Patient Stories

I am Alison and like you live with thyroid disease. I have been helping out at the BTF for a short time and have been particularly interested in the weight management programme. As a result, I have agreed to share some of my thoughts and experiences about living with a metabolic disorder and managing my weight. I am not an expert in weight management so nothing I write here has been validated but I do have real experiences of the challenges our health condition brings. I will leave you to decide if these are helpful or not.

In case you are interested, here is my thyroid disease journey: I was diagnosed with an overactive thyroid in early 2013, beta blocker and carbimazole treatment helped but I kept having relapses, so radioactive iodine treatment was the answer to kicking my thyroid gland into touch. Since 2017 I have taken replacement thyroxine.

Fuelling our bodies

I have never been keen on the thought of a diet. Of course, diet is just the groups of foods that we put in our mouths each day to fuel our bodies and the theory goes that if we put the right things in, in the right amounts, then diet shouldn’t be an issue.

So why do so many of us shiver at the thought of a diet?!

For me the word is associated with the exclusion of food groups and hunger. Neither of which I am keen to embrace. Although I don’t live to eat, I do enjoy food and need to eat regular meals to keep up with my busy life.

I am mindful about what I eat and the food I prepare for my family, which in my mind need to be one and the same and generally (and I say this as we all make bad choices from time to time) healthy and balanced.

Our family life is busy, so making different meals for myself and then the rest of the family just isn’t feasible. We all eat the same evening meal but what I try to do is make sure that any food group choices are as healthy as I can make them, for example choosing wholemeal pasta and rice, lean meat cuts and only eating red or processed meat once a week.

Making a weekly food plan helps on so many levels. I can book my online shopping slot and do an ingredients check as I shop to make sure I have everything in for the week. I have fallen into two main traps with shopping in the past: firstly shopping when hungry is a nightmare, I give in to all sorts of things I don’t need, and secondly shopping regularly in store means I am tempted and distracted by the offers on items that I don’t really need. Having a list and sticking to it works for me and also helps with the budget as I only get what we need.

Moving our bodies

My husband has always said that I am so much brighter in myself when I have done some exercise. It is true, I love the endorphin rush from moving my body.

Exercise for me doesn’t have to be excessive in order to get that rush. Depending on how I feel (which as a menopausal woman can change daily) I will choose what I do to exercise in order to match my energy levels. Sometimes a stroll in the fresh air is just enough!

I don’t set hard and fast plans for exercise each week as each day my energy levels can vary wildly. Over a week I will try to make sure I have stretched and worked on core strength. For me, this is Pilates and doing activity which gets my heart rate up for 20 minutes at least three times in that week. This could be walking briskly or, if I have enough energy, a gentle jog/run.

One thing I have learnt is that if I exercise too hard in one session, I run the risk of being exhausted and sore and then can’t exercise effectively for a few days/weeks. Boom and bust! So I find that a little and often is far more effective and sustainable. This approach keeps my body moving and feeds my desire to feel good in myself.

Re-energising

I am rubbish without a regular, good night’s sleep. I say regular as these last few months have been a challenge with the menopause but as long as I can get a good night’s sleep the majority of the time, I can pretty much face any challenges in the day.

Sleep is my tonic for feeling positive and having a can-do attitude. In turn, this means I generally eat well and keep moving. I find if I am tired, I am drawn to foods that are in my treat category and once I start this can be a slippery slope to a bad eating day.

If I am tired I am not one of those people who can press the dig deep button and push on through (although I do recognise that sometimes this is necessary). I have to give in and have an early night. I am lucky that getting to sleep and keeping asleep come easy to me but if I ever do have trouble I will take time to wind down before bed, avoid alcohol, switch off electronics, have a bath and add a few drops of lavender oil to my pillow.

Caring for our minds

Sustainability is key for me to manage weight and well-being. If I can keep eating and moving well to the point where it isn’t a chore, then I am happy. Don’t be fooled though, I am no saint. I love the summer BBQ treats, the celebration cake, the late night socialising and alcohol in moderation. I just need to manage life so the things I call treats are not dominant.

I wasn’t sure where to write about treats but decided to put it here as treats can play havoc with my state of mind. I do not exclude treats as I find I crave them more than ever but I do manage them carefully. Everything in moderation is my motto but if I do have a run of bad decision making I try not to beat myself up about it. I try to get back on track by reminding myself of the things that make me feel good. Sugar is one of the worst treats for me as I seem to be very susceptible to the crash that comes off the back of eating or drinking sugary things and can feel quite odd e.g. a can of fizzy drink, sweets, and prosecco – all things I avoid.

I have a love-hate relationship with the scales in our bathroom. Thyroid disease made me lose excessive amounts of weight and although the scales told me one story, my body told me another: Life wasn’t good. Although I weigh heavier than I have ever done, I have come to terms with the fact that my body has changed; changed from having two children, a metabolic disorder and from the menopause. I am comfortable in my skin now as I know I am doing my very best to eat well and move regularly. Striving to have the body that I had in my 20s/30s is not feasible and even if I could it would be hard to sustain. I use my clothes as a guide. Apart from when I was very ill with thyroid disease, I have bought the same size clothes for years and I use these as a guide to where I am with my weight.

You can do it

Be kind to yourself, we don’t need to change everything in one go, just take one step at a time.

Set yourself small goals along the way and remember to reward yourself for achieving them – a midweek trip to the cinema, a walk with a good friend?

It’s tough but keep going. Don’t beat yourself up for what you haven’t managed to do, I read a quote this morning that said: ‘It’s better to finish last than to never have the courage to start’.

Nobody is judging you, you should be hugely proud of what you have achieved so far and have faith in what you can continue to do. Even the small changes will make a difference.

Anyone with a thyroid condition will know, it can be a devastating disease so I wanted to share one step that can help anyone regain a tiny bit back of their normal self.

All my life I have been a very active, slim person and I’ve also been gym goer for many years too. Following my diagnosis of hyperthyroidism and treatment with carbimazole, my weight shot up. This was without increasing the foods I was eating, which were all healthy and contained no sweet goodies nor much cheese. At the time, I was also dealing with horrific symptoms and Thyroid Eye Disease (TED).

The change in my appearance was devastating to me: Along with the moon face from steroids and hair loss, weight gain was the last thing I needed. Following a thyroidectomy, I was put on levothyroxine to treat hypothyroidism and I experienced more weight gain. Determined to address this, I set about a new life plan for my food.

It was a complete change for me, but I am glad I took it as it has had the biggest positive effect on me. After many hours of research, I decided upon a low carb eating plan which gave me daily menus and recipes to make all this very tasty food. All the food is delicious; it is basically an extremely low carb Mediterranean way of eating. All you need is a bit of organisation with shopping and cooking and away you go. I saw the weight start to shift immediately and I felt I had more energy. The weight loss gave me so much incentive to carry on with this new eating regime.

At first it was difficult to get accustomed to this new way of eating but during lockdown II was able to get my head around it and I now know what I can have even when eating out. I have learned how to make Keto bread (a low carb alternative to regular bread which is made with coconut or almond flour), which is easy. In fact, all the recipes are easy, and it makes you use fresh ingredients and save money! I eat more treats on this diet than I did before! This new way of eating has definitely been a game changer in every way. I lost the 1.5 stone I put on in a very short time and I maintain a healthy 9 stone now.

I don’t go to the gym, which is mainly due to my appearance owing to TED and hair loss. However, I do a lot of walking, between three and ten miles up to four or five times a week.

I go up and down a few pounds sometimes but it is so easy to get back on track that I don’t mind. I do have carbs on the odd occasion but I really don’t like the way they make me feel now, sluggish and pot-bellied!

I think the biggest struggle at the beginning of your new eating regime will be not having the addictive foods that you have been used to. i.e. sugar and carbs. I really enjoyed hot buttered toast and I love potatoes. However, after seeing and feeling the benefits of not having carbs and sugar, they really outweigh the benefits eating of them.

Occasionally, you could treat yourself to a piece of toast but only ONE and this should satisfy any cravings. And on those days when you’re feeling really fed up with it, I’d say have a piece of cake from one of the recipes you’re allowed to have. I make one with ground almonds, oranges, dates and eggs. It’s very yummy! Or, there’s a chocolate mug cake, which takes just one minute in the microwave.

The only encouragement you should need are the following benefits you should feel:

• No, or greatly reduced, bloating, heartburn and IBS
• Much more energy
• Much better skin
• Much better sleep

And if you’re really struggling with motivation, I’d recommend you think of the body you will have. Also, when you start to see the pounds fall away and stay away, this will be all the motivation you need.

There are so many more positives than not. It’s really just a case of getting off these addictive foods. You will soon see the difference and, once used to this way of eating, you will not even think of going back to former ways of eating.