Trouble with weight

[berrymarymac]

Since I was about 8-10 I have been overweight, which has been 9 years now. My doctor told me to exercise more...so I did. Then she said to cut out sodas, sugary foods, etc...so I did and became a vegetarian. I was eating great, but kept on gaining and gaining, averaging maybe 20 or more pounds a year. She would yell at me and take my parents out of the room and lecture them. I had many blood tests done and she kept on saying I was border-line. Which meant...hmm, nothing! So I finally got to an endocrinologist last year in september and was diagnosed with hypothyroidtitis, then recently Hoshimodo thyroititis. My body has an anti-immune responce to my thyrod and kills it basically. This covers the reason in weight gain since I was young, and my new endocrinologist looked at my charts at the beginning of the year and saw 3-4 years prior on a blood test that I had this disease.

I blame my pediatrician soo much for this, I want to confront her or write a letter, but yeah. So my sister and I went out to get a new scale for the house today...and I weighed myself about 30 minutes ago and cried. I swore never to get to this size and now I have. I just broke down in the kitchen and wanted to die! I don't look like I weigh that much, not at all. Perhaps it's because of PMS and I'm retaining water.

Has anyone had similar situations? And will it go down continuing raw? I've been mostly 100%, maybe 90% because I cannot give up pistatios (sp?) right now. lol

Oh and to add something, recently I have been feeling great! Like I feel lighter than ever, I don't feel as if I am obese. And my sister and mom say I look better, plus my clothes are looser despite what the scale says, which is 10 pounds more than last time I weighed, which was back in April.

[dreamrawalwz]

I don't have a lot of time, so I'll be quick! Each scale is different so it's best to weigh yourself on the same scale every time. Second, if your clothes are looser, then it's most likely muscle weight if you have gained anything at all, or water weight. Have you tried resetting the scale since it's new?

There is a huge difference from 95% to 100% raw. That little bit can cause weight to stall and not drop, but not for everyone. How long have you been raw? You have to let your body detox and care for itself internally before it drops the weight, which i consider is external and secondary. Also, raw can most likely really help your thyroid condition so your weight could start to fall off from that. Good luck and you've made great progress so far.

[juliebove]

Thyroid problems run in my family. Both sides. I was diagnosed with a thyroid problem when I was pregnant. I seeminly no longer have it, but the Dr. is testing me frequently because my thryoid levels do keep changing. I've been both hyper and hypo thyroid. What seemed to make the big difference to me was near total avoidance of soy. I suppose I could 100% avoid it, but some of my supplements have soy lecithin in them. This minute amount doesn't seem to have an affect on me. Prior to that, I wasn't eating as much soy as I used to. Gave up the Tiger's Milk bars and roasted soy nuts, but I was still eating an occasional Boca burger or some Edamame. Now no more of those and really no processed foods for me. And amazingly no thyroid problems!

[berrymarymac]

There is a huge difference from 95% to 100% raw. That little bit can cause weight to stall and not drop, but not for everyone. How long have you been raw?

Well, I've been raw like 5 days now. Not that long.

[denisedeland]

My best friend also has thyroid problems and has to take a medication. She lost almost 70 pounds in 4 months and she didn't change her diet. In that time she also had to have open heart surgery as well. But she says she feels so much better now... Just becareful to take the weight off slowly.. I developed a eating disorder by starving myself to get the weight off. I was 250 pounds and miserable. So I starved myself and in 10 months I got down to 105 pounds and had to be put in the hospital for malnutrition.. And I had a severe vitamin problem. I am at 118 pounds now and that is a healthy weight for me. I'm still fighting the vitamin problems..

Denise

[Conscious Midwife]

Not only do scales differ but so do the floors you place them on.

Keep a food log and weigh yourself maybe once every 7-10 days. this will allow you to see more appreciable amounts of weight loss. Be sure your stay sufficiently hydrated 64oz. + and incorporate 30min of delberate aciveity daily. Increase the activity level and vaiety as your body permits.

Get Alissa's book and go for it!


Send you light, love and thougths of success for your journey!

[berrymarymac]

My best friend also has thyroid problems and has to take a medication. She lost almost 70 pounds in 4 months and she didn't change her diet. In that time she also had to have open heart surgery as well. But she says she feels so much better now... Just becareful to take the weight off slowly.. I developed a eating disorder by starving myself to get the weight off. I was 250 pounds and miserable. So I starved myself and in 10 months I got down to 105 pounds and had to be put in the hospital for malnutrition.. And I had a severe vitamin problem. I am at 118 pounds now and that is a healthy weight for me. I'm still fighting the vitamin problems..

Denise


When I was 12 I stopped eating almost all together. I know not to go back into that point in my life, I was miserable, and also suffering from a mild nervous breakdown and major depression. It was during a hard time in our lives, but now I am so positive about everything since starting raw. I'm determined to keep up with this and this is the longest I have lasted on a diet. lol, shocking.

[jcmd2010]

Hi, I'm new here as of this evening, but I think that I can shed some light on your thyroid problems. I'm a medical student at the University of South Alabama and luckily, I spent the last several months interning with an endocrinologist. First of all, don't be so angry at your pediatrician. Yes, it is sad that it was not caught earlier, but the truth of the matter is, most physicians that are not specialists will not be able to truly diagnose a thyroid problem....especially one as complex as Hashimoto's Thyroiditis. I can tell you this--once you begin your medication (I'm assuming Synthroid?), you will begin losing weight. However, it will take time for your body to normalize. Hormones are not an overnight thing. Give it a few weeks. They will have to continue to draw blood and test your levels to find the correct balance. You should begin feeling better shortly. As for the raw food way of living, I, too, am also starting this now, so maybe we can do it together. I definitely believe that it will help you in feeling better. I have put on quite a bit of weight in the last couple of years and I feel horrible. With classes starting back in August, I hope to be feeling much better by then by starting to eat raw! :)

Let me know if you have any questions...I will do my best to help you!

[JEN]

mrandal do not be sad about your weight, you are beautiful! If you are feeling lighter that is a good thing and it will continue as you eat raw. I am also fairly new, 3 mos now, with only 26 days at 100%. I only had about 10 or 15 lbs to lose and since going 100% Ive lost 7 of them. Try to eat 100% if you can so your body can start the detox process. If you eat just a little cooked it can slow the process down. I noticed that my weight dropped just after I finished some pretty hard detox. Just keep eating raw and try not to get discouraged. It takes time for some people. Weve been eating cooked for many years so try to be patient and positive. Youre on the right track and you have so much support here. Hope youre feeling better now.

Big Huge Hug
Jeannie

[berrymarymac]

jcmd2010, I have been on it a while, and my endocrinologist has been taking blood and it's all stablized as of now. And Med school is extremely hard, good luck with it! My dad teaches residency and he tells me all of the time that it's hard. Thanks for the advice! It helped ^_^

JEN, thank you for your kind words! I am trying to stay with the 100% raw, and it's hard in the sense of roasted nuts, since I eat only those. That's about all I've broken is maybe a cup of pistatios a day. And sometimes maybe a mistake, like trying barely steamed brocolli today and some new vinegar my mom wanted me to try. But I've stayed with it for the most part.

[MaddMelon]

I've struggled with my weight since I was seven, and have been dieting since I was 11. My situation was due more to lack of parental supervision while eating, and having a very hectic childhood. I'm very sorry that you have to deal with this. I believe that the woman who runs this site (www.rawreform.com) had the same condition with her thyroid as you do, and she overcame it by eating raw.

I wish you the best!

[Lay-Lay]

I had thyroid diesease and so does most of the people in my family. My family is severly obese. I have had a costant battle since childhood. ALL raw has made a dramatic change. I have dropped almost 30 pounds, no severe bleeding, feel less tired, better mood, and I don't feel .....well.....icky.

I trully feel that I have overcome my tyroid disease and that was made possible by raw.

Hope the best for you.

[dreamrawalwz]

If you've been raw only 5 days you need to give your body time to heal. Some will drop A LOT of weighth even the first week-month, others will lose 3-5 pounds only, while others won't lose any for a few months. Be patient and do your best to really tune in and listen to your body...."embrace the process." I'm kind of waiting for Rawpriestess to respond here....I wonder if she will.

[jcmd2010]

I agree, you are a beautiful girl, mrandal! You're going to beat this and come out feeling like such an awesome winner! Give yourself some time with the weight thing. I know that it will come off. I'm nervous about going completely raw, too, but I'm going to try it because I really need to lose another 50lbs or so to get to a weight where I feel good. I'm not nearly as concerned with how I look as I am with how I feel. Let's take the others' advice and try it 100%. It can't be any worse than it is now.....right??? :)

[rawnora]

...not for misdiagnosing, but for telling your mother to feed you cooked and inappropriate foods, vaccinate you, medicate you when you had eliminative crises, and all the other life-depleting practices that led to your current state.

Thyroid dysfunction, like all other degenerative diseases, has a CAUSE. The medical profession does not concern itself with causes, only with covering up effects. That's what Synthroid is about. If you take a synthetic hormone that is intended to make up for the inadequacies of your thyroid, your thyroid will eventually stop producing altogether, and at that point it may be past the point of possible regeneration. For this reason, many people who discover how to remove the causes of their thyroid issues are not able to get off the hormones even after they do so because their thyroids have stopped functioning. If you do go ahead with medication, be aware of this risk and think of it as very short term. I sure wouldn't go the medical route AT ALL unless the symptoms were keeping me from being able to function. Being overweight is not a good enough reason on its own to take synthetic hormones. The cost to your body is too high, and there are much better, healthier ways to lose weight. Your weight issues may be tied to a thyroid dysfunction but this problem is SYSTEMIC, which means it can't be solved in isolation. It's part of the entire state of your body, which needs to be addressed as a whole. The theory that your doctors told you about what's going on with your thyroid is not correct. The body does not sabotage itself. It wants the best for you. It's trying to remain optimally functional in spite of all the roadblocks you're putting up (in the form of bad eating habits and other harmful lifestyle practices).

Five days is a fine start, but in order to heal problems that are a result of decades-long degeneration, you'll need to have lots of patience and you'll need to stop relying on your doctor for health information. As a rule, doctors do not know much about health. Basically what they are taught is how to quiet symptoms, and in the process they always make the disease worse by burdening the body even more.

I think boards like this one are great for people to be able to get comaraderie and support but they aren't necessarily the best places to look for good, solid, truthful, nature-based information. There are some great resources out there if you know where to look. I can help if you're interested; feel free to email me privately.

Hope this is helpful. Best of luck!
Warm regards,
Nora
www.RawSchool.com

[dreamrawalwz]

...not for misdiagnosing, but for telling your mother to feed you cooked and inappropriate foods, vaccinate you, medicate you when you had eliminative crises, and all the other life-depleting practices that led to your current state.

Thyroid dysfunction, like all other degenerative diseases, has a CAUSE. The medical profession does not concern itself with causes, only with covering up effects. That's what Synthroid is about. If you take a synthetic hormone that is intended to make up for the inadequacies of your thyroid, your thyroid will eventually stop producing altogether, and at that point it may be past the point of possible regeneration. For this reason, many people who discover how to remove the causes of their thyroid issues are not able to get off the hormones even after they do so because their thyroids have stopped functioning. If you do go ahead with medication, be aware of this risk and think of it as very short term. I sure wouldn't go the medical route AT ALL unless the symptoms were keeping me from being able to function. Being overweight is not a good enough reason on its own to take synthetic hormones. The cost to your body is too high, and there are much better, healthier ways to lose weight. Your weight issues may be tied to a thyroid dysfunction but this problem is SYSTEMIC, which means it can't be solved in isolation. It's part of the entire state of your body, which needs to be addressed as a whole. The theory that your doctors told you about what's going on with your thyroid is not correct. The body does not sabotage itself. It wants the best for you. It's trying to remain optimally functional in spite of all the roadblocks you're putting up (in the form of bad eating habits and other harmful lifestyle practices).

Five days is a fine start, but in order to heal problems that are a result of decades-long degeneration, you'll need to have lots of patience and you'll need to stop relying on your doctor for health information. As a rule, doctors do not know much about health. Basically what they are taught is how to quiet symptoms, and in the process they always make the disease worse by burdening the body even more.

I think boards like this one are great for people to be able to get comaraderie and support but they aren't necessarily the best places to look for good, solid, truthful, nature-based information. There are some great resources out there if you know where to look. I can help if you're interested; feel free to email me privately.

Hope this is helpful. Best of luck!
Warm regards,
Nora
www.RawSchool.com

Thank you for laying it all out...it was in my head and wanted to say it, but it wouldn't come out as clearly as you have written.

[JEN]

Well said Nora! That is great advise!

[berrymarymac]

...not for misdiagnosing, but for telling your mother to feed you cooked and inappropriate foods, vaccinate you, medicate you when you had eliminative crises, and all the other life-depleting practices that led to your current state.

I wrote something and forgot to read the head-line. Thought you were blaming my mother for a second. But I do agree kinda with that. My mom sometimes didn't go with the doctor's orders...since the woman was kind of off her rocker.

And I have to trust doctors right now...I have a tumor in my lower back that needs to be taken out, since it's come back. It's benign, but still...it hurts and its very bothersome.

[Lay-Lay]

Your mother should not be blamed because she was doing the best she could with the knowledge she had. Although doctors have an obligation to help us when we are need and they should have the knowledge, sometimes though they fail to receive or accept the knowledge that could be made available. Many times that could be because of a teacher in their school who taught this is the disease and this is what you do and thats it, don't question it! Or maybe their parent only put their lifes in the hand of doctors.

So it would be easy to blame people, but I don't think that is a positve look on things. Everyone is doing the best they can with the knowledge they have "right now". You now have the knowledge about raw food. You are now in control. Don't worry about who to blame. Just make yourself well again with raw food. You can do it.

If I may also suggest you getting the book "You Can Heal Your Life" --By Loiuse Hay

It has some great exercises in it.

[berrymarymac]

Very true iloverawfoods! My dad's a doctor and nutrition is the last thing on his list when in med school. He even admits not enough is being taught about it. And I try not to blame people. Oh and thanks for the book tip! I'll look into it and add it to my list ^_^

[jcmd2010]

mrandal, I'm glad to know that you understand that just because some of us are in the medical profession, it doesn't mean that we don't respect other forms of treatment. I'm sure that you're dad has explained what is going on. Yes, there is a CAUSE for your thyroid problem, but it doesn't mean that it's based solely on your nutritional status. If your dad has explained to you WHAT Hashimoto's DZ is on a cellular level, then I'm sure that you understand why you are having the problems that you are having. None of us will argue that eating raw will hurt you in any way and all of us will agree that you should eat as healthy as possible to facilitate recovery. However, sometimes once the damage has been done, it's done. Eating raw is going to help you, but I definitely would not use it as a substitute for medical advice; use it in conjunction. All of us know that good nutrition will not grow back a limb that has been severed or cure the ruptured appendix. There are different types of thyroid illnesses and it's naive to think that all of them can be treated in the same way. I am in no way telling you that eating raw food will not help....it's just that sometimes it's not the cure-all to end all. Hang in there! :)

[codajess]

I'm also a firm believer in taking responsibility for one's self. We can blame others as much as we want, but we're never going to get to where we want to be if we do that. Once you're old enough to do the research and find out for yourself, I think after that, it's on you. I also think we put too much stock into what doctors say. They're only human.

I have a friend with Hashimoto's, and the entire time I've known her, she's always said she has a zero metabolism, and that she doesn't eat that much, it's the hashimoto's etc. She has some of the worst eating habits i've seen. She's told me I take the "lazy way out' because I use the electric treadmill instead of a manual one, but she doesn't do much exercise at all. Oddly, her last dr appt, her thyroid levels came back normal.

I think there's a fine line between something being the thyroid issue's fault, and personal fault. It also doesn't help if you think "I have a thyroid issue, so it's useless" and say screw it and give into eating whatever you want, not getting the exercise you need, etc. Yes, it totally sucks when we have obstacles like that in our way, but it's just another reason to work harder.

I've said in the past, even on this board, that sometimes I get frustrated with eating raw, because I'm not seeing any improvements or weight loss or anything. And i've been tempted to go back to eating cooked ovo-vegetarian. If I wanted my weight to stay the same, I could be eating a bag of my favorite jalapeno chips a day, and it'd stay the same. I get frustrated. I get pissed. I get annoyed. But i'm doing it. And i'm making myself get up and go to the gym 3 times a week, too. That alone makes me feel better (afterwards, anyway!) I just figure, you know what? I'm responsible for me. I'm an adult. I make my own choices. I can whine and complain as much as I want, but when it all comes down to it, I am the cause to my effects.

Note: I'm not specifically talking about you, OP, I'm just stating general observations from my personal experience. Maybe they are relevant to you, maybe not. I don't know.

[Rmiller]

I just want to add in one point from my personal experience with this illness:

My mom had hypothyrodism for years. Even with Synthroid medication, her thyroid levels would be too low. It all started during a really stressful time in my mom's life. Eventually after years of living in a really stressed out state, she started to manage the stress better. She started to exercise, do deep breathing, and do stretching. Finally she came to the point where she said that she didn't feel constant stress anymore. Would you believe it, but at her next doctor's appointment, she found out for that for the first time in years that your thyroid levels were normal. She is now off of the medication. She still gets her thyroid levels checked regularly. The only time it goes really low is if she lets herself get all stressed again. I guess for some people, stress can be the trigger to creating hypothyroidism.

Lisa

[codajess]

I wouldn't doubt it! I think everything affects everything else, healthwise.

[spicyfull]

Hang in there..........

[berrymarymac]

UPDATE:

So, when I wrote this a few days ago...I weighed myself and cried. Well, I weighed myself today and from yesterday dropped another 2 pounds. From the post about 6 days ago I belive, I have dropped 10 or more pounds all together, mostly water weight from being bloated. But from my normal weight, I have dropped 4 pounds!! This is from a person who can barely lose weight!! YEY! ^_^

[codajess]

Congrats!!!!!!!! :D