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Should I get a second opinion?

Posted , 4 users are following.

lea10474
lea10474

I'm 19 years old, and I've been trying everything to lose weight but nothing seems to be working.

i got my thyroid checked back in June, and it was normal. I was also tested for diabetes, which came back as negative (yay!!!).

Should i get it re-checked? I've been working out and eating healthier, yet I didn't shed a single pound.

0 likes, 20 replies

20 Replies

  • Hurricane
    Hurricane lea10474

    Posted

    The most important thing to know for anyone going to make any suggestions is what're your current weight, and height measurements?
    • Hurricane
      Hurricane lea10474

      Posted

      I agree with Onslow in the post below, unless it's been 12 months or more I'd save the cost of the test. losing weight is a really long and grueling process with significant dedication required to maintian the loss. Make sure to measure your portions with a set of scales and try not to go above 1800 calories, you should see some weight reduction. You will find you'll level out at this intake and have to reduce it in steps of 200 calories (ish) to maintain your loss.
    • lea10474
      lea10474 Hurricane

      Posted

      My insurance covers it- there's no co-pays or anything biggrin

      But I'll just leave it alone.

  • Onslow
    Onslow lea10474

    Posted

    If you had a blood test to check thyroid and it came back as normal then there is no need to have it done again.  An underactive thyroid makes you put on weight but an underactive thyroid makes you lose weight quite quickly even though you seem to overeat.

    Honestly hun - the best way to lose weight is just to eat smaller portions (use a smaller plate for dinner), walk at least a mile a day, and exercise.  I find the best exercise is housework and gardening - and that is FREE !!  but best of all is NEVER go down the cake, sweet and biscuit aisle in the supermarket, if you dont buy it then you cant eat it.  It's worked for me.

    • lea10474
      lea10474 Onslow

      Posted

      I do eat smaller portions, and I get plenty of exercise by walking around on campus every day...

      I walk up and down stairs and a hill. 

      I barely eat cake and stuff like that. And I limited my soda intake biggrin

       

  • linda187
    linda187 lea10474

    Posted

    I always ask for copies of any lab work that is done on me. For example, your thyroid values may be normal but at the lower end of the scale instead of the higher end of the scale, or perhaps just the TSH was checked and not the Free T3 and Free T4. You may not be diabetic but you may be pre-diabetic or have insulin resistance which would make it very difficult to lose because insulin is always circulating in your body. (This is true for me and I am not diabetic yet). So it is important to know what your values are. One of the conditions that makes weight loss difficult is Polycystic Ovary syndrome which causes insulin resistance. I know for myself, the only way I can lose weight is with an extremely low carb and high protein diet. I've just seen a Naturopath who has given me a program and the first couple of weeks are detox and avoidance of certain foods and checking the acidity of the body and making it more alkaline. Once I get into the program, I will be given supplements to help with it. I once saw a doc for weight loss and it was extreme - I couldn't even have coloured vegetables like peppers or tomatoes or fruits for a month. I lost a lot of weight but had frequent episodes of low blood sugars. I hope this is helpful. I know how frustrating it is. The other thing that worked for me was Overeaters Anonymous. They didn't talk about food much or what to eat except to say, 3 plates a day and nothing in between.
    • lea10474
      lea10474 linda187

      Posted

      The Free T4 was checked, and it turns out that it was 1.11ng/dL (the normal range is 0.89-1.78 ng/dL), so it's normal biggrin

      However, I do not know the T3 level, so maybe it would be worth it to get that one checked.

      My hemoglobin levels are also within the normal range... it's 5.3%, and the normal range is 4.3-6.1 %.

    • lea10474
      lea10474 linda187

      Posted

      My TSH/Thy.Stim.Horm levels are also normal- it's 0.875 uIU/mL, and the normal range is 0.700-5.700 uIU/mL. Doesn't it seem like it's on the lower end?

      If nothing else works, then I'm going to either get weight loss surgery or try weight loss supplements (there are some that actually work).

      Or I can be the same weight forever.

    • linda187
      linda187 lea10474

      Posted

      A lower TSH indicates a hypERthyroidism (I know it sounds like it is backwards but that's how it works). You need to be careful with weight loss supplements because a lot of them can cause heart damage and even have been taken off the market. My doc said that some of his patients did well with the one that extracts fat from your body (but you have to wear a pad and avoid high fat containing foods). It's called Orlistat. . Orlistat works by blocking the enzyme that breaks down fats in your diet. This undigested fat then passes out of your body in your bowel movement. They lost about 25 lb. The other one, Phenteramine is an amphetamine and I would avoid those.
    • lea10474
      lea10474 linda187

      Posted

      Wear a pad?? O_o

      You mean like the ones women wear for periods? Why is that??

      And yeah I know I have to be careful- that's why I'm going to ask a dietitian.

      I have to lose this weight some how before I end up having diabetes or heart disease (my father had both and died because of them).

    • Hurricane
      Hurricane lea10474

      Posted

      More like the ones people with incontinence use because the fat from your food stays in your gut all the way around. liquid fat is essentially oil and thus very slippy. All I'm going to say is think of the risks when you have the worst possible diarrhoea and then make the diarrhoea greasy and smelly.

      The best methods of weight loss for sustained long term results without negative health impacts are those of the old tried and tested methods of eating a lot less and moving a lot more. If you lose weight by any method then stop (or a band bursts or the stomach grows back in size) the hard work will be reversed.

    • Hurricane
      Hurricane lea10474

      Posted

      Don't bother with the T3, it's going to be normal as the TSH is good and the T4 is normal.
    • Hurricane
      Hurricane lea10474

      Posted

      I'd be tempted to use an app - Google calorie count app or calorie counter app.

      Or another such app on your phone so that you can log everything you eat and see what it's actually coming to. Some people also eat things that they're not aware they're eating (sounds bizarre I know) where they genuinely don't remember that banana / packet of crisps / ben and jerry's and a tool such as this when you get in the habit of thinking "I'm hungry, I'll grab an apple, but first let me put it into my app and see how many calories that leaves me for dinner" and suddenly that apple may seem a lot less attractive!! 

      You can lose this weight Lea, we all have faith that you'll get there if you stick to your guns smile

      Emis Moderator comment: I have removed the link as it was to a site unsuitable for inclusion in the forums. I have edited the comment to use Google to find the info.

    • Hurricane
      Hurricane

      Posted

      (possibly because it contained a link to a website)
    • linda187
      linda187 lea10474

      Posted

      Yes like the ones women wear for periods, only you have to make sure it covers the right orifice, namely the bum. Even if you eat low fat foods, you will leak some yellow oily grease out of your bum. And do not ever eat a hot dog or sausage, ayyy!! you will overflow with yellow grease.

      I don't agree with eat less and move more. I did not lose weight with Graves, do not lose weight with Weight Watcher's, but did lose on a drastically carbohydrate reduced diet with lots of protein. I just read in a magazine called "For Women FIRST" that 75% of women who can't lose weight have fatty livers. I have a fatty liver (that's a non-alcoholic fatty liver). I just found out by accident that I have this. I had an ultrasound of my kidneys and back due to low back pain and it showed the fatty liver. Some of their suggestions are to lower the number of times during the day when you eat (this addresses insulin resistance), spike drinking water with cranberry juice, roast, saute and bake with coconut oil (this reduces liver fat by 94%), make Green smoothies with chlorella + cilantro. The model in the story was 50 years old and lost 271 lbs following this advice. Don't know whether you live in England or not. If you do and you cannot get this magazine, I would be happy to mail it to you if you email me privately.

    • lea10474
      lea10474 Hurricane

      Posted

      Maybe it's genetic. That's probably why I can't lose weight.

      I'm not exercising or eathing healthy anymore.

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