Tips On Losing Weight Caused By Thyroid

Losing weight is a problem for many people affected by hypothyroidism. The inability to lose weight is often one of the first symptoms of an underactive thyroid, but even those taking medication and dieting at the same time experience frustration with weight control. Even though your progress may be slower than others, there are some things you can do to enhance weight loss.

Causes

According to Mary Shomon, patient advocate and author of "Living Well With Hypothyroidism," three factors influence the difficult weight loss with hypothyroidism: a different metabolic "set point," changes in brain chemistry due to illness and stress and insulin resistance. Because the body has an underfunctioning metabolism, the metabolic resistance becomes impaired, letting the body set a higher set point, causing it to be more difficult to lose weight. Brain chemistry controls hunger. When thyroid disease slows down metabolism, it becomes too slow for the appetite level set by your brain. What your brain perceives as appropriate food intake exceeds what your body can metabolize, causing weight gain. Insulin resistance is caused by eating too many carbohydrates. Eating carbohydrates can cause you to crave more, which causes more insulin to be secreted, creating less need for your body to use stored fat as energy. Hypothyroidism slows the body's ability to process carbohydrates.

Antidepressants and Aerobic Exercise

Some people have been helped by a short course of antidepressants prescribed by their doctor, according to Shomon. It may have something to do with creating more serotonin in your system and less need to use carbohydrates to enhance serotonin. Natural supplements such as St. John's Wort and 5-HTP have been used by those preferring more natural alternatives. Aerobic exercise is another natural way to increase serotonin and treat insulin resistance. Find something you like to do and do it consistently. Weight training is beneficial because muscle is more metabolically active than fat. Even though people with hypothyroidism often feel fatigued, if you can push beyond that feeling and get moving, you will have more energy from exercising.

Breathing and Low-Glycemic Diet

A program of deep breathing exercises, which increases oxygen intake while releasing more carbon dioxide, is helpful in weight loss, according to Shomon, though she readily admits most doctors will not agree. Since hypothyroidism affects the strength of your respiratory muscles, deep breathing seems to help correct that problem, as well as countering fatigue and stress. A low-glycemic diet combats insulin resistance by taking away high-sugar, starchy foods such as rice, white flour, pasta, most cereals, desserts and sodas. A diet consisting of low-fat protein sources such as beans, legumes, chicken, turkey and fish, non-starchy fruits and vegetables, and some grains seems to help as well.

Cautions

According to the Mayo Clinic, you should avoid taking your thyroid supplements at the same time as you eat walnuts, soybean flour or cottonseed meal, or take iron supplements or multivitamins containing iron because they can interfere with absorption. You should also avoid taking calcium supplements and antacids containing aluminum or magnesium at the same time as thyroid. Too much dietary fiber can impair the absorption of synthetic thyroid hormone as well.