Hypothyroidism Weight Loss. The 5 Most Common Mistakes

Let’s explore common hypothyroidism weight loss mistakes a lot of women do when trying to lose weight or fat. From low carb, low calorie diets to excess exercise and poor sleep.

Hypothyroidism Weight Loss Common Mistakes

1. Restrictive Diets

Of course you need to be in a slight calorie deficit to lose weight but what I see is that a lot of women are trying 1200kcal diets. It can work for short period of time until… it completely suppresses your metabolism.

• Instead, cut no more than 20% of your normal daily calorie requirement

Below you can also watch my video how I improved my metabolism by optimising thyroid health… and finally lost excess body fat!

2. Low Carb / Keto Diets

If you consume too much carbohydrates and don’t exercise, then of course it’s recommended to lower your carbohydrate intake. However, if you completely cut carbs, you will also suppress your metabolism. Women are different than men and women actually need a bit of good quality carbs for hormonal balance and effective sustainable weight loss. Here you can also read more about why keto diet is not really good for hypothyroidism weight loss

• Instead, focus on cutting refined sugars, sweeteners but include moderate amount fruits and complex carbs like quinoa or sweet potatoes.

3. Intense Exercise

If it comes to exercise, less is more. When you have hypothyroidism and you want to lose weight you will benefit from exercise but not intense workouts like cross fit, lifting heavy weight etc. Intense exercise will lower your active T3 hormones making weight loss more difficult as Free T3 is the hormone that helps you burn excess fat and fuels your metabolism

• Instead, choose lower weight but focus on more reps, vinyasa yoga or pilates are also good options. Try to keep you heart rate during the exercise at max 70% of your max heart rate.

4. Not Addressing Emotional Stress

Stress is a huge factor not only if it comes to hypothyroidism but also weight loss! And I’m not talking here about significant events and situations like job interview or moving house. Im taking here about day to day situations that activate your flight or fight mode and constantly release cortisol. That is for example overthinking argument from 3 days before, overworking and not being able to unwind in the evening or even relationship problems and not feeling enough.

• Instead of mindlessly powering through your busy day, take a 5 min to reflect what situations make you feel tensed, what bothers you or what you worry about quite often.

5. Not Working On Improving Your Underactive Thyroid.

A lot of women focus on ‘how can I lose weight’ instead of ‘how can I improve my thyroid’. As with healthy thyroid, weight loss is honestly much easier! With hypothyroidism is not the food you eat or amount of exercise, but your thyroid hormones that prevent you from losing weight or make weight loss very slow and frustrating. You can read here more about natural treatment for hypothyroidism.