background:
At age 14 I was diagnosed with hypothyroid and put on Synthroid. I was a chubby kid that grew into an overweight teenager, though I was more of an academic than an athlete and I surely liked my food. Anyway, bouts of extreme fatigue and coldness led my doctor to test me. I was taking increasing doses of Synthroid daily until age 18 when I left for university (by this time I was also on a birth control pill). Frustrated, overweight, and with low self-esteem, my emotional teenage self adopted a restrictive vegan diet, which eventually turned into an outright eating disorder that left me underweight and obvious lasting psychological impacts. I took myself off of synthroid because I was convinced it wasn't doing anything (it wasn't). I took the next year off from university and worked with a dietician, psychologist and took antidepressants. Slowly but surely gained weight the "vegan" way -- lots of soy, lots of nuts, moderate grains (I've always been a carb-phob, my own issue, working on it) and subsequently bounced around the different sects of veganism -- fruititarian + distance running (almost passed out because of extremely low sodium and low blood sugar), low fat, high fat, etc. I tried it all. Frustrated by my lack of commitment and my still highly restrictive diet (I was still pretty underweight at this time), I decided to commit to "full recovery" which in the vegan sense meant lots of nuts and calories. I regained menses (last December) at a comfortable weight. ( I don't want to bring weight into this but I am naturally a small-frame, athleticly built person. I have a straight shape with narrow hips). I continued on the high nut/legume diet and continued gaining weight to an unsightly amount. Something wasn't right. Freaked out, I began the "Insanity" workout (dumb) and started cutting calories. The following few months I successfully put myself into adrenal fatigue, continued to gain weight, but lose my period again. I continue to see my endocrinologist but she is convinced that my thyroid problems "never existed" and that I'm the predicament I'm in is because of my restrictive dieting (possible -- but the thyroid problem is was sparked the dieting in the first place, so it's unfair to say that my health issues are solely the cause of my "dieting")
Frustrated with results and in light of the paleo-fad I coaxed myself into eating seafood again (salmon), and eventually became full-carnivore. I started the "bulletproof" thing, low carb, high fat, though occasionally had carb "refeeds". Cut back on exercise. No change, started experimenting with veganism again. Cut out soy and ultimately began meshing the two together, I guess a "normal" gluten-free diet.
I began adding dairy back in (greek yogurt, I love it) and noticed myself slowly losing weight. I had moved back to university at this time and I was more active on a daily basis just walking more around campus. I began running again, but only 3-5 miles in the mornings a few days a week, nothing compared to the distances I used to run. I began to stumble across Peat followers and reading about their diets and started making small changes in my own, though it is nowhere near perfect-Peat.
However, I'm having bizarre symptoms:
I've lost a lot of weight, specifically from my upper body. I'm slim all over, but particularly bony on top. I store fat in my inner thighs.
I'm panicky-- maybe about my health, and I might be bringing it on myself (my doctor described it as the chicken-or-the-egg phenomena)
I still eat a pretty restrictive diet because I don't have a huge appetite. Cooking things in coconut oil/butter helps me to get an overall higher caloric amount but I probably don't eat "enough" but there is no definitive answer to what "enough" is, and I really don't like to eat when I'm not hungry
Cold hands and feet -- always, throughout my life
Thinning outer eyebrows (also always throughout life)
and this is new: ringing in my ears, pretty constant for the past month or so
Foggy- lightheaded, disoriented feelings
my doctor checked my blood work and I have low estrogen, high rT3
my diet now consists mostly of:
pastured eggs (2 or 3 a day)
greek yogurt
milk
cheese (hard cheeses and feta)
fruit (mostly apples and oranges because they're in season now)
raw honey
pasture raised chicken/turkey
grass fed beef
gelatin/ collagen
white fish, occasionally salmon
tomatoes, cucumbers, some lettuce, carrots
squashes, sweet potatoes (I'm eating more of these now)
occasionally rice
butter, coconut oil, occasionally avocado
I take my temperature each morning and I am consistently 98.4
I still run but it's usually just shorter, intense bursts (2-5 miles, only a few days a week)
I started light strength training daily
I supplement 4000 IU vitamin D every day and do get outside in the sun for at least 20 minutes daily
I need help. Physically I feel very, very, very off and it is interrupting my productivity. I feel almost like I did when I was eating highly restrictive though I am eating MUCH more than I have ever before. Could it be that I turned my thyroid hyper? (I'm not warm though-- though it is the middle of winter in new england)
At age 14 I was diagnosed with hypothyroid and put on Synthroid. I was a chubby kid that grew into an overweight teenager, though I was more of an academic than an athlete and I surely liked my food. Anyway, bouts of extreme fatigue and coldness led my doctor to test me. I was taking increasing doses of Synthroid daily until age 18 when I left for university (by this time I was also on a birth control pill). Frustrated, overweight, and with low self-esteem, my emotional teenage self adopted a restrictive vegan diet, which eventually turned into an outright eating disorder that left me underweight and obvious lasting psychological impacts. I took myself off of synthroid because I was convinced it wasn't doing anything (it wasn't). I took the next year off from university and worked with a dietician, psychologist and took antidepressants. Slowly but surely gained weight the "vegan" way -- lots of soy, lots of nuts, moderate grains (I've always been a carb-phob, my own issue, working on it) and subsequently bounced around the different sects of veganism -- fruititarian + distance running (almost passed out because of extremely low sodium and low blood sugar), low fat, high fat, etc. I tried it all. Frustrated by my lack of commitment and my still highly restrictive diet (I was still pretty underweight at this time), I decided to commit to "full recovery" which in the vegan sense meant lots of nuts and calories. I regained menses (last December) at a comfortable weight. ( I don't want to bring weight into this but I am naturally a small-frame, athleticly built person. I have a straight shape with narrow hips). I continued on the high nut/legume diet and continued gaining weight to an unsightly amount. Something wasn't right. Freaked out, I began the "Insanity" workout (dumb) and started cutting calories. The following few months I successfully put myself into adrenal fatigue, continued to gain weight, but lose my period again. I continue to see my endocrinologist but she is convinced that my thyroid problems "never existed" and that I'm the predicament I'm in is because of my restrictive dieting (possible -- but the thyroid problem is was sparked the dieting in the first place, so it's unfair to say that my health issues are solely the cause of my "dieting")
Frustrated with results and in light of the paleo-fad I coaxed myself into eating seafood again (salmon), and eventually became full-carnivore. I started the "bulletproof" thing, low carb, high fat, though occasionally had carb "refeeds". Cut back on exercise. No change, started experimenting with veganism again. Cut out soy and ultimately began meshing the two together, I guess a "normal" gluten-free diet.
I began adding dairy back in (greek yogurt, I love it) and noticed myself slowly losing weight. I had moved back to university at this time and I was more active on a daily basis just walking more around campus. I began running again, but only 3-5 miles in the mornings a few days a week, nothing compared to the distances I used to run. I began to stumble across Peat followers and reading about their diets and started making small changes in my own, though it is nowhere near perfect-Peat.
However, I'm having bizarre symptoms:
I've lost a lot of weight, specifically from my upper body. I'm slim all over, but particularly bony on top. I store fat in my inner thighs.
I'm panicky-- maybe about my health, and I might be bringing it on myself (my doctor described it as the chicken-or-the-egg phenomena)
I still eat a pretty restrictive diet because I don't have a huge appetite. Cooking things in coconut oil/butter helps me to get an overall higher caloric amount but I probably don't eat "enough" but there is no definitive answer to what "enough" is, and I really don't like to eat when I'm not hungry
Cold hands and feet -- always, throughout my life
Thinning outer eyebrows (also always throughout life)
and this is new: ringing in my ears, pretty constant for the past month or so
Foggy- lightheaded, disoriented feelings
my doctor checked my blood work and I have low estrogen, high rT3
my diet now consists mostly of:
pastured eggs (2 or 3 a day)
greek yogurt
milk
cheese (hard cheeses and feta)
fruit (mostly apples and oranges because they're in season now)
raw honey
pasture raised chicken/turkey
grass fed beef
gelatin/ collagen
white fish, occasionally salmon
tomatoes, cucumbers, some lettuce, carrots
squashes, sweet potatoes (I'm eating more of these now)
occasionally rice
butter, coconut oil, occasionally avocado
I take my temperature each morning and I am consistently 98.4
I still run but it's usually just shorter, intense bursts (2-5 miles, only a few days a week)
I started light strength training daily
I supplement 4000 IU vitamin D every day and do get outside in the sun for at least 20 minutes daily
I need help. Physically I feel very, very, very off and it is interrupting my productivity. I feel almost like I did when I was eating highly restrictive though I am eating MUCH more than I have ever before. Could it be that I turned my thyroid hyper? (I'm not warm though-- though it is the middle of winter in new england)
purelaur!
thank you all
