Dieting with Thyroid Disease

[shellies78]

I was diagnosed with Hashimoto's Thyroidisis last year and basically thyroid shifts dramatically from hypo to hyper thyroidism. Per doc, until thyroid completely shuts down, I cannot take hormone replacement since the levels are currently all over the place. Lately I've been feeling the effects of Hypo (i.e. hair loss, dry skin, cold all the time, fatigue, etc.) I'm feeling so disappointed because I ate well and exercised 3x this week for 1.5 hour each time. However, I gained a pound this week and so sad about it! I was so confident I would lose 1-2 pounds.

Do I need to modify diet to stiumlate thyroid production, which utimately controls metabolism function? I feel like this is truly going to be an uphill battle and 40 pound goal is far far away.

[Boss Man]

Firstly, I want to tell you that you should be proud of telling people that. I know it can't be easy and it must be a difficult thing to speak about, but I really admire you for speaking about your problem and taking greater steps to overcome it.

You are in a hard place, but don't be down about that pound okay .

Don't forget you would be best weighing once a week, early morning after a toilet trip, so you won't get any waste matter and undigested food contributing to the weight reading, which can skew a reading to some extent.

It also means that weight can fluctuate throughout the day.

You're going to have some seriosu issues I can forsee. Not sure how your Bone and Blood Calcium levels will be affected, as you having Hashimotos would I suspect, affect Calcitonin production not just T3 and T4.

The main thing is not to feel dissapointed. You must keep your chin up and be strong. It's easier said than done I grant you, but I can see by your picture, that you have a little one that will need you to be strong and show them the way forward.

Getting frustrated and wanting to give in, or just going on a food bender for several days, out of dissapointment and frustration won't do you any good and you being able to overcome your adversity to any extent would really show your child a lot of valuable lessons about being human .

I am certain they will grow up to be someone deserving of you in their lives. I am sure you will be everything they need. That smile and that picture say so much about you. You look like someone who is really warm, touching and wonderful to be around and it isn't fair sometimes that goiod people get crap luck whilst some of the worst people get good luck, but that's not a rant, just an observation.

It's early days yet, so you will have to give the process time, but as long as you remain solid, dedicated and remember you're not doing this for you, but also for the little one, so they can grow up having a Mother who is worth something to them, emotionally, mentally and physically.

You will have a fight on your hands trying to overcome the Hashimotos. I read somewhere once that Thyroid problems may be modified by limiting Salt intake to 3g a day, (not 6g) and Fat to 30g a day, (not 70g), buit I'm not 100% sure how accurate that was, it may be a variable thing based on the type of Thyroid disfunction, so you must verifiy this with a healthcare proffessional before condiering such changes.

You will also have to factor in that things like Dairy, Soy, Nuts and one or two other food sources are Calcium based, so should your Calcitonin hormone also be affected by Hashimotos, you will get issues regulating Calcium.

I shouldn't think you will get a significant increase risk of Arterial Calcification, or stiffening if you will, but again, I cannot be 100% certain of this, as I have some knowledge of what you have, but I'm not a practitioner trained in such matters.

What I will say though is, that whatever we can do, even if it's just to be here when you want to let it all out, that's what Shapefit is here for, as are moderators if you need a discreet one to one via PM.

I wish you tonnes of good luck I really do. You come across as such a lovely, lovely person and I'm sure you will somehow find a way to be strong and fight through this.

Keep believing, keep your chin up, keep smiling and keep making that sparkling little fluffball feel like life is something worth having, not a kick in the teeth, because you can make a difference to you and them. It's will be tough, but I think you have what it takes to fight this issue and to a large extent overcome it.

Thank you again for telling us about your problems. You showed, courage, heart and beauty posting that and taking a step like that, will only serve to improve your chances of winning the fight, that you DO deserve to win, because you ARE worth it.

GOOD LUCK

[shellies78]

Firstly, I want to tell you that you should be proud of telling people that. I know it can't be easy and it must be a difficult thing to speak about, but I really admire you for speaking about your problem and taking greater steps to overcome it.

You are in a hard place, but don't be down about that pound okay .

Don't forget you would be best weighing once a week, early morning after a toilet trip, so you won't get any waste matter and undigested food contributing to the weight reading, which can skew a reading to some extent.

It also means that weight can fluctuate throughout the day.

You're going to have some seriosu issues I can forsee. Not sure how your Bone and Blood Calcium levels will be affected, as you having Hashimotos would I suspect, affect Calcitonin production not just T3 and T4.

The main thing is not to feel dissapointed. You must keep your chin up and be strong. It's easier said than done I grant you, but I can see by your picture, that you have a little one that will need you to be strong and show them the way forward.

Getting frustrated and wanting to give in, or just going on a food bender for several days, out of dissapointment and frustration won't do you any good and you being able to overcome your adversity to any extent would really show your child a lot of valuable lessons about being human .

I am certain they will grow up to be someone deserving of you in their lives. I am sure you will be everything they need. That smile and that picture say so much about you. You look like someone who is really warm, touching and wonderful to be around and it isn't fair sometimes that goiod people get crap luck whilst some of the worst people get good luck, but that's not a rant, just an observation.

It's early days yet, so you will have to give the process time, but as long as you remain solid, dedicated and remember you're not doing this for you, but also for the little one, so they can grow up having a Mother who is worth something to them, emotionally, mentally and physically.

You will have a fight on your hands trying to overcome the Hashimotos. I read somewhere once that Thyroid problems may be modified by limiting Salt intake to 3g a day, (not 6g) and Fat to 30g a day, (not 70g), buit I'm not 100% sure how accurate that was, it may be a variable thing based on the type of Thyroid disfunction, so you must verifiy this with a healthcare proffessional before condiering such changes.

You will also have to factor in that things like Dairy, Soy, Nuts and one or two other food sources are Calcium based, so should your Calcitonin hormone also be affected by Hashimotos, you will get issues regulating Calcium.

I shouldn't think you will get a significant increase risk of Arterial Calcification, or stiffening if you will, but again, I cannot be 100% certain of this, as I have some knowledge of what you have, but I'm not a practitioner trained in such matters.

What I will say though is, that whatever we can do, even if it's just to be here when you want to let it all out, that's what Shapefit is here for, as are moderators if you need a discreet one to one via PM.

I wish you tonnes of good luck I really do. You come across as such a lovely, lovely person and I'm sure you will somehow find a way to be strong and fight through this.

Keep believing, keep your chin up, keep smiling and keep making that sparkling little fluffball feel like life is something worth having, not a kick in the teeth, because you can make a difference to you and them. It's will be tough, but I think you have what it takes to fight this issue and to a large extent overcome it.

Thank you again for telling us about your problems. You showed, courage, heart and beauty posting that and taking a step like that, will only serve to improve your chances of winning the fight, that you DO deserve to win, because you ARE worth it.

GOOD LUCK

Thanks so much for your kind and encouraging words! It's sometimes difficult to keep positive but your advice really helps so much!

[shellies78]

I was diagnosed with Hashimoto's Thyroidisis last year and basically thyroid shifts dramatically from hypo to hyper thyroidism. Per doc, until thyroid completely shuts down, I cannot take hormone replacement since the levels are currently all over the place. Lately I've been feeling the effects of Hypo (i.e. hair loss, dry skin, cold all the time, fatigue, etc.) I'm feeling so disappointed because I ate well and exercised 3x this week for 1.5 hour each time. However, I gained a pound this week and so sad about it! I was so confident I would lose 1-2 pounds.

Do I need to modify diet to stiumlate thyroid production, which utimately controls metabolism function? I feel like this is truly going to be an uphill battle and 40 pound goal is far far away.

Hmm, this is weird. I've had Hashimoto's since I was 3 years old, and it doesn't act like that. It's basically an auto-immune disease that eats away at your thyroid, so you HAVE to take T4 (or T3/T4, though that doesn't work well for everyone...and actually screwed me up pretty badly, but that's another story). You should not be fluctuating between hypo/hyper at all. You should be straight hypo. Think about it...if something's eating away at your thyroid, how could you be producing EXTRA hormones?

You need a second opinion asap. If you're having those severe hypo symptoms and your doc is refusing to treat you with synthroid (especially after diagnosing you with Hashimoto's), you need a new doctor.

As for diet...that's a lifelong lifestyle change you'll have to make. If your weight gain is solely due to the thyroid issue, it should be pretty easy to take off once you get your meds straightened out. Avoid iodine, of course. But being hypo means your metabolism is slow, so you (and I) have to work twice as hard as everyone else for the same results. But it's doable. You just have to be patient.

And GET A NEW DOC!!

Yes, Hashimoto's is an autoimmune disease which causes your own body's antibodies to attack your thyroid, the biggest cause of Hypothyroidism. When your antibodies are high, you have the typical symptoms of "hypo" because you are not producing enough hormone because your thyroid is actively being destroyed. HOWEVER, for whatever reason, and for which doctors do not know the cause, the antibodies sometimes retreat, thus causing a large release of hormones at once causing the "hyper" mode (heat palpitations, sweating, sleeplessness, etc.) which is commonly knows as Hashitoxicosis. When I am in "hyper" mode it usually lasts a couple of weeks at a time. Because of this, I cannot be on meds until I am completely hypothyroid (no longer Hashimoto's) and thyroid not working at all... as what I was told by two different endos.

Maybe you no longer have Hashimoto's (especially since you had it so young) you are now probably full-fledged Hypothyroid -- that I am not.

[Boss Man]

Another possibility to consider with diet is Cruciferous Vegetables. Like Cauliflower, Broccoli, Brussells Sprouts etc, as they contain Goitrogens which can interact with the Thyroid, so if you're concerend about those, limit thme perhaps, per advice from a doctor.

Iodine I believe is in Shellfish, so you may need to be aware of Iodine content, as already mentioned.