It's thyroid problems OP. Makes it hard to even loose a pound, and increasing exercise can cause additional hunger and exhaustion.

I have to wait an hour before eating after taking my meds in the am, avoid all gluten, avoid all dairy, and eat mainly vegetables, fruits and meats / fish / chicken to stay at a stable weight.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Try going down to 1600 calories and see what happens.

Yikes. I hear you, but I’m already thinking about hunger and occasionally getting dizzy from it at 1800 calories. How do people do this and still exercise?

if I’m exercising 30 minutes-1 hour/day and going for walks and doing housework, how do I not feel faint and hungry with even less calories? I feel like my metabolism is broken and I’d so desperately hoped that fixing my thyroid levels would correct it.

What is your height?

I'm in my 40s, and I feel that my body changed entirely when I had my thyroid taken out in my mid-30s, due to an auto-immune disease. Exercise and nutritional changes used to change my body relatively easily, but as soon as I recovered from surgery at 36, and tried to do the same, well, it wasn't the same at all. Now I'm stuck at a certain weight, and can't seem to either build muscle or lose weight. It's so weird.

Thankfully I'm not desperate to change, and I'm fine with my new weight, but the lack of muscle is a slight concern for me as I age. I was just thinking this morning I had to make more of an effort, but it's really disconcerting to work hard and not have much to show for it...

So it may be your thyroid, OP. I'm sorry. Probably not what you wanted to hear.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Same boat here, though I don't work out quite as hard as you do, but I'm also 15 lbs heavier and would love to be at your weight again (I was at your weight when I magically gained 15lbs in a year and a half without changing my diet).

Do you have dairy in the mornings? Calcium apparently blocks thyroid med usage, so I changed my plain Greek yogurt breakfast to eggs.

Also, which meds are you on? Synthroid works better for me than the generic levothyroxine.

I don’t have dairy at all- I’m lactose intolerant! My current doctor has me on name brand Synthroid only now, although over a decade ago before the recent problems I was on generic and it worked fine for me.

Synthroid has fillers with dairy and gluten. Ask your doctor to prescribe a clean thyroid med.

Long time thyroid patient here.
This is what has been helpful for me in terms of diet;
-Gluten free
-Soy free
-Dairy free
-Low glycemic
-Nutrient dense
I exercise 6 hrs per week. This is the hard, but helps me to sleep better and reduce stress. If you are stressed, your thyroid slows down.
Take time to enjoy the simple things in life.

How much do you weigh and what this your height or BMI?

You don't need to be rail thin.

You don't need a fad diet. If you are minimizing starches and sugars and grease, eat your fill of fibers , proteins, vegetables, and whole vegetables with fats (like avocado)

If you're lactose intolerant, keto won't work. It's very cheese heavy.

There are two books that have two different approaches but are aimed at exactly what you're going through (woman, middle aged, can't lose weight). One is 28 Days to a Fast Metabolism and the other is the Galveston Diet. Both require a set amount of different types of foods each day, but the Fast Metabolism one has less dairy in it and less fat overall. Galveston is more focused on healthy fats and includes dairy.

Good luck! Maybe you just need to shock your system.

Anonymous wrote:Same boat here, though I don't work out quite as hard as you do, but I'm also 15 lbs heavier and would love to be at your weight again (I was at your weight when I magically gained 15lbs in a year and a half without changing my diet).

Do you have dairy in the mornings? Calcium apparently blocks thyroid med usage, so I changed my plain Greek yogurt breakfast to eggs.

Also, which meds are you on? Synthroid works better for me than the generic levothyroxine.

I don’t have dairy at all- I’m lactose intolerant! My current doctor has me on name brand Synthroid only now, although over a decade ago before the recent problems I was on generic and it worked fine for me.

Same boat here, though I don't work out quite as hard as you do, but I'm also 15 lbs heavier and would love to be at your weight again (I was at your weight when I magically gained 15lbs in a year and a half without changing my diet).

Do you have dairy in the mornings? Calcium apparently blocks thyroid med usage, so I changed my plain Greek yogurt breakfast to eggs.

Also, which meds are you on? Synthroid works better for me than the generic levothyroxine.

Try keto and intermittent fasting. You could actually up your calories significantly to give your metabolism a boost.

I sympathize. Same boat.

Anonymous wrote:Sounds like you’re doing all the right things. Are you drinking? That will sabotage every diet.

Not a drinker. Wish I was so I could cut it out and magically ditch millions of calories. I have 2 drinks a year in 2 separate sittings, max.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:After 40 you need to avoid strenuous exercise or the weight will stay. Weights, walking, etc., and a balanced diet. If you fight your body it will fight you back. Try it for a month, you’ll be surprised!

Wait…are weights considered strenuous or not?

I thought after 40 the whole point was to seek out high intensity exercise vs. the endless cardio sessions of our 20s and 30s. Also, erging (if done in a high intensity way and not just faffing around like those people waiting for a better machine at the gym) should be the ideal high-intensity exercise.

Sorry, strenuous might not have been the best word. Weights are good. They don’t raise your heart rate to peak intensity and you definitely need muscle. High intensity cardio for long stretches will stress your body and be counterproductive. So like, 20 mins of weight lifting and 20 mins of walking is better than an hour of running.

Sounds like you’re doing all the right things. Are you drinking? That will sabotage every diet.

Anonymous wrote:After 40 you need to avoid strenuous exercise or the weight will stay. Weights, walking, etc., and a balanced diet. If you fight your body it will fight you back. Try it for a month, you’ll be surprised!

Wait…are weights considered strenuous or not?

I thought after 40 the whole point was to seek out high intensity exercise vs. the endless cardio sessions of our 20s and 30s. Also, erging (if done in a high intensity way and not just faffing around like those people waiting for a better machine at the gym) should be the ideal high-intensity exercise.