Hypo, peri and feeling deflated (although not looking it unfortunately!)

[Coldcomfortjoe]

I really need some guidance on how to successfully lose around a stone in a sustainable way. I'm forever losing a few pounds and putting it back on again so really need something I can stick to.

I'm hypothyroid and take 100mg of Levo. I think I'm under-medicated (other symptoms as well as my weight) but with a TSH of just over 3 my doc is refusing to up my dose. The only time I lost weight since being hypo was when I first went up to 100mg and I dropped half a stone without even really trying. I'm around 11 st 4 and really need to be around 10 stone for health and vanity purposes!

I started in Feb with 14:8 and limiting calories to 1200. That didn't seem to have any effect, so dropped to 800 calories. I've lost about 3 pounds on that but as soon as I even go a bit above that calorie intake the weight piles on.

I've got a puffy face (hypo linked) and most of my weight is round my middle. I feel awful. Am 44 so also possibly hormonally linked too.

I've dieted on and off my whole life and am really struggling to find the motivation to start another plan. Low carb really doesn't work for me but willing to try anything else!

Just need some inspiration or words of wisdom really as feeling particularly rubbish and lacking in motivation! What can I do?!

Hopeful bump!

You want to lose a stone? How much is that in terms of your current weight - if you’re not heavy to start with it will be harder. Maybe you don’t need to lose that much?

Not a weight or dieting expert but that’s the first thing that occurs to me.

I've been there. Not with the thyroid issues but I am 45 and had early menopause age 36. I was once told losing weight during perimenopause is like pulling teeth. Except pulling teeth would be a quicker way to lose a few grams

Have you been to the gp about the hormones? Is there another GP you can try? I lost 1.5 stone once I got onto a decent HRT. It was still difficult and I still had to stick to 1200 cals a day but at least it worked so was much easier to sustain.

I'd focus on the health issues first.

All I can think of is getting a Fitness tracker to help work out your approximate calorie burn and food intake then you can tweak things. I do running and a tracker can show that it burns fat. If you run before breakfast you will be burning fat unless you have effectively 'carb loaded' the day before.

I am peri menopausal after chemo. Have lost nearly 3 stone. This is running combined with calorie counting, lowish carb and just generally trying to keep steps up. I have had to tweak things as I go. Initially didn't change portions much and tried to rely on running and didn't lose much. So got bored of that and halved the portion of my main meal and just added salad / green veg to fill my plate up. Then plateaued again and cut out the small amount of chocolate I was eating. Plateaued again and tweaked my running routine.

I use FitBit to track exercise and food intake. I find the app very user friendly.

Oh and with the running I started like this:

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=9L2b2khySLE

Before trying the technique I genuinely thought I couldn't run very well and running made me wheeze, although I was fit enough to cycle miles. I must have just been doing it wrong somehow.

Your TSH is far too high. If you can afford it, it might be worth seeing a private endocrinologist. Sometimes they are better than the NHS ones, but sadly not always. Thyroid treatment in the UK is shamefully poor. You are definitely under medicated. Moan to your GP, but to be honest, they will just tell you its your age because they know fuck all about thyroid. Join Thyroid UK and you can get great advice on their message board.

I, too, am struggling with my weight, which is creeping up no matter what I do. I am told that all my thyroid symptoms are now caused by the menopause. Also, be aware that if your drugs have changed brand, that can affect you, too. One of my thyroid drugs is a different brand and three weeks into using it, I am struggling with exhaustion.

You need more thyroxine to feel well. I have to be under tsh1. But I gave up and bought natural thyroid from Thailand and now my go just monitors my bloods.

However, it has never made me lose weight.

Can you not ask to see a specialist? My thyroid is over but I can lose weight for toffee and I'm showing under active thyroid signs so I think I've switched and need levo if I dont get the answers I'm looking for I'm going to ask for a referral I'm technically still under them anyway because I've had this temporary condition for over 20 years

ArchMemory - I'm around 11 stone 4 - varies a few pounds here and there but really need to be closer to 10stone to be right for me.

Thyroid people - I've given up with the GP - so sick of being told it's my age, or quizzed as to whether I'm depressed or just kidding myself over what I'm eating and the rest is in my head! So exhausting.

PrimalLass - I had read that the natural thyroid is better for some people - was your GP happy for you to switch?

I did it myself and told them months later.

It is often easier to dose yourself and not tell the GP. I was accidentally given 4 months worth of drugs instead of just 2 after ordering more of one kind as they hadn't given me enough. I was happily highly over medicated for 8 weeks, I didn't feel deathly exhausted, my aches disappeared and some weight came off. People told me how well I was looking. My bloods were the same as they always are, but I felt well. But apparently I am over medicated and have been since having the total thyroidectomy, as treatments have now changed. They want to cut my dose down to less than 100mcgs, even though I can barely function on 125mcgs. I am sometimes tempted to just buy meds online, but the thing that stops me is not knowing exactly where they are coming from or what is really in them.

As a poster above said, check the brand of levothyroxine you’ve been given in case it has changed.
My last prescription was made by teva and I’ve been feeling strange recently and tired and put on half a stone in a month.

Previously I had been given levothyroxine made by Ativas or mercury. After looking it up there has been previous issues with teva branded levothyroxine but it was supposed to have been fixed.
Next prescription I’m going to request it’s not filled by teva .

I am sometimes tempted to just buy meds online, but the thing that stops me is not knowing exactly where they are coming from or what is really in them

There are UK based online pharmacies that will do it I imagine. I bought back-up antibiotics that way because I was scared to go on holiday without them after a tooth infection.