[hyperm]

#1068881

Lol! I feel so at home here! Its so funny you say about putting it away and being skinny! My sis who had the op 13 years ago was nicknamed the "horse" in our house as she never stopped eating and was so thin – her twin sister was the opposite more like humpty dumpty lol!

We had large oval shaped plates when we were growing up and she was a great cook as she got older and would cook for the 8 of us if my parents were both working in the shop – maybe running up to Xmas. Anyway her plate (large oval) was so full the spaghetti bolognese etc.. would be falling over the sides It was a bigger portion than my dad and brothers. Then she would creep down at night and make a loaf of toast and say it was for everyone but most nights we were all bagged by the size of her dinners! It was the family joke. This is so funny this next part. As you come down my parents stair case there is stain glass windows that look into the living room. Anyway one night we were all telling stories about things we got up to and she admitted that she would lie flat coming down that part of the stairs so my parents wouldn’t see her going in for something to eat…My parents wouldn’t have said anything but she was really mortified by the excessive eating! lol

She said she had a fat phase when I was really low one day and trying to joke about what my 1st endo had said to me. She said she had to wear elasticated waist jeans – I really don’t remember that but she recalls it vividly. She is painfully thin and for years they haven’t been able to get her level of thyroxine right and she was at the highest does poss and still losing weight. She now has regrowth of the 1/4 of her gland and its sad to say it looks like a large goiter. ” title=”Sad” />

Any how I want to be her and was ( I know I know) secretly hoping that I would go slim like her but here I am starting to put the weight on….

Ok weigh- in starts MONDAY!

x

[Kimberly]

#1068882

Bobbi wrote: Some of your weight loss — if you lost weight with Graves — was lost muscle. This is BAD weight loss.

When we get stabilized to normal levels of hormone, muscle gradually comes back. It isn’t strong muscle unless we exercise it. But it comes back. And this can appear as weight gain. But, it is GOOD weight gain because it is raising your metabolic rate, and allowing you to eat more without gaining.

But I think the key here is "if you lost weight with Graves". For those of us who did *not* lose weight…and then started gaining during the treatment process…I don’t believe you can say there’s anything "good" about it.

In the grand scheme of things, the extra 8 pounds I am carrying might not seem like a serious issue. But I have a history of diabetes, heart disease, and stroke in my family, which increases my risk for these conditions…and extra weight would increase that risk even further. If my 8 pounds turns into 18 and then 28 and then 88…then that *is* a serious issue. I really don’t want to add one of these conditions on top of my Graves!

[Kimberly]

#1068883

hyperm wrote: Ok weigh- in starts MONDAY!

x

I’m in! Are we posting our actual weight…or the number of pounds we would like to lose? More people might be inclined to participate if it was the latter…but I’m OK either way. ” title=”Smile” />

[vintagegreen]

#1068884

i’m in, too, although i’m not sure what my weight is, i know i’ve not been exercising. i have a heart rate monitor, but am scared to death to even go outside and walk. in june, my endo told me that i was a "heatstroke waiting to happen." i wondered what exercises are safe to do right now—for instance, in order to slow the muscle loss. or is that even possible? i just don’t want to damage my heart by exercising, but i feel like slug not doing anything…

i don’t think i’ve gained but a few pounds on the PTU, which hasn’t affected my clothes size, but i certainly don’t want it to creep on. oh, and currently i am hypo—thanks to overmedication, so am i now allowed to exercise while i’m trying to get that back to normal….?

any input?

are there specific foods that we GD people should be eating to help? i’ve got all the GD books, including Shomon’s, Shames’, and Rosenthal, but its all still so confusing…..

[ewmb]

#1068885

I’d like to join in but since I’m not hypo yet after RAI and haven’t been put on replacement I’ve not been trying to do more than just take a short walk. I really don’t know if it’s a good idea to start trying to loose weight when you’re not well yet so I’ll just look in on everyone else’s successes for now. I have had massive weight swings in the past two years so I really do want to stabilize someday. I am now overweight and uncomfortable…… I guess you all know the feeling.

ewmb

[Andros]

#1068886

Hi, Hyperm! I just joined and am in the process of getting used to the forum, making myself comfortable and what have you.

You will be my first post!! Hah!!

Did you know that Tofu is goitrogenic? Meaning that it interferes with the efficacy of your thyroxine replacement? Have you had labs recently? I am wondering where your TSH, FT4 and FT3 are at.

I don’t know if links are allowed here so just put in your search engine Tofu, Goitrogen

So, what that means is that could be making it difficult for you to lose weight. Usually a person cannot lose weight until they are in the euthyroid state which differs from person to person but for most the TSH would be in the range of 0.3 to 3.0.

[hyperm]

#1068887

Hi Andros,

Welcome – I am thyroid free had TT a few weeks ago. I am aware about tofu but I am an addict and have refrained for so long so indulged the other night lol!

This weigh in is just for fun – runlacie I just thought it would be interesting to see what happens to our weight even with dieting. I am not taking any pressure from anyones weight loss – as long its natural and healthy I will be rejoicing with them as I remember how hard it was to loose weight while supposedly still hyper… I also feel although light humoured it would help me and probably others as you know how good you are trying to be to loose weight and yet it seems to creep on.

SO! I am going to use this as a motivator – to eat healthy, slow return to exercise and share (hopefully successes) and moan if the weight goes on I think Runlacie was in the same mind frame? I think it will also be interesting as my first endo denied that I should have any weight gain when my bloods were supposedly "normal" yet I was 2 stone overweight and then it turned out I had been on the wrong meds and overdosed for over a year when I changed endo. I think if i had something like this back then it would have given me enough courage to approach the endo and say no – I am not accepting your explanation.

All in good fun xxx

[runlacie]

#1068888

Yes, agreed that this is for fun. No pressure. Especially no pressure for those of us still not at normal levels to go out there and go crazy exercising. We just need to make healthy choices and do our best and see what happens. This will be good support for us to know we aren’t alone in this battle.

Andros- hello and welcome to the forums, great bunch of people here, you will love it!

ewmb- you’re sort of where I am- not normal yet. My goal is to lose, cause I’m packing it on right now. But just trying to stay the same will be a battle. Absolutely, join in or hang out, whatever works for you!

vintagegreen- how are your levels? If you are normal, it should be okay to start out with some light exercise–BUT definitely ask the doctor first. I was lucky and able to do a lot of things without my heart rate going crazy. I walk and do a bunch of core exercises, even lift some weights. Even some stretching and easy yoga poses can be a start and keep you from feeling like a slug.

kimberly- glad you decided to join! I don’t know, actual weights or amount to lose- either way is fine by me. I agree totally about how easy gaining 8 can turn into much, much more. It’s like being on a runaway train!

hyperm- Your stories always make me laugh! and Spaghetti bolognese sure sounds yummy.

WELL, I gained like 3 pounds this weekend!!! I kinda deserved it because I drank beer, margaritas and ate a ton of cake and cookies yesterday. Hopefully much of it is water and I can drop some before tomorrow!

[Wolfmother]

#1068889

Hi All,

I hope this isnt too depressing, but it is interesting. I became so miserable and uncomfortable with my weight gain of approx 21kgs 18 months after RAI – each month I’d go up between 2 or 5 kgs it seemed whilst on diet shakes and eating increadibly well most of the time – extremely depressing for me ” title=”Sad” />

I succumbed to the extreme -appetite suppresants! I’ve been taking these for 7 weeks now, eating like a pauper – I weighed in on the fourth week and had only lost 1.5kgs (whilst hyper I’d lose up to 5kgs a week -this was before I realised I was ill with severe hyperthyroidism – and these pills are a no no for this condition), on the other hand I’ve lost 20cm from my bust, waist and hips and I can actually do strenous work around the house without exhausting myself. I dont sleep through the day as much as I was and feel alot better in myself.

Of course, my real concern is the long term effects. When I stop will I end up putting on much more than I started off with?? Who knows. My body isnt reacting the same way to any diet methods anymore. I feel as though my metabolism is out to get me no matter what I do This is a drastic method I agree, but I was becoming so depressed I no longer wanted to go out anywhere. To me, this whole thing is an experiment and I’ll keep you posted as to how I progress, but as you can already see I’m not really progressing, I may be staving off further weight gain only and the drug is making me feel better thus, I do more activity – this could be the only positive in all this….time will tell.

Good luck everyone.
Love and Light to you.

[Wolfmother]

#1068890

Hi All,

Four months ago I tried the radical diet pills to help me to lose some kilos. It was a total waste of time. I barely ate for two months and lost a total of 1.5kg. Just thought I’d let you know. I’ve been stable (on the higher end of the ‘normal’ range) for a year and a half….if this doesnt work neither will dieting. Back to the specialists and see what they have to say about it.

White light and love to you all

[Kimberly]

#1068891

"Wolfmother":2ewd3f94 wrote:

Hi All,

Four months ago I tried the radical diet pills to help me to lose some kilos. It was a total waste of time. I barely ate for two months and lost a total of 1.5kg. Just thought I’d let you know. I’ve been stable (on the higher end of the ‘normal’ range) for a year and a half….if this doesnt work neither will dieting. Back to the specialists and see what they have to say about it.[/quote:2ewd3f94]

Hi Wolfmother – Definitely keep us posted on what the specialist says, as I know there are a lot of members here who are struggling with weight gain. (Myself included. ” title=”Very Happy” />) I’ve been really busting my tail for about 5 months now, and I’ve lost 4.8 pounds. As you can imagine, I’m not too thrilled with those stats, but at least it’s going in the right direction! As for "extreme" diets, we had a nutritionist do a presentation at last year’s conference, and she recommended NOT going below 1150 calories per day, as this is pretty much the minimum that will still give you the vitamins and nutrients that your body needs. Here are some of her other suggestions – hope this is helpful!

* Include breakfast daily within 2 hours of waking up.
* Don’t go longer than 5 hours in between meals
* Select “high volume” and “high fiber” foods such as fruits, veggies, and whole grains
* Limit servings of healthy fats to 1 per day
* Prioritize at LEAST 7 hours of sleep a night
* Do 150 minutes per week of physical activity, plus strength training 2 times per week. (NOTE for members who are still hypER: please get your doctor’s OK before starting on an exercise program, as exercising while we are still hypER can do more harm than good).

[bldeviney]

#1068892

Hi there.. I was diagnosed on January 18, 2010 with hyperthyroidism, later to find out I have Grave’d disease. I just got home from staying at a hotel, away from my kids for 4 days after having RAI.. Grrr.. My story is that about 7 years ago I lost about 80 pounds. I weigh about 165 right now and really didnt lose much being hyper. I am totally petrified that I will be gaining weight! I don’t even know how to explain how devastated I will be… I know it sounds very vane but its not. I am an outdoors girl, biking, canoeing, fishing etc… Cant do all that being HUGE!! Have a big trip to St. Martin planned for November 20-29… I’m hoping that I wont be bigger by then…. I can’t stop worrying. Its like I’m obsessed. I dont know how pounds are converted to stones. I’m in the U.S. All of this stress can’t be good for the Grave’s… ” title=”Sad” />

So scared…………..

[Kimberly]

#1068893

bldeviney – I totally understand your concern, and it’s not vain. You must have busted your tail to drop those 80 pounds, and I’m sure you don’t want to go through that again! However, with that said, your #1 priority right now is to focus on getting your thyroid levels stabilized and to let your body start the healing process. Also, keep in mind that while some patients do struggle with weight gain after treatment, gaining weight is not an *automatic*.

Like you, I had successfully maintained a weight loss long before getting a diagnosis of Graves’ — and like you, I didn’t lose while I was hypER. At one point after treatment (I’m on ATDs), I was almost 14 pounds over my goal weight, which was definitely frustrating. I’ve lost about half of that weight so far…but if I had things to do over, I wish I would have recognized sooner that my metabolism is different now. I went along for too long thinking that the extra pounds would take care of themselves if I just stuck to my normal routine. But instead, I’ve had to reduce my calorie intake a bit from where it was *before* I went hypER. So if you can catch any weight gain quickly and adjust your routine accordingly, hopefully, you can keep this from becoming an issue. (Just don’t jump into activity without checking with your doctor first, as you can do more harm than good by exercising while you are still hypER).

One final comment: if you do find yourself needing to take off a few pounds, do *not* let yourself go hungry in an attempt to lose weight. Try to focus on whole foods that will fill you up, instead of empty calories from processed foods. Your body needs to heal right now, and it definitely doesn’t need the added stress of being hungry!

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