Diet Community

No "tips" but I have some advice...

1. Good health is key to your success and can never be achieved through "tips".
2. If you think you can achieve weight loss by keeping your metabolism in a "controlled" state, well, good luck to ya...


Long-term weight loss success, in almost all cases, involves strengthening your body through daily exercise. The new muscle added to your body through patience and hard work will result in a natural increase of your basal metabolism. Once that's achieved, weight loss and appetite control will become much easier to manage. All of Hollywood and the entertainment field understand this concept and that's why all your big names have hard bodies...Fitness is the key to consistent weight control and beauty, too.

Second, you've heard the phrase, "Diets don't work" many times...Diets, by nature, work to oppose the gains of exercise by suppressing basal metabolism. When your body senses a decrease in food, for survival purposes, it will slow down metabolism in an effort to stay alive until your food supply is re-established. If your goal is to raise metabolism by building muscle, you can clearly understand, now, why severe dieting is like shooting yourself in the foot.

My point is this...It is our assumptions that determine success or failure in any endeavor. Thus, I strongly recommend you arm yourself with the "right" assumptions before you get started.

Otherwise, what's the point?

Well, thank you for your information but I don't know what assumptions you are referring to. Unless you have hypothyroidism and can speak from experience or are a doctor, I think you will find it very hard to convince anyone that muscle strenghtening will naturally reverse effects of a thyroid that has stopped working. You have no idea how many times one has to change the dosage of their meds because it is not right yet. Until your thyroid hormones are regulated with the right dosage it is very hard to shed weight no matter how much exercise that you do,If you have been diagnosed with hypothyroidism, you likely have heard the following from uneducated individuals discussing weight?

• [blockquote>[/blockquote>"Get off the couch and exercise"
  
• "No more pigging out"

It's easy to pass the buck. Assuming that an overweight person is that way because they are lazy is a mistake.
It is also very easy to give the poor advice of exercise more and eat less. While some need to do just that, for others it will actually make matters worse.
So why is it that someone that is diagnosed with hypothyroidism have such problems losing weight?
A person diagnosed with hypothyroidism (and many more who are not) has a problem with either their thyroid gland or thyroid hormone. Either way the result is symptoms of thyroid problems due to a slowed metabolism. If your metabolism is abnormally low, less calories will be burned at rest. This results in more energy to be stored on your body (AKA fat).
This is not the end of it. There are also contributory factors that can work as either the primary problem, or work synergistically to really mess things up.
Excess estrogen is a perfect example of this. As I explained in a previous post about symptoms of thyroid problems due to excessive estrogen, your body stores estrogen in fat cells. The more fat cells you have, the more estrogen can be bound. Excessive estrogen also binds to thyroid hormone and makes it useless, which further slows down your metabolism, which makes you gain more at cells, which binds more estrogen, which can bind to more thyroid hormone...you get the point.
This process can spiral out of control till it gets to the point where everything seems to fail. Whether a doctor has told you that you have been diagnosed with hypothyroidism or not, you have to address the hypothyroid issue or you will continue to ask yourself, "Why is Weight Loss So Damn Hard?"

One of the more common conditions affiliated with hypothyroidism is insulin resistance. It may not be to the degree that they a diagnosed with T2 Diabetes but they have problems ridding excess glucose from the bloodstream. This is problematic for people who suffer hypothyroidism since glucose may become stored as fat if not readily cleared and metabolized. That is why, building muscle and cardio-respiratory fitness is key; even, more so, with your condition.


I could have suggested you talk to your doctor about taking metformin...

But, this is a diet board and I didn't want to confuse anyone. Besides, I don't believe in the use of drugs to facilitate weight loss since excessive weight gain has most likely impaired the immune & hepatic system to some degree, already...

Hence, like I said, earlier, I have no "tips".

Hi there and welcome to the community. It's great that you're in a state of readiness. Like the Zen saying goes, "when the student is ready, the teacher appears". I also like the fact that you are creating realistic goals for yourself. No drop it all overnight fantasies.
The first thing you should do is log onto the WebMD Food and Fitness Planner. There you can input all of your data and voila--- out pops a plan to achieve your goal.
Next up, as I note in Body for Life for Women, you need to clean things up at home. Go through your cabinets and toss out any junk food, as well as refined and processed sugars. The problem foods are the foods that hijack your reward system--- the sugary/starchy/fatty/salty foods and beverages that always lead you to a binge.
After getting rid of them, load up on whole foods--- lots of tasty produce, lean protein and some fruit. You'll have so many great suggestions from the WebMD Planner.
Then, just get up and move more. No running off to join 10 gyms. Instead, just walk for 30 minutes every single day. Then get up throughout the day more often to increase your activities of daily living.
Finally, look at the stresses in your life. They're what send you running to the fridge. Learning how to breathe through them, adapting and adjusting without resorting to self-destruction, is the name of the game if you ever want to get the weight off and keep it off. Meditation works like a charm. Prayer does as well. Being spiritual in general really helps.
And of course, we're here to help advise you and help you as you learn how to navigate the stormy seas of life's stresses.
Welcome aboard and good luck as you begin!
Dr. Peeke

shell_2012 I understand your frustration. All my life I have been able to shed weight (when I deemed it necessary) on a whim. I love to work out with weights. I have been very active since I was a teenager. However, in 2009 I was diagnosed with Hypothyroidism and Insulin Resistance by an Endocrinologist. I certainly do not rely on the meds to help me to lose weight but ,like you, I can't help but feel this is the reason for my new found struggle.

Now I am 46, and at 5'6, I found myself at a whopping 2011 lbs and couldn't shed it to save my soul! I have even became a Veagn in an attempt to lower my cholesterol. For the most part, I have always had a good diet but I have had a VERY healthy diet for almost a year now and work out (hard) five days a week alternating between weights/strength training and aerobic. I am by no means a couch potato! It frustrates me when people assume I eat more calories than I burn and/or don't exercise enough! Sound familiar?

In my endeavors to find answers I made a discovery; that my liver was not functioning at full capacity due to the insulin resistance.( My body produces too much insulin and the excess gets dumped into my liver). FYI: your liver has as much a bearing on your metabolism as your thyroid does. So I made an attempt to detox it. This took almost two months. I know this because I had a nasty rash on both arms and under my breasts (that doctors could not explain) and it cleared up COMPLETELY after two months of detoxing my liver.This is remarkable! Why?I have been dealing with this rash for several years! Finally, my weight has started to drop. I believe, metabolizing the fat was my liver's last priory due to the rash and insulin resistance... Now that the rash is gone, it has decided to kick in.

Shell_2012... try not to get frustrated. Tension can cause you to retain fat as well. Get a complete blood workup at an Endocrinologist's office. Family doctors are limited in their knowledge of the endocrine system. Try drinking green tea instead of coffee and read of other natural ways to detox your system. Try to eat all natural foods and stay away from over processed pre-packaged foods. Remember, the harder your body has to work to digest your food the healthier it is for you. I wish you luck... Oh and ignore those people who do not understand the issues you are going through. I know EXACTLY how you feel. Just don't give up!

Hi shell.
Im 47 , 5'4 and started out weighing 253 last of December 2011.
I went to the doctor in Jan. just to chk my vitals and let them know I was going to try to lose weight. Unfortunately, I was found to have high blood pressure, like in the OMG range, and was put on meds for it. Told that no matter what, I'd probably be on bp meds for the rest of my life.
I have so far lost 63 lbs. Two weeks ago, I went in for a check up and my blood pressure is right smack dab in the middle of NORMAL and I'm off my meds.
I started out with the Food and Fitness Planner. I am an avid fan and blogger on the 50-100 lb weightloss community here on WebMD. I drink at least 1/2 gallon of water a day , usually more. And as Dr Peek suggests... I WALK. I walk a mile in the morning 6 days a week and 3/4 of a mile every night unless it's storming too bad.
I only eat a slice of bread maybe twice a week and I don't eat "fried" foods very often at all.
I try to concentrate on how the foods feed my body. Like a regular white potato has less nutrients than a sweet potato or a peruvian blue. So I eat those instead, same calories, more nutrients.
Raw baby spinach, instead of just lettuce.
I eat an avocado just about every day. I'm not one to shy away from fats as long as they are "good" fats from natural sources that have been proven to be heart healthy, as a plus they also make your skin smoother, and your hair and nails nicer. This goes for cooking in small amounts of olive oil or grapeseed oil. I never use corn or vegetable oils.
I use a lot of PAM cooking spray, going so far as to spray the butter flavored onto air popped popcorn as it falls out of the popper instead of reg butter or margarine. ZERO calories for the butter flavor.
I could go on, but really, come see us on the 50-100 diet comm and check out how things get done and done well. We are a good group that are always willing to help in good times and bad. We don't just talk weightloss journey, we share most everything... lol, it's like the neighborhood you always wanted to live in.
hope this helps some
K

"when the student is ready, the teacher appears"
In truth, the "teacher" never leaves the room...


The 14th century principle, Occam's Razor, states, "when you have two competing theories that make exactly the same predictions, the simplest explanation is the most likely."

In other words, name me one lifestyle disease that does not improve to a steady diet of whole foods and lean proteins, regular daily exercise and plenty of rest?

Diabetes? wrong...
Arthritis? wrong...
Depression? wrong...
Alzheimer's? wrong...
Heart Disease? wrong...
COPD? wrong...
Liver cirrhosis or Kidney Disease? wrong & wrong...
Cancer? wrong...
Obesity? wrong...


Finally, Hypothyroidism?
"when the student is ready, the teacher appears"

Thank you Dr. Peeke, I appreciate the great advice and best wishes!

Thank you to all who have been so supportive and helpful with advice! I am planning on starting on 1200 calories a day and walking for 30 min 6 days a week in the am and than either walking 30 min in the afternoon/ pm or using the stationary bike for 20-30 min. I will be updating weekly to let you know my progress.

Hi shell, sounds like a plan. But I advise this. Take it 1 small step at a time. Whatever YOU feel most comfortable with is the very best way to go. Don't set unrealistic caloric or exercise goals and sabotage yourself into quitting, ok? It all looks good on paper and when you think about how "easy" it sounds to fit in 2 walks and a bike ride, it may not be. Not at first, if you are going to focus on reteaching yourself how to eat right for the rest of your life.
I knew I couldn't do it. I'm not afraid or ashamed to admit it either. I knew that if I wanted to retrain myself in a new improved way of eating, then THAT'S what my focus had to be and if I tried to exercise on top of that, I'd get overwhelmed and quit. So I changed my eating habits for a couple of weeks, trying new recipes , blogging AND LOGGING in my food and fitness planner and just logged for exercise what I normally did for the day. Only when I felt confident that I could emotionally handle the changes, did I add in the true daily exercise. And as I gained confidence in my ability to adjust to my journey, I added a bit more exercise.
Whatever works FOR YOU. This is your journey. You don't have to try to impress anyone with eating 3 carrot stix and running 6 miles. Remember, this isn't going to be a fast fix if you want it to last. This is going to be a slow learning process in which you will take in new ideas, use some, discard some along the way to make a plan to fit your lifestyle and to make it a lifetime commitment.
good luck
K

Different things work for different people, I can only share my experience. I am 51 year old male at 6:3 November 2011 my weight was 272 today I am 216. The way I lost the 56 pounds was exercising and counting calories. When I first started I used an app for my I phone called Lose it and it worked great. February 19 I purchased a fitbit. I can log what I eat and it monitors my activity.This device gives me the motivation to keep going. Good luck with your journey start slow, don't expect immediate results and don't get discouraged or give up when you plateau.

Yes:
1 - You're gonna be hungry at first. It will pass. After a while you will even stop wanting heavy foods. It's a bit like stopping cigarettes - after a while you loose all interest in them.
2 - Try to find someone to diet with, it can help to get you started.
3 - Try to keep it simple, so that it's easier to manage. Keep educating yourself and keep adjusting your diet. Weight loss is not a process, it's an project. Your body is complex and unique, so are it's needs.
4 - Raw vegetables will help you loose weight, but you need to throw in some lean meat or skimmed milk or eggwhite (or any other lean protein source) because your body needs proteins. Foods that are rich in fats or sugar, especially the more processed ones will not help you, the smallest quantities will open your hunger and make it hard to stick to your diet. Foods that are very high in carbs (rice, pasta, cooked potatoes...) will bring back your weight in no time, especially if combined with oil or fat.

Hi shell....everyones different but yes you can lose weight by keeping your metabolism "in check". I'm 55 now two years ago I was diagnosed with hypothryroidism (it was 58) it took over a year of testing to get it regulated (it is now about 4). Dec 28th 2011 i started my diet weighing in at 378.4. Of course i could not even think about exercise, i was lucky to make it out of the chair and to the bathroom! I ate right and drank tons of water. In June i had lost enough to begin my exercise..i take it slow. My opinion is it takes lots to make it to your goal not just 1 or 2 things and tips is what keeps me going(some tips work some don't)...i love reading web md and hearing everyones different journey's. Yesterday was 9 months and i weighed in @ 229.6.....148.8 pounds lost... a tip as defined as you're using it is to give a hint or a suggestion and advice is defined as somebody's opinion about what another person should do. i'll take tips any day over ADVICE and find what works for me. I wish you the best of luck finding what works for you.

Hi, i have lost 93 lbs. since june1st 2011 and if i could offer you 2 things that have worked for me, they would be #1 if you bite it,you write it down and #2 remember that your body burns protien and fiber better than fats and carbs so i concentrate on these foods along with a good gym routine,you can do THIS! Good luck.