How Thyroid Disease Makes it Hard to Lose Weight
An under-active thyroid can substantially slow your metabolism and make it hard to lose weight. Unfortunately, a vast number of Americans suffer thyroid disease and its symptoms.
Your thyroid is a small organ shaped like a butterfly. It’s located in your neck and plays a vital role in controlling your metabolism. Unfortunately for more than 27 million Americans, their thyroid isn’t functioning properly because they suffer from thyroid disease.
An Under-Active Thyroid Can Substantially Slow Your Metabolism and Make it Hard to Lose Weight
When you struggle to lose weight, you’re often get blamed for being lazy and undisciplined. For many individuals, this couldn't be further from the truth. Thyroid disease can substantially hamper your ability to lose weight no matter how hard you work!
Does it feel like you’ve tried everything to lose weight, but nothing works? For those who suffer from thyroid disease, it can feel next to impossible to lose weight.
This is because the thyroid affects our metabolism — which is the process of maintaining your body by consuming food and turning it into energy. In a healthy body, the thyroid produces an adequate amount of thyroid hormone, an essential hormone for nearly every organ.
Unfortunately, if your thyroid is underactive, it doesn’t produce enough of this vital hormone. This can make it hard for you to lose weight and keep it off.
Additionally, thyroid disease can cause you to suffer from a variety of other symptoms, including:
- Fatigue
- Weak muscles
- Constipation
- Feeling cold
- Cognitive problems
- Dry skin
- Joint pain
- High blood pressure
Diet and Exercise Can Only Help So Much When You Suffer From Thyroid Disease
Dieting can get old quickly, especially if you're severely limiting your calorie intake and not seeing the results you want. Unfortunately, for those suffering from thyroid disease, even cutting back to a minuscule amount of food might not be enough.
The first things that come to mind whenever the term ‘weight loss’ it brought up are diet and exercise. In many ways, this makes sense. Constricting your calories and burning more calories typically results in weight loss.
Unfortunately, if your organs don’t get enough of the thyroid hormone, it might not matter how little you eat or how much you workout. Even a zero carb diet and completely eliminating processed foods can not be enough.
This is why the doctors at Premier Integrative don’t just treat the symptoms of weight gain. We identify the underlying cause and treat that to help you lose weight and keep it off.
Thyroid Dysfunction is Often Caused by Hormone Imbalances
Hormone imbalances are one of the leading causes of thyroid dysfunction. Luckily, this isn't something you have to live with.
Hormones act as your body’s chemical messengers. Delivered through your bloodstream, they tell your organs how to function.
Both thyroid disease and thyroid dysfunction are often caused by a hormone imbalance – when the wrong message is delivered to your organ. While a specialized healthy eating diet can help you correct a hormone imbalance, this step is often not enough – especially for those who are insulin resistant.
Bioidentical Hormone Therapy Can Help You Correct Hormone Imbalances, Improve Your Thyroid Function and Lose Weight
With the assistance of bioidentical hormone therapy, you can correct any hormone imbalances, improve your body's overall health, and make it easier for you to achieve your weight loss goals.
Hormone therapy is the process of restoring your body’s hormones to their ideal levels. In some instances, doctors will use synthetic hormones.
Unfortunately, synthetic hormones are different than the hormones your body produces. Introducing them into your system can cause serious side-effects.
However, bioidentical hormones mirror the chemical structure of the hormones your body produces naturally. This allows you to help your body function properly, without the negative side-effects.
Creating a Weight Loss Plan for your Long-Term Success
A lot of short term weight loss solutions leave you constantly feeling hungry. They rely on excessive physical activity as a form of weight control. Unfortunately, radical changes like this aren’t typically sustainable. This means any health benefits you would gain from losing weight are negated when you put the weight back on (or more).
So while you may lose weight, if you don’t address your thyroid disorder, it’s like fighting an uphill battle. Why keep fighting when you have a team of doctors who can support you?
