Quote Originally Posted by Triskeliongirl View Post
You didn't understand what I said. Its not just about having a normal TSH. I too was being treated with synthroid, had a TSH of 1, was eating 1200 calories a day, biking 100 miles a week, and gaining weight.

But, it wasn't cuz I was taking synthroid as you conclude, its because my hypothyroidism wasn't being adequately treated by synthroid alone. In some cases, you will have a low free T3, which right away tells you there is a conversion problem. By that I mean that synthroid is T4, which is an inactive precurser to T3, the active form of thryoid hormone. In that case its obvious you need to be on T3 (cytomel). In my case my T3 and TSH were both normal, so at that point I was referred to an endo who put me on T4/T3 combo therapy. At the same time we discovered I was hypoinsulinemic, so I was put on a low carb diet. THEN, and only then, I finally was able to lose 35 lb and get to a healthy normal weight.


You need to find the UNDERLYING REASON you struggle with your weight rather than using amphetamines as a quick fix. Here, I am speaking from a lifetime of experience that once we got to the route of my problem, a 50 year battle with weight control was stopped dead in its tracks. I felt as if my weight simply normalized, not like I was dieting anymore. I was satisified with reasonable amounts of food. If I cut back, I would lose, if I overate I would gain, but things started to work as they should, and I have maintained my loss for 2 years by simply eating healthy food in moderate portions (but low in carbs due to my impaired glucose tolerance/hypoinsulinemia) and leading a healthy lifestyle, something that never worked for me before I understood that I had a body that couldn't process carbs correctly.

Hi Trisk,
I am sorry if you thought i was implying that my inability to lose weight was because of synthroid. I did not mean to infer that.

Thank you for taking the time to respond with a very informative post. I need to go back and review your writings and check into the term hypoinsulinemic. I have not heard of that until your post. How did the doctor determine that was your situation?

I discussed combo therapy with my endo and although not nearly (not even close actually!) as knowledgable as you in the topic, i have done research.

First of all, I need to be diligently tracking what I eat. I have known that, but work and life have gotten in the way. I stick to a diet of foods that are in their natural state and try to eat very few processed foods. It may be that I'm not eating enough - but without tracking my caloric intake I will not know. Duh. I will get better about doing this.

I also am interested to know how you are able to keep your energy levels up going low carb. I realize you touched on this before and forgive me if I read this wrong (it was in another post that I cannot see while I type) but did you say you stick to 30g carbs per day?!?!

I, too, have been looking to crack the code so to speak and figure out what makes my body work efficiently. Now that I have my thyroid under control, it is time to get a handle on the weight. I realize I am fortunate to "only" have 20 pounds to lose but I am trying to avoid the road to diabetes, and coronary artery disease like my mother.