hypothyroidism, can't seem to lose anything!

[onlyatest]

I got my blood tested last month and found out that i had hypothyroidism. My tsh test was 7.9. In the past i've tried many diets to lose weight, but could never keep the weight off. From september to December I ate every three hours, usually around 25 carbs (oats or rice) and a protein. I worked out four days a week minimum with heavy weights but did 40 minutes on an elliptical machine for cardio keeping my heart rate around 140. I lost only 3 pounds. Over my two week honeymoon I took off lifting and gained 15lbs, not eating very bad at that.

For the last month I've done the low carb diet and have still had no luck. I used to be able to burn fat quick with this aproach but can't seem to lose anything with it now! I gained 1 pound in the last 3 weeks and it was fat. here are my stats and what i take.

5'9"
262lbs
28.8% bf

I take 5g or creatine pre and after workout, 4 anadrox a day for energy mainly, 2 amp pre workout. I drink at least a gallon of water a day. Besides that i take 100mcg's of prescripted synthroid a day. I am not taking any time of steroids as of now either. Any input would be deeply appreciated because this is getting depressing. Oh, and I play an hour of racket ball 5 days a week for the last 3 weeks as my cardio.

-onlyatest

[Angelus]

Ive have red somewhere that the convertion of T4 in to T3 is reducen when in low carb diets it lowers TSH I think

[zodiac666]

it is going to be more difficult for you but not near impossible. you are going to have to start counting every calorie that you put inside your body, and keep a log of EXACTLY what you eat. this is not near as difficult as it sounds though...

step 1 - read the sticky cutting thread in the diet forum, make up a diet for yourself and post it in here so we can help critique it for you. also make up a workout/cardio schedule and post it in the workout section so we can make sure you're on track with that as well.

step 2 - when you have your final diet done you need to throw out any food in your house that is not part of your diet and go to the grocery store and buy all the foods that you will need for your diet.

step 3 - now maybe have one last hoorah and eat whatever the hell you want then pick a day to start your diet and FOLLOW IT 100%, don't even chew a stick of gum if its not in your diet. starting a diet is the hardest part for me, but once i am 1 or 2 weeks into it i don't have too many cravings and my confidence is very high just from proving to myself how much willpower i have.

after you follow your diet 100% for 2 weeks you should judge your progress by the scale and mirror to see if you need to raise or lower the calories in your diet.

basically all you have to do is not cheat on your diet or workouts, you definitely CAN do it man, and if you prove that to yourself you will feel a million times better about yourself. just post your diet whenever you are done with it.

[onlyatest]

Ok, I appreciate the help. I've done this dieting strategy before and just fell off track after a month when i ran out of cash. I have the money to this now. I actually lost 27lbs the month so yea, it worked. lol. here is a sample diet that i have gathered from this board/ the body for life method/ other body builders at my local gold's gym.

Meal 1: 6AM
Lean Protein 40g , 1/2 cup oatmeal with 1/2 cup unsweetend apple sauce

Meal 2:9AM
Protein shake/Lean Protein 40g, flax oil supplement

Meal 3:12PM
Veggies or veggie supplement, Lean Protein 40g

Meal 4:2:30PM
Protein Shake, 1/2 cup white rice

Workout(listed below)
PWO- 60g whey protein shake, 1 cup oatmeal

Meal 5:6:30PM
Veggies, Lean Protein, 1/2 cup rice or oatmeal.

Meal 6:9:00PM
Shake with Flax supplement

Work out
Sunday-Legs/ab + 1hour of racket ball
Monday-Back/ Bi's + 45 min. of elliptical cardio
Tuesday-off
Wednesday-Shoulders and Tri's + 1 hour of racketball
Thursday-Chest- 45min of elliptical carido
Friday-Fun day- basketball, racketball, some sort of cardio
Saturday-off

How does this sound? Heres my stats again
263 @ 28.8% bf
22 yrs old
5'9"

My goal is to be 10%-12%bf at all times. I have roughly 188lbs of lean mass and would like to build on that as much as possible obviously. I would think that after this is all said and done, being around 220lbs would put me to my desired size.

I plan on taking creatine pre and post workout at 5grams. Taking the flax twice a day. I take synthroid at 100mcgs a day for the next two months till i check my new tsh levels. I will be taking glutamine, 5 grams pre workout and 5 grams with my last meal. I take 3 grams of gaba before bed stacked with 3 grams or andronine. This helps me sleep. I was also going to talk to a friend about getting some ephedrine since i hear it will help speed up the process. Please respond and critique. This is a sample diet of what i tried before with out all the supplements.

[onlyatest]

also, i need some ideas of sample cheat meals and how often to do them. I have heard every three days minimum but have not really understood what actually a "good cheat meal" is. thanks

[zodiac666]

Ok, I appreciate the help. I've done this dieting strategy before and just fell off track after a month when i ran out of cash. I have the money to this now. I actually lost 27lbs the month so yea, it worked. lol. here is a sample diet that i have gathered from this board/ the body for life method/ other body builders at my local gold's gym.

Meal 1: 6AM
Lean Protein 40g , 1/2 cup oatmeal with 1/2 cup unsweetend apple sauce

Meal 2:9AM
Protein shake/Lean Protein 40g, flax oil supplement

Meal 3:12PM
Veggies or veggie supplement, Lean Protein 40g

Meal 4:2:30PM
Protein Shake, 1/2 cup white rice

Workout(listed below)
PWO- 60g whey protein shake, 1 cup oatmeal

Meal 5:6:30PM
Veggies, Lean Protein, 1/2 cup rice or oatmeal.

Meal 6:9:00PM
Shake with Flax supplement

Work out
Sunday-Legs/ab + 1hour of racket ball
Monday-Back/ Bi's + 45 min. of elliptical cardio
Tuesday-off
Wednesday-Shoulders and Tri's + 1 hour of racketball
Thursday-Chest- 45min of elliptical carido
Friday-Fun day- basketball, racketball, some sort of cardio
Saturday-off

How does this sound? Heres my stats again
263 @ 28.8% bf
22 yrs old
5'9"

My goal is to be 10%-12%bf at all times. I have roughly 188lbs of lean mass and would like to build on that as much as possible obviously. I would think that after this is all said and done, being around 220lbs would put me to my desired size.

I plan on taking creatine pre and post workout at 5grams. Taking the flax twice a day. I take synthroid at 100mcgs a day for the next two months till i check my new tsh levels. I will be taking glutamine, 5 grams pre workout and 5 grams with my last meal. I take 3 grams of gaba before bed stacked with 3 grams or andronine. This helps me sleep. I was also going to talk to a friend about getting some ephedrine since i hear it will help speed up the process. Please respond and critique. This is a sample diet of what i tried before with out all the supplements.

at your size i wouldn't worry about taking creatine, it makes most people add a decent amount of water weight (especially the monohydrate, the CEE is supposed to be better as far as less bloating and adding less excess water). also ephedrine as well as caffeine will help speed up your metabolism but you do need to be very careful with them because they do speed up your heart, if you do start taking ephedrine just start out with a half or even a quarter serving of what the bottle says (IMO most serving suggestions are way too high, and could be dangerous for some people)

also when you say "lean protein" do you mean a lean protein source or is that the name of your protein powder? instead of saying lean protein, you should be more specific and say either 6oz of tuna or 6oz chicken with all the fat cut off.

meal 4 i would switch to a can of tuna or other lean protein source so you will still have amino acids in your blood stream when you go to workout, since most shakes are processed faster than regular food. i would also switch meal 6 to a lean protein source, since you are going to go without protein all night you want that meal digested as slow as possible.

overall not bad at all but you do need to figure out the total grams of protein, carbs, and fats and total calories for each meal. a gram of protein or carbs has 4 calories while a gram of fat has 9 calories.

anytime you do cardio with your workout make sure it is done immediately after your workout before you drink your PWO shake, since your glycogen stores (your body's first source of energy) are already depleted from your workout you will start to burn fat much sooner. also (and this will be the hardest part for many people) you need to start doing 45min of medium intensity cardio first thing in the morning on a completely empty stomach 5 days a week. this is really the best time to burn bodyfat because your stomach is empty so it will start burning fat as fuel very quickly. just wake up, chug 1-2 cups of coffee (no cream or sugar) and do your cardio, do not eat anything until you have finished your cardio, then you can eat your scheduled breakfast.

the number 1 thing with your workout schedule is that you write down exactly how many sets/reps/weight you do and follow it 100%. many people make little excuses to skip a few sets for whatever bullshit reason but if you force yourself to follow a strict schedule it will make you feel much better and will improve the overall quality of your life because you know you're doing something that most people don't have the willpower to do.

diet doesn't look bad but be more specific, for example exactly what veggies and how much are you eating in meal 5? also write the diet and list the total macros (protein, carbs, fats) and total calories next to each meal. i don't want to make it look too overwhelming for you, but the more specific your diet is on paper the less likely you are to try to justify little deviations from it.

just post your diet with all the macros and calories listed and we'll see if anyone else has anything to add and then you can get started. just make sure when you do start you find other things to do in your spare time that don't have to do with eating or of course any alcohol or recreational drugs. post your diet ASAP and if you need any help with anything send me a pm.

[onlyatest]

Ok. lets start from the top. I am not really sure on the weight of the protein and to be honest, tell me if I'm wrong, but aren't all poultry lean sources of protein? also fish? I usually eat a can of tuna with miracle whip light, ground turkey, half a good size chicken breast as my sources of regular lean protein.

As for the creatine, I do take monohydrate and have wondered if I should stop but I have decided to take a rest from it for a while to see how it goes.

Next, for working out. I want to gain lean muscle and lose fat. I have deited many times before finding out i'm much lighter but have lost all the muscle that I worked for a long time to gain. Whats the best type of workout for a person like me with my situation? I have thought of going to a high rep/light weight work out for a while now but I really enjoy trying to go up in weight each week, especially in squats, bench, and shoulder press. For example, I start with 2 warm up sets on bench, then my 3rd-5th set I usually get up 8-10 reps at 325, then 6-7 reps on 345, then 3-4 at 365. I know this is good for gaining bulk but when its all said and done I really would rather be healthy and look good rather than being able to pick up a truck!!!!

Ok, you hit two of my favorite things!lol. First, i love sleep although I really can't get the 8 hours of sleep everynight that I need. I work from 6-4 mon-fri, workout right after, then have class till 9 most nights. I usually fall asleep around 11:30 or so and am up again at 5am to start the next day. doing the 45 minutes of medium cardio is hard for me in this situation getting only 5 hours of sleep a night. pretty much i would be cutting 1/5 of my sleep away. I can do this, but i know its not healthy what so ever.

Next, coffee!!! lol. I drink a cup every morning with light non-dairy creamer and splenda. Its something that I crave to stay awake. I know i could quit and an instense but would love some input on what to take instead. maybe a grean tea or regular tea w/ splenda for the caffeine?

[onlyatest]

Meal 1: 6AM
Protein shake , 1/2 cup oatmeal with 1/2 cup unsweetend apple sauce

Meal 2:9AM
Protein shake/1 can of tuna, fish oil supplement

Meal 3:12PM
Brocolli or veggie supplement, 1/2 chicken brest

Meal 4:2:30PM
Protein Shake, 1/2 cup white rice

Workout(listed below)
PWO- 60g whey protein shake, 1 cup oatmeal

Meal 5:6:30PM
cup of broccoli, Lean Turkey or Chicken, 1/2 cup rice or oatmeal.

Meal 6:9:00PM
Shake with Flax supplement

Work out
Sunday-Legs/ab + 1hour of racket ball
Monday-Back/ Bi's + 45 min. of elliptical cardio
Tuesday-off
Wednesday-Shoulders and Tri's + 1 hour of racketball
Thursday-Chest- 45min of elliptical carido
Friday-Fun day- basketball, racketball, some sort of cardio
Saturday-off

I need to figure out the calories/ fat and all of that for the deit to make it more accurate. I also need to work on exactly what my workout looks like. Do you want me to post on here what workouts i do for each muscle or just in my personal log? Also, for my weight and trying to lose weight and gain muscle, how many calories is good and bad. also, how can you tell if a beef is lean? fillet?

[onlyatest]

should I eat my scheduled breakfast asap after the morning cardio like i would for my pwo?I was thinkin that sushi(seaweed, rice, and raw tuna) would be something enjoyable in my situation. I love it. this would be good wouldn't it? in moderation ofcourse.

[zodiac666]

go to the workout forum and start a new thread about your workout schedule when you get time.

[zodiac666]

Ok. lets start from the top. I am not really sure on the weight of the protein and to be honest, tell me if I'm wrong, but aren't all poultry lean sources of protein? also fish? I usually eat a can of tuna with miracle whip light, ground turkey, half a good size chicken breast as my sources of regular lean protein. honestly i just take the easy way out and only buy food that has the nutritional information on it when i'm dieting. there is a website that explains all the macro's and calories for different foods but i dont remember what it is. hopefully someone will come along and post it or you can do a search for it.

As for the creatine, I do take monohydrate and have wondered if I should stop but I have decided to take a rest from it for a while to see how it goes.

Next, for working out. I want to gain lean muscle and lose fat. I have deited many times before finding out i'm much lighter but have lost all the muscle that I worked for a long time to gain. Whats the best type of workout for a person like me with my situation? I have thought of going to a high rep/light weight work out for a while now but I really enjoy trying to go up in weight each week, especially in squats, bench, and shoulder press. For example, I start with 2 warm up sets on bench, then my 3rd-5th set I usually get up 8-10 reps at 325, then 6-7 reps on 345, then 3-4 at 365. I know this is good for gaining bulk but when its all said and done I really would rather be healthy and look good rather than being able to pick up a truck!!!! just make a new thread in the workout forum and we'll help you out.

Ok, you hit two of my favorite things!lol. First, i love sleep although I really can't get the 8 hours of sleep everynight that I need. I work from 6-4 mon-fri, workout right after, then have class till 9 most nights. I usually fall asleep around 11:30 or so and am up again at 5am to start the next day. doing the 45 minutes of medium cardio is hard for me in this situation getting only 5 hours of sleep a night. pretty much i would be cutting 1/5 of my sleep away. I can do this, but i know its not healthy what so ever. if it is not possible to do it in the morning then just stick to doing it immediantly after your workout before your PWO shake.

Next, coffee!!! lol. I drink a cup every morning with light non-dairy creamer and splenda. Its something that I crave to stay awake. I know i could quit and an instense but would love some input on what to take instead. maybe a grean tea or regular tea w/ splenda for the caffeine? as long as you only mix stuff with 0 calories in your coffee you're good to go. just buy a really rich starbucks coffee beans, i love drinking that stuff black and really strong

[onlyatest]

any good cheat meal ideas?

[Dobie-BOY]

at your size i wouldn't worry about taking creatine, it makes most people add a decent amount of water weight (especially the monohydrate, the CEE is supposed to be better as far as less bloating and adding less excess water). also ephedrine as well as caffeine will help speed up your metabolism but you do need to be very careful with them because they do speed up your heart, if you do start taking ephedrine just start out with a half or even a quarter serving of what the bottle says (IMO most serving suggestions are way too high, and could be dangerous for some people)

also when you say "lean protein" do you mean a lean protein source or is that the name of your protein powder? instead of saying lean protein, you should be more specific and say either 6oz of tuna or 6oz chicken with all the fat cut off.

meal 4 i would switch to a can of tuna or other lean protein source so you will still have amino acids in your blood stream when you go to workout, since most shakes are processed faster than regular food. i would also switch meal 6 to a lean protein source, since you are going to go without protein all night you want that meal digested as slow as possible.

overall not bad at all but you do need to figure out the total grams of protein, carbs, and fats and total calories for each meal. a gram of protein or carbs has 4 calories while a gram of fat has 9 calories.

anytime you do cardio with your workout make sure it is done immediately after your workout before you drink your PWO shake, since your glycogen stores (your body's first source of energy) are already depleted from your workout you will start to burn fat much sooner. also (and this will be the hardest part for many people) you need to start doing 45min of medium intensity cardio first thing in the morning on a completely empty stomach 5 days a week. this is really the best time to burn bodyfat because your stomach is empty so it will start burning fat as fuel very quickly. just wake up, chug 1-2 cups of coffee (no cream or sugar) and do your cardio, do not eat anything until you have finished your cardio, then you can eat your scheduled breakfast.

the number 1 thing with your workout schedule is that you write down exactly how many sets/reps/weight you do and follow it 100%. many people make little excuses to skip a few sets for whatever bullshit reason but if you force yourself to follow a strict schedule it will make you feel much better and will improve the overall quality of your life because you know you're doing something that most people don't have the willpower to do.

diet doesn't look bad but be more specific, for example exactly what veggies and how much are you eating in meal 5? also write the diet and list the total macros (protein, carbs, fats) and total calories next to each meal. i don't want to make it look too overwhelming for you, but the more specific your diet is on paper the less likely you are to try to justify little deviations from it.

just post your diet with all the macros and calories listed and we'll see if anyone else has anything to add and then you can get started. just make sure when you do start you find other things to do in your spare time that don't have to do with eating or of course any alcohol or recreational drugs. post your diet ASAP and if you need any help with anything send me a pm.

Gotta appreciate this guy taking his time to help a brother out.