Hi, I'd be interested in other people's views on this. I'm trying to shift the last 7 pounds, which I've been trying (more or less seriously) to do for a year!
I've just switched to soy milk instead of dairy, thinking the soy had fewer carbs, the phytoestrogens were good for me etc. and that dairy stalls many folk.
Then I read that soy is stalling some people?
I'm not hypothyroid but my body temps are lowish compared to most.
What is anyone's experience of soy?

Ive been drinking/eating soy products loads since starting this WOL, no problems here.

Soy wonly effects thyriod if you already have problems with it. Soy shouldn't effect a healthy thyriod.

I eat soy all the time in various forms. Remember if you only have 7 pounds left, the slower you lose it the more likely it is to stay off. If you lose at the average of 5% a month, that would mean if you even lost .3 pounds the entire month you would be on track.

Also you are a healthy weight for your height and your body fat % is already at the bottom end of the healthy scale for someone between 18-30. If you are over 30, you have already gotten your body fat lower then the normal range and are into the athletic range. Losing more would mean either starvation, or better way, lots and lots of exercise including weights.

I've wondered this myself. I eat a fair bit of soy because of my veggie boyfriend. One school of thought says, "the phytoestrogens block the estrogen receptors from accepting the real estrogen, so less estrogen = less weight gain/better weight loss." The other school of thought is that the phytoestrogens *act* like estrogen, and can cause weight gain/difficult weight loss.

Actually, soy isoflavones CAN affect a normal thyroid gland, as well as potentially worsening problems in existing thyroid disease. THe risk is greatest for children and infants fed soy formulas, but soy has been shown to cause goitres in adults.

Check out this article from Mary Shomon, author of "Living Well With Hypothyroidism" and host of about.com's thyroid site. .. Do Soy Foods Negatively Affect Your Thyroid? .. A Look at the Downsides of Soy.
The recommended limit for soy isoflavones is no more than 30mg per day. So .. all things in moderation - if you have a glass of soy milk, it would be best to avoid having another soy product on that same day.


Doreen

I avoid the soy as much as possible... more for general health issues - not because of perceived weight loss stalling.

That's really interesting - thanks for the responses. I think, given that my thyroid is possibly a bit on the slow side based on my body temps, I might give it a miss. Oh well, back to the drawing board......... I really hate black coffee! Mind I used to drink it as a student, so maybe I need to re-learn to like it.

Have you thought about coconut milk in coffee? It has some carbs, but not bad and the taste is really nice.

If you don't trust the store canend, there was a recipe on food network on how to make coconut milk and cream. Basicaly you roasted the coconut at 350, then shreaded the meat with a coconut grater or such, then you poor boiling water on top, let it cool a bit, and milk out the cream. After that you use the same coconut meat with more water and milk out the milk. Exact recipe should still be on the food network web site.

There is also almond milk, the recipe on this site. What making that involves is a blender and almonds with hot water

I am also learning to enjoy goats milk. It is still a bit high carb, but no where near cows milk. Having just a little here and there isn't a problem and many who can't tolerate cows milk do fine with goat. Apperently there is a hormone released by female cows that get into the milk and agitate some people.

Now goat's milk is a possibility! I don't think I can face having to make stuff everytime I want some, but you can buy goat's milk here fairly easily - I hadn't realised it was lower in carbs than cow's. I'll give that a go - thanks LadyBelle!