How Thyroid Issues Affect Weight Gain
With chronic stress that affects the adrenals
What can you do about thyroid issues and weight gain?
Making good nutrition and supplementation a consistent part of your life is the most effective way to support your thyroid. Consistency is so important! As women, many of us spend much of our lives dieting — sometimes in a yo-yo cycle of feasting or fasting. This is one example of how we may decrease our metabolic rate and put stress on other hormone systems — which leads to weight gain.
Here are my top tips for eating to support your thyroid:
- Choose whole foods for optimal nutrition and a high quality multivitamin-mineral supplement. Iodine and selenium are the most important thyroid supporters, but you also need zinc, iron, and copper.
- Eat your meals and snacks at regular times, and be sure to eat breakfast within an hour of waking. Missing meals or snacks can stress your thyroid.
- Include protein at every meal, as well as fiber for breakfast and lunch. Remember that good sources of fiber include fruits and vegetables, not just grains.
- Completely eliminate gluten, sugar/sweeteners, alcohol, and junk food. These ingredients can interfere with healthy thyroid function.
- Learn which foods contain thyroid-suppressing compounds known as “goitrogens” — including cruciferous vegetables such as cabbage, broccoli, and cauliflower. Always steam or cook these vegetables to reduce or eliminate the goitrogens.
Your opportunity to take action
At Women to Women, we know that symptoms are your body’s way of signaling that it needs help. So if you start seeing unexpected weight gain and believe it may be related to your thyroid, this is a good time to listen to your body and take action based on how you feel, rather than a test result.
For many women, a balance of good nutrition, supplemental nutrients, and phytotherapy is the true support their thyroid needs to increase metabolic functioning and lose weight. I’ve also seen that an optimal diet is critical to prevent additional symptoms from progressing, as well as to promote overall thyroid — and body — health.
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