Hypothyroid symptoms – Weight Gain

Is your thyroid making you put on weight? Why is it so difficult for people with an underactive thyroid to shed weight?  Hypothyroidism and putting on weight are very much related, and is also one of the most common thyroid problems.  When you happen to be hypothyroid, your slowed metabolism and changes to your endocrine system will make losing weight feel like a losing proposition.   

Generally, thyroid weight gain is common in women undergoing menopause as there is a change of hormones in the body. 

 It can become extremely frustrating as well as discouraging. It feels like anything you do just does not seem to really make any difference.

Take heart, it will.

Once you start to get your levels back to normal, helping kick start your metabolism again should be a priority.  Exercise, and eating supporting foods can greatly help that to happen.  You don’t have to go crazy.  Like we talked about in nutrition, just start to make one small change at a time, and before you know it – off comes the weight.

To fight your thyroid weight gain, try to avoid refined foods that contain high amounts of sugar.  They raise your blood sugar levels really high and cause your body to try to bring the levels down really low.  This in turn makes you feel that energy crash, which in turn makes you want the sugar boost again.  This can be a huge contributor to weight gain. All calories are not created equal.  Calories from white foods will not fill you up like calories from saturated fats such as from nuts.

We all love our comfort food.  Try some of these low fat swaps to help you stay on track.

Lasagna – Amy’s Light & Lean Spinach Lasagna

Pizza – Kashi Mushroom Trio & Spinach

Chicken Pot Pie – Blake’s Chicken Pot Pie

Mac & Cheese – Annie’s Homegrown Deluxe Shells & Wisconsin Cheddar

Mashed Potatoes – Ore Ida Steam N’ Mash Cut Russet Potatoes

Small bursts of exercise are always helpful also.  Your cells have to reset themselves into fat burning mode.  This doesn’t mean you have to go to a gym. 

You can start to incorporate small things everyday.  Park farther away at the store so you walk more.  Make an extra trip up and down the stairs when you have to get something.  Lift your detergent bottle a few times with each hand before you put it down.

All these little things help to start burning calories.  You can always visit a nutritionist to help make a very specific plan on how to get you back on the right track as well.  The weight may start to come off slow, but that is a good thing because when it comes off slowly, it will stay off as long as you continue on your path to health.

Hypothyroid symptoms – Gluten

If you continue to feel the symptoms of your hypothyroid such as - severe exhaustion and fatigue, your hair being dry and brittle, weight gain you can't explain, your skin being very dry – even after higher and higher doses of hormone replacement, the culprit could be gluten.

Gluten is a common protein found in grains such as wheat, rye, and barley, and it is commonly found within our day-to-day food items. It is a potential goitrogen best known from Celiac disease.  Gluten sensitivity can cause inflammation in your body, and has been found to have a connection to other autoimmune disorders such as rheumatoid arthritis, type 1 diabetes, and autoimmune thyroid disease.  
Autoimmune disease is when a person produces antibodies that attack the body's own tissue, including the thyroid tissue.

If you have autoimmune hypothyroidism you may seriously want to consider cutting back on your gluten intake, or eliminating it all together.  After a few weeks of lowering your gluten intake you may notice you start to feel better.

If you don’t notice a change, you may have to eliminate it completely, and then see how you feel.

Most processed foods and the obvious grains - wheat, rye, barley contain gluten.  I know some of you are thinking “I can’t give up my bread”, there are plenty of grain alternatives out there.  Quinoa, rice noodles, corn, and gluten free breads are all great alternatives. Lundberg rice chips are a great gluten free snack food also, and they come in different flavors.  For the best gluten free handbook Go Here

If you start to make simple swaps like using lettuce leaves to wrap a sandwich, it starts to get easy, and pretty soon you won’t even miss it.

If after a couple of weeks you think you feel better, but your not sure if it made a difference, you can start to add back a little gluten at a time, and see if you start feeling worse again.  The odds are you are going to feel better when you limit the amount of gluten, or take it out of your diet completely.

Hypothyroid symptoms – Goitrogens

The symptoms of hypothyroidism such as - feelings of severe exhaustion and fatigue,

weight gain you can't explain, your hair being dry and brittle, your skin being very dry and sometimes scaly - may not go away with just medication alone.  You may still feel a lot of these symptoms due to the foods you are eating.  You think you are doing better by making healthy choices never knowing that some of these foods can be counter-productive to your thyroid health.

Many healthy foods contain what are called goitrogens.  Goitrogens are substances that naturally occur in food. They are mainly found in the cabbage family, and in soybeans

Eaten in large amounts, especially if eaten raw, these foods can interfere with your thyroid function.  They inhibit your thyroid from absorbing and processing iodine. 

Cruciferous vegetables that contain goitrogens such as kale, broccoli, cabbage, turnips, brussel sprouts, kohlrabi, cauliflower and spinach all can be steamed and then eaten. 

Cooking these vegetables deactivates the goitrogenic compounds in them so they can be eaten and not slow your thyroid function. 

Steaming is best to get the most health benefits that the vegetables have to offer. 

Other foods that you want to eat in moderation or avoid altogether are strawberries, peanuts, peaches, millet, radishes, soy beans and soy products. 

The best thing to remember is everything in moderation.  The health benefits of all these foods are too important to eliminate completely.

Pay attention to how you feel when you eat these foods.  That will give you a better idea of which foods affect you more.  You need to find your balance and what works best for you.

Hypothyroid symptoms – Nutrition pt. 2 (Coconut oil & Vitamin D)

Nutrition is so important in helping fight your hypothyroid symptoms.  In addition to the basic nutrients, there are a few other things to consider as well.  Coconut oil is something you want to consider adding into your diet. 

Coconut oil is mostly made up of medium-chain fatty acids.  These fats are very small and passively absorb and diffuse through the cell membranes.  The liver uses these fatty acids as an energy source. These fatty acids also  help support thyroid function.  Supporting your thyroid function helps promote a healthy metabolic rate.

Coconut oil is absorbed into your body differently than regular oils, so it is not an oil that contributes to weight gain.  It can however help with losing the weight that was gained with your hypothyroid because it is helping reset your metabolism.
It also contains loric acid which is a stimulus to your immune system, and contains anti viral properties.  (these are the properties only found in breast milk) 

It can replace butter, and works great when you fry vegetables.
There is a quick microwave muffin recipe that works pretty well.  Take a ¼ c of flaxseed, 1tsp of baking powder, 2 tsp of cinnamon, 1 tsp of coconut oil, 1 egg, and 1 packet of stevia.  Mix them all together in a mug and microwave for 50 to 55 seconds.  This is a great boost in the morning.

Coconut oil may also help to reduce your cholesterol because hypothyroid patients tend to have higher cholesterol levels.

Coconut oil can be found in your local health store, and some grocery markets have started carrying it as well.  If you can, you want cold pressed organic extra virgin oil.

Coconut oil is not a “cure” for your thyroid, but it can be very helpful for thyroid support.

Vitamin D is also something to pay attention to.  The basic function of Vitamin D is to maintain normal blood levels of phosphorus and calcium in our body.  Vitamin D helps in our absorption of calcium, but it also helps with much more. 

Research suggests it may provide protection from osteoporosis, hypertension, cancer, and several auto immune diseases including Hashimoto’s Thyroiditis.

If you are feeling fatigue from your hypothyroid, getting your vitamin D levels up to normal seems to help increase your energy.

Very few foods naturally contain vitamin D, so many foods are fortified with it such as butter, cheese, cream, milk, juice, and breakfast cereals.  Small amounts can be found in fatty fish such as sardines, tuna, mackerel and salmon. 

The best source is sunshine.  Ten minutes without sunscreen about three times a week helps your body produce its natural vitamin D. 

Make sure you discuss it with your Dr. if you think your levels are low. 

As with everything, you need to find a good balance. 

To much of a good thing can be just as bad as to little.

Hypothyroid symptoms – Nutrition

If you are living with the symptoms of a hypothyroid, the best way to support your thyroid gland is better nutrition.  Your thyroid controls how your body metabolizes food, and the way you use energy.

This means making changes in the food you are eating.  "Health" foods are foods full of nutrition, such as vitamins, minerals and antioxidants. 
 You don’t have to go crazy, making one or two small changes a week adds up pretty quickly to a permanent lifestyle change.

The more support you give your thyroid to heal, the better you are going to feel.

Selenium, Zinc, Iodine(mentioned in the previous article) antioxidants, and B vitamins are all very important to thyroid function.

Here are some great food sources for:

Selenium – brazil nuts, mushrooms, sunflower seeds, tuna, and beef

Zinc – fresh oysters, sardines, lamb, turkey, soybeans, split peas, whole grains, sunflower seeds,               almonds, brazil nuts, and walnuts

Vitamin B2 (riboflavin) – mushrooms, wheat germ, brewer’s yeast, almonds, and wild rice

Vitamin B3 (niacin) – wheat bran, brewer’s yeast, rice bran, liver, and poultry white meat

Vitamin B6 (pyroxidine) – bananas, beans, salmon, tuna, trout, sunflower seeds, 
              wheat germ, liver, walnuts, brown rice, and brewer’s yeast

Antioxidants - (vitamins A, C, and E help neutralize oxidative stress that can damage the

                          thyroid gland)

Vitamin A (beta-carotene form) – asparagus, sweet potatoes, cantaloupe, carrots, winter 

                                                  squash/pumpkin, spinach, broccoli, kale

Vitamin C – kiwifruit, collard greens, mustard greens, papaya, peppers, strawberries

Vitamin E – asparagus, peanuts, leafy green vegetables, almonds, sunflower seeds, whole grains

You will find some of the same foods repeating themselves on the list.  
This is great because you can get multiple benefits from one food.   
If you are taking hormone replacement and you are going to take supplements, especially supplements with iron, please be sure to not to take them at the same time as your thyroid hormone replacement.  Usually you want to wait at least 3 to 4 hours in-between so the supplements do no inhibit your absorption of your replacement hormone.  Check with your health practitioner on which supplements are best for you, and how much to take.

 When you can, try to eat whole foods that are free from pesticides, hormones, and other toxins. One nice thing about the "whole foods" movement is that it makes it easier to get things like raw milk, locally made cheeses and beef that is hormone free.

Slowly start to incorporate these foods into your daily life, and your thyroid will thank you.

Hypothyroid symptoms – Iodine

If you do have the symptoms of a hypothyroid, one of the first things you want to check is your iodine levels.  Iodine is very important to the function of your thyroid.   Your thyroid has the cells in your body that absorb iodine.  This is what your thyroid uses to produce your T3 and T4 hormones. Without it, your thyroid slows down becoming underactive and causes hypothyroid symptoms.  

This is not the only cause, but iodine is a big contributor to your sluggish metabolism. 

You can do a simple home test to see if your iodine levels are low. 

Dip a cotton ball into USP Tincture of Iodine. 

Make a 1 or 2 inch cirlcle on soft skin, such as your inner thigh or inside your upper arm. 

Then wait- if the yellowish stain disappears in less than an hour; it means your body is lacking crucial iodine and has soaked it up. 

If the stain remains for more than four hours, your iodine levels should be fine. 

A caution:  If you have Hashimoto’s Thyroiditis be careful with iodine.  Increasing iodine levels at first can actually cause more inflammation to your thyroid and cause your thyroid to burn out faster. 
Iodized salt is an iodine source, however it is heavily processed and it is always better to get iodine from natural sources when you can. 

I found a great source of Iodine in Kelp powder. (You should be able to find it at your local health food store.)

The powder is nice because you can mix it in with other things (like tuna).

Hypothyroidism symptoms-Don’t give up hope!!

It can be a real struggle living with the symptoms of hypothyroidism, and trying to beat them.  As all of us that have Hashimoto’s or hypothyroid know, the people around you don’t always understand. 

They don’t think of you as sick because to most you don’t really look “sick” and that can be very discouraging.

Don’t give up hope!!!  

Once you have established with your Dr. that you have an underactive thyroid you can begin your process of getting your quality of life back.  

Your Dr. will start you on a hormone replacement to put back into your system what is missing.  This will become a process of trying certain doses and then blood tests.  Some symptoms will improve, and you still may feel others until your levels come up. 

During this process you really need to pay attention to how you feel and give that feedback to your Dr. You may feel your energy levels going up and down for some time until you start to finally level out.

Don’t skip meals, especially breakfast, your metabolism needs the kick start in the morning to burn all day.  Try to take in your biggest amount of calories earlier in the day and keep your evening light.  This should help give the energy you need to make it through the day.

One of the first things you should feel is your energy level start to increase.  As that starts to increase you will start to feel better, and you will be on your way to beating the symptoms of hypothyroid.

So you think you may have hypothyroidism symptoms?

Have you been feeling tired and unmotivated lately?     
Hypothyroidism is a condition that occurs when your thyroid can no longer produce enough thyroid hormone.  Inflammation of the gland damages the gland’s cells and it can no longer function properly.  Thyroid function is vital to good digestion, immunity, metabolism, energy levels - it pretty much is responsible for running your whole body.  

Symptoms may be so mild and happen so slowly they go unnoticed for years.  Or, if you are like I was, you rationalize the symptoms away to other causes, never thinking it could be your thyroid.

Since hypothyroidism can affect people in different ways, there are a large variety of symptoms that you could be feeling. 

The most common symptoms are:

 Feelings of severe exhaustion and fatigue

(this can be so bad that it is all you can do to roll out of bed and get through the day)

Weight gain you can't explain

(you feel like you starve yourself and still gain weight)

Hair becomes dry and brittle

Skin becomes very dry and sometimes scaly

Face becomes puffy

Difficulty concentrating

(you seem much more forgetful)

Voice may become hoarse

Additional symptoms less common include:

More sensitive to cold

Hands, feet, and joints ache

Loss of sex drive

Itching inside the ear canal

Feel like you can’t get enough oxygen

(especially when you exercise)

Eyes feel dry and gritty

(if you wear contacts it can become a real challenge)

Feel tightness in your throat

Seem to feel sad more often

Vertigo

Lightheadedness

Shortness of breath

Women are at a much higher risk than men for hypothyroidism. The big concern for women is the symptoms can be similar to the signs and symptoms of menopause.  Because of this, it can be easily misdiagnosed. The only way to know for sure is to request a blood test from your doctor to find out your hormone levels.  Work with your doctor, and ask questions.  Remember, you are your own best advocate!!  No one knows you better, and how you feel then you!!!