Where am I going wrong, puting on weight - 1100 cls, 6 hour IF, 150g protein, hypothyroid

[Letsjustbedecent]

Hello, I would love your help as I am really struggling. I am 44, 5 foot 5 (165cm) and over the last 4 years my weight has gone from 8.5 to 11.5 stone (55kg to 73kg). I have some hypothyroid issues which have caused about 6kg of that recently (change of meds) but the rest is me (recent injury but it's mainly been wine sadly - I eat clean, grass fed/organic meat, no gluten, nightshades, soy etc). I am fat and increasingly sad. I am trying to kick start it to preserve my MH by combining IF (18:6), low carb (am in deep ketosis according to breath sensor), high protein (50% protein, 40% fat, 10% carbs which looks like 144g/52g/21g). It's 1130 calories a day (my TDEE is 1636 and BMR is 1375). I have stuck to the macros religiously (Carbmanager app), not gone over on calories, stuck to a 6 hour eating window, drunk 4 liters of water and done 10k steps per day. I have put on half a kilo since starting on Monday this week (4 days in) I feel like I am getting something very wrong here - please help. I know this diet is unsustainable long term but I was hoping for a kick start to something more sensible - and here i am heavier than ever... (should I be looking at keto with lower protein and higher fat but I can't see how I could keep to 1100 cals with more fat?)Thank you, am so grateful.

My BMI is 26.8 and overweight. My joints are suffering and I have been told to lose weight by physio. I would love to get it back into the healthy range, which means losing a minimum of 5kg (11lbs) and a max of 15kg (2 stone 5 lbs - wow!) according to the NHS calculator!!

What are your thyroid levels at the moment?

You're 4 days in. Your weight could well have risen because of something you ate last week. You need to give it time.

Tbh, I think your diet is too complicated. I've been following the low carb bootcamp and the rules are so simple. Only eat carbs from veg. Eat veg with carbs below 5%. Lots of green veg. Keep fat high. Don't calorie count. Don't worry about macros. Drink water. The weight dropped off.

As of mid June:
Free T3 - 3.9 pmol/L (ref range 3.1 to 6.8)
Free T4 - 6.2 pmol/L (ref range 12-22)
TSH - 0.27 mIU/L (ref range 0.27 to 4.2)
Reverse T3 (as of March 22) - 12 ng/dL (ref range 12-22)

Taking 40mg T3 and 50mg T4.

Thank you

You need to get your thyroid sorted. Go to tpauk.com forum and share your results and problem. You will get some proper help there.

Sort thyroid first

Then make it simpler. Stop eliminating everything which makes it so hard. Don't restrict so hard.

Hi, the thyroid has been deteriorating since 2016 when I was diagnosed and it's just got worse despite medication. That's also when i started gaining weight, slowly at first, though i am now in peri territory. I can't find anyone who can help me fix this - the recent 6kg gain was through going to a new endo who changed my dose. I am going back for tests next week and will go to the tpuk forum too.

I just don't think the thyroid will be a quick fix as it's been 6 years of trying to fix it and failing, and I have kind of accepted the status quo with it..Is there anything I can do to lose weight in the meantime?

It's pretty much impossible not to be in a calorie deficit on those numbers so if you truly are sticking to it then it's definitely the thyroid issue messing things up. Do not drop your calories any lower!

You need to arm yourself with better knowledge about your thyroid. With proper medication you should not still be deteriorating. You may be one of the large minority of people who need a full thyroid hormone, not just t4 replacement. You won't be able to lose weight with a poorly thyroid. Please go to thyroid patient advocacy UK - they will be able to help you.

Thank you so much. I will go to the trail website - thank you for directing me there. I know what I need to do - increase my dose of T3 and T4 (i take them separately rather than in the usual combined form) but my functional doctor won’t let me. I went to see a different endocrinologist this time last year who reduced my medication- but my weight went from 64kg to 70kg in the space of 7 weeks, almost a stone. It’s not healthy to gain that much in a short space of time. That weight gain seems to have stuck and crept up. Now it’s there I just can’t lose it. I am so desperate as I am having back and knee issues from the extra weight and have been told by my physio to decrease my BMI for the sake of my joints. I need the right medical support but don’t know where to turn and I will go to the Thyroid Patient Advocacy. I’m really quite tormented by this. I think basically I had hoped that if I went on this strict regime for say 2 weeks, documented my consumption on the app Iand if it doesn’t result in weight loss I might have more of a case with my doctor for increasing my dosage. I am also terrified of going into starvation mode through too much restriction and messing my thyroid up further….urgh. Thank you for your time.

Yes you probably need to be eating more tbh, but I understand your fears. You will get help and advice from tpa about what to say to your endo or how to get the meds you need. The women on that site are so knowledgeable and helpful and they have all been through it themselves. Good luck

Free T4 - 6.2 pmol/L (ref range 12-22)

when is your next blood test?

I have to do exercise and diet, but that’s going to be really hard with T4 where it is ( do you feel like a wind up toy that’s nearly wound down?)

Thank you so much for your kindness and advice. I really appreciate it and will head over to tpauk.

Yes you probably need to be eating more tbh,

but with a T4 that low it might be hard to get the appetite to eat more?

I know when my levels have dropped my appetite fades, I can’t eat more than 2 meals a day

I have booked a new set of blood tests for Thursday next week. It does feel hard. A year ago the T4 fell from 12, bottom end of normal range, to 6 and it’s been tough. I doubled my T4 dose in March but it hasn’t helped bring the T4 up yet. I will redo my blood tests next week. This thread has given me the confidence to get this sorted - I thought it was in my head as the doctor was saying it was pretty much ok..I just need to halt the weight gain for the sake of my health. Thank you

doctor was saying it was pretty much ok

the T4 T3 and TSH were all regulated 50/60 years ago on a few students to get average figures

but even given that your T4 is way out - I’d be struggling to get out of bed

the issue is your TSH is so low and they can’t chance letting that go lower as it could affect your heat long term with AF

I've lost 7 and half stone on total please stop looking at the scales you are only ,4 days in. Weight fluctuates so much even weekly I'd recommend you weigh yourself fortnightly or ideally monthly if religiously sticking to it. Use first thing in the morning after going for a wee.

I can echo the good advice about seeking Thyroid help first. I've not been on tpauk.com, but I've had excellent guidance on healthunlocked.com/thyroiduk

Maybe your conversion is failing & you need just T3 to be properly optimal? (This is what I'm currently trialling).

You may also need to balance up your hormones alongside, while you're addressing the thyroid.

Whatever you need, there's excellent advice out there & I feel sure that it will all help with the weight in the end. God I hope so!

TSH doesn't matter - if already on meds it will be suppressed. It's the t4 and t3 that need looking at. Doctors don't understand that TSH is irrelevant once patient already on meds.

Are you doing a minimum of 150 minutes of at least moderate exercise a week.

That's just the basic mimimum for weight maintenance. To lose weight and be fit/ healthy you need to do more than this and also weights and yoga.

Erm, sorry. How embarrassing. I'll try one more time. If that doesn't work, the address is www.tpauk.com anyway.

Four days in I wouldn't worry too much at this stage. It feels like you are doing a lot (is it sustainable??), but weight fluctuates a lot over days. It could simply be water retention, or normal hormone fluctuation, or a range of other things.

No - this isn't good advice. OP has a thyroid problem. She probably should be eating more, resting more, because the stress of undereating and exercising will also be adding to the weight gain.

OP, also want to say that you shouldn't be fasting at the moment either, at least no more than 12:12. Once you have sorted your thyroid health, you will probably find low carb and moderate fasting sorts your weight out. And you also must stop eating gluten (if you do) as this is very aggravating for the thyroid.