How to Control Your Weight with Hypothyroidism

There’s a good chance you’ll gain weight if you indulge in a few too many comfort foods or stay away from the gym for too long. But if you have hypothyroidism, the numbers on the scale can creep up, even if you’ve stuck firmly to your diet and exercised religiously.

The hormones your thyroid gland releases help regulate your metabolism, or how efficiently your body burns food for energy. When your thyroid makes less of its hormones — as it does in hypothyroidism — your metabolism slows down. So you won’t burn off calories as quickly and you’ll gain weight. The weight gain usually isn’t extreme, maybe 5 or 10 pounds, but it can be enough to affect your self-esteem.

The more severe your hypothyroidism is, the more weight you’ll gain. Some of the weight gain is fat, but much of it is fluid buildup from the effects of an underactive thyroid on your kidney function.

One way to manage weight gain is by taking the thyroid hormone medicine your doctor prescribed. A daily dose of levothyroxine (Levothroid, Levoxyl, Synthroid) will restore healthy thyroid levels, and with it, your metabolism. Once you’re on the right dose, your weight should stabilize, and you shouldn’t have any more trouble losing weight than anyone else.

Thyroid hormone might not rid you of any weight you’ve already put on, though. To get back down to your original weight, follow a sensible strategy that combines diet and exercise.

To trim down, start by subtracting calories from your daily count — but do it safely. Don’t go on an extremely strict, low-calorie diet. Your body will only hoard calories, and you’ll end up gaining weight. Instead, you want to find a balance between the calories you take in and the calories you burn off each day.

A safe goal for weight loss is 1 to 2 pounds a week. On average, eat 500 fewer calories each day and you’ll lose about a pound a week. Cut 1,000 calories a day, and you’ll lose 2 pounds a week.

One easy way to trim those calories is to eliminate all the foods you don’t need. Cookies, cake, sodas, and candy are all full of empty calories. They’ll make you gain weight without contributing any nutrients.

Instead of dessert, eat a bowl of fresh fruit sprinkled with no-calorie sweetener. Replace soda with sparkling water and lemon. Switch out foods made with processed white flour, like white bread and crackers, for those made with whole grains.

Another way to trim calories is to eat more energy-dense foods. These foods contain fewer calories per bite. They’ll make you feel full faster and stay full longer.

For example, have a bowl of vegetable soup for lunch instead of pizza. The soup has fewer than 100 calories and is high in water content, so it will fill you up. A slice of pizza has nearly 300 calories and is high in carbs, which your body will burn through quickly and leave you wanting more.

Center your meal around fruits and vegetables, which are low in calories and packed with nutrition. Add in a lean protein source, like fish, poultry, or tofu.

Of course, talk to your doctor before making any significant adjustments to your diet. You’ll want them to help guide and monitor you through the process.

Exercise is the other essential component to any weight loss plan. Regular exercise turns your body into a more efficient fat-burning machine. The more you work out, the more calories you’ll burn both with exercise and when you’re at rest.

To lose weight, do 300 minutes a week of aerobic exercise, like jogging, bike riding, or playing tennis. That works out to about 60 minutes a day, five days a week. If you don’t have a full hour at a time to exercise, break up your routine into 10- or 20-minute segments.

Pick an activity you love and that’s convenient for you, so you’ll stick with it. You can walk around your neighborhood each morning, follow a fitness DVD, or take a spin class at your local gym. Any activity that makes your heart beat harder and causes you to break a sweat — even gardening or mopping your floors — counts as exercise.

A daily workout will also give you more energy, counteracting the fatigue hypothyroidism can cause. Because an underactive thyroid can slow your heart rate, talk to your doctor before starting any new fitness routine.

Ease into exercise slowly, and only gradually increase your pace and workout duration when you feel ready. Again, ask your doctor about specific exercises and doing a set routine.

Thyroid and Weight | American Thyroid Association

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WHAT IS THE THYROID GLAND?

The thyroid gland is a butterfly-shaped endocrine gland that is normally located in the lower front of the neck. The thyroid’s job is to make thyroid hormones, which are secreted into the blood and then carried to every tissue in the body. Thyroid hormones help the body use energy, stay warm and keep the brain, heart, muscles, and other organs working as they should.

WHAT IS THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THYROID AND WEIGHT?

It has been appreciated for a very long time that there is a complex relationship between thyroid disease, body weight and metabolism. Thyroid hormone regulates metabolism in both animals and humans. Metabolism is determined by measuring the amount of oxygen used by the body over a specific amount of time. If the measurement is made at rest, it is known as the basal metabolic rate (BMR). Indeed, measurement of the BMR was one of the earliest tests used to assess a patient’s thyroid status. Patients whose thyroid glands were not working were found to have low BMRs, and those with overactive thyroid glands had high BMRs. Later studies linked these observations with measurements of thyroid hormone levels and showed that low thyroid hormone levels were associated with low BMRs and high thyroid hormone levels were associated with BMRs. Most physicians no longer use BMR due to the complexity in doing the test and because the BMR is subject to many influences other than the thyroid state.

WHAT IS THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN BMR AND WEIGHT?

Differences in BMRs are associated with changes in energy balance. Energy balance reflects the difference between the number of calories one eats and the number of calories the body uses. If a high BMR is induced by the administration of drugs, such as amphetamines, animals often have a negative energy balance which leads to weight loss. Based on such studies many people have concluded that changes in thyroid hormone levels, which lead to changes in BMR, should also cause changes in energy balance and similar changes in body weight.

However, BMRs are not the whole story relating weight and thyroid. For example, when metabolic rates are reduced in animals (for example by decreasing the body temperature), they often do not show the expected weight gain. Thus, the relationship between metabolic rates, energy balance, and weight changes is very complex. There are many other hormones (besides thyroid hormone), proteins, and other chemicals that are very important for controlling energy expenditure, food intake, and body weight. Because all of these substances interact with the parts of the brain and body that control energy expenditure and energy intake, we cannot predict the effect of altering only one of these factors (such as thyroid hormone) on body weight as a whole. As a consequence, at this time, we are unable to predict the effect of changing thyroid state on any individual’s body weight

HYPERTHYROIDISM

WHAT IS THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN HYPERTHYROIDISM AND WEIGHT?

Since the BMR in patients with hyperthyroidism (see Hyperthyroidism brochure) is elevated, many patients with an overactive thyroid do, indeed, have some weight loss. Furthermore, weight loss is related to the severity of the overactive thyroid. For example, if the thyroid is extremely overactive, the individual’s BMR increases which leads to increased calories needed to maintain the body weight. If the person does not increase the amount of calories eaten to match the excess calories burned, then there will be weight loss. As indicated earlier, the factors that control our appetite, metabolism, and activity are very complex and thyroid hormone is only one factor in this complex system. Nevertheless, on average the more severe the hyperthyroidism, the greater the weight loss observed. Weight loss is also observed in other conditions where thyroid hormones are elevated, such as in the toxic phase of thyroiditis (see Thyroiditis brochure) or if the dose of thyroid hormone pills is too high for a patient. Since hyperthyroidism also increases appetite, some patients may not lose weight, and some may actually gain weight, depending on how much they increase their caloric intake.

WHY DO I GAIN WEIGHT WHEN HYPERTHYROIDISM IS TREATED?

Because hyperthyroidism is an abnormal state, we can predict that any weight loss caused by the abnormal state would go away when the abnormal state is reversed. This is indeed what we find. On average, any weight lost during the hyperthyroid state is regained when the hyperthyroidism is treated. Weight gain can even occur when there was little or no weight loss because patients may have gotten used to eating more calories because of the extra energy expenditure during hyperthyroidism.

HYPOTHYROIDISM AND THYROID HORMONE

WHAT IS THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN HYPOTHYROIDISM AND WEIGHT GAIN?

Since the BMR in the patient with hypothyroidism (see Hypothyroidism brochure) is decreased, an underactive thyroid is generally associated with some weight gain. The weight gain is often greater in those individuals with more severe hypothyroidism. However, the decrease in BMR due to hypothyroidism is usually much less dramatic than the marked increase seen in hyperthyroidism, leading to more modest alterations in weight due to the underactive thyroid. The cause of the weight gain in hypothyroid individuals is also complex, and may not be related to excess fat accumulation. Most of the extra weight gained in hypothyroid individuals is due to excess accumulation of salt and water. Massive weight gain is rarely associated with hypothyroidism. In general, 5-10 pounds of body weight may be attributable to the thyroid, depending on the severity of the hypothyroidism. Finally, if weight gain is the only symptom of hypothyroidism that is present, it is less likely that the weight gain is solely due to the thyroid.

HOW MUCH WEIGHT CAN I EXPECT TO LOSE ONCE THE HYPOTHYROIDISM IS TREATED?

Since much of the weight gain in hypothyroidism is accumulation in salt and water, when the hypothyroidism is treated one can expect a small (usually less than 10% of body weight) weight loss. As in the treatment with hyperthyroidism, treatment of the abnormal state of hypothyroidism with thyroid hormone results in a return of body weight to what it was before the hypothyroidism developed. Since weight gain may have many causes and develops over a long period of time, it is fairly common to find that there is not a large amount of weight loss after successful treatment of hypothyroidism. Again, if all of the symptoms of hypothyroidism other than weight gain resolve with thyroid hormone treatment, it is unlikely that the weight gain was solely due to the thyroid. Once hypothyroidism has been treated and thyroid hormone levels are in the normal range, the ability to gain or lose weight is the same as in individuals who do not have thyroid problems.

CAN THYROID HORMONE BE USED TO HELP ME LOSE WEIGHT?

Thyroid hormones have been used as a weight loss tool in the past. Starting or increasing thyroid hormone to cause thyroid hormone levels to be elevated is unlikely to dramatically change weight. Studies have shown that excess thyroid hormone treatment can help produce more weight loss than can be achieved by dieting alone, but includes the risk of major negative consequences from the use of thyroid hormone to help with weight loss, such as the loss of muscle protein, loss of bone, and/or heart problems. Furthermore, once the excess thyroid hormone is stopped, any weight loss is usually regained.

How do hormones affect weight?

Understanding whether hormones can cause excess weight.

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“On the one hand, this statement is not unfounded,” says dietitian Alexander Burlakov. “The endocrine system regulates a huge number of processes in our body, including metabolism.”

“At the same time, realizing that there are no special levers or magic products to speed up metabolism, a person sometimes becomes discouraged (which is not worth doing) and begins to blame his hormonal system for all the troubles. This happens especially often when it comes to overweight.”

Perhaps more often than other conditions, overweight is blamed on hypothyroidism, a condition where the thyroid gland does not produce enough hormones to meet the body’s needs. And these hormones, in addition to a number of other functions, also regulate metabolic processes in the body.

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How does hypothyroidism affect body weight?

“Metabolism (or metabolism) is determined by measuring the amount of oxygen used by the body over a period of time. If such measurements are made at rest, then this indicator is called basal metabolism (BMR) and it is measured in the amount of energy expended (kcal),” the expert explains.

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“Everything is again tied to the energy balance. If you spend more than you consume, you lose weight, and vice versa. In a state of hypothyroidism, a person’s BMR decreases. Accordingly, energy expenditure is reduced, a plus can be attributed to a decrease in daily physical activity (NEAT) due to lethargy, frequent feelings of fatigue. All this further reduces energy consumption.

At the same time, human nutrition does not change in any way (this is logical, because a person does not know about it, especially since in mild forms there may be practically no symptoms). And it turns out that a person, even eating in the norm of calories, begins to eat in excess, and if there was an excess before, then overeating will be even greater. And accordingly, weight gain begins,” the expert notes.

( See also: 5 healthy habits for successful weight loss.)

Thyroid hormones affect body weight interesting, says the doctor. “The American Thyroid Association notes that weight gain between 2 and 5 kg will be thyroid-related, depending on the severity of the hypothyroidism, with fluid accumulation also contributing.”

However, nutrition has the last word

“With all this, we can conclude that the dietary factor will play a rather important role, along with physical activity, especially if a person has previously eaten with a calorie surplus. With hormone replacement therapy, the symptoms of hypothyroidism improve within 2 weeks, and in people with severe forms, within a few months. Therefore, if there is a problem with excess weight against the background of hypothyroidism, it is necessary to simultaneously normalize nutrition.

What conclusions can we draw?

“First conclusion: it is possible to lose weight with hypothyroidism.

Even if the metabolism of a patient with compensated hypothyroidism differs from that of a healthy person, these differences will not be so great. Reducing the calorie content of the diet will still work, and the person will lose weight.

Very often, a person blames hormone replacement therapy for not working, while not changing their eating habits in any way and not normalizing their diet. If you are compensated for the underlying disease and eat in excess of calories, then yes, you will gain weight, and hormones are not to blame here.

When hearing about hypothyroidism, patients often shift their focus towards constantly blaming their hormonal system. If you set out to lose weight, then shift your attention towards nutrition and increased activity. And, of course, follow the recommendations of your doctor, ”recommends Alexander Burlakov.

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Can hypothyroidism cause weight gain?

15.06.2022

With rapid weight gain, when there is no apparent reason for this, it may be insufficient activity of the thyroid gland . Here we’ll take a look at how your thyroid affects your weight and some of the steps you can take to shed excess weight.

What is hypothyroidism?

Hypothyroidism is a common disorder that affects up to 5% of people (although many more people are likely to have it without realizing it). For hypothyroidism thyroid gland does not produce enough thyroid hormones, which are necessary to maintain many body systems, including weight and metabolism.

The most common cause of hypothyroidism is an autoimmune disease called Hashimoto’s thyroiditis, where the body’s immune cells attack the thyroid gland, preventing it from working properly. Some other reasons include story cancer , radiation therapy , some medications, and not enough iodine in the diet.

Women are 10 times more likely to suffer from hypothyroidism than men, and their risk increases with age, during and after pregnancy , and during menopause .

Does hypothyroidism cause weight gain?

About 50% of people with hypothyroidism experience some weight gain. Most people usually gain up to 5 kilograms, however, some women may gain more, especially if hypothyroidism severe. While most of the weight gain is mainly due to increased salt and water retention, some may be due to increased fat volume.

Although weight gain is common in hypothyroidism, if a person has gained a lot, such as 10 or more kilograms, then the thyroid gland is probably not the only reason. It’s a good idea to check thyroid but also need to look at your diet , stress levels and physical activity.

How does hypothyroidism affect weight?

Thyroid helps control metabolism and regulate appetite. Thyroid hormones interact with many tissues, including brain , fat cells, muscles, liver and pancreas . When the thyroid level is low, the metabolism slows down and the body burns less energy. Therefore, the body’s low need to burn fat for energy can lead to weight gain.

In addition, about 40% of people with underactive thyroid feel more tired than usual. This can lead to decreased physical activity, which can contribute to weight gain.

How to lose weight due to hypothyroidism?

The first and most important step is to treat hypothyroidism , which means taking thyroid replacement drugs such as levothyroxine. The dosage of the drug may vary depending on the analysis blood and symptoms.

Treatment for decreased thyroid function will help stop gaining weight, but it may not help to lose weight that a person has already gained. What a person eats and lifestyle factors can definitely help. While there is no specific diet or food that will reverse hypothyroidism , here are a few tips to help you lose weight and maximize thyroid benefits:

1. Avoid sugar and refined carbohydrates. A diet consisting of low glycemic foods, the ones least likely to increase blood sugar , has been proven to help you lose weight. Examples of low glycemic foods include non-starchy vegetables, legumes, whole grains, berries, fish, and meats.
2. Focus on nutrient-dense whole foods. It is important that the diet contains at least the minimum recommended amount of vitamins and minerals. Several nutrients in the diet can also promote a healthy thyroid gland . Some studies have shown that zinc and selenium can help improve thyroid function, as well as restore metabolism and ideal weight.
3. Check fasting glucose (blood sugar ). In some people hypothyroidism may be associated with metabolic syndrome. This means an increased risk of getting diabetes , making it difficult to lose weight.
4. Control the amount and quality of sleep. Insufficient sleep has been linked to weight gain and may interfere with weight loss. It is recommended that you get at least 7 hours of sleep each night and follow a consistent sleep schedule.
5. Limit alcohol consumption. Alcohol can add a lot of calories to the diet, and for some people, excessive drinking is associated with weight gain.