Help please – Belly fat

Hi, Mr. Turner. That’s excellent!

Hi, Mr. Turner. Congratulations on your health improvements. Because you had been on a very restrictive diet, your body is plateauing. It is great that you are physically active, and swapping different types of exercise can wake up your muscles to burn more fat. Can you do light weight lifting? Yoga? Other resistance options?

MrsSymo, most of that list is made up of vegetables that can be steamed to reduce the problem. Keep getting checked by the doctor and your medication adjusted as needed, and you’ll be fine food-wise.

Hi, MrsSymo. The most important thing is to be sure your hormone levels are as close to normal as possible, which is hopefully something that your health care provider is addressing.
To prevent interference with the medication, it is recommended to limit intake of “goitrogens,” which include the following:
Bok Choy
Broccoli
Brussel sprouts
Cabbage
Cauliflower
Kale
Kohlrabi
Mustard and Mustard greens
Radishes
Rutabagas
Turnips
Soy (anything)
Foods with lower but still significant levels of goitrogens:
Bamboo shoots
Peaches
Peanuts
Pears
Pine Nuts
Radishes
Spinach
Strawberries
Sweet Potatoes
Note that if you like the vegetables listed above, steaming them before eating will decrease the goitrogenic potency.

Hi, Jacquie. Slow weight loss and even slow starting is normal in this program, because it is focused on meeting your nutritional needs. If you have been on a restrictive diet in the past, your metabolism may have slowed and it may take several weeks for your body to get used to normal amounts of food again. If you are staying stable and not gaining weight, this is already a good sign.
Another common cause of lack of weight loss or weight gain is an imbalance in thyroid function. For this, we recommend getting tested and followed by your healthcare provider. If you are receiving medication, be sure the dose matches your need.
Since you recently started exercising, the number on the scale may not be reliable at this stage. You are now swapping fat for muscle, which is much heavier, you may be getting healthier while the number of pounds or kilos stays the same. In this case, pay more attention to how you’re looking and feeling, how your clothes are fitting, etc. You may be pleasantly surprised!
The most reliable (and healthiest) way to give your body a boost here is through adjusting your physical activity, either its intensity, amount of time per workout, frequency of workouts per week, and/or muscle group used.
Try introducing new exercises, even swapping them out for the old ones for a little while, to wake up new muscles. The best results have been reported with introducing weight training—again, it doesn’t have to be super strenuous, just something you can do on a regular basis. Even just lifting filled food cans in front of the TV counts. Another option is to mix up the rhythm by adding bursts of higher intensity movement to a steady aerobic regime. This can be something like 30 seconds of jogging or going uphill every 5 minutes during a regular walk.
Regardless of your situation, it is recommended to you discuss your plans with your health care provider to be sure any needed safety steps are taken.
If you have additional questions or concerns, or if none of these scenarios appear to apply to you—and/or you are noticing that the food amounts are exceeding your physical comfort level—please do repost, and we will work with you to right-size both aspects of your plan.

There’s also youtube videos (for what they’re worth) and articles about how coconut oil (2 tblspoons a day) helps underactive thyroid and kick metabolism back in gear. One of the many videos on it.

By all means tho, I’m not saying to stop taking meds and replace with coconut oil. My doctor thinks I need to take the thyroid meds the rest of my life but I would not be surprised if by my changing diet and doing exercise now and using coconut oil if I may end up (someday) going off of it or taking much lower doses.

A friend of mine’s thyroid came back after 2 years of inactivity and she was able to dramatically reduce her dose down to 15mg now instead of like 75mg. So I know it can happen.

Admittingly with high stress job, eating junk food constantly and not exercising for a few years, I can see why my thyroid had issues. I hope it’s not permanent but if it is, at least the coconut oil/diet change has been the only thing that has helped boost my energy to being able to exercise now. 3 years on thyroid meds has not helped boost my energy to begin exercise. It only helped me to “stop forgetting short term things”(a sympton) 🙂

Hi, tkousek. Welcome, and congratulations on your progress so far 🙂
I absolutely would support your idea of getting your TSH checked – it is truly worth getting balanced.

I am a teacher off for the summer, trying to dive back into my fitness routine and seriously get that 28 pounds off that has crept over the past 8 years. At first it was just 10 pounds, then I let another 18 sneak on between getting a hysterectomy. going back to get my masters degree, and drinking a little too often to ease job related stress ( A no-no that I have stopped! Thank God!)

I notice that my weight loss is crawling this go around, despite 45 minute a day workouts 5X a week at peak heart rate, incorporating more water daily, and watching what I eat.

I was expecting to lose at least 8-9 pounds by now and am frustrated to see my weight flux back and forth between 212 and 213 pounds without any further progress.

Do I ramp up my exercise more? Back in the day I used to do split session training….1/2 hour in the mornings and 1/2 hour in the afternoons to get weight off. Am I needing to do this to get the weight off now?

Also..any suggestions for minimizing upper arm cellulite. My arms are thinning down, but I am plagued with dimples! ARGH.

SBgirl