Diabetes and hypothyroidism are problems associated with your endocrine system, a network of glands that plays a role in many important body functions. And it’s important to keep at your healthy weight-scale if you are a diabetic or/and have under-active thyroid. Fortunately, there are plenty of options to lose weight and keep it off.
How does hypothyroidism cause weight gain?
It has been known for a very long time that thyroid problem can affect the body weight and metabolism, and this relationship is very complex. Thyroid glands produce metabolism hormone. If there something goes awry with them, your metabolism is affected – and the same goes for your weight scale.
By measuring the amount of oxygen used over a specific amount of time in the body, you can get your metabolism calculation. If this is made at rest, it‘s what we call as BMR or the basal metabolic rate.
It’s important to have normal BMR since it plays a role to your body weight. It is linked to changes in energy balance, a variable that reflects the amount of calories you eat and the amount of calories your body uses. If the amount of calories you eat is greater than what you burn, you will have weight gain.
Higher BMR means you’re more difficult to gain weight. And Lower BMR means you’re easier to gain more pounds of weight.
Weight gain is common in people with underactive thyroid since people with this disease are likely to have decreased BMR. The more severe hypothyroidism you have, the greater pounds of weight you can gain.
Nevertheless, this issue is not fully known yet. Again, the link between low thyroid hormones and increased weight scale is complex. It’s not only about fat accumulation. Even in some cases, most of excess pounds can be extra accumulation of water and salt.
- Weakness or tiredness (fatigue). You may think it’s a part of getting older. But as your BMR decreases, other obvious symptoms occur.
- Becoming more sensitive to cold.
- Frequent hoarseness.
- Bowel movement changes, especially constipation.
- Hair loss, thinning hair (see also other causes of abnormal thinning hair).
- Dry skin.
- Muscle weakness, aches, tenderness, or stiffness. You may also have joint problem such as stiffness, swelling, or pain.
- Change in face, such as puffy face.
- Increased blood cholesterol levels.
- In women, they may experience changes in their menstrual periods (becoming irregular or/and heavier).
- Impaired, decreased memory.
- Change in heart rate, getting slowed.
- Psychological problem, especially such as depression.
However, weight gain is attributed by a number of different causes. If it comes without some of hypothyroidism symptoms, it is less likely to be solely due to underactive thyroid. If you in doubt to any symptom, it’s recommended to see a doctor promptly!
How does diabetes cause weight gain?
Insulin is essential hormone produced and released from pancreas, an organ behind and below stomach. It plays a key role to allow glucose (sugar) in the bloodstream to be absorbed by cells of the body (where glucose is eventually converted to become energy).
In diabetes, there something goes awry with insulin. Without insulin, it’s difficult for glucose in the blood to enter to the body’s cells. This can lead to high amount of glucose in the blood.
Managing high blood sugar in diabetics can use insulin treatment, especially for those with type-1 diabetes. As well we know that type-1 is insulin dependent since it causes a significant decrease in insulin production – even in some cases, the pancreas cannot produce insulin at all.
Type-1 is thought as a consequence of autoimmune condition. Without known reason, the body immune system attacks and destroys its own healthy cells, tissues, or organ. In this case, it mistakenly attacks cells of pancreas.
Type-2 diabetes is more common, even it’s the most common form of diabetes. It occurs when the amount of insulin produced by pancreas is not enough for the body needs or if the body cannot use insulin effectively (insulin resistance). It’s not insulin dependent since the pancreas is usually still able to produce insulin. But sometimes it requires insulin treatment, too.
And when it comes to weight gain and diabetes, the use of insulin treatment is often to blame. Insulin and the risk of gaining excess pounds of weight often go hand in hand.
In diabetics, high amount of glucose (sugar) in the bloodstream means the body’s cells cannot absorb glucose for energy. As a result, they often have lack of energy and feel hungry even though they have eaten. This can be starting point of when they’re likely to eat more. High blood sugar can also cause frequent urination to help remove excess glucose in the blood.
Once the blood glucose is better controlled (when they take insulin treatment), their body will be reabsorbing all that glucose and may also retain more fluid to cope with dehydration that was present before the treatment. This is the desired therapeutic goal, but not so good for weight control. Excess glucose that the body’s cells don’t use is turned into fat. Fluid retention can also affect the weight, though it doesn’t last long!
Insulin treatment is not the only one. Like anyone else, there are a number of factors for weight gain. Lack of physical activity, poor diet, poor sleep, and stress can also have an effect.
Furthermore, some diabetic medications carry the risk of weight gain. For instance, the use of pioglitazone may contribute to make you gain weight. Hypothyroidism is another reason (this thyroid disorder is quite common in diabetics).
How to lose weight with diabetes and hypothyroidism?
Underactive thyroid is the most common form of thyroid disorder. It can affect anyone. But it’s more common in women. Age also has an effect, the risk increases with age. The bad news, diabetics are at high risk of this thyroid disorder, especially for those with type 1 diabetes.
Underactive thyroid causes thyroid hormone deficiency, upsetting the balance of chemical reactions in the body. This can decrease BMRs, as noted before. As a result, it often causes weight gain.
It’s important to keep your weight off, even though if you have underactive thyroid! And this is much more important if you also have diabetes. Obesity can make your blood sugar control more difficult. And poorly-high blood sugar control is the key for diabetic complications to occur.
It’s not always easy to lose weight with diabetes and hypothyroidism. But there are plenty of options to make it easier to achieve your goal – see the following helpful checklists!
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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