit. I'm not as strict as others on boot camp and probably aim for around 50g of carbs a day, I now have one meal a week totally off plan, so curry and I will have a bit of rice with it or something. That seems to be working for me at maintenance. I'm due my bloods soon, am slightly worried that they will end up dropping my levothyroxin as I don't know how much it's is dependent on body weight. I also take metformin for pcos and am wondering if I could potentially start to drop that a bit.

Thanks for all the advice everyone, I knew you lot would be helpful

My lovely DH bought me a diet book (to look at finding out if any foods trigger my symptoms rather than for weightloss) which is a bit more Paleo than LC so I am trying to follow that for the time being. It's higher carb than I'm used to, but all healthy and nutritious.

Most importantly I'm staying off the scales. I'm very all or nothing and know if I don't lose weight I'll be really disappointed so I am trying to focus on the health side of it all. But, by God, I'd love to find a way to lose.