Losing weight with hypothyroidism?

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BiochemNordic

BiochemNordic

Lasting weight loss can be obtained with a diet that supports thyroid function as well as fights inflammation. A thyroid supplement can be helpful too!

Losing weight is always challenging and obtaining a lasting weight loss is often difficult for many people.

People with hypothyroidism (low thyroid function) have even more difficulty losing weight as they burn fewer calories than people with good thyroid function.

The thyroid gland excretes thyroid hormones which control metabolism and thus the conversion of the food we eat to carbon dioxide, water, and energy.

Low thyroid function often leads to weight gain, as well as a whole range of other symptoms, because the cells of your body are not producing enough energy.

messuring Thyroid function

As explained in our Hypothyroid Treatment Program you can actually be hypothyroid and have normal blood tests for thyroid function.

First of all blood test does not necessarily give you the whole picture of what is going on at the cellular level. In addition, the normal ranges for the thyroid blood test have been made very broad, so you might fall within the normal range on a blood test but still be low thyroid.

Test Your thyroid function using pulse and temperature

You can use our home thyroid test, to measure your actual thyroid function on the cellular level. This test is based on body temperature and pulse rate as well as symptoms. According to Dr. Ray Peat and Broda O. Barnes M. D., this is a reliable way of measuring the actual metabolic rate on the cellular level. Learn more about our thyroid test here.

Weight gain and inflammation

Weight gain and inability to lose weight are generally caused by hypothyroidism and chronic inflammatory processes.

If you have a low metabolic rate and a high level of general inflammation, it becomes almost impossible to lose weight, even on the strictest diet. Chronic Inflammatory processes suppress metabolism and lead to weight gain as well as water retention and many other chronic degenerative conditions.

How to obtain a lasting weight loss?

Our approach to weight loss is different than just focusing on calorie restriction. Our health approach is based on a deep biochemical understanding of how the body works on the cellular level.

Our diet and health recommendations promote good thyroid function/metabolism as well as a healthy hormonal balance, with low levels of inflammatory markers, and high levels of protective anti-stress hormones, thereby supporting a lasting weight loss.

Weight loss and thyroid meds

If you have low thyroid function you need to be on a thyroid-promoting diet as well as use a good thyroid replacement therapy in order to lose weight.

The right kind of thyroid medication is essential for successful weight loss. It is necessary that your thyroid replacement therapy contains both of the thyroid hormones, meaning T4 and T3. It can be either in the form of reliable thyroid medication or a good over-the-counter natural desiccated thyroid supplement.

In our consultation service, we help people use the right kind of thyroid replacement therapy. You are always welcome to book a consultation with our Thyroid Specialist Benedict Mai Lerche Msc Ph.D. You can also use our guide about over-the-counter thyroid supplements.

The Ray Peat Diet

Our diet advice is based on the research of Dr. Ray Peat, a world-leading thyroid expert. Dr. Ray Peat’s research concentrates on the interactions between hormones, nutrition, and health.

The Ray Peat diet is widely respected and is getting more and more recognition. The main focus of the Ray Peat diet is to support thyroid function and a youthful and healthy hormonal balance, with low levels of inflammatory markers.

Dr. Ray Peat’s diet principles are very different from other diets out there. So to embrace the Ray Peat diet, you need to be ready for a completely different approach to health and nutrition.

According to Dr. Ray Peat’s diet philosophy, the western diet and most so-called health diets contain foods that directly inhibit your thyroid function and metabolic rate, by excluding those and instead basing the diet on foods that promote your metabolic rate and suppress inflammation, weight loss and health is promoted.

If you want to learn the details about Dr. Ray Peat’s diet and health approach we refer to our Hypothyroid Treatment Program, which goes into detail about each diet and health recommendation. Below we outline some important points for obtaining a lasting weight loss using Dr. Ray Peat’s diet approach.

Dr. Ray Peat’s Foods for weight loss?

Calcium for weight loss

According to Dr. Ray Peat calcium and vitamin D3 are essential for weight loss. When your diet is low in calcium and vitamin D3 the calcium metabolism gets disturbed and your PTH ( parathyroid hormone) rises. A high PTH suppresses metabolism and promotes inflammation and weight gain.

With a diet high in calcium and vitamin D3, the PTH is suppressed and your metabolic rate is promoted.

Calcium also directly inhibits the enzyme which synthesis fat, called fatty acid synthase.

In order to lose weight, it is thus important to use a high calcium diet as well as a vitamin D3 supplement, if you are not getting plenty of sunlight.

Milk, cheese, yogurt, and so forth are thus very helpful for weight loss. It is best to choose low-fat milk products and cheeses if you wish to lose weight.

In order to suppress the PTH and support weight loss, your diet has to be extremely high in calcium. In our Calcium Guide, you learn how to get enough calcium into your daily diet.

Coconut oil for Weight loss

According to Dr. Ray Peat, polyunsaturated fats suppress thyroid function on many levels. Because polyunsaturated fats directly inhibit metabolism, they strongly promote weight gain. Polyunsaturated fats include with few exceptions all liquid vegetable oils.

To lose weight, it is thus necessary to exclude all polyunsaturated fats and instead use saturated fats such as coconut oil and butter as your fat sources. You can learn much more about polyunsaturated fats and how they negatively affect your metabolism and health in our Hypothyroid Treatment Program as well as our blog post: “The truth about polyunsaturated fats”.

Fruit for weight loss:

In the health community sugar often gets blamed for a lot of illnesses and many people believe that consuming sugar leads to obesity and diabetes. However, according to Dr. Ray Peat, this is absolutely not true.

Sugar, meaning normal white table sugar, honey, and the sugar found in fruits, is 50 % fructose and 50 % glucose, whereas starches meaning rice, pasta, bread cereal, and so forth are 100 % glucose.

Pure glucose (starches) overstimulates insulin production, which leads to low blood sugar. Low blood inhibits metabolism, as low blood sugar inhibits the activation of the storage thyroid hormone T4 to the active thyroid hormone T3.

In addition, the overstimulation of insulin by starches promotes fat synthesis, and starches thereby strongly promote weight gain.

In contrast, the fructose part of normal table sugar, honey, and the sugar in fruits prevents the overstimulation of insulin and helps the liver store glycogen which stabilizes the blood sugar.

A stable blood sugar helps your body activate your thyroid hormone and thus burn more calories. It has been found that you can increase your metabolic rate by 25 % by excluding starches and instead add sugar, honey, and fruit to your diet.

Dr. Ray Peat’s weight loss system

In this blog post, we have outlined some important aspects for obtaining a healthy and lasting weight loss.

Hypothyroid Treatment program

Our Hypothyroid Treatment Program provides much more information on our thyroid-promoting diet and health advice, as well as deeper explanations behind the recommendations.

If you want to lose weight in a lasting way, where your whole health is improved, our Hypothyroid Treatment Program is for you!

Hypothyroidism Diet Plan

If you want a shorter overview of our thyroid-promoting diet advice, we also offer a diet plan for overcoming hypothyroidism. This diet plan doesn’t go into detail about the biochemistry behind our diet recommendation but it can be a good way to remember Dr. Ray Peat’s diet principles. 

Thyroid Consulting

If you need further guidance on diet and supplements for weight loss you are of cause also welcome to book an online consultation with our thyroid specialist Benedicte Mai Leche MSc Ph.D. In the consultation sessions, our health recommendations will be customized to your needs. You will get information on diet nutritional supplements, thyroid replacement therapy, hormonal support compounds, and anti-inflammatory substances which can help your specific situation and support a healthy weight loss.

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