GI & Thyroid

loubie84

Full Member
Hi All I've only just joined this site but need some major advice :(

I had suffered for about 6 years with an underactive thyroid slowly getting bigger and struggling with weight gain, my biggest issue is the tiredness, I constantly spend my life 'knackered'. Beginning of this year I was diagnosed with pcos which, my doctor tells me, can make my tiredness worse too!

I've recently got engaged and have 20 months in which to loose my excess 10 stone and I want to make myself healthier not just go on another diet

Have any of you done/are doing low GI for either underactive thyroid or pcos? If so do you have any tips for me - I've never done low GI before

Sorry for the life story ;)

Lou x
 
Hi Lou, and welcome. :) Congratulations on your engagement, that's very exciting and wonderful!

I hope you don't mind me being nosy, are you on treatment from the doctor for underactive thyroid? As if so, just getting the levels of this right can have a huge impact on your ability to lose weight. I suspect I have a slightly underactive thyroid but it's difficult to tell as other health issues I have mask it and my GP isn't too helpful. If you are not on treatment from the doctor, there are some natural ways you can give your thyroid a bit of a boost although I would always suggest to be careful what you try, start slowly and monitor how you feel carefully. My mom is very interested in thyroid issues and if you want I can ask her for some helpful links.

I don't have PCOS myself but have read in a lot of the GI/GL books that this is the best diet for people with it, and also success stories of people with PCOS who have lost this way.

I have similar issues with losing weight; I have ME which in addition to making you feel tired all the time (thus rendering activity levels very low) makes your body want to both cling onto any fat that it has and also make new fat whenever it gets the chance. But I've found that the blood sugar balancing of the low GL diet has really helped, and I think also not eating much wheat now really helps me.

The one thing I would say as someone who is in a similar position (ie difficult to lose weight for medical reasons - it's not just that we're not trying hard enough, our bodies are fighting us), and I hope it doesn't sound like I'm sticking my nose in, is to be kind to yourself with your goals and ensure that you set a reasonable calorie goal daily (myfitnesspal or other sites can help you do this) - if it's too low you will find it impossible to stick with it, because you'll feel deprived, starving, and have even less energy. Losing 10 stone in 20 months would mean losing 7 pounds a month consistently, and I know that amount is one that even fully healthy people might sometimes struggle with. Even if you lost 5 stone in that time you would feel so much better and look quite a bit slimmer too. If you lost more, well, that would be an unexpected bonus! Maybe start a plan and try it for a month or two and then decide what you think a realistic loss is for the end of the 20 months?

All the best, I hope you'll decide to stick with us. :)
 
Hi and welcome. I can't help you on the medical issues. I second everything already said to you. In the long term, from reading all the Gi info, it is the best diet to help with pcos. As Plum has said, it is not a realistic goal to lose that amount on ANY healthy eating plan in the time you have. The only other option would be a total food replacement diet. Having done this, I can assure you it takes major commitment and effort. In your case, the reasons are medical so TFR will only give you the initial loss. You still have to have a plan to manage your weight going forward.
I think Gi/GL is the best for you. Set mini goals to keep you motivated. View GL as how you will live your life. Don't view it as a diet. It is such a healthy way to live. You will not feel deprived or hungry and you will discover lots of new foods. Do some more research.
With GL you can be well on your way to a new you by your goal date!!
 
Hi ladies

You're right I've spent so long gaining weight, any weight loss is a bonus ;)

I'm on thyroxin (50mg) for thyroid and metformin for pcos, my thyroid specialist said my only hope is a gastric band having followed and done everything they have asked (and I really did do everything they asked). I'm not willing to give up and have the surgery but I am finding things harder now than I ever had - a little fed up I suppose.

I am doing sw at the moment so was thinking of applying low gi to this and add in cycling and sessions of 30-day shred!

Any advise anyone can give me would be more than welcome with open arms ;)

Lou x
 
Hi Lou, afraid all I can see is your first original post, did you make one after Molly's? As if so it might have gotten eaten. (I hope it was low GI ;) )
 
I did ;)

Let's try again

" ladies you are right after so long of gaining weight any weight loss is a bonus!

I am on thyroxin (50mg) for thyroid and metformin for my pcos, my thyroid specialist said my best option is weight loss surgery but I'm not ready to give in. I've tried everything, absolutely everything, they have asked and I think I'm just a little fed up now but this weight has to come off ;)

I'm doing sw so I'm hoping to mix the low gi principles in with it

Any advice would be welcomed with open arms ;)

Lou xx
 
It did it again ;)

You ladies are right, after gaining weight for so long, any losses would be great! I am on thyroxin (50mg) for thyroid and metformin for pcos, my thyroid specialist wants me to have a gastric band because I have literally tried everything they have asked me to do (really truly tried) but I really don't want surgery.

I really want this weight off so any help or advice would be greeted with open arms - I'm at SW at the moment so I'm hoping to incorporate low gi into that

Lou x
 
Hi Lou, and welcome to the GI/GL section of the forums! Plum and Molly are very knowledgable and very helpful too :) So you're in good hands.

I agree with Plum, when we have medical reasons it makes it almost impossible to lose weight since our bodies fight us. GI/GL has given me a lot more energy. It's great that you're sharing your story with us :)

I know you'll enjoy GI/GL very much, as it doesn't feel like a diet:)
 
Hi Lou, welcome to the forum!

Have you had your thyoid levels checked recently (within the last 6 weeks or so)? If your TSH level is in normal range, then you're on adequate treatment, and your hypothyroidism shouldn't be contributing to weight loss difficulties. If your TSH level is high, then upping your thyroxine dose will help. Even if you fall in the upper range of normal TSH, it might be worth discussing with your GP whether a small increase in thyroxine (ie. to bring you into the lower range of normal) would help in regards to weight loss.

Unfortunately the insulin resistance associated with PCOS does make it difficult to lose weight, and metformin itself can cause weight gain. However, all is not lost because the low GI/GL diet is probably the best diet/eating plan for those with PCOS. Low GI/GL foods by definition don't cause a sharp increase in blood glucose levels and hence don't trigger a massive insulin release. As people with insulin resistance will generally produce more insulin than normal to try and combat the insulin resistance of the cells, obviously foods that don't trigger too much insulin are going to be better.
Being overweight in itself can cause insulin resistance, which sets up a vicious cycle, but as you lose some weight this will improve the insulin resistance and hence make it easier to lose more weight. So the first hurdle will be the hardest but don't give up - you can do this!
R x
 
forgot to mention in the last post you might find these 2 books useful -written by Prof Jennie Miller who's head of nutritional unit that conducts the glycaemic index testing.
The New Glucose Revolution Guide to Living Well with PCOS New Glucose Revolutions: Amazon.co.uk: Jennie Brand-Miller: Books

The Low GI Guide to Managing PCOS: Amazon.co.uk: Professor Jennie Brand Miller, Nadir Farid, Kate Marsh: Books

I've not read them myself as I don't have PCOS, but I've read some of her other low GI books and found them really good.
 
Ruth has given you lots of really good advice and said everything I would have and more on those two subjects! :)

I did Slimming World for about 6 months and only lost about a stone in that time. I think you would have to think carefully about making it work with low GI but it could be done. I did Extra Easy when I did it but if I were trying to do what you describe I think I would:

Only do red days, and try to keep most of my HEXB choices away from being bread and avoid entirely any of them containing sugar/sweeteners. Use my syns (15/day) on healthy items containing good fats: nuts/nut butters, seeds, olive oil, olives, avocado, etc. Completely avoid using my syns on anything processed - crisps, curly wurly bars, etc. I would use some for a small amount of dark chocolate a few times a week, though, or a splodge of St Dalfour sugar-free jam. Always make sure that I had protein and carbohydrate at every meal and snack, and ensure I ate something every 3-4 hours. SW seems to promote having 3 large meals and trying to avoid snacking but GI/GL espouses having slightly smaller main meals to allow for a morning, afternoon, and even an evening snack if you need one. Although you don't need to by Slimming World's rules if following red, I'd also try to make sure I had at least 1/3 superfree vegetables with lunch and dinner and preferably my one piece of fruit (or some superfree veg like mushrooms/tomato) with breakfast.

Some of the things that 'everyone' on SW seems to do that I would try to avoid: eating loads of fruit - as I'd be having 2 carb servings already as my HEXB choices, I'd try to limit to one piece of fruit per day. Artificial sweeteners and the things containing them (Muller Lights, diet Coke etc). Not such a problem on red, but processed snack foods that are free on green/EE, like Mugshots, fat-free supernoodles, etc. The much-praised 'unlimited' portions - personally when I was on SW I found it really hard to know when I was full, and would just eat what I had prepared and then discover afterwards that I could have easily stopped after eating 2/3 of it.

Do you have any of the older SW recipe books that have red/green recipes in them? As a lot of red day recipes are naturally low GI already. If not you can often pick them up on eBay quite cheaply (and Amazon have some of the ones that were printed for the general public, often with cheap copies available from Marketplace sellers).

Personally, I found that my body didn't really start to respond well until I switched to low GI/GL AND figured out the number of calories I needed to be eating. With SW it was too hit and miss, I could follow 'the rules' 100% and still have a huge variation in how many calories I ate. The calorie watching is a pain at first but you quickly get to learn what a meal looks like if it's something you have often. But if you're already familiar with SW principles and you want to start more easily by incorporating low GI principles into that plan as quickly or slowly as you feel comfortable with, and that works best for you, then I'd say go for it and see how it works for you! :)
 
We're all here, feel free to ask as many questions. I probably won't be able to answer as much, but I know the other girls are really great at GI/GL :)
 
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