Why Am I Not Losing Weight on LCHF? (Pt.3b - Thyroid)

Testing & Interpreting Thyroid Hormone Levels

If I really wanted to do justice to the topic of testing and evaluating lab values for thyroid and associated hormones, I could write approximately 85 posts and probably still not cover all the nuances. So we’re going to do the quick & dirty overview, and then I’ll point you toward some resources for more information.

Remember: the reason we’re taking some time to delve into thyroid function is because we’re exploring reasons for difficult (seemingly impossible) fat loss, even on a good LCHF diet. And thyroid dysfunction is very near the top of that list.  

It is a freaking travesty that so many doctors run one test, and one test only, when a patient requests a thyroid test. This is for thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH), which, as I mentioned in the previous post, is not a thyroid hormone at all, but rather, a signaling molecule produced by the pituitary gland. The reasoning behind testing TSH is, if TSH is elevated, then something is wrong with the thyroid gland, because if the thyroid gland were responding normally to TSH, then TSH wouldn’t be elevated.

If your TSH is high, a doctor might put you on some sort of thyroid hormone, without ever digging deeper to try and ascertain WHY your TSH is high, and without ever testing other hormones. They will give you medication without actually trying to solve the problem. (Modern medicine is profoundly excellent when it comes to trauma and emergency care. But when it comes to this stuff, it is somewhere in the realm of COMPLETELY USELESS.)

Why Am I Not Losing Weight on LCHF? (Pt.3a - Thyroid)

In the previous post in this series on stubborn weight loss, we talked about nutrient deficiencies as possible roadblocks to losing body fat, even when someone is faithfully following a low-carb, higher-fat diet. I left off saying that there are nutrients we typically associate with thyroid function, and thyroid function is a huge player, not just in fat loss, but in metabolism and energy generation as a whole. If your thyroid is on the fritz, or forces outside the thyroid gland are making it go on the fritz, fat loss will be very difficult. So this post and the next one will focus on nutritional factors that help the thyroid, as well as dietary and lifestyle factors that hurt the thyroid.

I have had many clients who were on thyroid medication of one kind or another. It was obvious to me, however, that whatever medication they were taking was not helping, because they were still overweight, depressed, fatigued, and had other signs and symptoms of low thyroid function. To my astonishment, these people were typically dumbfounded by my asking them, “Do you think the medication is working? Do you actually feel any better?” (Apparently, none of their physicians had ever bothered to inquire, and the clients had never stopped to ask themselves if they were feeling better.) The answer, which required no hesitation or deliberation on their part whatsoever, was an unqualified NO. Of course it was no. If they did feel better, and they were losing weight, they would not have sought my help in the first place. This isn’t rocket science, folks. If you are “on thyroid medication,” but you still feel like dog-poo, then either the dose is not optimal for you, or the type of medication is not right for you. Before we can get into detail on medication, though, we need to talk a little bit about thyroid function in general, and then we’ll see where nutrients and meds fit into the picture.