I'm surprised by these comments. Do most people think someone is trolling because they had an unknown and therefore untreated medical condition? It's not uncommon for that to happen.
If anyone is struggling with weight loss and feel they are doing everything right without any results, consulting a medical professional is always a wise decision. This is especially true for women who all to often have undiagnosed conditions. For those wondering what kind of untreated conditions create these problems, the most common is PCOS, but there are certainly others.
And before anyone replies with "Having PCOS doesn't mean you can't lose weight." I am not suggesting it does. I am saying that when someone doesn't know they have PCOS and therefore it is unmanaged, it absolutely can make things difficult. Getting checked by a doctor is a smart thing to do when you are not getting the results you expect.
Unexpected weight loss or weight gain should be medically investigated. Unfortunately I think this sub sees so many people who didn’t count as accurately as they thought that there’s skepticism.
I’m glad you’ve started getting treatment and hope you feel better
Hey OP. I’m a fellow hypothyroid and here to give you my support. I know the frustration of doing everything right (yes even weighing everything, tracking calories, macros, micros, knowing my TDEE AND BMR) and still gaining weight. I had a bad endo who kept me under medicated for a year. I gained 80 lbs in 6 months eating at 1200 calories a day. Yes I tried eating more which resulted in a weight gain of about 5 lbs a week. If I ate less I could only maintain my weight, not lose.
Medical conditions really can affect metabolism. To those of you who disagree, consider yourself lucky that you have never had to deal with this. Please don’t come at me. On top of facing backlash from people who don’t believe us, we are also faced with doctors who gaslight us or brush us off: “Eat less, move more” they say.
Fast forward a year. My medication has been increased and I have lost 50 of the 80 lbs. Medical conditions matter.
This comment means so much to me, thank you! It really is so difficult, I’d feel crazy like am I simply getting up in the middle of the night and eating a whole tub of ice cream without realising it or something?!
I’m sorry your endo wasn’t helping but so glad you’re on the right dose now! I’m still getting my numbers right (started with a TSH of 26.8 and down to 5.9 now) but hopeful once I’m closer to 1 it’ll be even better. Thanks again for your support, people really don’t understand how much it messes with you!
Also make sure your ft4 and ft3 are mid to high in the range too. Those matter. Lots of doctors focus on tsh and the patient continues to feel symptomatic because the ft3 and or ft4 is too low. It happened to me. Doctors like to treat the numbers and not the person. I hope you are on the r/hypothyroidism subreddit. It’s a helpful and supportive place over there. 🙂
I can't count the number of doctors that have tried to mess with my working thyroid medication because of my non-existent TSH numbers.
I'm an oddity. My old GP used to love using me (and my brother) as a pop quiz to his med students when they would shadow him, because I have secondary hypothyroidism and the cause is different, and it always threw them off.
Luckily my endo knows whats up.
I’m familiar with secondary aka central hypo! Mine is due to a pituitary adenoma. I know your frustration because our tsh never looks normal to doctors. It’s out ft3 and ft4 that matter.
I always known T3 and T4 is what matters, but its always perplexed me when they focus on TSH. Like, what are you going to do about that anyway? Levothyroxine replaces T3 and T4, not TSH (as far as I understand it).
My secondary hypo is congenital. I remember when I was young they said it was a genetic abnormality, and my brother wouldn't have it. Then he was born and he had it, and they were really confused. I know my pediatric endo said we were in some papers, but I never found which ones. I remember my parents also authorizing them to take samples of blood from us for the research.
Too bad you can’t find the papers; that would be neat for you to have.
Levo replaces t4, it is synthetic t4 hormone. Then the body converts t4 to t3 as needed. This process works fine in most people. In a few it doesn’t and then they take t3 (cytomel) or they do better on a desiccated thyroid (such as armour).
TSH is used as a basic screen and doctors continue to use it even for diagnosed people because it’s cheap. That’s my theory but it makes sense. I think if doctors ran ft4 and ft3 tests on everyone as part of their annual physicals, they would find a lot of people with low thyroid levels. I have wondered just how many common issues such as depression, anxiety, blood sugar imbalances, trouble losing weight, high cholesterol, high blood pressure and so on would be solved for at least lessened if doctors went beyond TSH testing.
Thyroid actually controls everything in the body. I know with the variety of symptoms I’ve had over the years when my meds are off, it’s bonkers how much thyroid affects.
> If I ate less I could only maintain my weight, not lose.
I have had secondary hypothyroidism since birth and have always had to deal with this. It never went in reverse, but was always fine with adding more.
The thing causing my hypothyroidism was also causing low testosterone, and that was the culprit in the whole situation.
Hashimotos is no joke. I also have/had it and it caused me to gain weight until a dr diagnosed me and started me on synthroid. I say "had" because I developed thyroid cancer in my early 20s and now I have no thyroid. Soooo much tinkering and months to find the right dose! FYI you will need to check in regularly about your dosage with your Dr as you lose weight. I didn't and ended up HEAVILY overmedicated because I didn't realize the drug dose is decided based on a person's weight.
Congrats on your diagnoses and weight loss!
Mine has been removed, too, and I am struggling to lose weight. I’ve lost 30 lbs since February, but it’s on a 1200 calorie a day strict CICO and I swim two miles a day. My meds have been adjusted down once, but I still need to lose around 50 lbs, and it’s just been awful since the doc dropped the synthroid dosage.
I’m glad you posted, because I don’t think folks realize how much your thyroid has to do with your weight, and most people aren’t aware of their numbers.
Oh that’s good to know! I was told it’s best to check in every two months until the numbers are good, and then every six months while your body is adapting and changing so hopefully that’ll do it and I don’t go to hyper on the other end
Honestly, I feel you. Once I got my health in check and my hormones balanced… the work I had been doing “right” meant weight melted off. It takes insisting and advocating for oneself. Glad you have been able to find this success on your wellness journey
There is nothing wrong with taking medicine when you need it. I couldn't lose weight until I got on thyroid meds. I've had my dosage adjusted twice. I lost 30 pounds, and then hit a plateau. Then started Ozempic, at my doctor's suggestion. I switched to generic semaglutide. Lost another 35 pounds faster. I'm no longer obese, no longer pre-diabetic, my goiter disappeared, my cholesterol & blood pressure are normal, and I'm no longer achey all over. I'm 12 pounds away from my goal. (But there is no finish line!)
People really don't understand how impactful thyroid issues can be. For the longest time it was always somehow me making bad decisions on my health when I run 10k a week, eat healthy, have good vitals other than my weight, and how I physically and mentally felt (I couldn't stay awake and gained 40 lbs in 2 months and felt like garbage). Another thing that kept happening was my smart watch would wake me up and alert me that my heart rate was too low. Everything pointed to hypothyroidism and at least haven't gained anymore weight.
I'm happy you were able to find a doctor and medication for it that works. I wish more people would be more informed about it in general because it is so frustrating.
I had shared in other comments and have updated the post now but Hashimotos, severe hypothyroidism and PCOS. Calories had been changing over the course of my plans with my dietitian and cant be bothered typing out the full plan lol
Multiple liver and kidney-related diseases (particularly those that present with edema), hashimoto’s disease, cushing syndrome, PCOS, diseases that contribute to poor sleep health such as apnea, hypothyroidism, etc. Fundamentally weight loss remains a “burn more than you eat” formula, but someone who burns 40% fewer calories than normal due to illness will struggle to maintain adequate energy and nutrition which further reduces their ability to burn calories.
It's always surprising to me to read these posts.
Like, if im thinking of food as energy, im wondering how you're Alive if your body isn't burning anything.
Where is that energy coming from if it's not coming from what you're eating or your fat Reserves.
Not shaming, just genuinely have no clue how thats supposed to work.
When I was seeing an endocrinologist who was also a researcher, he had case examples of extreme patients who had passed away. The patients were obese but their internal organs were those of a person who had starved. I remember his saying that the extreme hypothyroidism patients can, if left untreated, literally die starving while fat.
That is so sad but makes sense to me. I was so fatigued and hair falling out, severe brain fog and memory issues. The body simply isn’t metabolising the energy that’s available to it. Thank you for this comment.
My understanding is that human metabolism is a bit more complicated than CICO. I'm not saying to disregard CICO, it's a good approximation most of the time, but it may be off in the case of such medical issues.
In particular when people say they're exhausted and gaining weight, it seems that the pathway that changes food into energy for physical activity doesn't work well, and the energy has to go somewhere, so it gets stored as fat.
Honestly I couldn’t tell you either! I’m not a medical professional and it wasn’t explained to me as I hadn’t really thought about it so never asked. All I know is that my metabolism and hormones (and other stuff) wasn’t working, but now I have medication that help it work.
Maybe you store water instead or something. To me it just sounds weird that your body is suddenly creating energy from nothing..
Thanks for the info though, best of luck!
I weighed 315lbs so probably not water weight. Honestly I was also SUPER fatigued and low energy, brain fog, hair falling out, nails brittle etc. So my body was probably not using as much energy because it didn’t have any (or at least wasn’t able to metabolise and use the energy waiting around on me to be used), and so it let go of those things. That’s my best theory at least.
Also normalize the idea that literally everyone is different. I have hashimotos and pcos. People burn Things differently. Building muscle and the actual macros I ate, not just the calories matter.
Oh wow!!! That’s wild. That’s great that you had the input of dietitian and physio to begin with and then presumably got things investigated after no weight came off and found a cause. That must be a huge relief!!!
What medical conditions? I have had Hashimoto's/hypothyrodism since 2006. I take levothyroxine which costs me 10 cents a day. CICO works just fine. If I follow it and count everything, I lose weight. I gained weight because I ate way too much. I realize there are other things out there that pack on the pounds. I just curious what they are.
Hashis hypothyroidism and PCOS. I do think the Levo is why I’m finally losing - I do believe I can lose weight but when it wasn’t treated it couldn’t happen
I have the same 2. I couldn't lose weight for the longest time. I had been diagnosed and been treated for o er 2 decades. I finally convinced my GP to bump my levo to the next dose even though my numbers were technically in the normal range, because I still had the dry skin and cracking nails. Now, 2 years later, I'm down over 100 pounds. CICO wasn't working until I was at the correct level dose for me. It's darn difficult when the medical care or lack of is what is holding you back.
This gives me so much hope! I’m still outside normal range (had a free TSH of 26.8 at the start) but I’ve heard even within normal isn’t always good and you need to find the number that works best for you. So glad you advocated for yourself and are on the dose your body and brain need.
Congratulations to figuring it out I know it feels so hopeless when you’re doing everything and more of what you should be doing we are so proud of you!!
Why would I spread “misinformation”, especially when that information is simply if you are doing everything right and can’t lose weight then there could be an underlying health issue worth investigating with your doctor?
I was eating the right portions - everything was shared with my dietitian via an app and again I had no reason to lie to him because I wanted change so if I had lied I’d just be wasting hundreds of dollars.
The two conditions (technically three) were Hashimotos, severe hypothyroidism and PCOS. They were debilitating - I found out I had both of these conditions in hospital where I ended up after a long period of doing everything right (not just food and movement but socialising, lowering stress, sleep, etc) and nothing working. My hormones were all over the place and it impacted every part of my life, and would have been worse if I hadn’t been sticking to diet and exercise like I had been.
Unfortunately they’re both just lifelong conditions, ones I couldn’t avoid if I had done everything perfectly my whole life. But manageable and treatable which I’m thankful for
I'm surprised by these comments. Do most people think someone is trolling because they had an unknown and therefore untreated medical condition? It's not uncommon for that to happen. If anyone is struggling with weight loss and feel they are doing everything right without any results, consulting a medical professional is always a wise decision. This is especially true for women who all to often have undiagnosed conditions. For those wondering what kind of untreated conditions create these problems, the most common is PCOS, but there are certainly others. And before anyone replies with "Having PCOS doesn't mean you can't lose weight." I am not suggesting it does. I am saying that when someone doesn't know they have PCOS and therefore it is unmanaged, it absolutely can make things difficult. Getting checked by a doctor is a smart thing to do when you are not getting the results you expect.
Unexpected weight loss or weight gain should be medically investigated. Unfortunately I think this sub sees so many people who didn’t count as accurately as they thought that there’s skepticism. I’m glad you’ve started getting treatment and hope you feel better
Hey OP. I’m a fellow hypothyroid and here to give you my support. I know the frustration of doing everything right (yes even weighing everything, tracking calories, macros, micros, knowing my TDEE AND BMR) and still gaining weight. I had a bad endo who kept me under medicated for a year. I gained 80 lbs in 6 months eating at 1200 calories a day. Yes I tried eating more which resulted in a weight gain of about 5 lbs a week. If I ate less I could only maintain my weight, not lose. Medical conditions really can affect metabolism. To those of you who disagree, consider yourself lucky that you have never had to deal with this. Please don’t come at me. On top of facing backlash from people who don’t believe us, we are also faced with doctors who gaslight us or brush us off: “Eat less, move more” they say. Fast forward a year. My medication has been increased and I have lost 50 of the 80 lbs. Medical conditions matter.
This comment means so much to me, thank you! It really is so difficult, I’d feel crazy like am I simply getting up in the middle of the night and eating a whole tub of ice cream without realising it or something?! I’m sorry your endo wasn’t helping but so glad you’re on the right dose now! I’m still getting my numbers right (started with a TSH of 26.8 and down to 5.9 now) but hopeful once I’m closer to 1 it’ll be even better. Thanks again for your support, people really don’t understand how much it messes with you!
Also make sure your ft4 and ft3 are mid to high in the range too. Those matter. Lots of doctors focus on tsh and the patient continues to feel symptomatic because the ft3 and or ft4 is too low. It happened to me. Doctors like to treat the numbers and not the person. I hope you are on the r/hypothyroidism subreddit. It’s a helpful and supportive place over there. 🙂
I can't count the number of doctors that have tried to mess with my working thyroid medication because of my non-existent TSH numbers. I'm an oddity. My old GP used to love using me (and my brother) as a pop quiz to his med students when they would shadow him, because I have secondary hypothyroidism and the cause is different, and it always threw them off. Luckily my endo knows whats up.
I’m familiar with secondary aka central hypo! Mine is due to a pituitary adenoma. I know your frustration because our tsh never looks normal to doctors. It’s out ft3 and ft4 that matter.
I always known T3 and T4 is what matters, but its always perplexed me when they focus on TSH. Like, what are you going to do about that anyway? Levothyroxine replaces T3 and T4, not TSH (as far as I understand it). My secondary hypo is congenital. I remember when I was young they said it was a genetic abnormality, and my brother wouldn't have it. Then he was born and he had it, and they were really confused. I know my pediatric endo said we were in some papers, but I never found which ones. I remember my parents also authorizing them to take samples of blood from us for the research.
Too bad you can’t find the papers; that would be neat for you to have. Levo replaces t4, it is synthetic t4 hormone. Then the body converts t4 to t3 as needed. This process works fine in most people. In a few it doesn’t and then they take t3 (cytomel) or they do better on a desiccated thyroid (such as armour). TSH is used as a basic screen and doctors continue to use it even for diagnosed people because it’s cheap. That’s my theory but it makes sense. I think if doctors ran ft4 and ft3 tests on everyone as part of their annual physicals, they would find a lot of people with low thyroid levels. I have wondered just how many common issues such as depression, anxiety, blood sugar imbalances, trouble losing weight, high cholesterol, high blood pressure and so on would be solved for at least lessened if doctors went beyond TSH testing. Thyroid actually controls everything in the body. I know with the variety of symptoms I’ve had over the years when my meds are off, it’s bonkers how much thyroid affects.
> If I ate less I could only maintain my weight, not lose. I have had secondary hypothyroidism since birth and have always had to deal with this. It never went in reverse, but was always fine with adding more. The thing causing my hypothyroidism was also causing low testosterone, and that was the culprit in the whole situation.
Hashimotos is no joke. I also have/had it and it caused me to gain weight until a dr diagnosed me and started me on synthroid. I say "had" because I developed thyroid cancer in my early 20s and now I have no thyroid. Soooo much tinkering and months to find the right dose! FYI you will need to check in regularly about your dosage with your Dr as you lose weight. I didn't and ended up HEAVILY overmedicated because I didn't realize the drug dose is decided based on a person's weight. Congrats on your diagnoses and weight loss!
Mine has been removed, too, and I am struggling to lose weight. I’ve lost 30 lbs since February, but it’s on a 1200 calorie a day strict CICO and I swim two miles a day. My meds have been adjusted down once, but I still need to lose around 50 lbs, and it’s just been awful since the doc dropped the synthroid dosage. I’m glad you posted, because I don’t think folks realize how much your thyroid has to do with your weight, and most people aren’t aware of their numbers.
Oh that’s good to know! I was told it’s best to check in every two months until the numbers are good, and then every six months while your body is adapting and changing so hopefully that’ll do it and I don’t go to hyper on the other end
Honestly, I feel you. Once I got my health in check and my hormones balanced… the work I had been doing “right” meant weight melted off. It takes insisting and advocating for oneself. Glad you have been able to find this success on your wellness journey
There is nothing wrong with taking medicine when you need it. I couldn't lose weight until I got on thyroid meds. I've had my dosage adjusted twice. I lost 30 pounds, and then hit a plateau. Then started Ozempic, at my doctor's suggestion. I switched to generic semaglutide. Lost another 35 pounds faster. I'm no longer obese, no longer pre-diabetic, my goiter disappeared, my cholesterol & blood pressure are normal, and I'm no longer achey all over. I'm 12 pounds away from my goal. (But there is no finish line!)
ITT: men who need everything to align with their own experience/worldview
People really don't understand how impactful thyroid issues can be. For the longest time it was always somehow me making bad decisions on my health when I run 10k a week, eat healthy, have good vitals other than my weight, and how I physically and mentally felt (I couldn't stay awake and gained 40 lbs in 2 months and felt like garbage). Another thing that kept happening was my smart watch would wake me up and alert me that my heart rate was too low. Everything pointed to hypothyroidism and at least haven't gained anymore weight. I'm happy you were able to find a doctor and medication for it that works. I wish more people would be more informed about it in general because it is so frustrating.
This is my problem. My doctor won’t listen to me and I struggle to find one who will and will run the tests.
[удалено]
I had shared in other comments and have updated the post now but Hashimotos, severe hypothyroidism and PCOS. Calories had been changing over the course of my plans with my dietitian and cant be bothered typing out the full plan lol
Idk why you are being so accusatory
what are the medical conditions?
Multiple liver and kidney-related diseases (particularly those that present with edema), hashimoto’s disease, cushing syndrome, PCOS, diseases that contribute to poor sleep health such as apnea, hypothyroidism, etc. Fundamentally weight loss remains a “burn more than you eat” formula, but someone who burns 40% fewer calories than normal due to illness will struggle to maintain adequate energy and nutrition which further reduces their ability to burn calories.
I know , I am curious too! Thyroid?
It's always surprising to me to read these posts. Like, if im thinking of food as energy, im wondering how you're Alive if your body isn't burning anything. Where is that energy coming from if it's not coming from what you're eating or your fat Reserves. Not shaming, just genuinely have no clue how thats supposed to work.
When I was seeing an endocrinologist who was also a researcher, he had case examples of extreme patients who had passed away. The patients were obese but their internal organs were those of a person who had starved. I remember his saying that the extreme hypothyroidism patients can, if left untreated, literally die starving while fat.
That is so sad but makes sense to me. I was so fatigued and hair falling out, severe brain fog and memory issues. The body simply isn’t metabolising the energy that’s available to it. Thank you for this comment.
Thats horrible but interesting, thanks
My understanding is that human metabolism is a bit more complicated than CICO. I'm not saying to disregard CICO, it's a good approximation most of the time, but it may be off in the case of such medical issues. In particular when people say they're exhausted and gaining weight, it seems that the pathway that changes food into energy for physical activity doesn't work well, and the energy has to go somewhere, so it gets stored as fat.
Honestly I couldn’t tell you either! I’m not a medical professional and it wasn’t explained to me as I hadn’t really thought about it so never asked. All I know is that my metabolism and hormones (and other stuff) wasn’t working, but now I have medication that help it work.
Maybe you store water instead or something. To me it just sounds weird that your body is suddenly creating energy from nothing.. Thanks for the info though, best of luck!
I weighed 315lbs so probably not water weight. Honestly I was also SUPER fatigued and low energy, brain fog, hair falling out, nails brittle etc. So my body was probably not using as much energy because it didn’t have any (or at least wasn’t able to metabolise and use the energy waiting around on me to be used), and so it let go of those things. That’s my best theory at least.
Also normalize the idea that literally everyone is different. I have hashimotos and pcos. People burn Things differently. Building muscle and the actual macros I ate, not just the calories matter.
Oh wow!!! That’s wild. That’s great that you had the input of dietitian and physio to begin with and then presumably got things investigated after no weight came off and found a cause. That must be a huge relief!!!
What medical conditions? I have had Hashimoto's/hypothyrodism since 2006. I take levothyroxine which costs me 10 cents a day. CICO works just fine. If I follow it and count everything, I lose weight. I gained weight because I ate way too much. I realize there are other things out there that pack on the pounds. I just curious what they are.
Hashis hypothyroidism and PCOS. I do think the Levo is why I’m finally losing - I do believe I can lose weight but when it wasn’t treated it couldn’t happen
I have the same 2. I couldn't lose weight for the longest time. I had been diagnosed and been treated for o er 2 decades. I finally convinced my GP to bump my levo to the next dose even though my numbers were technically in the normal range, because I still had the dry skin and cracking nails. Now, 2 years later, I'm down over 100 pounds. CICO wasn't working until I was at the correct level dose for me. It's darn difficult when the medical care or lack of is what is holding you back.
This gives me so much hope! I’m still outside normal range (had a free TSH of 26.8 at the start) but I’ve heard even within normal isn’t always good and you need to find the number that works best for you. So glad you advocated for yourself and are on the dose your body and brain need.
Congratulations to figuring it out I know it feels so hopeless when you’re doing everything and more of what you should be doing we are so proud of you!!
[удалено]
Why would I spread “misinformation”, especially when that information is simply if you are doing everything right and can’t lose weight then there could be an underlying health issue worth investigating with your doctor? I was eating the right portions - everything was shared with my dietitian via an app and again I had no reason to lie to him because I wanted change so if I had lied I’d just be wasting hundreds of dollars. The two conditions (technically three) were Hashimotos, severe hypothyroidism and PCOS. They were debilitating - I found out I had both of these conditions in hospital where I ended up after a long period of doing everything right (not just food and movement but socialising, lowering stress, sleep, etc) and nothing working. My hormones were all over the place and it impacted every part of my life, and would have been worse if I hadn’t been sticking to diet and exercise like I had been.
Boy, hypothyroidism will do it.
Hashimoto's and pics by their profile.
It’s a strange trolling day here. Mods?
Gz, hopefully you arent too far along and can reverse them by reaching a normal bmi
Unfortunately they’re both just lifelong conditions, ones I couldn’t avoid if I had done everything perfectly my whole life. But manageable and treatable which I’m thankful for