Looking for realistic weight loss tips with underactive thyroid and busy job

[Pennydroppedtodaysniff]

Hi all,

Just feeling really low about my weight. Could anyone offer any tips to get started? Im starting to feel the odd ache towards the top of my legs and im worried it could be sciatica exacerbated by my weight.

Im around 100kg, 5ft 6 but will weigh tmw.

Now wearing a size 18, but would like to be back to a 16 or less
My weight is mainly on my stomach.

I have a very busy sedentary job wfh, but manage 15k steps daily (slow) on school run
Images on my ring doorbell have confirmed im a lumberer! Have had plantar before and I think my posture isnt great. I trip from time to time and I wonder if its all linked.
Underactive thyroid

Food : nothing till 9am, then i eat the remainder of my kids cereal topped off with more. Terrible I know!
12 noon: 2 poached eggs, 1 avocado, 2 slices sourdough, parmesan
6pm : main meal : curry or shepherds pie
or some type of chicken dish with rice/veg
Drinking <1L a day of water

Portion control is an issue as ill eat the leftovers that my kids leave. Friends say I dont eat badly but I cook well and end up eating big portions.

If I have a stressful work week, I may drop the walking and water, and feel worse for it.

Scared to take Mounjaro so would like to do it without this.

Are you seeing an endocrinologist? I was on the ‘correct’ amount of thyroxine for many years, blood tests regularly etc. Argued constantly with GP about it. Saw a decent endocrinologist and they played around with it and got 25kg off me in a year, with no change at all to diet or exercise. Once they optimised the dose, left it for a while to ensure no creep etc, I went into WLI, not for the purpose of modifying how much I ate as I ate extremely little, but apparently they can kick start metabolism again irrespective, which was the case for me.

4.39 miles = 9,982 steps and takes about an hour and a half at an average speed of 3.3 mph and average pace of 18 minutes and 26 seconds.

The above has been confirmed by my Garmin watch, multiple times. Happy to share screenshots with you, OP.

I do this at least 4x per week. I'm 5'2".

The calorie burn for this, alone, is allegedly around 440 calories.

Edited to add: these steps are the only steps I count as "activity" as they are all done at this pace at one time. My daily steps are around 15k but I don't count those since they are at a leisurely pace from walking around the house or just living life.

I have hashimotos thyroiditis and hypothyrodism. I've been on levyothyroxine 100mcg since my diagnosis 25 years ago.

I have lost weight and KEPT it off with no medication and no surgery.

You simply have to reduce your calories. Not eating carbs makes it easier but it's not required.

I'm talking from experience and not science papers or wishes and dreams.

You can do this - you have to be very determined, though, and willing to be uncomfortable for a couple of weeks while your body adjusts. Then, the weight will consistently fall.

Thyroid won't stop or hinder weight loss when you're on medication.

After losing all of my weight and never having to adjust medicine, I am now hypothyroid so will be testing again, soon.

As soon as the kids have finished squirt a drop of washing up liquid into the cereal bowls. You won’t be tempted.

I have used MJ

during that period I got the nutracheck app and have been using it to track my calories. Its really worked for me and i intend to keep using the app quite possibly for ever

it also tracks fibre, protein etc so although i am not so good at that I still find it very helpful

7000 steps in around 40 minutes is going to be 175 steps per minute. That would be walking approx 3 steps per second, which is my "I really don't want to miss this train, but am not prepared to run" speed! I can't see in your posts what you are using as a step counter, maybe it's a bit off.

It is so difficult though - I got diagnosed with Hashimoto's last year, and my latest bloods still showing not at the right level of levothyroxine yet. I'm overweight and trying to lose, and the things I used to do to get weight off don't fit in with current life commitments and way of working. My job is also sedentary but because I work from home, I build in small bursts of higher intensity movement (a ten minute break is three songs' worth of dancing!).

Your diet sounds healthier than mine, but as you say, it is portion control: that is the thing I really try to get a grip on that helps me. Composting food helps me feel less guilty about not finishing up stuff left over by DC: being brought up my parents who lived through post-war rationing makes it feel very strange to not clear up all food remains, but I reason that the compost bin worms will make good use of it instead of me. On the same lines, serving myself a bit less. It is hard having to think so much about it all, but hoping that one the practices become habits, it will all be easier to sustain.

Im actually a bit worried as the dr is trying to reduce my thyroxine by a third….so no idea if that will make a difference weight wise

Forgot eating exercise calories as often your burning way less than watches may have you believe. Look at what you like to eat and make small changes by increasing the protein and veg content & reducing the carbs. So roughly half a plate of veg, 30% protein leaves 20% carbs. Most folk eat the 50% carbs and 20% veg just this simple switch will see results. If you want to gauge realistically you do need to weigh everything and track everything for a couple of weeks to see your benchmark. Buy smaller plates and bowls it’s a really simple visual guide.

For example I delay breakfast till 9.30-10am eat 100g of full fat Greek yogurt, 25h nuts some berries and seeds. That keeps me going until lunchtime. I’ll have homemade lentil soup, bit of cheese or boiled egg but no bread or extra carbs. Yogurt for pudding. Or Ia small portion of last nights dinner so 2/3 size of main with focus on protein content. No snacking and dinner by 7pm so fasting 14-15hrs every day. I do average 14k steps a day but I’m covering a lot more ground than your watch is suggesting, as I’d need to walk 2-3hrs to cover those steps. Our dog gets 2hrs per day plus I’ll often run 5k too. If I’m sat at my desk my arm using my mouse records “steps” from the movement. Good luck you can do it but it takes time and consistent change in lifestyle.

Hi all, so im using a fitbit to track, but even with previous fitbits, its been the same. I just think im slow but my walks can take from 35min - 45min each way. It's definitely 15K a day. Im going to check again this evening after my 2nd long walk.

Today actually was the first time i threw the cereal away, rather than topping it all up.

With the thyroxine, actually there was a time where the chemist got my medication wrong so i got a higher dosage accidentally for a while. I didnt realise but i felt great, the weight came off, i was so energised. Then we realised what had happened. Im due a blood test so maybe i can raise this again with them.

I've lost weight very slowly and kept it off, by firstly kick starting it off with 16/8, then limiting sugar and carbs, eating more protein and veg. I also have underactive thyroid and was prediabetic.

@Pennydroppedtodaysniff don't be scared of weight loss drugs. I'm using a small dose of Wegovy, combined with sensible eating using an app, and am losing weight gradually which is what I want.

I'd listened to what everybody said about the drugs beforehand and am amazed by how well it works, I simply don't feel like overeating any longer. I've not had many side effects, just very mild nausea on occasion, and slight constipation which I combat with extra fruit and veg.

So that would be 3.6 miles there and back. Which would normally be about 7000 steps In total. I wonder if you’ve a very short stride maybe so take twice as many steps, which would make you right.

I have an underactive thyroid and ive lost 11lbs in the last month by doing low carb. I waa 11 stone so wouldn't have qualified fir Monjaro. The best thing about low carb I find, us that, once you're fat adapted, it kills your appetite so you just don't feel hungry. Also, the food is delicious!

Intermittent fasting and high fat / low carbs are a lovely way to begin a weightloss journey: no eating between your evening meal and lunch the next day (keeping an eating window of 6-7 hours is nice so you can relax ), and slash the amount of carbs you consume. Change what you think constitutes a meal: enjoy your avocado and eggs, but without the bread. Enjoy a shepherds pie, but without the mash. Look forward to spaghetti bolognese sans spaghetti. Tuck into fish and chips, but pass on the chips. It's easy once you get used to it. If you really miss things like pasta and rice, give yourself some grated cabbage or cauliflower, or some spiralised courgette or carrot with your bolognese etc.
Your perception of feeling satiated changes quickly -once you start thinking in terms of whether you have eaten enough to fulfil your energy needs as opposed to satisfying hunger, it becomes easy to eat smaller portions.
So you may eat weirdly and much less but you'll soon see the difference on the scales and feel the food noise subside.

Work makes it harder, but it could be possible if yourereally commited to it and getting your weight down is the most important thing to you.
I've lost 3st 9lbs over 18 months by using the NHS Weight Loss app, not great but keeps you focused on your calories; the Hairy Bikers' Hairy Dieters books for ideas for lovely food, and Brennan's 60 calories per slice bread. I am eating <1600 calories most days but go over it at weekends/on holidays. I also joined a gym and do 3 1-hour visits per week, a cardio warm-up but mostly strength training. This has allowed me to lose about 1 lb a week on average and my skin so far is shrinking with me, I dont have massive amounts of loose skin. I'm 70. Good luck and I hope you can make it work for you. X

You are focusing too much on the steps, shift the focus to what you eat.

You are not the kitchen bin, stop eating leftovers.

Increase the veg, massively. A whole avocado on toast is not going to be your friend, no matter how healthy that is. Swap to a pound of green beans.

I’d be too knackered too do that many steps. However I find lowering my carbs a bit and low sugar def helps. I’ve been quite big for a while now and nothing is shifting but I have sleep apnoea so getting treated for that so I hope once I am sleeping better I will feel better and have more energy. It’s a bit of a vicious cycle with me, I eat for energy but feel worse can’t exercise etc

I’m overdue a blood test, purely as endocrinology wouldn’t accept me, despite me feeling awful despite correct meds. I have no thyroid (never had one it wasn’t removed)
and am just a bit fed up of being told ‘take your thyroxine at night’ etc like I’ve not tried so many things.

Cut 500 calories daily out of your diet. If you are not sure of your calorie intake use nutra check.

Congratulations on throwing away the cereal, that is a really good start. My very ripped friends say a variety of annoying phrases like abs are made in the kitchen, you can’t out train a bad diet, fuel not food etc but they are right.

Just using figures from the web an hours spin class burns between 400 to 850 calories. I have personally don’t believe I have been past 500 and it killed me. However I can eat 850 calories easily in ten minutes with a slice of cake and a glass of wine or a Mc Donald’s meal. So whilst your steps don’t seem right to me, I would look at your calories first. Even if you don’t want to calorie count indefinitely it would be worthwhile adding up your usual meals to see what they are.