… Continued …
Watch on calories!
The amount of calories from your daily diet is the key for your weight loss. Like anyone else, if what you eat is greater than what your body uses, you gain weight. So, it’s worth a try to count calories – especially true if you have diabetes and hypothyroidism, when it’s more challenging to lose weight or just to keep it off!
If necessary, plan for every meal! Trim the portion sizes and choose drinking water instead of sugary, high-calorie drinks. Stock your pantry and refrigerators with more fresh fruits and veggies.
And never skip your meals to cut calories! Your body is more likely to become less efficient in using energy if you skip a meal. This can make you too hungry, which then put you at greater chance of making poor diet choices at your next mealtime. Skipping meal is also dangerous for your blood sugar since it may cause too low blood sugar, especially if you don’t adjust the dose of your insulin treatment!
Go with gluten-free diet!
It has been appreciated for a long time that there is a link between thyroid disorder and gluten intolerance. Gluten can interfere with iodine uptake in the body, because it is high in substance called goitrogens. And this can suppress thyroid function. Therefore, diet high in gluten is commonly considered bad for people with underactive thyroid.
Anti-inflammatory foods
Include some anti-inflammatory foods such as olive oil, fruits, green vegetables, nuts, and tomatoes. These foods can help soothe the overactive immune system, a common condition in people with hypothyroidism – and good to improve depression, ease joint pain and aches which are also common problems if you have underactive thyroid.
Restrict foods high in sugar and simple carbohydrate!
Since losing weight is more difficult if you have hypothyroidism, it’s very important to pay attention on your dietary carbohydrate. Follow a moderate-low carbohydrate diet and focus on complex carbohydrates!
Complex carbohydrates are the answer. They are typically high in fiber, low-GI foods, slowly digested, make you full longer, and also have least effect on your blood sugar. Just think legumes or starchy vegetables!
GI stands for glycemic index which is used to measure different foods in affecting your blood sugar level. High-GI foods are considered bad since it can cause a significant increase in your blood sugar. And low-GI foods are more recommended, because they have least side effect on your blood sugar.
On the other hand, sugary foods and simple carbohydrates are bad for your diabetes and hypothyroidism. They are high-GI foods, very low in fiber and quickly digested. Diet high in simple carbohydrates may also stimulate the higher production of cytokines, a kind of protein (tiny protein) that plays a role in affecting inflammation in the body.
Go with small, frequent meals!
Instead of 2-3 large meals a day, try with small-frequent meals! This is not only helpful to keep you full longer and good for your blood sugar control, but also good for your metabolism.
Your underactive thyroid slows your digestive function, and eating 5-6 small meals throughout the day can help cope with this problem. And make sure that your small meals are also loaded with balanced macronutrients (adequate fiber, protein, healthy-unsaturated fats, and complex carbohydrates)!
Other things to remember
What else to remember for your healthy weight loss diet with diabetes and hypothyroidism?
- Make a daily food diary! This can help you to plan ahead better of what you eat and what you should avoid.
- See also the comprehensive guide of good and forbidden foods for diabetes in this section!
Be physically active!
To lose weight, you need to burn more calories through physical activity. If the amount of your calorie intake from your diet is lower than what you burn, you have weight loss. That’s why you need to keep your body moving! Furthermore, regular exercise is also important to boost your overall health.
Try to get at least 150 minutes per week of moderately intense aerobic exercise such as brisk walking or water aerobics – even gardening can help, too! Your weight loss should also be followed with muscles gain, do at least two times a week of muscle-strengthening exercises!
To keep safe, work together with your doctor! There may be particular instructions you need to follow. For instance, you may need to test your blood sugar before exercise, especially if you’re taking insulin. Read also the blood sugar targets for diabetics, including for the safe blood sugar level before exercise in here!
Listen the signal of when you need to take a rest – don’t push yourself too hard! Exercise may further suppress your underactive thyroid if you are terribly fatigued. If your fatigue flares up, have enough rest!
- Thyroid hormone for hypothyroidism is usually recommended to be taken in the morning with empty stomach and plenty of water. Take the medication as directed otherwise this may affect your body’s ability to lose weight!
- The underactive thyroid treatment should result in a return of body weight to what you had before your hypothyroidism developed. But since the disease usually develops over a long period of time, it’s not uncommon to find that you may not notice a significant weight loss even though if the treatment works successfully. But if the treatment does work, it will help you lose weight.
- Take also your insulin treatment as directed – and never change or skip the treatment on your own! You may think that cutting back on insulin for awhile will help lose your weight, but actually it is dangerous. Furthermore, you’re also likely to gain more pounds of weight when you go back on insulin.
- There are some diabetic medications that are not only designed to help control blood sugar but also may help reduce the use of insulin and promote weight loss. These include pramlintide, exenatide, liraglutide, and metformin – ask your doctor whether you can take them!
- http://www.thyroid.org/thyroid-and-weight/
- http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/hypothyroidism/symptoms-causes/dxc-20155382
