Whether You Are Overweight or Underweight
Many people with Hashimoto’s struggle with their weight. Most people with Hashimoto’s have a hard time keeping it off and continue to put on weight, despite the same diet/exercise routines they had for years.
This is because our thyroid gland controls our metabolism and even a slight deficiency in thyroid hormones can slow down our metabolism.
Most doctors will tell thyroid patients that they just need to eat less and exercise more. However, this advice can be quite detrimental, and put the person’s body into a deeper fat storing mode! So, please, be sure to educate yourself with knowledge on how to optimize your weight before restricting your calories and slaving away on the treadmill!!
But some people with Hashimoto’s have the opposite problem; they experience weight loss, or they can’t seem to keep their weight on.
While most people with Hashimoto’s will experience weight gain, every time I write a post on how to lose weight, I get numerous questions from readers that ask: “How do I gain weight with Hashimoto’s?? All of the autoimmune dietings has me losing too much weight!”
How Do I Gain Weight with Hashimoto’s??
And so I don’t want to leave you guys hanging. I don’t think anyone is coming out with a “How to Gain Weight Summit” anytime soon, and I want to make sure that all of my readers with Hashimoto’s know- you’re not alone, no matter what symptoms you’re experiencing, there are solutions for you!
I struggled with both, being overweight (before getting diagnosed), and being underweight (after starting some autoimmune diets, before uncovering additional triggers).
At one point in my life, I was almost 20 lbs overweight (it doesn’t sound like a lot, but it was noticeable on a 5’3 petite woman. Even my sweatpants became too tight, and I didn’t feel like myself!)
Then I swung to the other extreme, weighing around 90 lbs and looking gaunt, with all of my clothes hanging off of me. I stopped wearing high heels because I thought I looked like one long stick figure. People began to whisper about my “anorexia.”
While anorexia is a very real and serious condition, it’s hardly the cause of being underweight in most cases of chronic illness. You see, when a person goes on a real food diet, this unmasks something we don’t often see in modern days with our modern diet (due to the bulking effects of grains and hormones in dairy) – malabsorption and poor nutrient assimilation. These conditions will lead to a person becoming underweight.
Let’s Explore Some of the Root Causes and Solutions:
- Food sensitivities cause inflammation in the gut, leading to a reduced absorption of food and nutrients, leading to a reduced extraction of nutrients and calories
- Eating a nutrient dense diet that restricts some of the common reactive foods can be more filling, compared to a diet of simple carbohydrates, and may result in the person not getting adequate calories
- Gut infections, often the underlying root causes of autoimmunity, may lead to poor assimilation and absorption of foods, as well as leave us with a poor appetite.
- An impaired cortisol production (advanced adrenal fatigue), can also lead to an inability to hold onto weight.
9 Solutions to Try
- Get a calorie counting app like Myfitnesspal on your phone, to help you keep track of your daily calories. Eating real food can be more filling than eating simple carbohydrates, and you may not be getting enough calories. Use the app to figure out your target weight and the number of calories per day you need to get there.
- Supplement after dinner with The Root Cause Building Smoothie: 1 avocado (300 calories), 1 cup coconut milk (150 calories), 1 banana (100 calories), 2 egg yolks (100 calories, if tolerated), 1 scoop of protein of beef/pea protein (60 calories) – You can also add cooked sweet potatoes if you need more carbs. [For more recipes and real food meal plans, check out my Root Cause Recipes]
- Get tested for gut infections. Gut infections can prevent the digestion and assimilation of foods, leaving you underweight and malnourished. Even if you’ve come out negative on a previous test, it’s always best to do two tests to reduce the rate of false negatives. My favorite gut infection tests are GI-MAP, GI Effects (Genova), and Comprehensive Stool Analysis by Great Plains Laboratory. You can order these tests through your doctor or through the links above. For more information on gut health, download my free Gut Problems Guide below!
- Get your adrenals tested with an Adrenal Saliva test, like the Adrenal Stress Profile test by ZRT. In some, stressed adrenals may lead to poor absorption of foods. You can order this test through your doctor, or you can order it yourself.
- Be sure that you are not over medicated. Hyperthyroidism, whether due to Graves disease or excess thyroid hormone can lead to unwanted weight loss.
- Ok, one more, work on reducing your antibodies with a selenium supplement. A high titer of thyroid antibodies can lead to excess thyroid hormone levels in the blood. Here’s a post on selenium and Hashimoto’s for your reference.
- Stress reduction, when we’re stressed, we don’t digest. Here are some of my favorite tips for stress reduction, from a post I wrote about the adrenals and thyroid.
- Add coconut oil in your beverages, and this good fat can add extra calories into your day. Make sure the beverage isn’t too hot, though, you can burn your tongue that way #thingsilearnedthehardway
- Avoid caffeine; it can make you less hungry and stress out your adrenals. When adrenals are very depleted, this can lead to an inability to hold on to weight.
I hope that you found these tips helpful for gaining weight. If you are looking for more information on losing weight, be sure to check out my article How to Lose Weight with Hashimoto’s.
P.S. Be sure to sign up to my email list to get a free book chapter, recipes, Thyroid Diet start guide and notifications about upcoming events and my weekly newsletter.
Hi Izabella
I have all the symptoms of thyroid, weight gain that nothing shifts being one. Tests show T4 is fine, T3 is fine, reverse T3 is fine, thyroid antibodies fine; only my TSH is low (0.4 mU/l). I am also low in iron and zinc. While all this is good news except the TSH, could that alone give me so many thyroid symptoms?? My hair is falling out at a worrying rate.
Thank you, Leonie
Leonie – thank you for following this page.
When it comes to weight gain these are a couple of things to think about.
1) What was your recent TSH, Free T3 and Free T4? Sometimes when those numbers are on the outskirts of normal, your metabolic rate may still be impaired making it more difficult for you to burn calories. Most people report feeling well with a TSH between 0.5-2.
2) What type of medication are you on? Some report more weight loss with T4/T3 combinations (Armour, Nature-Throid, compounded medications) versus T4 medications (Synthroid, Levoxyl, Tirosint) alone. T4 is a precursor to T3, but some individuals do not convert T4 to T3 properly, and the T3 component is the metabolically active one.
3) What type of diet are you eating? Some report more weight loss with T4/T3 combination vs T4 alone. Some do not convert T4 properly.The Standard American Diet (S.A.D.) full of sugar and simple carbohydrates is perfectly designed to cause us to gain weight year after year. Even yogurts that are marketed as “healthy” contain the equivalent of 16 teaspoons of sugar. Divorcing the S.A.D. is often a step that many of us must take to not just lose weight, but to also feel better. Some diets that have been helpful include the Body Ecology Diet, the Paleo Diet, the Virgin Diet, Autoimmune Paleo Diet, GAPS diet, SCD diet, Weston A. Price Diet, or the Mediterranean Diet. You may need to modify these diets to your own individuality.
BEST DIET FOR HASHIMOTO’S AND HYPOTHYROIDISM
https://thyroidpharmacist.com/articles/best-diet-for-hashimotos-hypothyroidism
HOW TO LOSE WEIGHT WITH HASHIMOTO’S AND HYPOTHYROIDISM
https://thyroidpharmacist.com/articles/how-to-lose-weight-with-hashimotos
Thank you this is really interesting I have struggled with weigh gain for years with my under active thyroid.
Lynn – thank you for following this page, and you are most welcome. 🙂
These articles may also be of interest:
HOW TO LOSE WEIGHT WITH HASHIMOTO’S
https://thyroidpharmacist.com/articles/how-to-lose-weight-with-hashimotos
BEST DIET FOR HASHIMOTO’S
https://thyroidpharmacist.com/articles/best-diet-for-hashimotos-hypothyroidism
Finally someone offers helpful information for those of us that want and need to gain weight. I have been extremely frustrated and angry with the lack of knowledge and communication in the medical industry regarding thyroid issues. Seems they’re anxious to remove thyroid but then leave us struggling with more problems afterward. I had a TT in 2001 and been on same synthroid dosage since. My weight has been slowly decreasing every year for past 4 years. Doctors just keep saying it’s nothing. No one addresses or discusses adrenals. I’m also 51yrs young, and certain I’m perimenopausal but their not discussing or offering any help there either. I’m thankful we can support one another via Internet since doctors are failing us. P.s. I believe the hormonal change began the weight loss. Extreme fatigue, insomnia, and gastro problems increased at same time. Thank you for your insightful article. Is is bad idea to try an adrenal supplement without doctor consent?
Cass- Thank you so much for your support! Not everyone will need every single supplement! In fact, I believe that most nutrients should come from the diet, this is why I always list food sources for most of the nutrients, vitamins, minerals and probiotics that are depleted in Hashimoto’s in the book and on the blog. However, some may require/prefer supplements and the supplements on the website are a resource for those that do. I recommend getting tested for deficiencies to determine your need for a supplement as instructed in the book and blog. I also don’t recommend starting multiple supplements all at once. I recommend starting one at a time and then adding another a week or so later once it has been confirmed that the first supplement is not causing any harm.
I do have a full supplements chapter in my book. Have you checked it out? Not everyone should be taking every supplement and the book will help uncover your root cause. This will help you figure out your supplementation.
Hashimoto’s Protocol
https://thyroidpharmacist.com/protocol
Hashimoto’s Root Cause
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0615825796?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creativeASIN=0615825796&linkCode=xm2&tag=thyroipharma-20
I have had Hashis for 11 yrs and I struggle with weight gain constantly. No matter what I eat or how much I exercise it doesn’t help me. I can starve myself and it doesn’t help. I look at food and gain weight I dont have to eat the food. My metabolism sucks. I have never been able to regulate my thyroid properly in 11 years. Non of the medicines seem to work and Drs are just clueless.
Mary – thank you for following this page.
When it comes to weight gain these are a couple of things to think about.
1) What was your recent TSH, Free T3 and Free T4? Sometimes when those numbers are on the outskirts of normal, your metabolic rate may still be impaired making it more difficult for you to burn calories. Most people report feeling well with a TSH between 0.5-2.
2) What type of medication are you on? Some report more weight loss with T4/T3 combinations (Armour, Nature-Throid, compounded medications) versus T4 medications (Synthroid, Levoxyl, Tirosint) alone. T4 is a precursor to T3, but some individuals do not convert T4 to T3 properly, and the T3 component is the metabolically active one.
3) What type of diet are you eating? Some report more weight loss with T4/T3 combination vs T4 alone. Some do not convert T4 properly.The Standard American Diet (S.A.D.) full of sugar and simple carbohydrates is perfectly designed to cause us to gain weight year after year. Even yogurts that are marketed as “healthy” contain the equivalent of 16 teaspoons of sugar. Divorcing the S.A.D. is often a step that many of us must take to not just lose weight, but to also feel better. Some diets that have been helpful include the Body Ecology Diet, the Paleo Diet, the Virgin Diet, Autoimmune Paleo Diet, GAPS diet, SCD diet, Weston A. Price Diet, or the Mediterranean Diet. You may need to modify these diets to your own individuality.
BEST DIET FOR HASHIMOTO’S AND HYPOTHYROIDISM
https://thyroidpharmacist.com/articles/best-diet-for-hashimotos-hypothyroidism
HOW TO LOSE WEIGHT WITH HASHIMOTO’S AND HYPOTHYROIDISM
https://thyroidpharmacist.com/articles/how-to-lose-weight-with-hashimotos
Thank you for covering this. I am 27 years young and recently diagnosed with Hashi. Hardly any hypo symptoms just BAD anxiety and irritability. My TSH was 9.42 doctor ran FT4 and FT3 which where both in the middle of ranges. Antibodies were 1k plus. I went from being unable to get under 158 range to suddenly 140 in about 2 months. I began levo meds and have been working on my stress (which I know was a huge for me) and I’m working on cleaning up my diet. I’m just curious if I am hypo/Hashi why would I be loosing weight and finding it difficult to get above 143!?! Thank you.
Stephanie – thank you for following this page and my research. Most people with Hashimoto’s will experience weight gain, and so of course that’s what gets the most focus, but some people actually experience weight loss, or they can’t keep their weight on.
This is especially problematic when a person has multiple food sensitivities and needs to adhere to an autoimmune diet that restricts foods.
Here are a few tips to keep in mind:
1) Get a calorie counting app like My Fitness Pal on your phone, to help you keep track of your daily calories. Eating real food can be more filling than eating simple carbohydrates and you may not be getting enough calories. Use the app to figure out your target weight and the number of calories per day you need to get there.
2) Supplement after dinner with The Root Cause Building Smoothie: 1 avocado (300 calories), 1 cup coconut milk (150 calories), 1 banana (100 calories), 2 egg yolks (100 calories, if tolerated), 1 scoop of protein of beef/pea protein (60 calories) – You can also add cooked sweet potatoes if you need more carbs.
3) Get tested for gut infections. Gut infections can prevent the digestion and assimilation of foods, leaving you underweight and malnourished. The 401H test or GI Effects test are my go to tests.
4) Get your adrenals tested with an adrenal saliva tests. In some, stressed adrenals may actually lead to poor absorption of foods.
5) Be sure that you are not over medicated.
6) Work on reducing your antibodies with a selenium supplement
7) Stress reduction, when we’re stressed we don’t digest.
8) Add coconut oil in your beverages, this can add extra calories in your day
9) Avoid caffeine, it can make you less hungry and stress out your adrenals.
Root Cause
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0615825796?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creativeASIN=0615825796&linkCode=xm2&tag=thyroipharma-20
Hashimoto’s Protocol
thyroidpharmacist.com/protocol
Thank you so much for this information. I’ve been on the hashimoto’s roller-coaster for only 12 mths and gave seen my weight drop by 7kgs. Following all your advice. Gluten free, dairy free, egg free and soy free which came about with the IGG blood work. Using selenium, magnesium and vitamin be. My TSH started at 14.39 and got it down to. 02 and was feeling great. No changes and TSH is now back to 14.5. T3 and T4 within an acceptable range. I’m definitely not hungry, love food, but every week sees a small drop. Any ideas. Thank you for your information. Hopefully you may come visit Australia one day so we can personally thank you.
Michelle – thank you for sharing and for your kind words! <3 Most people with Hashimoto’s will experience weight gain, and so of course that’s what gets the most focus, but some people actually experience weight loss, or they can’t keep their weight on.This is especially problematic when a person has multiple food sensitivities and needs to adhere to an autoimmune diet that restricts foods. Here are a few tips to keep in mind:
1) Get a calorie counting app like My Fitness Pal on your phone, to help you keep track of your daily calories. Eating real food can be more filling than eating simple carbohydrates and you may not be getting enough calories. Use the app to figure out your target weight and the number of calories per day you need to get there.
2) Supplement after dinner with The Root Cause Building Smoothie: 1 avocado (300 calories), 1 cup coconut milk (150 calories), 1 banana (100 calories), 2 egg yolks (100 calories, if tolerated), 1 scoop of protein of beef/pea protein (60 calories) – You can also add cooked sweet potatoes if you need more carbs.
3) Get tested for gut infections. Gut infections can prevent the digestion and assimilation of foods, leaving you underweight and malnourished. The 401H test or GI Effects test are my go to tests.
4) Get your adrenals tested with an adrenal saliva tests. In some, stressed adrenals may actually lead to poor absorption of foods.
5) Be sure that you are not over medicated.
6) Work on reducing your antibodies with a selenium supplement
7) Stress reduction, when we’re stressed we don’t digest.
8) Add coconut oil in your beverages, this can add extra calories in your day
9) Avoid caffeine, it can make you less hungry and stress out your adrenals.
In case you would like to read more, here are the links to my books:
Root Cause
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0615825796?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creativeASIN=0615825796&linkCode=xm2&tag=thyroipharma-20
Hashimoto’s Protocol
https://www.amazon.com/Hashimotos-Protocol-Reversing-Thyroid-Symptoms-ebook/dp/B01HXK6GVQ/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1505933035&sr=8-1&keywords=hashimotos+protocol+izabella+wentz
I haven’t been able to gain weight. I had a positive hpylori test from gi map. The number was very low. One dr wanted me to treat it, the other didn’t want to because I’m not having other symptoms. Do you have a suggestion?
Kayla – thank you for reaching out. You may want to consider gut infections (such as hpylori), as well as nutrient deficiencies and food sensitivities that may be causing the weight loss. Along with working with your practitioner, using an app to track food can be helpful to ensure you are getting enough calories in your diet. Avoiding caffeine and supplementing with my Root Cause Build Smoothie may help to keep weight on as well. Here are a couple articles you might find helpful:
6 DIFFERENT ROOT CAUSES OF LEAKY GUT
https://thyroidpharmacist.com/articles/root-causes-leaky-gut-and-autoimmunity/
IMPORTANCE OF GUT HEALTH
https://thyroidpharmacist.com/articles/importance-gut-health/