Low Thyroid? Here are the Best Ways to Help You Lose Weight
Weight gain and low thyroid can go hand in hand, and are more common at menopause. An action plan to kick start hormone related weight gain starts here.
The thyroid, or thyroid gland, is a butterfly-shaped gland located in the neck below the Adam’s apple. One in eight women will develop thyroid problems during her lifetime and that can come with a whole range of symptoms, which are often nonspecific and subtle.
These include: lethargy, weight gain, cold intolerance, constipation and dry skin to mention a few. Progesterone supports thyroid function and can be helpful, particularly if also oestrogen dominant, and the biggest issue for many women is the unexpected weight gain and difficulty losing weight.
Among its many functions, your thyroid is responsible for your body’s metabolism, including its ability to burn fat and calories for energy. With 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.
Losing weight with hypothyroidism starts with hormone balance, choosing the right foods to nourish your thyroid and having lifestyle habits that help restore thyroid health.
So, here’s some help to get back to a healthy weight.
1. Diet for hypothyroidism
Whether you’re trying to lose a few pounds, or a lot more, the best diet for hypothyroidism is one that provides your thyroid gland with the nourishment it needs to bring balance back to your thyroid hormones.
Iodine and selenium are the most important thyroid supporters, but you also need zinc, iron and Vitamin C.
The only known role of iodine in the body is to support thyroid hormone production and both thyroid hormones – triiodothyronine (T3) and thyroxine (T4) – contain it.
Iodine deficiency is a known cause of hypothyroidism and iodine-rich foods include shrimp, haddock, salmon, seaweed, eggs and mushrooms.
Selenium is pivotal for thyroid function, helping to protect it from oxidative stress and serving as a critical part of thyroid hormone production. Deficiency in the mineral can directly contribute to thyroid dysfunction.
To improve selenium level eat 1-3 Brazil nuts a day, but intake should be limited to 400 mcg per day, with each Brazil nut containing between 70 to 100 mcg. Although selenium toxicity is rare, it is a dangerous and life threatening condition.
Zinc is required for thyroid hormone production and maintaining healthy levels of T3, T4 and TSH.
Iron is needed by the thyroid to convert T4 into T3, the active form of thyroid hormone. Iron deficiency (anaemia) is associated with thyroid dysfunction.
Vitamin C helps with absorption and utilisation of thyroid hormones.
Sage has anti-inflammatory and antioxidant effects that promote better hormone receptor function and support improved mood, memory and healthy blood sugar balance.
Not just good for your thyroid so try sage tea to help boost memory, ease hot flushes and night sweats, improve blood sugar control and lower cholesterol levels.
Ashwagandha is an ayurvedic herb widely used for its anti-stress and calming properties. It supports production of thyroid hormones and helps correct imbalances in the nervous, endocrine and immune systems.
Missing meals can stress your thyroid so keep to regular mealtimes, and be sure to eat breakfast within an hour of waking.
Include protein at every meal, as well as fibre for breakfast and lunch. Food sources of fibre include fruit and vegetables, not just grains.
Hypothyroidism slows digestive function, so it’s important to eat smaller, more frequent meals of protein, complex carbs, and healthy fats. Increasing your fibre intake will help move foods through the digestive tract, but do slowly if not used to such foods.
Reduce or completely eliminate gluten, sugar/sweeteners, alcohol and highly processed and junk food as these all can interfere with healthy thyroid function.
Reduce or avoid goitrogens as these are thyroid-suppressing compounds found in cruciferous vegetables such as cabbage, broccoli and cauliflower. Always steam or cook these vegetables to reduce or eliminate the goitrogens.
2. Exercise and well-being
Exercise is important for weight loss, but it’s also a key part of naturally supporting improved thyroid function. There’s just one problem: hypothyroidism can sometimes lead to a vicious cycle where exercise seems next to impossible.
Besides weight gain, low thyroid can also trigger fatigue and achy joints, two symptoms that make exercise a chore. As any woman with hypothyroidism knows, you may experience times when you feel that you don’t have enough energy to even move. Yet when you don’t exercise, it just makes all your hypothyoid symptoms worse.
How can you break the cycle? Here are some research-backed exercise strategies and lifestyle tips to help get you moving.
Make exercise a regular part of your life as studies show that thyroid hormones can increase when your heart rate rises with exercise. Regular physical activity reminds your thyroid to stay alert because it has work to do while you’re moving.
Try low impact exercises like walking and swimming and set a time each day to take a walk. Gradually build up to walking about 30 minutes, five times a week. When you first get started, even a 10-minute walk counts so build up from there and aim for a brisk pace.
Help yourself relax whenever you can because your stress response can directly influence your thyroid function. The stress hormone cortisol can inhibit pivotal thyroid hormones, TSH (thyroid stimulating hormone) and T4 (thyroxine).
To help with stress find opportunities to cultivate little moments of calmness throughout your day so try alternate nostril breathing, meditation and strategic napping to help reduce stress hormone levels. Yoga offer special benefits for low thyroid as it provides both physical activity and deep forms of stress relief.
Certain yoga poses directly support improved thyroid function by increasing oxygen flow to this important gland so see a qualified yoga teacher for specific help with the “supported bridge pose which is said to cleanse and stimulate the thyroid.
Why is it so hard to lose weight with hypothyroidism?
Your metabolism slows when you have hypothyroidism. But that’s not the only change happening in your body that can affect your weight. Chemical messengers that regulate our eating behaviour become mixed up when thyroid hormones are imbalanced.
When thyroid hormones are low — even just a little — the parts of your brain which control appetite can be significantly affected.
Serotonin, beta endorphin and GABA are brain chemicals connected to food cravings as well as feeling satisfied after we eat. And leptin is a critically important hormone because it tells the body when to lose weight and when to keep it.
When these brain chemicals are disrupted, the result can be intense carbohydrate cravings, low energy, depressed moods, changes in body shape – and stubborn weight gain.
While it may seem almost impossible to lose weight with hypothyroidism, it’s not. The solution is relatively simple and means supporting your thyroid through dietary changes, exercise and having good progesterone levels.
By supporting your thyroid, you can break through your thyroid-related weight loss resistance and finally let go of the excess pounds, and here’s how progesterone can really help you do that.
