November/December weight management challenge

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Originally Posted by Dannielle

Ah, that could be it, too. I go in for a thyroid check this week. My meds could be off. My Dr keeps my tsh a little extra low intentionally and I could have slipped into the hyperthyroid zone.

I hadn't considered that (though....duh!). That's probably what's going on. My tsh was 0.3 last June and I was a little more than 20lbs heavier then.

I will suspend my worry until after my appt Thursday. :)

(I DO eat nuts/seeds every day...I just meant I may need to eat *more*. I tend to be a little cautious still and measure my nut portions. Though I've stopped measuring everything else)

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Out of curiosity, how did you and your doc arrive at TSH number that you feel is good for you and/or why do you keep it on the lowest end of normal? I was diagnosed with a very mild case of Graves over the summer and have been on a low dose of anti-thyroid meds since late August. I then put on five rather stubborn pounds that may or may have nothing to do with it. When I first started the meds, my TSH shot up to 3. We halved my dose. I get bloodwork done in a couple of weeks. My endo said something about wanting to get me closer to 1 TSH. I have to wonder whether my dose is still a tad high. I hate having to rely on a drug for my metabolism. Before this, I never struggled to keep my weight within my ideal range.

I was 117.8 this week. I've been disciplined enough to maintain 5 lbs above my goal for about 4 months, but not disciplined enough to quite get back into losing mode.

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Originally Posted by indysteel

Out of curiosity, how did you and your doc arrive at TSH number that you feel is good for you and/or why do you keep it on the lowest end of normal? I was diagnosed with a very mild case of Graves over the summer and have been on a low dose of anti-thyroid meds since late August. I then put on five rather stubborn pounds that may or may have nothing to do with it. When I first started the meds, my TSH shot up to 3. We halved my dose. I get bloodwork done in a couple of weeks. My endo said something about wanting to get me closer to 1 TSH. I have to wonder whether my dose is still a tad high. I hate having to rely on a drug for my metabolism. Before this, I never struggled to keep my weight within my ideal range.

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When I was being treated for hypothyroidism alone (nothing else factored in) my endo kept my tsh around 1-2. These days my endo keeps my tsh a little extra suppressed as I've been treated for stage 3 thyroid cancer. I no longer have a thyroid gland so there's no point to the pituitary gland sending out messages to produce thyroid hormones. All that would do in my case is aggravate an autoimmune response (I still test positive for anti-thyroid antibodies) and create a pro-cancer environment.

I totally understand your struggle. Before now I never DIDN'T struggle with my weight. I'm really grateful for the brainstorming because I'm now pretty sure that I must be in the hyperthyroid zone. Hopefully a little tweak of the meds will set everything straight (my Raynaud's is going nuts right now too so maybe that'll calm down too)

I'm not all that familiar with Graves (all my issues have been on the other end of the spectrum) but I can tell ya I don't feel good with a tsh of 3.

Wow, Danielle. It sounds like you have been through a lot. I am hopeful that my doc and I will figure it out with some trial and error. What's strange is that I learned over the summer that in previous years, my TSH had been closer to hypo. No one ever said anything to me about my numbers at that point. During that time, I was riding 5k miles a year, doing yoga for 3-5 hours a week, eating like a horse and struggling to keep weight on. I generally felt good. So I have no idea what a good normal us for me or what I should aim to feel like.

Weight is up this week and I have zero idea why. My exercise and diet have been 100% spot on, so I'm not going to stress out about it.

145.6 :eek:

169.4 this week. Not moving fast, but still down. That, this time of year, is a big plus!

Updating

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/...EVWbW5yT3doS0E

Heh, next week's weigh-in is going to be interesting. Our trip to the Pacific Northwest has been absolutely grand, and I'm sure the scale will reflect that grandness. :p Eh, I'll just pick up where I left off when I get home.

But boy oh boy, that big ol' piece of Raleighdon pie served up by the man himself today was soooo worth it! :cool:

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Originally Posted by Muirenn

@ Danielle:

This post from another thread has links to good 'ideal' weight info, plus talks about different charts available, and the disparity of perceptions for what is ideal.

You have to add an inch to your height to get an accurate idea, because it assumes that the person is wearing 1 inch heels. In fact, it says all published charts are like that, but most people aren't aware. So look at the range between 5'11 and 6'.

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thank you! now I'm really not all that worried. yes, I had to add an inch but that also means I'd be weighing fully dressed, with shoes (vs fresh out of bed, naked, after the potty). I remembered to weigh myself today when fully dressed and I was 142.4 (was 135 nakie this morning).

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Originally Posted by Dannielle

....I remembered to weigh myself today when fully dressed and I was 142.4 (was 135 nakie this morning).

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We weigh very close to the same thing (both neekid and otherwise) and I find this difference SO frustrating...so I need to stop weighing myself clothed :cool:

I never weigh myself with clothes on--except at the doctor's office. Always nekkid in the morning.

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Originally Posted by indysteel

I never weigh myself with clothes on--except at the doctor's office. Always nekkid in the morning.

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Me either! It was a total lightbulb moment to realize that "wearing 1" heels" must mean fully dressed. Good to know when I'm looking at charts. :)

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Originally Posted by Dannielle

Me either! It was a total lightbulb moment to realize that "wearing 1" heels" must mean fully dressed. Good to know when I'm looking at charts. :)

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Good point, because I thought the chart numbers looked high for my height and bone structure. I still think, even in clothes, I'd be too chunky at the high end of the range they specify, but the low end is right where I am (in clothes and shoes) and is certainly a healthy weight for me, albeit a few lbs. higher than I really feel that I look best.

If memory serves, the chart adds 3 pounds for clothes and shoes.

I never weigh myself with clothes on, either. At the doc's I manage to get my shoes off! It's always 2 lbs. higher. When I went to my endocrinologist a couple of weeks ago, for my osteo. check before my medication, her comment was, "your weight is extremely consistent." That was really meaningful, as I have been going there for 4 years.
I went to and used the weight calculator from the other thread. I am at the low end of recommended weight by medical people (about 3 lbs. over the low #) and about 5 lbs. lower than the "ideal" weight that regular people thought someone of my height should have. I gave myself the extra inch, too.
My BMI was at the low end of the normal range, where it's always been, but I just have to wonder about this. I still have some nice fat on my hips. Nothing that clothing doesn't hide, but while I look thin, I am not skinny. My goal is to get muscular, which is happening on the upper body, since I started taking the strength classes, but I never see change on my lower half, despite the zillions of squats and lunges, etc. Just my cycling thighs getting bigger!