Sunday, April 22, 2012

My Top 5 Tips on How to Lose Weight With Hypothyroidism And How to Diet With an Under Active Thyroid


Hashimoto S Thyroiditis Diet My Top 5 Tips on How to Lose Weight With Hypothyroidism And How to Diet With an Under Active Thyroid.

I was diagnosed with hypothyroidism in 1999 after the birth of my second son. Initially I put my lethargy & brain fog symptoms down to dealing with a baby & the sleepless nights, but fortunately my doctor put 2 and 2 together & carried out a blood test for an underactive thyroid.

One of the biggest problems I've experienced with hypothyroidism is weight loss because for anyone with hypothyroidism your metabolism isn't functioning properly so even when it's being managed by medication it's harder for people like me & you who are hypothyroid to lose weight & maintain the weight loss. Believe me, I know from experience!

Forget the crash & fad diets, the best diet tips are often the simplest! Here's my top 5 tips:

1. This may be stating the obvious, but make sure your thyroid medication is at the correct level for you. I function best on a sub 1 TSH & start to get annoying little symptoms like eye ticks & other muscular twitches when it gets a few points higher.

2. Stress - this affects all of us but can be especially detrimental to anyone with hypothyroidism as it affects the thyroid function. We all deal with stress in different ways. Personally I find exercise a good stress buster & also you might find relaxation CDs & breathing exercises helpful too.

3. Exercise - now I don't mean you need to start running a marathon on a daily basis, but just look at your exercise level & do little things to increase it gradually. Walk, don't take the car or bus. Get out for a cycle, or go swimming at your local pool. Choose what works for you. I kept an exercise diary to help motivate me & it really worked as I could feel & see myself getting fitter over time.

4. Keep your expectations real. Don't expect to be able to lose 7 pounds in a week or whatever the latest diet advert says. Hypothyroidism means that your metabolism is lower so you won't lose weight as quickly as others, but it will come off if you work at it. Keep the faith!

5. Rather than making yourself miserable on the latest starvation craze, really have an honest look at what you eat on a daily basis. I really think it's as simple as cutting your portions, eating less carbs, increasing the veg on your plate & eating more fruit. Cut out the rubbishy high calorie snacks & replace them with healthier alternatives - swap the cookie for fruit salad, the jumbo café latte for tea. The little changes will help you make a big change!

hashimoto s thyroiditis diet.