Paleo Diet and Paleolithic Diet Questions & Answers

Question

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I've been diagnosed hypothyroid after a blood test (8.2 TSH). I exhibit most of the hypothyroid symptoms (cold hands and feet, low body temperature, foggy head, general fatigue) but I'm a pretty lean somewhat muscular guy (5'10 165 pounds). I average around 3,000 calories a day, so I'm not undereating. I'm just wondering how this can be, when all I read on hypothyroid is weight gain being the biggest symptom. Why could this be?

edited Nov 29 2011 at 6:12

syrahna
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asked Nov 29 2011 at 1:42

Patrick
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I am on the same boat. I have all symptoms except weight gain. – ROB Nov 29 2011 at 1:56

This must be common, my girlfriend is considered hypothyroid and she is very skinny. – Kyle Nov 29 2011 at 2:39

are you low carb at the moment. there has been quite a lot of discussion on a similar vein recently, which includes body temp & low carb. here are just a few links: paleohacks.com/questions/78343/… & perfecthealthdiet.com/?p=5027 & drrosedale.com/blog/2011/11/22/… – daz Nov 29 2011 at 2:40

...you can search those posts/articles for 'temperature' if you don't have time to read in full at the moment – daz Nov 29 2011 at 2:43

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Overweight is one possible sign but one definitely does not have to be fat or even overweight to be hypothyroid. I'm thin and several hypothyroid family members were also thin. Two were fat but more were thin. – Alexandra Nov 29 2011 at 17:15

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cliff · Answer 1 · 2011-11-29 02:42:35Z UTC

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I don't think leanness has any effect on hypothyroid status, there could be numerous reasons why you don't gain weight.

Most people are probably somewhat hypothyroid as you have to really make sure to get enough sugars and nutrients to deal with the stress of modern day society while avoiding anti-thyroid foods like PUFA, excessive muscle meat and raw vegetables.

My temperature was stuck in the 97s even while eating plenty of starch and avoiding anti-thyroid foods, in my experience sugar has had the greatest effect on body temperature which is the biggest indicator for thyroid function according to broda barnes and many others. My temp is now consistently ~98.6 after eating and in the high 97s upon waking. I eat pretty frequently up to 5 meals a day, lots of juice, milk, salt and other pro-thyroid foods.

answered Nov 29 2011 at 2:42

cliff
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cliff, out of interest, what source/sources would you say you are getting most of your sugars from? & do you pay any attention to fructose/glucose ratios (if the source contains fructose &/or glucose). – daz Nov 29 2011 at 2:51

I probably get the majority of my carbs from orange and pineapple juice, the ratios probably come out to about 50/50. – cliff Nov 29 2011 at 3:08

Cliff, it's funny you should mention sugar. I'm hypothyroid... lately I've been trying a whole bunch of other variations of paleo, I went very low carb for a few weeks and felt just miserable. So I decided to start from scratch and just eat instictively, which led me to a lot of fresh fruit juice (remainder of foods all basically paleo, but overall diet higher in sugar), as well as whole milk. I've been feeling much better. Much warmer as well. Why is milk pro-thyroid though out of curiousity? – Ryan Nov 29 2011 at 9:27

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Milk contains a lot of pro-thyroid nutrients like protein, calcium, sugars and it even contains a little bit of thyroid – cliff Nov 29 2011 at 12:08

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Sugars, gelatin, milk, organ meats and shellfish are all pro-thyroid but other foods can be pro-thyroid as well just depends on the context of the diet. – cliff Nov 29 2011 at 13:37

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Rachel · Answer 2 · 2011-11-29 04:43:26Z UTC

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Sometimes it goes in reverse. I am hyperthyroid "graves" and I gained a lot of weight... Bodies are weird and tend to sometimes do different things than the prescirbed!

answered Nov 29 2011 at 4:43

Rachel
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L. · Answer 3 · 2011-11-29 18:53:23Z UTC

I was recently told that I have relatively low thyroid hormones when I got some blood work back from my doctor. I'm female, 5'3" and typically weigh between 110-115 pounds. Not over weight.

I've had a low baseline body temperature my whole life. I also have cold feet and hands, fatigue, and all those other lovely symptoms.

But, I haven't gained weight.

Must be common?

LianeMJ · Answer 4 · 2012-05-10 00:00:17Z UTC

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I'm hypothyroid and not everyone has ALL symptoms. Get checked regularly and take your meds and eat well!

answered May 10 2012 at 0:00

LianeMJ
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ElisaOS · Answer 5 · 2012-05-10 02:25:04Z UTC

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Personally I lost weight after going hypothyroid. Not enough of an appetite maybe.

Regardless, have it treated so that it is within a healthy range. All kinds of negative things can happen with it out of range.

answered May 10 2012 at 2:25

ElisaOS
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Thin While Hypothyroid

5 Answers