Low Thyroid? Here’s Help To Lose Weight

Weight gain can have a number of causes, but could your thyroid be a factor?

Unexpected weight gain and difficulty losing weight are often the first noticeable signs that you’re struggling with hypothyroidism (low thyroid).

The thyroid is a small butterfly-shaped gland in the neck, just in front of the windpipe (trachea). Among its many functions, your thyroid is responsible for your body’s metabolism, including its ability to burn fat and calories for energy.

When women have hypothyroidism, the thyroid does not produce and/or release enough thyroid hormones to support optimal metabolism. This can result in a sluggish metabolic rate in which unused caloric “fuel” is stored as fat.

Don’t despair because alongside thyroid medication there is a lot of dietary and lifestyle help that can make a real difference.

Why is it so hard to lose weight with hypothyroidism?

Your body’s energy-burning process slows down when you have hypothyroidism. But that is not the only change in your body that can influence your weight.

Signals that manage how we eat get confused when thyroid hormones are not at the right levels. When thyroid hormones are low – even a little bit – the areas of your brain that control hunger can be strongly influenced.

Serotonin, beta endorphin, and GABA are brain chemicals related to wanting certain foods, and also to feeling full after eating. Leptin is also a very important hormone because it signals the body when to lose weight and when to hold onto it.

When these brain chemicals are out of order, the outcome can be strong cravings for carbs, little energy, sad feelings, changes in body form – and weight that is hard to lose.While all of this can make it appear that losing weight with hypothyroidism is not possible, it is.

The answer to all these issues is fairly straightforward. By helping your thyroid, you can overcome your thyroid-related difficulty with losing weight, and here are some ideas on how to do that.

Your best diet tips

No matter if you want to lose a little or a lot, the best eating plan for hypothyroidism weight loss is one that gives your thyroid enough to help your thyroid hormones return to normal.

Hypothyroidism slows down how your body digests food, so it’s important to eat small meals more often that have a good mix of foods, including good proteins, healthy starches, and good fats.

Include these

– Eat more fibre to help food move through your stomach and gut.

– Pick natural foods for the best nutrition

– Iodine and selenium are the most important for your thyroid and Brazil nuts are a good source of selenium. Remember you also need zinc, iron, and Vitamin C.

– Eat foods with iodine like shrimp, haddock, salmon, seaweed, eggs, and mushrooms.

– Eat your meals and snacks at the same times every day. This is very important, and make sure to eat breakfast within an hour of waking because not eating meals can put stress on your thyroid.

– Include protein and fibre with every meal

– Eat different kinds of food and remember that good sources of fibre include fruit and vegetables, not just grains.

Get rid of these completely

All of these can stop your thyroid from working properly, so eat less or no gluten, sugar/sweeteners, alcohol, and junk food.

– Learn which foods have substances that block your thyroid, called goitrogens, and best not to eat vegetables such as cabbage, broccoli, and cauliflower.

– Always cook or steam these vegetables to reduce or get rid of the goitrogens.

Exercise and lifestyle choices

Exercise helps with losing weight, but it is also a main part of naturally helping your thyroid work better.

As any woman with an underactive thyroid knows, you might feel at times like you don’t have enough energy to move. But when you don’t exercise, it just makes all your problems worse.

There’s only one issue: an underactive thyroid can sometimes lead to a bad cycle where exercise feels almost impossible. Along with gaining weight, low thyroid can also cause tiredness and sore joints, two problems that make exercise hard.

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How can you stop this cycle? Here are some exercise methods and lifestyle suggestions backed by studies to help you start moving.

Make exercise a regular part of your life

Studies show that thyroid hormones can increase when your heart beats faster with exercise. Regular physical activity reminds your thyroid to stay ready because it has a job to do while you’re moving.

Try gentle exercises like walking, yoga, Tai Chi or swimming and set a time each day to take a walk. When you first begin, even a 10-minute walk is helpful, so build slowly up from there to a brisk walk of about 30 minutes five times a week.

BUT, if you are not used to exercise or have a medical condition that needs considering then do exercise at a medium pace and speak to your doctor first. You also want to avoid the rise in stress hormones that can happen with too much exercise.

Help yourself relax whenever you can

Your body’s reaction to stress can directly affect your thyroid’s work because the stress hormone cortisol can block important thyroid hormones, TSH (thyroid stimulating hormone) and T4 (thyroxine).

These can all help with stress:

– Find chances to create small moments of quiet throughout your day.

– Try slowing your breathing, calm meditation, and make plans to help lower stress hormone levels.

– Progesterone is the hormone that is a natural relaxant and can calm you down. BUT do remember that stress also will make any of your hormonal symptoms like poor sleep, brain fog and hot flushes worse.

– Yoga is also good for low thyroid because it offers both movement and deep ways to relieve stress. Some yoga poses directly help better thyroid function by bringing more air to this important gland. One of these poses is the ‘supported bridge’ pose.

Supplements and vitamins

Low thyroid is often a sign that you do not have enough of certain important substances your thyroid needs to work well.

Bioidentical progesterone is known to help thyroid function, and at menopause, levels are often low because oestrogen continues to be made in the fat cells of the belly.

Check your hormone balance and take supplementary hormones if needed.

Selenium is key for thyroid function, helping to shield the thyroid from damage and being a vital part of making thyroid hormone.

Iodine helps make thyroid hormone. Both thyroid hormones – triiodothyronine (T3) and thyroxine (T4) – contain iodine.

Zinc is needed to make thyroid hormone and keep healthy levels of T3, T4, and TSH.

Iron – the thyroid needs this to change T4 into T3, the working form of thyroid hormone. Not having enough iron (anemia) is linked to thyroid problems.

Women with heavy periods need to watch their iron levels.

Vitamin C is an antioxidant and helps the body use thyroid hormones and is also an important vitamin for immunity.

Sage has effects that reduce swelling and protect against damage. That will help your hormone receptors work better and support better mood, memory, and healthy blood sugar balance.

Easiest to use regularly as a tea, it has also been used to help with hot flushes.

Ashwagandha is an Indian herb often used for its ability to reduce stress and calm the body. It helps make thyroid hormones and corrects problems in the body’s systems that control nerves, hormones, and immunity.

Helpful information

Giving your body things that support the thyroid, like bioidentical progesterone, and making changes to your diet and way of life when you have a low thyroid, can start amazing changes in your body, and how you look and feel.

This article gives you more information:

https://blog.wellsprings-health.com/how-bioidentical-natural-progesterone-helps-with-low-thyroid-2/

Topics: conditions, hormones, Menopause, Nutrition, stress, thyroid, Weight gain, weight loss