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Has anyone else noticed this trend over the past few years? Its like more and more people dont want to take personal responsibilty for being overweight and want to use the excuse that they have thyroid problems.
Nothing new for the past 20-30 years since I became an active exerciser and RN.
People will nearly always try to blame weight gain on something else. They are blinded to the truth. I have a friend who is trying to claim that she has Cushings syndrome. Sure, whatever. She eats like crap.
We moved a wwhile ago and joined a new gym. The new gym comes with a free "consultation" with a trainer so I went and he had some scripted questions about lifestyle blah blah blah.
One of his questions was "What is the biggest obstacle standing between you and your fitness goals?"
"Beer," I said.
He said, "At least you're not blaming your thyroid." I started laughing and he didn't. Apparently he was dead serious. He looked like he felt bad for saying it but it reminded me of this thread.
The bottom line is that Americans, and many other people around the world, are considerably fatter than they were in 1950. 33% of America didn't all of a sudden develop thyroid problems within the last few decades.
Exactly, even if you look at news footage of people on the street in the 1970s, you rarely see fat people.
I just found out my hypothyroidism is likely hashimotos. I see all of these people are easily regulated with synthroid. This is not the case for me. 5ish years after being diagnosed, i have never felt reaonably normal for more than 6 months. I still have symptoms. At the end of the really good period my energy level did a 180 and i gained 20 pounds in a few weeks with no lifestyle changes. The most annoying is a lack of energy that makes it difficult to muster up enough to exercise which helps to solve my insomnia. Leaving me with a neverending cycle of low sleep, low energy and brain fog.
There are many many people who have trouble feeling normal, as hypothyroidism is both under diagnosed and multi-faceted. We all have different chemistry and do not react the same to medications. I am working with an endocrinologist to get on track now as my primary care physician wasn't getting it right. I find for me gaining weight can happen at the drop of a hat, and losing takes 5-10x longer than it took to gain even a few pounds.
Its a very tricky thing to get right, and I thoroughly support seeking a endo instead of a standard doctor.
I also recommend reading some of Mary Shomon's information - who is a thyroid & hormonal health advocate. Good luck
When I eat a diet that has a significant amount of carbs, even "good" carbs.....I feel hungrier more of the time, want to eat more often.
When I eat a diet that is lower in carbs, higher in fat and moderate in protein......my acute craving for junk go away, my appetite is pretty low. A diet of mainly meat and low carb veggies is a great diet for me, YMMV.
The psychological aspect of wanting to eat carbs and junk, well, that is a tough one, never really goes away.
I wonder how many people have bought into the high-carb/low-fat way of eating.....and it is making them fat and driving up their appetite????????????????? I remember when I was doing the HCLF diet, pretty strictly.......I was very hungry most of the time, obsessed with food.
Okay this one I really get upset over. I can speak from personal experience. I have always been athletic (competitive swimmer). I never had a weight problem except pregnancy weight. First kid I had lost the weight. Healthy eating habits, exercised every day. Looked pretty good. Got pregnant again. Had my son. Lost most of the weight within 3 months. Then all of a sudden my life changed. I started getting sick all of the time. I had hair loss. I had very dry skin. I started looking very puffy. Like pregnancy. I was not eating. Lost my appetite. I couldn't sleep at all. Horrible insomnia. Mood swings. Anxiety attacks. Then I started gaining weight like crazy. If I ate anything my body stored it. I got fat. Quickly. I kept a food diary. 700 calories a day I was eating. I had to force myself to eat 1200. Still gaining weight. Doctor dismissed me. Did not do a damn thing but tell me I was depressed and wrote me a scrip for zoloft. Well got my appetite back with the zoloft. So now I'm gaining more weight. Still working out, still trying to control calories. I looked like I was 9 months pregnant. Finally ended up with a goiter. 6 months later. Turned out after blood work I was hypothyroid and the tumor was cancer. Thyroid removed. Got on synthroid. FELT LIKE A HUMAN AGAIN. I had my energy back, sleeping better. Metabolism back to normal. Didn't change my eating habits or workout habits, except do a lot more weights now. Lost all the weight I gained. I then turned around and lost even more weight and am in better shaped than I was before kids. So when someone really does struggle with thyroid issues, its no joke. More people are being diagnosed every year. Many are misdiagnosed (like I was). The thyroid is our engine. It controls our metabolism. When its not functioning correctly weight gain occurs because the body can't expend the energy to metabolize food so it stores it. As fat. We need our thyroid to live.
I find now without my thyroid I am very sensitive to foods and I get sick very easily. I work out like crazy because when I don't I feel like crap. I also gain easily. I watch my weight very carefully. I miss having a normal life.
I should add though I know someone who had the same thing as me but eats like crap. Seriously, she posts what she's cooking for dinner every day. Macaroni and cheese, green bean casserole, and fried chicken, with fresh baked bread. Yet she constantly says its her thyroid. If I ate like that I'd still be fat and would blame my food choices and not my thyroid.
Okay this one I really get upset over. I can speak from personal experience. I have always been athletic (competitive swimmer). I never had a weight problem except pregnancy weight. First kid I had lost the weight. Healthy eating habits, exercised every day. Looked pretty good. Got pregnant again. Had my son. Lost most of the weight within 3 months. Then all of a sudden my life changed. I started getting sick all of the time. I had hair loss. I had very dry skin. I started looking very puffy. Like pregnancy. I was not eating. Lost my appetite. I couldn't sleep at all. Horrible insomnia. Mood swings. Anxiety attacks. Then I started gaining weight like crazy. If I ate anything my body stored it. I got fat. Quickly. I kept a food diary. 700 calories a day I was eating. I had to force myself to eat 1200. Still gaining weight. Doctor dismissed me. Did not do a damn thing but tell me I was depressed and wrote me a scrip for zoloft. Well got my appetite back with the zoloft. So now I'm gaining more weight. Still working out, still trying to control calories. I looked like I was 9 months pregnant. Finally ended up with a goiter. 6 months later. Turned out after blood work I was hypothyroid and the tumor was cancer. Thyroid removed. Got on synthroid. FELT LIKE A HUMAN AGAIN. I had my energy back, sleeping better. Metabolism back to normal. Didn't change my eating habits or workout habits, except do a lot more weights now. Lost all the weight I gained. I then turned around and lost even more weight and am in better shaped than I was before kids. So when someone really does struggle with thyroid issues, its no joke. More people are being diagnosed every year. Many are misdiagnosed (like I was). The thyroid is our engine. It controls our metabolism. When its not functioning correctly weight gain occurs because the body can't expend the energy to metabolize food so it stores it. As fat. We need our thyroid to live.
I find now without my thyroid I am very sensitive to foods and I get sick very easily. I work out like crazy because when I don't I feel like crap. I also gain easily. I watch my weight very carefully. I miss having a normal life.
Not only is it no joke, but it is also something that can be overcome, as you can attest. The same can be said of my wife, whose weight loss you can see in some of my profile photos. For her, and likely the same for you, it took the medication combined with discipline and determination to turn the success you had. What's more, is it probably took a level of discipline on a higher level than an otherwise healthy person because you had more to overcome in order to achieve success.
So while I cannot accept a thyroid condition as an excuse (my wife didn't, you didn't...) I am sympathetic to those who have to work harder to achieve something that likely comes easier to me and many others.
Congrats on your success and thank you for posting your story here.
Location: In Thy presence is fulness of joy... Psa 16:11
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Some other things to consider before heaping blame on large people with thyroid problems... Jet fuel (the kind you're exposed to at public and military airports) affects the thyroid. People living around airports (esp. military airports) have more exposure to this and often are effected by this. Autoimmune diseases affect every area of the body; including the thyroid. They tend to 'gang up' on the victim, too. Some ethnic groups have a greater problem with lipid storage; diseases that actually cause obesity and various issues.
I know someone who was moderate in her eating, ate healthfully, and exercised a great deal. Nevertheless, with these issues above (she had all 3), she began gaining excessive weight she could not lose. Her diseases debilitated her; but not before she'd been called 'fat,' 'lazy,' and any number of cruel things by doctors who did not properly diagnose her before. By the time doctors realized what was happening, her condition was too advanced to do much to help her.
I rejoice with those of you who have had success losing weight. But I would also urge: have compassion with people! It is true that some people eat the wrong foods or do not exercise as they should. But it is equally true that many really try--and for them it is of no avail. The environment they were exposed to and their own genetic problems made their health out of control. Kindness is productive; sarcasm and belittling are not. Immunological function in mice exposed to JP-8 jet fuel in utero. - PubMed - NCBI Health Hazards Genetic Diseases | Genetic Disease Foundation Autoimmune Diseases: What Are They? Who Gets Them?
Has anyone else noticed this trend over the past few years? Its like more and more people dont want to take personal responsibilty for being overweight and want to use the excuse that they have thyroid problems.
The wife of a friend of mine gained 40lbs since getting married about 2yrs ago. He told me himself that she's gotten lazy and doesnt want to excercise. Just last wknd when a topic of health and weight came up, she mentioned her "thyroid issue". I said to myself.... "here's another one".
That Ops friends wife got lazy is nothing to do with people having thyroid problems and being listless with weight gain.
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