Ok those quotes are interesting. BTW, did you happen to have your thyroid hormone profile levels tested before and after LCing? And while I find the info interesting, let me play devil's advocate. A person on LC has normal blood glucose levels, at least after they've been at it for a bit. I think a lot of people incorrectly assume that blood glucose is lower in LC people. It is not, it is in the normal range. Blood glucose is one of those things that your body goes to great lengths to keep at a normal steady state level.

So, if blood glucose is normal in LCers, then why would you suspect they might experience lower thyroid hormone levels? I would not predict this. I would predict that whatever reason for the slight hypothyroidism, would probably persist and not be improved by LC. And the concommitant slower metabolism, weight loss and other symptoms would not change drastically.

I couldn't write a three sentence post if my life depended on it.

I didn't have the same sort of thyroid panel done before LC, so I have absolutely no evidence that it happened because of LC. In fact, I think things were going south before that judging from how lousy I felt for years. It was the FT3 (not T3, not TSH) test that showed the problem.

Hmmm... what I got from that was that dietary component is the important thing, not blood glucose.


Good heavens, your posts aren't long. If someone thinks you're posts are long they're probably suffering from ADHD. :p

And sure you can, just leave off the periods. :p



I think they're saying, eating 50g of glucose.

This is just an individual experience, not proof of much. I am one who got intense chills when I started lowcarb at about 50 netcarbs. My thyroid tested low doubled my medication no weight loss for 4 months. Then I dropped my carbs to 20 my thyroid gland swelled up, now I'm taking 3x as much medication for hypothyroidism as I was for the whole 3 years before lowcarb. I keep my carbs at 20, calories at 1200 exercise almost an hour and half a day 5x per week and lose 1-1.5lbs a week, with no weight loss during TOM or post whoosh. I only lost 0.5lb the first week of lowcarb.

The first time I tried lowcarb 3 years before I didn't lose any weight at all which led to the initial diagnosis of hypothyroidism.

That leaves me with a weight loss of about 3lbs/month which is not very motivating for the amount of work I put into it.

That's about the absolute max I can get even on super low calorie.

At that rate, in only three months you will be at your goal.

thanks Dodger :)

OK,

I did the math wrong (it's the optimist in me). It will take a little over 5 months.

I know, really. TBoneMitch posted something about what a pleasure it was to read replies in this thread and I was thinking, "But this is the War Zone! We're doing it all wrong!" :D


No, because my HDLs were getting lower and I had never, ever seen that happen before. They've always been in the 60s, but had dropped to 56.

I clung to hope for well over a year of Atkins, although I changed to the Zone for a few weeks around my triathlon and I tried the Kekwick, TKD (which worked a little - and that was a clue for me later on) and several weeks of the "KISS" plan in there too. I had a tendency to believe that somehow I just wasn't getting it right - too many calories, not enough exercise, too much butter, always something. I never dared put my carbs so high as 60 for any length of time, naturally, figuring if anything they were somehow still too high. Finally, the HDL crap convinced me to drop the very-low-carb and look for another way.


I'm glad it's working for her. Perhaps she has a normal thyroid, and while it's reacting to LC, it's not enough to impede her losing? Which would be how it works for most people. My triglycerides were just fine of course, and still are (around 70). Yes, losing fat improves the lipid profile. However, I wasn't losing fat, and my lipids were getting worse, and I'd put in over a year. It would be insane to expect it to magically start working at that point.


I'm certainly not confusing transient hypoglycemia with hypothyroidism. I was diagnosed with hypothyroidism in 1997 (TSH of 6) and believe me, there was no doubt about it.
You understand the idea that eating very low calorie causes your body to fight back and slow down your metabolism, yes? A simple survival tactic. The thyroid gland is a part of this. The low-carb slowdown probably has something to do with insulin. And cortisol. And pituitary hormones. Endocrinology is unbelieveably complicated.

Mind you, I do watch my carbs and eat 'good' carbs. I just keep them over 60, and as high as 100 on days when I weightlift, plus one or two treat meals a week (usually Sunday, for me). This is known as "cycling" one's carbs, and I generally do this with calories as well (like the TKD I mentioned earlier, but less extreme). Food is planned around workouts. I'm eating a lot of protein and plenty of fats. I also changed my thyroid medication from Synthroid to Armour, which has more components in it.
Result: I have actually lost some body fat in recent months, as well as putting on muscle. I'm down 16 pounds overall, although some of that is likely water. I suspect at least 8 pounds of fat have departed. My HDL is 61. In fact, my total CHO, which has been around 250 for all of my adult life and was 260 a year ago, has dropped to 209. My LDL went from 192 to 134. I feel the massive improvement is due to the thyroid med change, although I should give myself credit for my diet and exercise when it comes to the HDL going back up. Weightlifting is definitely part of it; I've done it before, but have figured out that I wasn't really doing it right.


Naw, I don't feel attacked or anything. You understand, I hope, that I'm still eating low carb, just not to the early-phase Atkins extreme.
And hey now, I provided ideas for keeping people interested in reading those long, long posts: squirrels.

I'm seeing various threads around this place that are positing ideas that any emotional extreme that helps you to lose weight is worthwhile. Things like...be angry, be obsessive, dislike yourself, use that anxiety, distance yourself from your loved ones, drop all your hobbies so you can focus.
Somehow, weight loss is the greatest good, the only fulfullment, and everything else must bow to it. According to some people. Those of us who don't feel that way are somehow fooling ourselves, or don't truly see our pathetic fatness.

Yes, this is a weight loss forum. I'm aware of that. But weight loss is not the only good thing in life.

There's always squirrels. ;)

I haven't noticed that at all. We are either reading different threads, or have different interpretations of what we read.

I was curious about the LC/hypothyroid link, did this happen when you went on other diets, too, or just LC? Because you also mentioned you were eating 1200 calories only and it's conclusive that under eating / being underweight will make your body turn down the thermostat. So maybe it's not the LC as much as it is some people's bodies are super thrifty and won't let go of weight easily? I know there's a lot of research which shows that LC can promote hypothyroidism, but I wonder if that has so much to do with LC itself or the fact that people aren't eating enough ON LC to keep their bodies working right.

I know I show signs of hypothyroidism but in my case I think they're more closely connected to my weight and restricted intake than they are to a lack of carbohydrates.

ItsTheWoo, it happened to me on what was basically Poor College Student Eating Low-Fat diet, although I was under a lot of stress at the time as well. Bagels, skim milk, pasta with tomato sauce, rice, carrots, homemade muffins. Sometimes a mocha or a chocolate milk, so not every day was low-cal.

Dodger, PM me if you want to know where I'm reading this.

I have a hard time differentiating between diet/nondiet. I started getting heavy when I was 5. I was very active and tried to exercise 3 hours/day since high school and usually ate 1400cal, way more on the weekends and maintained my weight. Then I balloned up when I went on heart medication-tachycardia from hypoglycemia, I still exercised but only ate 1400cal every other day. It tested as normal thyroid then but looking back at my medical records my temp was below 97 all the time. Then I started atkins and stopped gaining at least. So something was always going on with me. But I didn't test hypothyroid until about 5 months into lowcarb.

Seems like the people who are weightloss crazy are mostly the newbies on the Atkins forum, especially the younger ones. Those of us who are middle aged or getting there seem to be more focused on health and feeling good.

Since it's Friday and nice out, I'm gonna put my weight loss on hold for an hour or so after work and go to the brew pub for a beer. Not that LC pee but an honest stout. :agree:

Wyv