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Spring is Coming - Anyone want to share Weight loss protcols?

rydra_wong

Guest
Messages
514
I am recovering from a recent episode of hypothyroid and gained 20 pounds. I am hoping to lose it by the time the weather gets really nice. Seems like I gained it fast so I should be able to lose it fast (ok, maybe it's wishful thinking - please don't disillusion me!)

I had constant problems with low blood sugar during hypothyroid which is what led to eating a lot to get my blood sugar back. So I read that when you diet it causes your thyroid to get slightly hypo (which I do not need). Here is the strategy I am going to try. I just ordered these supplements so can't start until they come:

Tyrosine 500mg (to make thyroid hormone - I already have this one. It does help with mood and energy)
A thyroid product containing guggul and phosphates - this is because studies show these supplements keep the thyroid up during dieting
(I like this especially because guggul is supposed to lower insulin)
A glutamine product - I know this makes me happy (peas and Brewer's Yeast make me happy and the reason is the glutamine) - and it can be used in place of a snack supposedly (they say like eat an apple and a glutamine pill and it will curb cravings)
A Forskolin (coleus) product - this increases cAMP, which increases the ability of thyroid hormone to get into the cells. It also inhibits histamine release from mast cells so I think I must need this BAD as my allergies are the WORST.

This includes keeping up my methylation protocol and I still have to take iron pills or my thyroid really tanks.

I won't be able to tell how I'm doing unless I get a new battery for my scale so I'll do that too. I have started walking but whenever the weather turns cold again, I stop. I am such a wimp!

Anyone else want to post what they are attempting and give updates from time to time?
 

maddietod

Senior Member
Messages
2,859
My normal diet is pretty close to paleo (but no nightshades), so I'm already off sweeteners and grains. If I keep my carbs really low, and don't overdo fat, weight peels off. I do this in bursts, because I think fruit is good for me, and I avoid it when I'm eating super-low carb.

I mention the fat because I can bake pretty amazing things with almond flour and stevia, but there's a lot of fat in those nuts.

Good luck!

Madie
 

L'engle

moogle
Messages
3,200
Location
Canada
I lost a couple of pounds since starting L-carnitine Fumarate. It makes it a bit easier to exercise and also helps blood sugar so you aren't having to pile in carbs so much. Good luck!
 

rydra_wong

Guest
Messages
514
I keep my carbs really low, and don't overdo fat, weight peels off. ...
Madie

Thanks. I forgot to mention the fat thing. I believe the key to healthy dieting is low fat because your body is getting lots of fat - your own! There were studies done in the 1930s that found that you could take healthy people and turm them into diabetics by feeding them 2weeks of high fat or high protein or low calorie diets and you could reverse it with 2 weeks of high carb diet (they didnt have th ejunk carbs around then that we have now). The reason for the low calorie is because it is essentially high fat -- your own. I was at my local health food store and someone came in and was complaining about how they were in the hospital and lost 50 pounds and became frickin diabetic (it was a rant) and how they always say losing weight is supposed to be good for you so how come it made her diabetic?! I explained to her about how her diet had been high fat and she could probably recover if she resumed - slowly and carefully - a reasonable normal diet, but that in the meantime she might want to consider alpha lipoic acid as it lowers blood sugar tremendously. She used to work at a health food store so she knew that - oh yeah! good idea, and she ran off to buy some. (I was diabetic twice - due to not eating under stress - and I recovered). I know that you need some carbs to digest fat without causing ketones so you cant be w/o carbs when dieting but you need fat like a hole in the head.

When I was a kid dieting was serious because of boys. But now dieting is serious because I rely on hormones to correct my methylation (CBS) and my blood pressure. Fat causes the aromatization of testosterone to estrogen. I do not want my hormone profile to change because it will have serious consequences for me.

The thing is everything healthy I want to eat has fat in it. How do you avoid fat?

Thanks
Rydra
 

rydra_wong

Guest
Messages
514
I lost a couple of pounds since starting L-carnitine Fumarate. It makes it a bit easier to exercise and also helps blood sugar so you aren't having to pile in carbs so much. Good luck!

Really? I know carnitine is recommended by my diet book but it never said why. Anything that controls blood sugar (my biggest problem) is very welcome.

Rydra
 

L'engle

moogle
Messages
3,200
Location
Canada
Really? I know carnitine is recommended by my diet book but it never said why. Anything that controls blood sugar (my biggest problem) is very welcome.

Rydra

It seems to have that effect on me. I'm in a middle weight range which is fine for my height, thankfully, but I was always having blood sugar crashes and having to eat rice or something to get on track. I seem to have fewer of those "I'm going to die if I don't eat right now!" incidents than I had, so I think I am eating a bit less extra.

I've never actually measured my blood sugar, but it 'feels' more even than it did.
 
Messages
11
I have also had very good luck with a paleo variant -- it is relatively low carb -no grain, beans, peas, potatoes - but I do eat many vegetables with moderate carbs plus all kinds of fruit (no citrus or juice). I think for most people avoiding fat for weight loss purposes is over-rated -- I am losing 5-6 lbs. per week without any real effort. But of course everybody has a unique metabolism.
 

rydra_wong

Guest
Messages
514
idk really what paleo is, but a high protein diet won't work for me because I have 3 genes that cause BH4 deficiency and can't excrete the ammonia. If you eat low carb and low fat the only thing left is protein so it must be high protein. I do want to eat about 80g/day of protein but no more. I usually only eat 40-60g protein/day so my diet will beef that up.

The things is -- I dont know. how to get protein w/o fat. If I do not eat 20g of protein at breakfast I end up with blood sugar issues and so I ALWAYS eat eggs at breakfast. 2 eggs plus milk gives me at least 20g. Most breakfasts I have seen people say are healthy for dieting are things that I know would set my blood sugar off...for instance eating a bowl of oatmeal is not a way I can start my day.

Eggs, of course, are high fat and high cholesterol. Yet the yolks are brain food containing DHA and choline, both of which I need, so I don't want to expend with them anyway - not even the yolks. I could poach them rather than fry I guess. So then I eat fish for lunch - broiled or if fried , with all the coating removed. But fish although a protein also contains fat. So it is omega-3, but still fat. My desired diet is low fat because I will be burning body fat and that is enough fat. But I am loath to give up my healthy fats so not quite sure how to eat low fat. I don't eat donuts, rolls, cookies, foods cooked in sauces (I eat naked food). I will give up cheese but I dont eat much of that except during allergy season (so I dont thnk it will help very much). I guess I'll have to drink my coffee black.

Here are some breakfast suggestions I found on the web...anyone have any other 20g protein breakfast ideas that are lower in fat?

Will maintain blood sugar:
Standard: 1 fried egg over hard, 2 pieces dry rye, 1 glass lowfat milk OR coffee with 1 cream
Scrambled egg with (dash milk or Tablespoon cottage cheese) and (chopped parsley or onion or garlic ) and Worcestershire sauce
Egg poached in vinegar water with tomato slices on dry toast
Eggs plus curry powder on dry toast
Hard-boiled egg with mustard/wasabi; side of cinnamon toast (no sugar, just cinnamon)
Possibly might maintain blood sugar:
Greek low salt high protein yogurt with added fresh berries
Beans and rice
Peas, rice, curry/turmeric, baby onions
Lowfat cottage cheese and chopped parsley

Note my standard breakfast never includes fruit or juice -- these are high sugar and I've just never - well juice actually ruins my blood sugar right at the start of the day so it's a definite no, and I just never got into eating berries but I could try it.

I'm surprised more people don't want to lose a few pounds before summer...
 

maddietod

Senior Member
Messages
2,859
The thing is everything healthy I want to eat has fat in it. How do you avoid fat?

Thanks
Rydra

Rydra, were you asking me this question? Because I want to be clear that I don't avoid fat. I was just surprised when I realized how much fat I get when I add paleo baked goods (read: almond flour) to my diet. I can eat very low carb paleo and gain weight really fast this way.

Madie
 

brenda

Senior Member
Messages
2,266
Location
UK
One way to add extra protein, and take in a `superfood` is to add about a tablespoon of chia seeds to water, as they are about 20% protein. They also fill you up as they absorb a lot of water. They also make your hair and skin nice. I am working at getting more of these raw`superfoods` into my diet, like dried barley grass.
 

Little Bluestem

All Good Things Must Come to an End
Messages
4,930
...
A thyroid product containing guggul and phosphates - this is because studies show these supplements keep the thyroid up during dieting
(I like this especially because guggul is supposed to lower insulin)
...
A Forskolin (coleus) product - this increases cAMP, which increases the ability of thyroid hormone to get into the cells. It also inhibits histamine release from mast cells so I think I must need this BAD as my allergies are the WORST.

Would you be more specific about the name and maker of the above two products?

I need to lose at least 15 pounds. When I reduce food intake, my blood sugar tends to drop. I have ME which makes exercise that burns a meaningful amount of calories impossible.

The last time I lost weight, less than a year ago, I was eating frequent small meals to try to maintain blood sugar. I felt all right and thought that my blood sugar was OK. Then I realized that I had been having increased incidents of cognitive dysfunction. I think the brain is the first to suffer from low blood sugar and that mine had actually been too low. I have since gained all of the weight back and then some.

My thyroid is already borderline hypo, but I am not taking Synthroid because it says not to take it if you have adrenal problems, which I do.

I have the same qualms about cutting healthful fats from my diet that you do. I eat low fat chicken and low fat or grass fed beef (Im not sure if the grass fed is also low fat). My dietitian has recommended a high protein diet. It seems the primary thing to do is eat a little less of the things I am eating now. Ill eat fewer starchy vegetables and vegetable salads (because of the dressing), and almost no ice cream (Waa!).

The problem is how to get calories low enough to kick in fat metabolism without getting low blood sugar.
 

rydra_wong

Guest
Messages
514
One way to add extra protein, and take in a `superfood` is to add about a tablespoon of chia seeds to water, as they are about 20% protein. They also fill you up as they absorb a lot of water. They also make your hair and skin nice. I am working at getting more of these raw`superfoods` into my diet, like dried barley grass.

Awesome idea!

Well I eat the kidney diet. I am glad I had my hormones tested because it told me I have broken kidneys, broken liver,
genes leading to a bad heart, and broken brain (ouch, it even hurts thinking about it). So I know I have to be good to my
kidneys. I read that if you eat high protein and low carbs you will lose lean muscle mass. But that is not what I avoid that...it simply does not work for me, I become a bag of shakes. The kidney diet is low fat, low protein, moderate starch, and that works for me. So I eat a single slice of whole wheat bread or a few crackers when my stomach growls or I get shakey and that's it. (oh, plus a good breakfast and a small dinner). I learned this when I had a UTI and could not control my blood pressure (you have to have kidney function to control your blood pressure). I knew I could not NOT eat because it raises my blood pressure! I knew I
could not eat low carb because it causes ketones and that hurts your non-working-kidneys. High protein work either when you cant excrete the ammonia. The doctor who formalized the macrobiotic diet was born with bad kidneys and had to eat a very sparing rich-based diet and he put other very sick people on this diet and it cured them too. (I am not following macrobiotics, I am only saying that a very spare diet but with whole carbs as the chief ingredient is healthy). Anyway, I lost 10 pounds so far. I know it sounds impossible so I will have to wait until my doc appt on the 20th to weigh in on their scale.

The supplements above DO work for me. I got shakey again from low thyroid from dieting and I popped 2 pills (these two supplements) and it went right away:

http://www.iherb.com/Absolute-Nutrition-Thyroid-T-3-Original-Formula-180-Capsules/27664?at=0
http://www.iherb.com/Thorne-Research-Coleus-Forskohlii-60-Veggie-Caps/18578?at=0

I also did a LOT of walking. I was talking to my sisters and we estimated you have to walk 35 miles a week to lose a pound (that's if you don't diet as well). So I have been doing a LOT of walking.

Rydra
 

rydra_wong

Guest
Messages
514
Would you be more specific about the name and maker of the above two products?

I need to lose at least 15 pounds. When I reduce food intake, my blood sugar tends to drop. I have ME which makes exercise that burns a meaningful amount of calories impossible.

The last time I lost weight, less than a year ago, I was eating frequent small meals to try to maintain blood sugar. I felt all right and thought that my blood sugar was OK. Then I realized that I had been having increased incidents of cognitive dysfunction. I think the brain is the first to suffer from low blood sugar and that mine had actually been too low. I have since gained all of the weight back and then some.

My thyroid is already borderline hypo, but I am not taking Synthroid because it says not to take it if you have adrenal problems, which I do.

I have the same qualms about cutting healthful fats from my diet that you do. I eat low fat chicken and low fat or grass fed beef (Im not sure if the grass fed is also low fat). My dietitian has recommended a high protein diet. It seems the primary thing to do is eat a little less of the things I am eating now. Ill eat fewer starchy vegetables and vegetable salads (because of the dressing), and almost no ice cream (Waa!).

The problem is how to get calories low enough to kick in fat metabolism without getting low blood sugar.

I hope you saw that I answered this question -- these are the products:

http://www.iherb.com/Absolute-Nutrit...les/27664?at=0
http://www.iherb.com/Thorne-Research...aps/18578?at=0

Also my diet book says 2g of glutamine will cause release of HGH (human growth hormone) to help you lose weight...the book thus recommends glutamine with an apple if you need a snack. I didn't get any glutamine because I figured brewer's yeast and, I think, peas have it. But then I haven't had brewer's yeast or peas...

In actual fact not only do the above two supplements settle my blood sugar and shaking, but the tyrosine cuts craving. I love it!

But I really, really do not think a high protein diet is a good way to lose weight. It is proven that when you do that what you lose is lean muscle. What you WANT to lose is fat. To lose fat you NEED carbs! People trash carbs like crazy these days, but I think the reason is the TYPE of carbs that are super available and eaten are junky carbs. When you lose weight you have an a-priori high fat diet because the fat you are using for energy is your own, so you don't need more! People say a low fat diet is hard because you will crave more if you don't have fat for satiety. Well, I don't crave anything. The pills above take care of that. I eat the fat I can't avoid, but I avoid every spec of fat I can - from butter and coffee cream to ice cream and nuts (nuts are a healthful food, but I dont think they are a diet food so for now, I do not need nuts), etc. But most protein sources contain fat and that can't be avoided (unless you want to try a protein powder instead of eating real food - but I tried that and I could not tolerate it because of some non-protein ingredient(s) (like sucralose).

But check your ferritin which should be 70 and make sure you get enough iron, because although the above will help you with the low thyroid that is CAUSED BY dieting, it can't make up for insufficient iron, zinc, iodine, mB12, selenium, or copper.
Your TSH should be 1.9. If it is higher, you are hypothyroid, no matter what the lab says. It is proven that your cholesterol goes up if your TSH >=2.0 and goes down when you get your thyroid back in line.

Rydra
 

chilove

Senior Member
Messages
365
Spirulina is high in protein and minerals. I like it in orange juice or mixed into mashed up avocados.
 

Little Bluestem

All Good Things Must Come to an End
Messages
4,930
Thanks, my foggy little brain caught that.

But check your ferritin which should be 70 and make sure you get enough iron, because although the above will help you with the low thyroid that is CAUSED BY dieting, it can't make up for insufficient iron, zinc, iodine, mB12, selenium, or copper.
Rydra
My B12 is abysmally low. My iron, zinc, and copper are very low normal. My iodine wasnt tested. The selenium is the only one that is normal and it had dropped some at my last test after remaining steady for year. That doesnt bode well for me losing weight. I hope that B2 corrects some of this.
 

rydra_wong

Guest
Messages
514
Thanks, my foggy little brain caught that.


My B12 is abysmally low. My iron, zinc, and copper are very low normal. My iodine wasnt tested. The selenium is the only one that is normal and it had dropped some at my last test after remaining steady for year. That doesnt bode well for me losing weight. I hope that B2 corrects some of this.

Well...I would want to know TSH, T3, homocysteine, uMMA (and if you have ANY reason to suspect TSH or T3 abnormal, then Reverse T3, and the anti thyroid antibodies tested too). On the other conference many people were saying their brain fog went away when their thyroids were normalized. I rarely get brain fog -- I had a different kind of brain fog (buzz like a hornet's nest) when I was hyPERthyroid. I can be hypo at 2.4 w/o brain fog...but at some point of hypo it supposedly causes brain fog. I haven't had my zinc tested lately but it was normal, my copper was low normal and I never had selenium tested but I have often supplemented it started at least 20 years ago. What I am saying is I think your mineral status can be marginal and still avoid thyroid induced brain fog so either your TSH may be higher than 2.4 or maybe it's due to homocysteine. I would check that. I take 2g TMG to keep that down (idk if 1g would do - I never tested that). I have observed a bit of brain clearance effect from TMG. But it can be nauseating. I take only 1g at a time. Another thing to try is tyrosine. It makes *my* brain feel like it has been rubbed with Vicks Vaporub (at 500mg to 1g/day). But no need to buy it separately - it is in that thyroid product I listed above. I would try the 2 thyroid products and get my homocysteine tested to see if I need to do anything more to lower homocysteine. After trying the thyroid products above if it did not work then get a CBC with chem (it is a $35 test at www.lef.org) and check where your TSH is at. For me, I had to add iron to make thyroxin. I do not know why I need iron at my age, but I can assimilate it, so I have to take it. I can't make either thyroxin NOR cortisol w/o it and thus the low blood sugar shaking.

Oh, lastly, how is your digestion? If you can't digest the amino acid tyrosine due to not enough stomach acid, that is most likely your problem. At the other conference, those who had thyroid problems said the amount of thyroid hormone they take did not change as a result of taking mB12 (which implies that the thyroid gets first choice at any available mB12 so probably would take very low value to impact it). Since most of the people here have gut issues I would bet that's a more likely source of the problem. You can take HCL to digest protein. Low zinc will probably cause digestion issues as zinc is required to make stomach acid. I take olive leaf extract to kill gut pathogens (it lowers blood pressure though).

Rydra.
P.S. I am going to be switching to a new id -- I will be Triffid113. Maybe you could friend me as the Triffid113. I should have become Red_Queen because although I am fairly healthy I feel like the Red Queen always having to run just to stay in place.
 

triffid113

Day of the Square Peg
Messages
831
Location
Michigan
I had my doctor appt - turns out I only lost 6 pounds. But I think I am retaining water - I think losing weight is stressing me. My doc says that pesticides are stored in fat and as you lose it the pesticides are released into your body. Whatever. I know how much I am (not) eating, so I know when the pesticide-effect stops that there will be a little jump in weight loss because I really have been working it off and eating 800 calories per day so working both ends of the spectrum. I have walked 10 miles on a rail trail twice as well as shorter walks, cycled 6 miles, did upper body workouts at the gym, and I have started jogging. The winter blob is coming OFF. I can see it in my clothes if not at the docs.

Triffid (formerly R y d r a)
 

triffid113

Day of the Square Peg
Messages
831
Location
Michigan
Here is what snowathlete said on another thread:

Ive been dieting a while as im trying to lose weight. Ive had some sucess, and the first 16+ pounds came off quickly when i dropped my intake to about 1400 calories.
Anyway, about ten days ago, I stopped losing weight. Even though my intake had not increased. After about 4 days i thought, this is odd.
Ive also been tracking my potasium intake, including food, and even with 600mg a day supplements, it was still way low. Like half the RDA.
So, i thought to increase my potasium, which i have to about 1600mg a day. At the same time i wondered if that might be a factor in my weight loss stopping. Maybe i was retaining water.
At the same time, i also had thai red curry (Which i seem to always lose weight on) and the last three days i have lost weight. Back to normal, about half a pound a day.

So, although its far from conclusive, maybe the i was getting low in potassium again, and having increased the dose, it may have helped me lose fluid. It seems likely to me that i was losing fat as per normal when dieting, but retaining increased fluid, so i seemed to not be losing weight.

------

Brilliant! I found the same thing. I was losing weight then stoppd due to water retention. It is caused by insufficient potassium, due to less intake of food and thus potassium!
-------

I also want to comment that the tyrosin in the T3 pill is acting like a "happy pill" for me! Tyrosine helps make dopamine, which must be the happy neurotransmitter. I am taking the T3 2-3x/day so it comes to 600-900mg tyrosine.
 

triffid113

Day of the Square Peg
Messages
831
Location
Michigan
So far, I have lost 10 pounds, but I am also getting in shape. Too bad it's so slow. With tyrosine I simply do not want to eat, which causes me to get low blood sugar, which causes me to pop more T3 (tyrosine) pills. So I am pretty much eating tyrosine pills, but it's great. I have had to up my potassium intake.

I am surprised there aren't more people interested in dieting or sharing dieting info in the spring. For me it is a spring ritual I guess...

Trif
 
Messages
15,786
I am surprised there aren't more people interested in dieting or sharing dieting info in the spring. For me it is a spring ritual I guess...

Maybe because we have M.E. and maintaining our weight at all is very difficult, and losing or gaining weight deliberately often seems impossible. Inability to exercise may be a large factor in keeping weight on, as well as a general lack of knowledge about how to deal with our metabolic issues.