Topic of the Week
Weight Management and Diet Facts
Topic of the Week!
Weight Management and Diet Facts
Tapazole (TPZ)/Methimazole (MMI)/Carbimazole (CBZ) do not cause weight gain. We typically gain weight once starting and during the course of using anti thyroid meds because we’re slowing our thyroids (and metabolism) to a more normal pace. We must adjust our diets to compensate for this. If your thyroid levels are optimal (not just in normal range) and you’re gaining weight your diet or caloric intake are likely the culprits.
Most doctors over medicate because they are not educated on how to use MMI properly to achieve and maintain optimal thyroid levels. They mistakenly think by slamming your thyroid levels to the bottom of the range they can raise TSH. TSH is not a thyroid hormone, it’s a pituitary hormone. As long as Graves antibodies (TSH Receptor Antibodies) are attached to the TSH receptors on your thyroid your TSH will stay suppressed. Graves causes a break in the communication that occurs within the thyroid feedback loop (pituitary to thyroid to cells to hypothalamus then back to pituitary). This is why we ignore TSH unless it’s higher than 2.0. TSH above 2 leads to inflammation, goiter and hyPOthyroidism. Low thyroid levels cause weight gain. Graves must be managed by FT3 and FT4 thyroid levels not TSH.
As Gravesters we need a high protein, low iodine, nutrient dense diet. Simply avoiding iodine is not good enough. Our goal is optimal thyroid levels and we achieve this by the correct balance of anti thyroid meds and iodine intake. These amounts of meds and iodine change month to month so we must test our levels monthly and adjust meds and iodine intake to maintain the optimal thyroid levels that lead to weight stabilization and feeling well along our path to remission. This cannot be taught in the group setting because it varies for each individual month to month. I can only help you with this one-on-one. Please consider monthly Lab Interpretations with me until you understand well enough to do it on your own.
AIP, Paleo, gluten free, grain free, vegan, Keto, blah, blah, blah, are NOT effective for us.
AIP is pure bunk, there is no one diet that’s effective for ALL autoimmune diseases. This claim is a true oxymoron when you factor in how completely differently all these diseases are in how they manifest and what they do. The only benefit from AIP is it’s mild anti inflammatory properties. Fact!
Gluten free and grain free lead to enlarged heart (this is true for your dogs and cats too, so just don’t!). A 20 year study done by Harvard Med on actual Celiac patients who must avoid gluten proves this. Study is in the files. Being a former vet tech, I still follow animal medicine and this grain free craze is shortening the lives of pets too.
Veganism does not provide the animal protein our Graves bodies need. Graves attacks muscle and our bodies need animal protein to combat that. Insect protein is even more beneficial to us than plant protein (eww, but it’s a fact!). Plus, we are omnivores not herbivores! Having Graves actually makes us need to be more carnivorous than a non-Gravester needs to be.
By nutrient dense I mean get proven healthy amounts of all the food groups within our targeted iodine limits. Don’t eliminate entire food groups as it’s not healthy for anyone.
If you need to gain weight following untreated hyperthyroidism this can be assisted by placing your thyroid levels lower in the range and increasing caloric intake. Protein shakes usually have too much iodine for us, so find your extra calories elsewhere.
Weight management for anyone with thyroid disease is tricky but we can optimize our thyroid levels and our diets to live our best Graves lives.
If you need help implementing these techniques into your path to remission plan please consider a 1 Hour Consultation with me so I can tailor the information to your specific needs.
