OK I'm throwing this out here to my blog followers in the hope that you might have a few ideas that can help me. An underactive thyroid has made it very hard to lose any weight, and the weight I'm carrying is putting pressure on my knee, hip and ankle joints. At the moment going for walks or any kind of heavy exercise is impossible. I'm trying to get a bit of weight loss through diets and supplements alone and need some advice. (I do hope to start low level exercise at home as soon as I can) I've found a few things recommended in alternative health books and online but I really want to see if anyone has successfully used these things and can tell me about them.
I'm changing my diet completely. I've read that protein is good for strong muscles and boosting metabolism and can help with weight loss so I'm putting more protein into my diet in the form of things like chocolate milk, seafood, cheese, eggs, greek yoghurt, cottage cheese, chorizo, red and white meat, peanut butter, peas. I'm also getting more veg into my diet in the form of home made soup, making it twice a week to have a steady supply of pea and ham soup, and my own recipe cheesy carrot soup. I'm also drinking orange juice and grapefruit juice daily and getting more fruit into my diet. I'm cutting out the non essential fats too, including the chocolate. Overall this should improve my health in some form, and hopefully get a few pounds off.
These are some of the other things that I've heard about but haven't tried. Have any of you used these things or know anything about them?
-nettle tea before meals-what does it taste like and does it work?
-graphites
-phenylalanine on empty stomach before bed
-bee pollen
Can you think of other non veg protein based foods that I can try? Any other supplements that can help tame the thyroid or help with weight loss? Any weight loss alternative therapies? Any exercise that targets the waist down and can be done in the home?
All suggestions welcome!
I’ve struggled with my weight for most of my life, so I’m not sure how to help. I’ve been fat, thin and everything in between. Good luck, and let us know what works for you!
ReplyDeleteAj @ Read All The Things!
I'll be doing posts during the week about wanting recipes for various kinds of food ie soup and curry! If you have any, dig 'em out and write them on the posts! Even if you can't offer any advice, posting here with your support does mean a lot to me, so thank you!
DeleteThis is something I am struggling with myself. I am currently on a medication for my migraines, which is working very well, but one of the side effects is weight gain and I did not know that at first. I have cut Mountain Dew (my true vice) out of my diet completely and have been 'clean' since June of last year. Yet I continued to gain weight. I do use the chocolate protein shakes from Arbonne as a meal replacement, usually for breakfast, and I really like them. I was pleasantly surprised with how good they actually tasted. I don't really have any suggestions, but know that you are not alone, friend <3
ReplyDeleteThanks for the kind words and support Sarah, I very much appreciate it. My weight issues kicked in at college with junk food and beer but when I started with depression, the medication added 3 stone to me in about 2 months and I've never been able to shift it. Then more went on. I really need to tackle it but this stupid medication isn't helping...and of course I do need it!
DeleteI wonder if chocolate protein shakes might be an idea rather than just the ordinary chocolate milk. I might as well get the specialised version and see how I go with it. Thanks for that!
I'm currently doing low-carb (though it might be more accurate to call it "limited-carb" since I'm not going to any extremes) but I'm not sure how effective or advisable that would be for people with thyroid issues, because I don't know enough about the condition. I just know above all getting enough nutrition is the most important.
ReplyDeleteI feel I've always had success with lower carb though, right now I lost 15 pounds in a month and a half and that's without any added exercise. I'll probably add a light workout regime once I plateau, but for now I'm still losing weight at a rate of a pound every few days. The first couple weeks on this diet were the toughest, where I really had to fight the strong cravings for sugars and carbs. Past this "cleansing" period it got easier, and now I hardly even feel hungry at all. Protein also makes up for a lot of what I eat these days - meat, eggs, cheeses, veggies with lots of vitamins and good fiber - while cutting out all sugary treats and snack foods. Anyway, that's just my experience, I'm not sure how much of it will help...but as someone going through the same thing (i.e. wanting to lose weight and eat healthier) I just wanted to chime in and add my support!
~Mogsy @ BiblioSanctum
The good news is that cheese is my favourite food so keeping that in my food choices makes me happy! It definitely sounds like protein is the way to go and I like most of what is on the list so it won't feel like I'm missing out. I'll check out the low carb thing with the doctor when I see her and do a bit of snooping online about it. I've seen low carb high protein shakes so that might be nice on the taste buds! I do need to face up to the fact that crisps and chocolate need to go if I want to have any chance of success this time, and switch to other low fat stuff.
DeleteThanks so much for the info Mogsy, it has been really helpful! Thanks for your support!
I have low thyroid, too. :( Protein is the one thing I struggle with getting enough of. Drinking milk is a big help for me when I know it's really low. Another thing I keep on hand is beef jerky (with no MSG!). I try to cook with healthier protein like chicken and turkey. I use ground turkey instead of ground beef and I don't feel like I'm missing out on anything. I'm not shy with the spices.
ReplyDeleteOne workout you might want to try is the Simply Fit Board you can buy at Walmart. It's very low impact, but it definitely makes a difference. I use mine while I'm watching TV.
I'm lucky that I like a lot of protein foods-I just need to watch that I don't do too much as that is counter-productive. Like I said, I have trouble with my back and knees when I stand so there is no way I could use that exercise thing you mentioned(I looked it up on Amazon as we don't have WalMart here)...but thanks for the info anyway!
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