Are you aware that your thyroid health and your weight are connected?
If you have hypothyroidism or hyperthyroidism, Hashimoto’s disease or Graves’ disease you certainly know it by now. And, if you’re on a thyroid hormone replacement medication now, it won’t make the weight go away. Sorry.
If you are hypothyroid, even before your TSH is elevated enough to warrant treatment, your metabolism can slow down. With fewer calories burned each day you’ll see weight gain over time. I gained almost 50 pounds after I have 1/2 my thyroid removed. My doctor gave me “the THR pill” and said bye, bye! Thanks!
EXERCISE IS IN YOUR TREATMENT PLAN
How much and how often do you exercise to help you maintain or lose weight and gain or keep your flexibility and strength?
For most of us having hypothyroidism can also include symptoms of exhaustion, feeling tired, depressed, fatigued and achy. This sure is not conducive to wanting to exercise, right? But, not exercising, no “movement” each day outside of your basic day activities, is going to further reduce your strength and metabolism, adding weight to your already tired body.
MAKE YOUR METABOLISM EFFICIENT
Daily movement, or what we 21st century indoor-car-driving-people call “exercise” is a must, to not only burn calories (or energy), reduce fat and insulin levels, but to raise your resting metabolism to help combat imbalances in leptin, insulin, and growth hormone.
WHAT’S YOUR PLAN?
If you really want to get those thyroid problem pounds off get out your day timer/calendar of choice and schedule in more than the recommended 20 minutes, 3 times a week. At least in the USA, our “informed News programs” and “diet-plan-periodicals and books” on this topic have been soft-serving us for years, and not to our benefit.
HOW MUCH TIME IS NECESSARY TO REALLY HELP KICK OUR METABOLISM UP?
According to experts, healthy people of normal weight need 60 minutes of physical activity every day to maintain weight and avoid excess gain.
If you have hypothyroidism or Hashimoto’s disease you most likely have been gaining weight and are not of “normal weight” or “healthy” right now. So, plan on an hour a day. Some do 10-30 minute increments of walking or working out. Make it fun, not a struggle.
The point is, don’t slack on this – you offer your lovely, awesome, only-earth-suit-you-get many benefits from daily, consistent movement. For some of us it can even help lessen the nasty aches and pains from fibromyalgia – often a piggy back condition to thyroid dysfunction – by bringing more blood and oxygen to the muscles and bones.
You may also be feeling muscle weakness. Exercising will help strengthen your muscles so that you’re not letting them atrophy by not moving enough, not helping your condition in the long run.
I’ve been enjoying walks down by the lake a block from my house now that it’s spring, but no matter the season or your surroundings, get out doors and walk, work out at a gym, join a dance class, use a YouTube exercise video or buy a CD or online program. Do some kind of conscious, planned movement to help your thyroid health improve ever more.
DIET: You must be on a thyroid healing diet. Period.
DO YOU KNOW WHAT ELSE TO EAT OR NOT EAT TO HEAL YOUR THYROID CONDITION?
If you don’t know how to eat to help heal your thyroid, order my Get Your Life Back manual with the Thyroid Health Reset Diet and get started immediately!
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