Action Steps NEEDED To Overcome Thyroid Weight Gain.

For many people with a thyroid condition, “thyroid weight gain” is not only common, but it is often THE most frustrating part of a thyroid disorder. Nobody like to be overweight! Weight gain tends to be more common in people who have hypothyroidism and Hashimoto’s Thyroiditis, but many suffering with a hyperthyroid condition share in this frustration as well.

In either case, losing weight usually isn’t as difficult when you look at the “The Big Picture” and evaluate the hormones and your body properly. Root Cause Functional Medicine can be the difference between success and failure when it comes to losing weight.

The problem is that most people with a thyroid condition who are trying to lose weight resort solely to minimizing calories and overtraining with exercise. Keep in mind that in order to lose weight you need to burn more calories than you take in. Those men and women who are suffering with a thyroid problem will never lose weight and keep it off if they don’t correct all of the hormones involved. The main function of your thyroid is to direct how your body will utilize energy from the foods you eat. In other words, your thyroid, with the help of other hormones controls how efficiently you burn calories. Without question minimizing calories and exercise regularly is important, but doing this alone (when you have a thyroid problem or other hormone imbalance) is not.

If you follow these steps that we have outlined in this article you will lose weight…and keep it off!.

Action Step #1- Calories

Don’t focus too much on reducing calories. Obviously you don’t want to consume unnecessary calories, if you eat mostly whole foods, and your not drinking your calories in cappuccinos, café latte and sugary soft drinks, and at the same you are consciously minimizing the amount of refined foods and sugars you consume, then you shouldn’t gain excess weight. Once again, restricting unnecessary calories will also help, but most people who gain weight due to the foods they eat aren’t eating healthy foods to begin with.

I am always amazed at the number of people who “think” they are eating healthy, only to find out that most of the foods they are eating are unhealthy for their unique physiology. I can’t tell you how many times we find thyroid patients to be eating all the foods that they have sensitivities or allergies to. This is where food sensitivity testing can be invaluable at pinpointing which foods could be making your condition worse.

Let me give you an example, many people think that you cant eat too much fruit. The fact of the matter is that fruit is sugar, and for someone who has a thyroid problem excessive fruit and fruit juices could be a culprit in weight gain. There are some juices that can help with weight loss when you have a thyroid problem- You can check out my recipe page that has some of my juices for weight loss.

Action Step #2 Exercise

Exercise regularly. Yes, exercising regularly is important for anyone looking to lose weight but especially for people with low Thyroid. If you have any degree of blood sugar handling issues exercise is extremely important and has a proven track record in healing the insulin receptors. If you aren’t currently on an exercise program then you will want to go about this slowly, perhaps starting with a five minute workout, and then slowly building your endurance to 45-55 min.

In addition to participating in cardiovascular exercise, doing some light weight lifting can also be beneficial. This can not only help with weight loss, but can also help to prevent osteoporosis. So I would try to engage in at least 15 to 20 minutes of light weight lifting three or four times each week.

If you have a thyroid condition and don’t have the energy to exercise for 30 minutes, then you obviously will need to do what you can, and focus on other areas of your health. So for example, if you can find the energy to do five to ten minutes of light walking each day, and at the same time eat better, get sufficient sleep, and do other things to help restore your thyroid health, then over time you will gain more energy to allow you to increase the amount of time you exercise. Makes sense right?

Action Step #3 Hormone Optimization

Correct Any Existing Hormone Imbalance. This is one of the main reasons why people with thyroid conditions have difficulty losing weight and get sicker year after year. Most people with thyroid conditions are in a state of estrogen, dominance, insulin resistance, leptin resistance, and adrenal insufficiency. Either one of these conditions will make it extremely difficult for someone to lose weight.

Learn more about how we test and customize a Unique Recovery program for these conditions

In Past articles, I have spoken about these ignored hormone imbalances and how detrimental these imbalances are to a thyroid sufferer when ignored.

Most conventionally trained endocrinologists and other types of medical doctors, rarely, if ever, do anything to determine if someone has a hormone imbalance and whether that may be a contributing problem.

Some the more common problems we often see at our office include insulin resistance, high cholesterol, Metabolic syndrome, anemia, abnormal cortisol levels, vitamin D deficiencies, elevated thyroid antibodies and estrogen dominance. The good news is that these hormone imbalances, once the root cause has been identified are relatively easy to correct once detected.

So, if you are experiencing “thyroid weight gain”, and regular exercise and diet has not been as successful as you think it should be, then you will want to find a doctor specializing in Metabolic testing who can properly evaluate you and correct these imbalances.

Other Article about Natural Thyroid treatments and Methods