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Weight gain is a really common symptom of hypothyroidism in women.
In fact, most of the women that I work with come to be because they have an issue with their weight. Either they’re gaining weight too quickly, or they can’t seem to lose the weight they have.
Basically, everyone I’ve worked with who has a slow thyroid also struggles with weight loss. And I know first-hand how much that sucks because I gained a lot of weight early in my hypothyroidism journey, too.
So, let’s talk about some of the things that may be impacting your weight loss journey.
By the way, if you’re looking for crash dieting advice or crazy exercise routines, you’re on the wrong blog! We’re going deeper than that.
First and foremost, focus on yourself and your own journey.
I know you’ve heard this before, and it applies to so many things, but don’t compare yourself to others!
I would compare myself to others that were on a weight loss journey, and I would compare it to people who also had a slow thyroid. So I'd say, "well they have a slow thyroid and they're losing weight. Why am I not losing weight?"
Keep in mind, everybody is so individual and there could be a lot of other things going on in your body that they are not dealing with. Other people may be at a different stage in their journey. You have to focus on yourself and that is it!
Next, really think about why you’re so focused on weight, and is there a different, better goal that you could set?
When you’re trying to get healthy, weight loss should not be the primary goal. Weight loss is the result of other successes, but it should not be your guiding star. It will happen when it’s supposed to happen, and is something that’s really hard to force. When your body’s ready to lose weight, it will.
When I was diagnosed at 22 years old, my only goal was weight loss. The weight loss wasn't happening and I constantly asked "Why is my weight going up? Why am I not able to lose it?" I wasn't thinking about the other things that were affecting my thyroid.
It wasn’t healthy for me, and it wasn’t
helpful
for me, either. Once I started to
shift my mindset and focus on the right goals, that’s when everything changed for me.
Especially when you’re working with a slow thyroid, set goals that will help your thyroid heal, help improve your overall health, and then the weight loss will come.
So, think about setting other goals like: “I want to have more energy to play with my kids when they’re home from school”, or “I want to be sharper and more focused in the mornings”. This will help keep your focus on the healing part of your journey, and it will help you keep the focus on yourself, and stop that comparison.
At the end of the day, weight gain or the inability to lose weight is a symptom of something being off.
In order to truly heal, you cannot just treat and mask symptoms. That will not solve anything in the long run!
Instead, you have to find out what’s
causing
the symptoms.
When we’re talking about weight gain alongside a slow thyroid, there are a few things I always look at with my clients.
First,
minerals. In women with hypothyroidism, it’s common to see calcium elevated, potassium low, and magnesium low. And that's going to create a scenario where your body's in a slow metabolic state, leading to weight gain.
Second, stress. Stress is terrible for the body for so many reasons. And unfortunately, just feeling unhappy with our weight can be a stressor! I have an entire blog post dedicated to
the relationship between stress and hypothyroidism. But long story short, chronic stress can lead to an adrenal imbalance, which is very closely connected to thyroid dysfunction. So, if you’re constantly stressed, it’s going to be really, really hard to lose weight.
And there could be so many other things causing your weight gain. Is your
liver sluggish? Are you
sleeping? How's your
gut health doing? These can all affect the function of your thyroid and thyroid hormones.
All of the systems in our bodies are connected. And if we try to treat symptoms in isolation, we’re never going to get to what’s really causing our problems.
Losing weight is hard. But don't get discouraged! Make sure that you keep digging for answers, set the right goals, and focus on your own healing. All of these will make the weight loss journey that much easier.
Phone: (314) 226-3137