Weight loss & throid

[lynnforhim]

Greetings!
I am writing to ask for help for my daughter. She and I have lost weight with WW and lots of prayer. But since being diagnosed with low thyroid she has gained a good bit back. No matter how much she exercises and cuts calories her weight won't budge. Does anyone have any advice?
Thank you so much!
Ever His Servant,
Lynn

[SillyPoet]

First off, don't cut calories- the machine needs fuel to run! I am hypothyroid and have been struggling with weight for years. WW was okay for me, but way too much rabbit food for my liking- your daughter might be a protein person- and if she is, WW will be more of a hindrance than a help, because most of the food there is carby. Good carby, but still...

I have cut sugar and grain flours out of my 'diet', and I have lost 7 pounds this month- and I haven't changed the portions much at all! The only reason the portions changed was I just wasn't as hungry. I have looked at many plans that are high-protein, low carb, and made my own, based on them. I know I did well doing Atkins, but i couldn't stay on it because of my family- and I still wanted the 'off the list' foods.

A month ago I started eating just raw greens (darker greens are better) and protein- any meats, any cheeses (check the carbs- some have more than others), any fish, and eggs. I don't count calories, carbs or anything- I just ate what I liked from those two groups for the first few days. Then I added ONE food during the afternoon, to see how my body reacted.

Here is what I posted on my blog the other day:

Wednesday, July 15, 2009
Losing it!

As many of you know, I have been trying to lose weight for the past few years, only to fail over and over. Even if something worked I would wind up going off the diet plan and gaining it back (the pounds I lost would come back with friends), and all I would do was get bigger. I tried apples in the morning, and soup for lunch, and that did well for a bit, but I could never keep the weight off. So I did a little research and dug around for something that would help.

I knew I had to diet and exercise; I had all the tests done in the world to see if I had some sort of food allergy or disease, and everything cam back negative. But what if it was something that was under the blood test radar? I needed to find out.

I looked at many of the low-carb diet plans (for those got me the best results- I'm definitely a protein person), and found a few things I could tweak to make the diet plan my own. I went on a diet of green veggies and protein, and had nothing else but that for a few days. Then I started adding a food here and there to see how my body reacted. It was interesting!

When it came to sugar, the results were almost instantaneous- I got tired and lethargic after fifteen minutes after eating it. The lethargy lasted a few hours, then went away. Okay, so sugar was out. I went back to just the meat and veggies the next two days, then tried pasta. It took a while for it to react, but within an hour I was sleepy- so sleepy I took an impromptu nap! And even after a nap the effects lasted at least four to five hours! So pasta was out. In fact, after testing a few more times, all wheat flour was out.

Potatoes had no effect; neither did corn. Both of these are not on most low-carb plans, but since they had no effect (except in excess), I was good to go. I could actually have potato chips and corn chips in small amounts, as long as they were made without wheat flour! I could even have rice flour, and rice is also a big no-no in most low- carb diets- except brown rice. it depends on the diet plan.

So I made my own plan- it has been one month and I have lost seven pounds! I never consciously altered the amounts eaten, though I've noticed I haven't wanted as much food as before. I also have more energy, and since I can eat rice, corn and potatoes, it really hasn't been hard to stay away from pasta and bread! This was a biggie for me because I bake bread for my family every day (it's a lot cheaper, and better for them), and a lot of meals can have potatoes, corn or rice, so the menu isn't as restricted. And when they do get bread or pasta with meals, I just load up on the meat and veggies!

I'm not starving, I'm not craving, and I'm finally losing some weight. I hope by the time school starts I can join a gym and work on toning up, so I'm not stuck with a lot of loose skin. Yes folks, I intend to lose a lot- for good!

**************************************************************************

She might want to try doing what I did- she might react to different foods, she might be like me- but this should definitely help her out. If she still feels drained after the veggies and protein, she might not be a protein person, like I suspect. Or she could have a dairy intolerance, so she should try skipping the dairy and just have meats and veggies and see how she feels. But she should do this for at least a week at a time before adding something new to the diet.

I really hope this helps!

[pursuetruth]

I totally agree!
I am a thyroid patient and also find that the only way I can lose weight is to eat a low carb menu. Once I lower
my breads and starches and desserts drastically, the weight DOES come off.
Losing weight as a thyroid patient is more difficult, but not impossible. Best wishes to your daughter.

blessings, Sue