I Can’t Lose Weight, It’s my Thyroid … My Story Comments
Apr 07, 2009 | First Blog Post on Thyroid and Me“I can’t lose weight. I have a thyroid problem. I’ll never be able to get rid of these extra pounds.”
Sound familiar? Well that was me about three years ago. That’s when I learned that I was making excuses for my inability to lose weight. That was before I found out the secret to losing weight … even with hypo-thyroidism. And now I want to share with you what I have learned over a lifetime … about dieting and your good health.
About 10 years ago one of my doctors suggested I get my thyroid checked. Why? You ask. She noticed my throat was sort of large, and I was tired, and my skin was very dry. Also, I had gained about 10 pounds each year for the previous three years!!! Wow, I was 30 pounds over weight and gaining every day.
I went to an endocrinologist, and undertook a really thorough testing program. To take a film (x-ray) of my thyroid, I had to go to the hospital and get an injection, then return hours later for my film. This allowed for a beautiful picture of my thyroid. Eat your heart out Elizabeth Taylor. (She had been in the same hospital and had her thyroid x-rayed that same year.) My thyroid was beautiful. The doctor asked if he could use it in articles, because it was such a perfect butterfly.
There are two types of thyroid problems. Hyper-thyroid means your thyroid is overactive. The hyper-thyroid symptoms here are: palpitations, heat intolerance, nervousness, insomnia, breathlessness, increased bowel movements, light or absent menstrual periods, fatigue, fast heart rate, trembling hands, weight loss, muscle weakness, warm, moist skin, hair loss, and staring gaze.
The Hypo-thyroid refers to those with an underactive thyroid. Symptoms are: fatigue, weakness, weight gain or increased difficulty losing weight, coarse, dry hair, dry, rough pale skin, hair loss, cold intolerance, muscle cramps and frequent muscle aches, constipation, depression, irritability, memory loss, abnormal menstrual cycles, and decreased libido.
That’s what I have and my symptoms as I mentioned above were thick throat, overly tired, dry skin, and my fingernails slightly raise at the end instead of the usual curve down, as well as disappearing eyebrows.
For me the answer was simple, take one little Synthroid tablet every day. Well, it didn’t exactly work that well at first. I had heart palpitations, so the doctor had me drop one tablet each week. But eventually we got the right formula – and I’m still taking one a day (although I’ve switched to a generic variety). I keep hoping I’m getting better, but my yearly blood check doesn’t say so.
What I do know is that for years, I struggled with losing weight. I think I purchased about every book on weight loss I could find. Trying one for a few months, maybe lose a little, only to gain it back again. Then switching to the newest ‘fad diet’. Finally I just gave up and said to myself, “You have a thyroid problem, so you will never be able to lose weight. You’re metabolism has slowed to nothing. It’s hopeless. Learn to live with it.”
Then one day my daughter handed me a book. “UltraMetabolism” by Dr. Mark Hyman. This book changed my life, my health, my outlook. In the book Dr. Hyman shares seven myths about weight gain. I will be sharing these with you in my blog.
Dr. Hyman practices ‘functional medicine’. Instead of finding a medication to cover up the symptoms of a patient, he looks inside the patient to determine why the symptoms are appearing. By learning more about a patient, a doctor can erase unwanted symptoms by simply changing what goes into the patient. Dr. Hyman has a method of determining what foods are triggering your symptoms. From migraines to weight gain, to heartburn, high cholesterol. I’ll tell you more about that in a future blog.
Jack LaLane was right – you are what you eat. And Dr. Mark Hyman’s unique approach to medical health has proven it to me over and over.
To make a long story short … I didn’t just take Dr. Hyman’s advice. I also listened to my doctor who said I needed to exercise. So I joined Curves, and Weight Watchers.
I’m proud to say I lost weight, made my goal in Weight Watchers in about 1 year (I’m a Lifetime WW and have maintained my weight for 1 ½ years), and my eyebrows are coming back. (Do you know that another sign of Thyroid deficiency is the thinning of the eyebrows at the end, nearest your hairline.) My fingernails are very strong. I still have dry skin — but hey, I’m 65 years old!!! And, yes, I am still taking the Synthroid because my blood tests still say I need it. But that’s OK. Because I have more energy than ever – and feel and look better.
My hope is that this blog will be interactive … with you, the readers contributing to the mix. If you complete the form, I’ll send you a brief description of each blog so you can decide if the topic interests you.
