An underactive thyroid is also known as hypothyroidism. It is a state that is characterized by the lack of thyroid hormone. The main purpose of the thyroid hormone is to control the body’s metabolism. One of the main concerns about this condition is the rate with which one gains weight.
If you suffer from this condition, you must be wondering what you could be doing wrong when it comes to weight loss. The truth is that there is so much advice on the internet and everyone thinks they know what hypothyroidism patients have to do to lose weight. Most of the advice you will get is not useful and may end up causing you to gain even more weight instead of losing it. Here are ten things you never have to do to lose weight despite the advice you will get out there.
1. Do Not Do a No Carbs Diet
One of the mistakes people make is to assume that carbohydrates are bad for you because they cause weight gain. The truth is that this information is wrong. Carbohydrates are not the enemy. A no carbs diet leaves your body with little or no fuel to produce the energy you need for your daily tasks. Hypothyroidism causes fatigue, which is impossible to conquer when your diet does not contain any carbs.
Too many carbohydrates tend to cause fat deposits in your body, thus causing weight gain. Eliminating these food groups from your diet drains your body and causes lethargy and fatigue. What you need to do is ensure that you are eating just the carbohydrates your body needs and not more. You have to ensure that you are eating the right food like bananas and whole grains that will give your body the fuel it needs to be functional.
2. Avoid Too Much Unhealthy Fat
Today, people have statistics and studies that indicate that fat will not lead you to gain weight. Therefore, people are now consuming fat-filled foods because scientists have conducted studies that have shown that you will not gain weight as a result of consuming “healthy fat.” However, do not go nuts with beef, cheese, butter, and pork just yet.
A recent study by the Harvard school of public health found that people who engage in low-carb diets that have high animal protein content were associated with a higher mortality rate. Therefore, if you want to maintain a healthy heart and weight, ensure that you stick to the good old balanced diet where everything you eat has the right amount of nutrients you need for your body for that day.
3. Vegetables And Fruits Are Great But Should Be Limited Too
Vegetables are great. They a great snack alternative to most of the other foods you can consume throughout the day. However, you need to choose your vegetables wisely. You also need to think about what fixings you are choosing to put on your vegetable salad. Some fixings have too many calories such that, a burger may have been a better option. Even so, each vegetable is different from another when it comes to the nutrients and calories that each contains.
You, therefore, cannot just eat as many vegetables as you want. So, when you want to have a snack, ensure that you have a method that allows you to watch a number of vegetables you eat each day. It will also be very helpful if you can ensure to eat different vegetables each meal. If you are used to eating a lot of food each day, note that practice makes perfect. Slowly but surely, keep reducing a number of vegetables you eat until you have attained the portion that allows your meals to be balanced throughout the day.
4. Workouts Make You Hungrier
Most people with hypothyroidism tend to be afraid of working out because they assume that exercises will make them hungry. When they are hungry, they will eat, and that will cause weight gain. What most people forget to do is give their bodies credit where it is due. Sure, your body will pack a lot of fat when you eat unhealthy foods. However, when you are taking care of it by eating healthy and exercising, it will ensure that your efforts are rewarded. How? Well, your body is great at self-regulating.
Therefore, after an hour of intense workouts, you may feel hungry. This is not the type of hunger that makes you fat; it is the type that helps keep your body moving. If you are eating clean and maintaining a healthy diet, your body should only crave the calories you need for fuel and nothing more. So, workouts allow your body to get more energy to carry on with the day. It is a win-win for you. You get to lose weight and keep your body energized. If you have the energy to exercise, most of the hypothyroidism symptoms will fade away.
5. Caffeine Is Good For Weight Loss
Statistically, drinking more than 2 cups of coffee helps keep your skin smooth and allows you to lose more weight faster. If you have an underactive thyroid problem, this is something you should not consider. Avoid coffee and alcohol at all costs.
If you must drink coffee, make sure you do not exceed one cup a day. With this condition, your adrenal glands are susceptible to burnouts and overwork. Your adrenalin can only take so much stimulation. By stopping the consumption of such stimulants, you will get your adrenal gland to work normally without pressure.
6. Avoid Weighing Yourself Every Day
When trying to lose weight, the biggest challenge can be trying to not gauge the changes on a regular basis. If you have a condition, then you may be disappointed since your weight can fluctuate from time to time. This fluctuation is due to several factors and some you may not have control over.
Therefore, if you are working on your weight, it’s important to weigh yourself at regular intervals. Although people who get on the scale regularly stand a high chance of losing more weight within a short period, the sudden fluctuation can discourage you to boycott the practice even if you were sailing in the right direction.
7. 2-3 Hour Meals
Although this procedure might be effective in calorie-burning, remember your body’s metabolism is wanting. Therefore, if you eat several times in a day, your body will store all the food and will not have adequate time to digest and burn the required amount of calories.
Additionally, if you eat several meals in a day, there is a high chance that you will consume a high number of calories than when you eat normal meals in the same duration. Even if people tend to think that eating small meals several times helps in boosting metabolism, you don’t want to risk gaining additional weight when you are trying to lose a few kilos.
8. Lose Weight Rapidly
Don’t be confused. If you are looking forward to losing weight, then do it faster. Although people tend to think that losing weight is a process that should take a while, you can still achieve your desired body shape within a few weeks or months.
If you prolong the process, there is a possibility that you will start gaining weight and make it hard for you to lose it again. However, when you lose weight within the first weeks, maintaining that lower weight is easy and convenient. If you miss on the first weeks, it may not be easy to get to the weight limit you desire, especially if your body keeps fluctuating.
9. Breakfast Is Not That Important
There has been a myth that directs people to eat breakfast every day even if they are not hungry. Somehow, this might be true since it may help to boost metabolism after all night sleep. You don’t have to limit your options to that.
Breakfast has little significance as far as weight loss is concerned. When you skip eating in the morning, there is a higher chance for you to consume a lower number of calories than people who cannot escape. Also, skipping breakfast makes it easy for you to lose weight and maintain a healthy lifestyle.
10. Calories Intake Matters
The process of losing weight circles around the number of calories your body can burn in a day. However, if you strongly need to lose weight, then the quality of your food should matter too. Your food type has a huge impact on appetite, hunger, and hormones that control weight. If you eat the right foods, it will be easy for you to get the required calorie deficit, making weight loss easy.
Conclusion
Weight loss for everyone has been such a daunting and difficult task because there is so much advice on the internet on what needs to be done and how it needs to be carried out. However, most of the weight loss tips are just noise that needs to be filtered out. Stick to the basics; eating clean, consuming a balanced diet, and working out regularly. Your body will eventually regulate itself.
More about underactive thyroid and related topics:
- Underactive Thyroid: Diet, Causes, Symptoms, and Treatments
- 15 Symptoms of Underactive Thyroid (& Natural Remedies That May Help)
- 13 Proven Foods Essential for Thyroid Patients
- Weight Loss After 40: How to Successfully Lose Weight after Age Forty
If you love this, please share this post with your friends! ????
