5 Ways to Support Weight Loss If You Have Hypothyroidism
If you’re trying to lose weight and you take just one trip around the internet, you’re flooded with the newest fads, the latest diets, and some claims too good to be true. And they usually are.
But what if your journey to losing weight isn’t that simple? What if your body is holding on to the weight you want to lose because something deeper is happening inside your body?
Now there are many reasons for weight gain and difficulty losing those unwanted pounds. This week we’re going to discuss how to lose weight when you have hypothyroidism.
What Is Your Thyroid?
To know what hypothyroidism is, we first need to understand how your thyroid works.
Your thyroid is a gland that generates energy for every cell in your body. This includes major organs like your liver, heart, stomach, intestines, etc.
The thyroid produces hormones. These hormones act as chemical messengers, signaling your cells to generate energy. The energy produced by your cells is called cellular metabolism. Your cellular metabolism is monitored and regulated in the brain.
The hypothalamus and the pituitary gland both found in the brain monitor the amount of thyroid hormones (active T3 and inactive T4) in the blood. If either of these are low, the hypothalamus sends a signal to the pituitary gland to release thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH). This stimulates the thyroid gland to produce more T4. T4 is converted to the active T3 hormone in the liver which prompts energy production for your cells.
This feedback mechanism between your brain and the thyroid gland is called the hypothalamus-pituitary-thyroid axis. However, this system is not isolated.
Other hormones from your adrenal gland and your gonads also influence the thyroid. Collectively, this system is called the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal-thyroid-gonad (HPATG) axis.
This intricate system is all part of your endocrine system which affects your metabolism.
When your cells aren’t getting the energy they need, you can experience a wide variety of symptoms including weight gain or difficulty with losing those unwanted pounds.(1)
What Is Hypothyroidism and What Does It Have to Do With Your Weight?
When you have hypothyroidism, everything slows down in your body – your cells aren’t producing enough energy to fulfill their functions.
It's comparable to a flame on a gas stove set too low to bring the water to a boil.
Hypothyroidism affects about one in 300 people – women more than men. Some classic symptoms of thyroid dysfunction are:
Constantly feeling cold
Fatigue
Brain fog
Weight gain
Dry skin
Hair loss
Constipation
Changes in your voice
Depression
Slowed heart rate(1)(2)(3)
Sometimes these symptoms appear to be unrelated, but can all be traced back to the thyroid.
Hypothyroidism, even in mild cases, can be linked to changes in body weight, including being overweight, or obese. But the good news is simple changes in your lifestyle, including physical activity, nutrition, and other small shifts, can help you balance these thyroid-related hormones and better fuel your body.(2)
A Functional Medicine Approach to Losing Weight With Hypothyroidism
Because hypothyroidism can be the result of a number of underlying causes like:
Autoimmunity
Chronic inflammation
Congenital hypothyroidism
Surgery (removal of all or part of your thyroid)
Radiation therapy
Certain medications (4)
Other hormone imbalances
Metabolic dysfunction
You need a doctor who’ll work with you to uncover the root cause of your thyroid dysfunction. The first step is to run a series of functional medicine lab tests including a full thyroid panel. This includes:
TSH
Free T4
Free T3
RT3
anti-TBG
anti-TPO
Sadly, most conventional doctors only test TSH and are unable to see how your HPT axis is really functioning. They’re missing the root cause of why your HPATG axis dysfunction is not stimulating cells to produce enough energy to fulfill their functions...
Once we’ve identified “why” you have hypothyroidism, we can create a unique plan to help you balance your hormones, lose weight, and restore your energy.
5 Ways to Help You Lose Weight with Hypothyroidism, Naturally
You can help regulate your thyroid related hormones without the use of medication. Making small shifts in your lifestyle can have a huge impact on how you feel mentally and physically.
What you eat, how you move, the quality of your sleep, and how you choose to support your body can play a vital role in your ability to balance your thyroid and lose weight.
1. Nutrition
Eating thyroid-friendly foods is a good first step toward improving your thyroid function. Organic foods like:
Non-starchy vegetables like greens, asparagus, and mushrooms
Fruit
Starchy vegetables like sweet potatoes, peas, and squash
Fish and seaweed
Healthy fats like avocado
Gluten-free grains like rice, oats, and quinoa
Seeds and nuts
Sprouted, cooked beans
Organic raw dairy
Grass-fed/finished ruminant meat
Some unfriendly thyroid foods you want to steer clear of are:
Gluten
Highly processed foods
Uncooked, exorbitant amounts of cruciferous foods high in goitrogens like kale, cauliflower, and turnips
Soy products
Seed oils
Non-organic foods
Beverages high in sugar(5)(6)
Using the guidance of a qualified healthcare professional to develop a food plan to help you naturally lose weight with hypothyroidism will give you the best results. It’s essential to take into consideration your individual needs to create the most successful plan of action.
2. Supplementation
Eating a balanced diet is a great starting point in regulating your thyroid and in losing weight. But sometimes your body needs extra support.
Your body may be lacking certain nutrients needed to support your thyroid. This should be evaluated by lab data. Once your practitioner has interpreted your results, supplementation may be appropriate.
Proper thyroid function requires nutrients such as:
Iodine
Selenium
Calcium
Zinc
Vitamin D
Vitamin B12
Magnesium
Iron
Vitamin A
Vitamin C
The appropriate balance of these critical nutrients is necessary to support your thyroid’s ability to work for you instead of against you.(5)(6)
3. Reduce Stress and Practice Mindfulness
Your thyroid is part of your endocrine system. It works alongside other organs including your adrenal glands. Your adrenal glands are responsible for alerting your body to danger or stress by releasing cortisol (your stress hormone) into the body.
When cortisol is high it puts your body into “fight or flight” mode. This stress slows your body’s metabolism, which can lead to weight gain.
Reducing your stress is key in helping you optimize your thyroid to help you lose weight.
Practice things like:
Yoga
Meditation
Mindfulness
Spending time in nature
Deep breathing
Optimizing your sleep
Exercise
These are just a few ways you can manage your endocrine system and help improve hypothyroidism and lose weight.(7)
4. Red Light Therapy for Thyroid Regulation
Combatting stress, taking supplements, and eating a clean diet are not the only tools you can use to stimulate your thyroid and lose weight.
Red light therapy helps to reduce inflammation in the body and stimulates mitochondria – the powerhouse of the cell. This helpsboost your metabolism and gives you the energy you need to stick to a fitness routine – even when you have hypothyroidism.(8)
5. Acupuncture
Acupuncture is a powerful tool in hormone regulation and weight loss. It affects the HPATG axis and helps balance hormones to optimize cellular function.(9)
This makes it an effective tool in battling inflammation in the body from stress and toxins. Acupuncture helps to reduce inflammation and decrease cortisol in the body, which slows down your metabolism and thyroid function.
Acupuncture also affects hormones that induce satiety, thus suppressing appetite and food cravings.(10)
A 2015 study out of Egypt found that acupuncture paired with changes in diet was effective in helping participants lose weight and decrease inflammation.(11)
This list is only an introduction to a few tools and strategies that can help you lose weight with hypothyroidism. Some, like diet, exercise, and sleep, may come as no surprise. Others like red light therapy and acupuncture may be unexpected. There are plenty more solutions out there.
Dr. Martina at Denver Sports and Holistic Medicine Will Help You Balance Your Hormones and Lose Weight
Losing weight is hard. There’s no getting around that fact. Knowing what foods to eat, how to exercise, and how to manage your stress are all key ingredients to success. But if you have an autoimmune disease like Hashimoto’s Disease or hypothyroidism, losing weight may seem impossible.
That’s why I’m here.
At Denver Sports and Holistic Medicine, I partner with you to uncover the root cause of why you can’t lose weight and how to help balance your hormones.
Not only will we work together using the best in Functional Medicine and Traditional Chinese Medicine, but we’ll work together so you’ll feel empowered on your weight loss journey.
Book a FREE 15-minute consultation to learn how you can move forward and lose weight despite your hypothyroidism.
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