Hi,

I’v been hypothyroid (= underactive thyroid) since probably 2003, diagnosed in 2005 (Hashimoto’s disease, an auto-immune disease) and on levothyroxine since 2005.
In the ten years I’ve been hypo I only gained weight (only 22 lbs so I couldn’t complain really)and never managed to lose anything (until 5:2). My cholesterol was a bit high as well (all hypo patients need to monitor their cholesterol).

I started 5:2 (2 fasts of 24 hrs/week) in November last year and managed to lose 13 lbs so far. Not only that, my cholesterol was 205 mg/dl(over 190 is high) last year and two weeks ago it was only 162 mg/dl !
My risk factor is now considered LOW at 2.5 (low = 2.5 – 3.7) !

I’m not sure where you read that hypos can only eat 1000 calories a day, that is rubbish. So by all means, keep doing the 5:2 diet ! It’s a healthy way to lose weight and get your cholesterol levels down, even for hypos !

Cheers, Carla

Hi Helliam,

It might go slow but keep it up and you’ll be rewarded !

Good luck !
Carla

I to have a under active thyroid & have tried every diet & herbal slimming tablets ever. Starting my first fasting day tomorrow just hope can do it ,seems my last chance !

I’m so happy I found this thread. I’ve just finished a ten day fast to cleanse and I have an under-active thyroid, so I’m very keen to try and keep off the weight that I’ve lost. Thyroids can be so tricky when weight loss is concerned and this approach sounds healthy and effective. I just have one question, though – do the days that I fast need to be consecutive or can I do one at the beginning of the week and another at the end?

Hi all,

I was just wondering if anyone knows the best time to eat on a fast day, if taking levothyroxine for hypothyroidism?

I usually take my dose as soon as I wake up, then eat breakfast 30 minutes later. Would it be advisable to wait until lunchtime to eat that day’s 500 calories?

Thanks 🙂

You should take thyroid medication by itself, without any other medications, on an empty stomach. I take mine in the middle of the night when I go to the restroom. Also, take NO STATIN DRUGS WHATSOEVER as they interfere with the TSH test.

Hi janeandmoses, I’m a thyroid patient. I was diagnosed with Hashimotos in 2009 and also developed a related problem of adrenal insufficiency. What I want to point out here is that if one is treating thyroid with the necessary amount of replacement hormone then technically one is no longer considered ‘low thyroid’. I take thyroid hormone replacement and have continual blood tests to confirm the effectiveness of my medication and the blood test results show that I have as much thyroid in my blood stream as anyone with a fully functioning and healthy thyroid. So, because of my medication I am no longer ‘low thyroid’ and can fast for 36 hours, no problem.

I want to also add that the TSH test is not a measure of thyroid hormone in the body. It is only a measure of a hormone in the brain that stimulates the thyroid. TSH is short for ‘Thyroid Stimulating Hormone’ and the higher the level is simply that the brain is producing more of this hormone to prod the thyroid into action.

To truly test one’s levels of thyroid hormones these tests for these are helpful:

Free T3
Free T4

Thyroxine or Synthroid are T4 only medications. T4 is only a storage hormone and our bodies have to convert this into T3 the active hormone. Many of us do not convert T4 medications into T3 very efficiently and when our health is compromised our body will sometimes convert the T4 into something called ‘Reverse T3’ which is an impostor type hormone that is useless and actually serves to prevent T3 from entering the cells. For this reason it can also be useful to measure Reverse T3 (RT3) since there is a calculation one can use as a discovery step which helps in determining whether or not FT3/RT# numbers are at a healthy ratio.

Why am I mentioning all this? …Because when my doctors only looked at TSH and not the other markers, I remained hypothyroid even though the TSH made it look like I was fine! Because I remained hypo I seemed to pile on the pounds and didn’t seem to be able to lose any weight no matter what I did or how little I ate. Once the complete set of markers were measured and my medication and dosing were accordingly adjusted, not only was I again able to lose weight but I also began to feel much better. Hope this isn’t too complicated.

Hi janeandmoses, I understand how difficult it is for any patient to secure funded full thyroid panel tests. I’m pretty sure it is universal medical practice to diagnose and treat thyroid problems via TSH alone. Many doctors scoff at the idea of needing to test anything but TSH.

The other thing is that often when doctors do offer full thyroid panel to patients, they then use the lab ranges as a guide. My personal experience is that the lab ranges can be misleading. I personally find that if my numbers are not in an optimal region of the range, I feel awful and thyroid symptoms persist. For example if my T3 and/or T4 are at low end of range, my experience is of weight sticking onto my body and not budging. When my numbers look like that my body temperature is typically under par which goes hand in hand with inability to shed pounds.

What I do to help me track how I’m traveling is to track body temperatures. I often take my temperature charts to my doctor’s office. This is because my doctor can’t argue with my temperature charts! They are objective fact. Here is an excellent article about tracking temps:

http://www.stopthethyroidmadness.com/temperature/

Hi Jane! Reducing your levo could very well contribute to your tiredness. Levo is effectively thyroid hormone which replaces the supply we are unable to make ourselves. Lowering your supply of thyroid hormone slows the metabolism. When I’ve experimented in raising or lowering my thyroid dose myself, I always track my symptoms such as energy levels as well as body temperature.

The article I posted explains all about temperature and the implications of too little or too much thyroid hormone. Too little tends to cause our temperatures to go down. Lower temperatures usually indicate lower metabolism and more difficulty shedding fat.

I’m doing very well with 5:2! My first goal was a stubborn 2 kg that I was never able to shed without feeling really hungery, strangely vulnerable and weak/fatigued! If ever I’d even lose a fraction of that 2 kg. I couldn’t help but eat to make up for it. I know this sounds strange, but dropping under that set weight always felt ‘wrong’ and I just couldn’t maintain it.

So, out of fear of past experience and because I have the history of both thyroid and adrenal issues, I started 5:2 slowly with a couple weeks of 6:1 for starters. All went well, so for past 2 weeks I’ve been doing the full 5:2 and so reached and maintained that 2 kg loss. This is new! I actually feel fantastic and almost want to pinch myself since it seemed so impossible just a couple months ago.

I could go on maintenance, though I’ve decided to continue on with the view of shedding more. This is because my age predisposes me to a higher fat percentage and lower muscle mass than when I was younger, so the 2 kg loss didn’t actually achieve the overall result I was looking for with the tape measure; which is a healthy waist circumference! In other words, I still carry an extra layer of fat around the middle that wasn’t there even back in 2012 when I weighed this same weight. So, I’ve decided to continue with 5:2 with a goal to return to my pre-menopause weight and hoping that by doing that, I’ll shift that extra padding around the middle!

One tip I’ll share is that were I to look at pounds on the scale alone, I might conclude that I’ve been on a plateau over the past 9 days. However, the tape measure says differently! My waist is actually half a centimeter smaller as of today and I have been tracking muscle mass, fat percentage and water weight also calculated by my scale and these have all improved! So, even though I’ve only shed a measly 100 grams of weight in the 9 days, I have evidence that my body composition is improving in quality on an underlying level which actually makes me very happy! I’m mentioning this because I could otherwise feel very frustrated that ‘nothing’ is really happening.

Can you explain take no Statins what so ever Do u mean just on the test day only . Please clarify
I take statins every night and my Levo in the morning
I have had a heart bypass and must pay attention to this too.

Hello chick,

I’m sorry to read about your vomiting and diarrhea. You’ve probably been down the track with experimenting on going gluten free, though thought to mention just in case. Celiac patients can have the symptoms you describe.

Are you thinking of giving 5:2 a try? I’ve found that it has helped me immensely. This forum is such good support and I’ve gotten a lot of tips. So as far as diet plans, I’d simply recommend the 5:2 plan for starters.

As far as having difficulty losing weight, if it is because of you having low thyroid function, I’m wondering if you are on any thyroid medication to help remedy this? If dosed properly, with the correct type of medication for your particular needs, it shouldn’t matter whether your own thyroid is low functioning because you would be taking adequate hormone replacement to enable your metabolism to function as well as someone with a healthy thyroid.

Hello fatchick. I am totally appalled by the fact that your husband is threatening to leave you if you don’t lose weight!! Does he not value the vow of sickness and in health, shame!! I am having the same problem as you but have a more loving husband. I went on a low saturated fat eating plan years ago but that doesn’t help now that I have the hypothyroidism. Reducing alcohol helps as well as eating very small meals often.

This is the only diet that has worked for me in 9 years. I have lost half a stone in six weeks and am delighted as it is so easy. I have always been a confirmed Atkins dieter, but underactive thryroid spoiled all that. I don’t have much to lose and this plan has made all the difference.

I have not been able to lose any weight since being diagnosed with Hashimoto’s in 2009 until I tried the 5:2 fasting diet. So far I have lost 11lbs in 3 months and am finding it so easy. I can lose 1 lb a week if I do 2 fasting days. I can choose to have a few weeks without fasting, then start again and lose again. I tried everything before this and nothing worked. I am 68, fit and exercise daily. This diet has changed my life!

Water fast is not for me anyway, but I wouldn’t recommend stopping thyroxine