To train or not to train; another thyroid Q

[Gen]

This seems like such a silly question, but I'm serious.

I just realized this weekend that "people with thyroid problems" means me because I've had mine removed. On Saturday after running I realized that I had that specific low thyroid feeling (rather than just tired). So I've decided to take it easy for a few weeks, keep low days low and high days high with diet and see if I get faster results. Fine.

I have until Sept 1 before I go see my dr and have a blood test. Should I keep doing what I'm doing until then training wise so that my blood test shows how my body reacts to that lifestyle? I plan on training fairly hard once I'm done cutting. If I start relaxing, 3 weeks is just enough time for my body to show that all is fine. Then he might not believe that I probably need a higher dose.

[LaraT]

Interesting question because I was just wondering this morning if people who take thyroid medication have the same problems as those who don't when it comes to dieting/thyroid levels i.e. since we are taking in a specific dose of medication each day and not relying on our thyroid gland to make the hormones then I wonder if we do not experience the lowered thyroid levels that can come from training/dieting? Does that make sense?

I have been on thyroid meds for years. I have gone through periods of very restrictive diets, hard training etc and my levels have always remained steady so I am thinking that those of us on medication need not worry abuot the diet/training and thryoid issue?

[Gen]

Originally Posted by LaraT

Interesting question because I was just wondering this morning if people who take thyroid medication have the same problems as those who don't when it comes to dieting/thyroid levels i.e. since we are taking in a specific dose of medication each day and not relying on our thyroid gland to make the hormones then I wonder if we do not experience the lowered thyroid levels that can come from training/dieting? Does that make sense?

I have been on thyroid meds for years. I have gone through periods of very restrictive diets, hard training etc and my levels have always remained steady so I am thinking that those of us on medication need not worry abuot the diet/training and thryoid issue?

It makes plenty of sense and is exactly what I thought until now. I went searching around Leigh's thyroid stuff and she says that even on medication you still might react the same way as someone who is hypothyroid. I think it's because we may be on the wrong dose for our needs really; on the correct dose I don't think there should be a problem.

My dr said he might want to increase my dosage last time he saw me though anyway. I'm sure there are differences between how the hormone is absorbed depending upon what habits you have though and I want to be sure he gets the correct picture. I'm not very happy about the idea about losing 3 potential weeks of weight loss but will do whatever I need to.

[Lyrica]

It would vary per individual and their particular health situation. I never get the endorphin high from exercise and my endo has advised me to not stop exercising or lifting but do not push myself to exhaustion. Exercise has not affected my levels but dieting or restriction has-my thyroid nodules actually got bigger during a year of lowcarbing & restriction. A balanced diet with higher protein levels seems to work best for me-you have to find what works for you. That's the kicker-finding what works best for you-there is no set rule or prescription for diet or exercise with health issues. There are guidelines and examples of what others have done that have helped them but most people are too impatient and don't take the time to find what works for their particular situation. I can't help but cringe when I see people posting on here who have thyroid issues or think they do and are frustrated with their weight loss and go on a super restrictive diet such as extreme low carb along with an intense exercise program. IMHO restriction & overtraining is not the answer when you have health issues.

[dianas]

I'm not hypothyroid and I don't have much experience with this area but it seems to me something to consider here also would be the aspect of how much time you think you will need for weight loss and cutting vs maintenance. It would make sense to me that if you're going to need to be overall cutting for a few months that it might be better to make sure you're meds are optimized for whatever phase you're predominantly in right now.

Once you move to maintenance long term then you could always ask to get your levels rechecked and see if your dosage needs to be adjusted.

I'd also call and ask your endo and see what they recommend also. If they were already thinking about increasing your dose then this could very well be a medication issue and not a dietary one.

Interesting discussion.

[Lyrica]

I agree with the above poster. Thyroid meds are usually for life and your body is a constantly changing organism so meds must be checked and updated if necessary on a regular basis.

[LaraT]

Originally Posted by Lyrica

I agree with the above poster. Thyroid meds are usually for life and your body is a constantly changing organism so meds must be checked and updated if necessary on a regular basis.

Defintely. I get mine checked every 3-6 months depending on how I am feeling. Weight changes can affect your dosage needs as can other medications you take.

I have found Leigh's suggestions for people with thyroid issues (such as cutting back on the intensity on workouts while dieting and incorporating refeed days) has been very helpful for me. When I talked to my Endo about diet/exercise his only comment was not to cut carbs too low. I have actually read this in a places as well.

[Gen]

I will have my levels checked often, that I know. What I'm most concerned with is whether any levels will have changed due to hard training and dieting and whether its something I should want the dr to see or just talk to him about when I get there.

Thyroid levels and medication are an opinionated topic, I had symptoms of being hypothyroid for almost 10 years but my levels were supposedly ok until I got thyroid cancer and an endo actually checked my antibodies to find that I did have hashimotos. I spent my twenties thinking I was a lazy depressed person only to find out that, no, I was hypothyroid. I just want to stack everything in my favor to get the amount of meds I need.

I don't think I'll need 6 months of cutting, but maybe, and I do expect to train hard once I'm done cutting. And probably then cut again after a few months later.

[chek practitioner matt]

The more you train beyond what is ideal the more fatigue you put on your adrenal glands. the more fatigue you put on your adrenal glands the slower you thyroid becomes which slows your cellular metabolism to keep you alive!

[chek practitioner matt]

excessive training will slow your thyroid down!!!!!!!!

[chek practitioner matt]

so you may very well be hypothyroid from excessive exercise

[Espi]

Chek, is there something wrong with your editor that you post 1 sentence at the time (someone else had the same issue).

Interesting debate.. my POV is that anyone's thyroid is affected by diet, including those on meds who don't change their medication levels.. you might be optimized at maintenance & a not too hard exercise program but change those parameters (go on a cut or start exercising hard) and you may be undermedicated.
Trouble is.. most of the time we see our doctors only once every 6 months and blood tests are done equally infrequent.

I certainly find that I just can't hack either a big deficit or training more than 3 times/week with the upper limit being training every other day (makes it 3.5 times a week) which used to be my absolute favourite until life got in the way.
In order to not get burnt out too soon, I just have to eat well over maintenance on training days and thus accept a slow weight loss.

[chek practitioner matt]

•The average American spends $5,600 per person on medical expenses alone.

•85% of Americans are on at least one prescription drug

•In 2002, 3 billion drug prescriptions were written by physicians(that is by prescription not over the counter). That’s enough drugs for every man, woman, and child to have a fresh prescription every month twelve months of the year.

•United states of America spends more money on health care than any other country in the world and yet we are ranked around 37th in the world for over all health.

if your diet is right to your metabolic type, and you do not have a chi bankruptcy.

[chek practitioner matt]

you should be able to be extremely healthy with no medical drugs

[scribess]

Espi, I think chek is a future spammer trying to get his/her post count up so as to avoid automatic banning.

[Espi]

You're saying what I'm starting to think....

[Bytsi]

If it looks like spam and smells like spam...