Patients often assume the hypothyroidism is causing obesity even though this may not be the case. Most people cannot expect extreme weight loss once they start thyroid hormone replacement medication. Again, this is because weight gain is often caused by other factors aside from an underactive thyroid. Generally, people begin to notice weight loss about three to six months after hitting a therapeutic dose of their medication. The weight loss is usually caused by the body getting rid of an excess accumulation of water and salt i.
Most research does not show that thyroid medications like Synthroid help you lose adipose fatty tissue. In the past, some doctors prescribed thyroid medication to help people lose weight even if they did not have a thyroid condition. Of course, it seemed to make sense at the time: if you speed up the metabolism, you can expect to see more weight loss in less time.
However, there is a big problem with this approach to weight loss. Too much thyroid hormone also causes other symptoms in your body—some of which may even cause you to gain weight.
Generally, people with excess thyroid hormone have symptoms that can hinder weight loss, such as anxiety, insomnia, a rapid heart rate, muscle weakness, and heat sensitivity. Indeed, anxiety alone can often lead to overeating or comfort eating, adding to weight gain. Thus, excess thyroid hormones or taking a larger dose of thyroid medication is unlikely to lead to dramatic weight changes. Suppose your thyroid-stimulating hormone TSH and T4 levels are borderline, or you have subclinical hypothyroidism.
In that case, weight gain may be enough to support your doctor's decision to prescribe medication. If this is the case, you will want to watch for signs of hyperthyroidism and be diligent in having your thyroid levels assessed per your doctor's recommendation. While treating hypothyroidism is likely not the only solution for helping you slim down to your ideal weight, it will help you get back on track.
Normalizing your thyroid hormones usually improves your energy levels, reduces fatigue, decreases muscle and joint pains, relieves constipation , and improves low mood. Shopping around the perimeter of the grocery store is an excellent strategy for eating well because that is where you find fruits, vegetables, and meat.
Center aisles usually contain the processed foods, which are often high in saturated fats and refined sugars, which can inhibit your weight loss efforts. Daily exercise is necessary for everyone, especially in our sedentary, overly busy world. But, if you force yourself to run and you cannot stand running or it hurts too badly , you likely will not stick with it.
Do something that you find fun and enjoyable—maybe gardening, a pilates class with friends, or water aerobics. One of the leading causes of hypothyroidism is autoimmune thyroiditis or Hashimoto's thyroiditis. People with autoimmune diseases may benefit from trying the autoimmune protocol , a temporary elimination diet.
The AIP diet helps you identify which foods may be causing inflammatory markers to wreak havoc on your system. Working with your thyroid doctor , nutritionist, trainer, and even therapist can help you attack your weight gain from all angles. Excess weight is often a multifaceted, complex problem, and everyone has a unique profile that deserves individualized weight loss plans. In some cases, you may need to supplement with another medication. For the sake of your overall health, as well as your weight-loss efforts, it's important to work with your healthcare provider to get the most out of thyroid hormone therapy.
For thyroid medication to be effective, it needs to be absorbed properly by your body. Here's how to ensure that nothing interferes with maximum absorption:. It's important that you take the right amount of Synthroid or another thyroid hormone replacement drug. Some healthcare providers may prescribe only enough medication to get your thyroid-stimulating hormone TSH level into the upper end of the reference range, close to the cutoff for hypothyroidism. This may not be enough to resolve your symptoms or optimize your metabolism.
Many thyroid patients and healthcare providers find that a TSH level below 2. This is also the optimal level for women of reproductive age. If your TSH is at the higher end of the reference range, talk to your healthcare provider about increasing your dosage of thyroid medication. If you're hypothyroid and need to lose weight, talk to your healthcare provider to make sure you're on the right dose of the right drug and are taking it at the right time.
With some fine-tuning of your treatment, your weight-loss efforts should begin to pay off. Levothyroxine drugs like Synthroid are synthetic forms of the thyroid hormone thyroxine, also known as T4.
When everything works perfectly, your body should convert the T4 into the second key thyroid hormone, triiodothyronine, known as T3. T3 is the active hormone that helps facilitate energy and helps oxygen reach your cells. Research shows, however, that in a subset of thyroid patients, this conversion process is faulty.
Whether due to genetic changes, stress, or nutritional deficiencies, these patients fail to effectively convert enough T4 into T3. If you fall into this category, you may find that even after being treated with levothyroxine, you may have hypothyroidism symptoms , such as fatigue, hair loss, or brain fog.
If this is the case, you might benefit from the addition of T3 to your levothyroxine. Ask your healthcare provider to test your T3. If you have low or low-to-normal levels, you may be a candidate for supplementation with Cytomel liothyronine or a compounded, time-released formulation of this medication. Note that compounded medications can be difficult to accurately dose, however, as it is very hard to determine the exact quantities of T3 and T4 in each pill.
It's also worth noting that adding T3 to your regimen is still relatively experimental: There is not enough clinical evidence to support this practice in every patient. Some thyroid patients try a levothyroxine drug, add a T3 drug, and still can't resolve symptoms. If that is your experience, you may want to talk with your healthcare provider about trying a natural desiccated thyroid NDT drug like Nature-throid or Armour Thyroid. There is limited research on NDT, but one study found that NDT was a safe and effective alternative to levothyroxine drugs, and resulted in more weight loss for patients.
Women seeking to become pregnant or who are pregnant should only be on levothyroxine, since T3 or its combinations do not cross the placenta. While it's not related to Synthroid or other thyroid drug treatment, there is a link between hypothyroidism and the risk of increased blood sugar levels and type 2 diabetes. If you have optimized your hypothyroidism treatment and are still struggling to lose weight, talk to your healthcare provider about having your fasting glucose and hemoglobin A1C HA1C tested.
Beaudoin says. Leafy green vegetables, tomatoes, fatty fish, nuts, fruit, and olive oil are all good foods to battle inflammation. And this diet decreases the burden on the liver to metabolize highly processed foods , she notes. Hypothyroidism slows digestive function, notes Beaudoin. Your daily caloric intake can quickly skyrocket unless you log everything you eat and drink, Dr. Corsino says.
Exercise is an important complement to a healthy diet in order to help burn calories, Corsino says. But consider the individual case, Austin says.
Thyroid hormone should be taken on an empty stomach first thing in the morning with plenty of water, Corsino says. If your thyroid level still isn't where it should be when you take your medication properly , it could be affecting your ability to lose weight.
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