Skip to content. Are you hypothyroid? Feb 3 Weight gain can be a vicious circle. Fatigue leads to less physical activity, which can lead to weight gain. Weak, Achy, or Stiff Muscles and Joints Symptoms of hypothyroidism include weak and aching muscles, joint pain and stiffness, and potentially even carpal tunnel syndrome. Ask anyone with chronic joint pain: Staying active is a massive struggle. Depression Another symptom of hypothyroidism is depression.
Sugar Sugar is your enemy.
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Avoid sugar at all costs if you are dealing with thyroid-related weight gain. Foods to Eat At PrimeHealth, we suggest the Autoimmune Paleo AIP diet to those diagnosed with hypothyroidism especially when autotimmunity is a trigger for between months. The AIP diet incorporates all anti-inflammatory healthy foods that encourage weight loss.
Lean proteins: Beef Pork Poultry Eggs Seafood especially fish, rich in healthy fats like omega-3 fatty acids Non-dairy fermented foods: Apple cider vinegar Kombucha Non-nightshade veggies Cruciferous vegetables like kale and brussels sprouts Sulfur-rich veggies like garlic and onions Herbs like rosemary and turmeric Collagen and bone broth Green tea Arrowroot starch Small amounts of honey, maple syrup, fruits, and monk fruit Foods to Avoid It is important to avoid inflammatory foods. Use Time-Restricted Eating In order to stabilize your weight or lose more , you may want to try time-restricted eating also called intermittent fasting or IMF.
Diet and Weight Loss Tips for Thyroid Patients
The end of this window should be no less than two hours before bedtime, which will protect you from blood sugar spikes while sleeping. There should be at least 12 hours between the last bite of food one day and your first bite the next day. Extending your fasting window to 14 or even 16 hours may even be more beneficial when trying to lose weight. Stress Relief Stress is a leading contributor to an underactive thyroid. Exercise When you are hypothyroid, regular exercise can help you: Relieve depression Increase energy Boost self-esteem Reduce joint pain Increase muscle mass Improve insulin resistance Lose unwanted weight Maintain that healthy weight Physical therapists and endocrinologists alike would probably suggest low impact cardio exercise, especially to start out.
We suggest 30 minutes of exercise a day, five days a week. Supplements Here are the best natural dietary supplements to lessen the severity of your hypothyroidism, promote a healthy metabolism, and promote hypothyroidism-related weight loss. Iodine is essential to healthy thyroid function. Iodine deficiency is the leading cause of goiters, a thyroid disorder. Gut health is closely linked to your immune system, which is closely linked to your thyroid health. Improved thyroid function means better metabolism.
Improving your gut health has also been linked directly with weight loss. Selenium is found in fish and muscle meats. As a supplement, researchers found that selenium improved biomarkers of hypothyroidism.
The Best Way To Lose Weight When You Have Hypothyroidism
Selenium also improves mood, which can relieve stress. Both stress relief and improved thyroid function speed up your metabolism. Glutathione is the most abundant antioxidant in the human body. In supplement form, glutathione fights oxidative stress that leads to inflammation. Curcumin , the primary component in turmeric, fights inflammation and promotes heart health.
Animal studies show that curcumin also regulates body fat. In Summary Hypothyroidism is when your thyroid gland is underactive.
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This leads to several symptoms: Weight gain Fatigue Joint stiffness Muscle aches Depression Not only does hypothyroidism directly cause weight gain, but the other symptoms contribute to body weight outside the normal range. We suggest several methods of how to lose weight with hypothyroidism: Avoid sugar. Exercise regularly. Relieve stress. Use time-restricted eating. Adhere to the Autoimmune Paleo diet. Proteins and most vegetables are great; all potential food allergens are to be avoided. Consider natural supplements, such as iodine, selenium, and curcumin. Sources Chakrabarti, S. Thyroid functions and bipolar affective disorder.
Journal of thyroid research, Nutritional therapies for mental disorders. Nutrition journal, 7 1 , 2. Effect of dietary sugar intake on biomarkers of subclinical inflammation: a systematic review and meta-analysis of intervention studies. Nutrients, 10 5 , Do dietary lectins cause disease?
Effects of 8-hour time restricted feeding on body weight and metabolic disease risk factors in obese adults: A pilot study. Nutrition and healthy aging, 4 4 , Time-restricted feeding is a preventative and therapeutic intervention against diverse nutritional challenges. Cell metabolism, 20 6 , Social stress-induced hypothyroidism is attenuated by antidepressant treatment in rats. Neuropharmacology, 62 1 , Current obesity reports, 7 2 , Interactions between sleep, stress, and metabolism: From physiological to pathological conditions.
Sleep Science, 8 3 , Global rise of potential health hazards caused by blue light-induced circadian disruption in modern aging societies. More green space is linked to less stress in deprived communities: Evidence from salivary cortisol patterns. Landscape and urban planning, 3 , The role of iodine and selenium in autoimmune thyroiditis.
Hormone and Metabolic Research, 47 10 , Constant iodine intake through the diet could improve hypothyroidism treatment: a case report. Journal of physiology and biochemistry, 74 1 , Is it time to use probiotics to prevent or treat obesity?. Nutrients, 10 11 , Thyroid, 20 10 , GSH levels affect weight loss in individuals with metabolic syndrome and obesity following dietary therapy. Experimental and therapeutic medicine, 16 2 , Soyona Rafatjah February 3, Leave a comment. If you have hypothyroidism, you may gain weight, feel tired, have dry hair and skin, be constipated, and have an intolerance to cold.
Hypothyroidism is treated with daily thyroid hormone pills to replace the amount of hormone your body is no longer producing. The way the thyroid functions to affect weight and body composition is quite complex. It is frustrating to struggle to lose weight or continue to gain weight, even while taking your daily medication. There are five potential barriers that may be making weight loss difficult for you:.
In fact, even small increases in TSH within the normal range are associated with weight gain. It may be that you have a lower metabolism than she does. Metabolism is the process by which your body converts the food you eat into energy. It is essential to ensuring your body has sufficient energy to function while protecting you from starvation. Your metabolism works like a thermostat remember the pituitary?
This means fewer calories are needed to maintain body weight, making weight loss more difficult. The treatment most commonly used for hypothyroidism is synthetic T4 hormone, called levothyroxine; however, T4 is not the only thyroid hormone that affects your metabolism. Triiodothyronine T3 works at the cellular level delivering oxygen and energy. T3 is produced by the thyroid as well as through conversion of T4 to T3.
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Lower T3 levels are associated with lowered resting metabolic rates. A lower metabolism requires less caloric intake and more physical activity to maintain current body weight or to lose fat. Some people, due to genetics, have an increased need for T3. If you have too little or too much TBG, your thyroid hormones cannot get to your cells adequately or efficiently. Insulin, another hormone released by your pancreas, increases after you eat sugar or carbohydrates.
Insulin stimulates your cells to absorb the excess sugar in the blood, storing it for energy and protecting your body from high glucose levels. When insulin levels remain chronically elevated, your body becomes resistant to insulin, which means the cells are less responsive, and more insulin is required to maintain normal blood sugar levels.
Elevated levels of insulin not only increase your risk of developing Type 2 diabetes, it causes weight gain, even if you eat fewer calories, by making your cells better at storing fat and increasing cravings for carbohydrate-rich foods. Leptin, a hormone secreted by your fat cells, acts on the hypothalamus in your brain to regulate metabolism and appetite. As you accumulate more fat cells, leptin levels increase and signal to the brain there is adequate energy storage.
In response, your pituitary gland increases TSH to stimulate thyroid production and your body burns fat rather than storing it. Leptin resistance occurs much like insulin resistance. The hypothalamus becomes unresponsive to chronically high levels of leptin, which causes your brain to act as if the body is in a state of starvation.
Metabolism slows, appetite increases and you gain weight, which further increases leptin levels. Leptin resistance makes you chronically hungry and prevents your body from using stored fat, which creates weight gain and can makes weight loss more difficult.