Feeling tired, depressed, and fat? It could be your thyroid.
Is Your Thyroid Sluggish?
A sluggish thyroid can be fixed, says endocrinologist Ridha Arem, MD, a clinical professor of medicine at Baylor College of Medicine and director of the Texas Thyroid Institute.
“Thyroid hormone is very important in weight loss, because it is one of the key regulators of metabolism,” he says. “It is the hormone that works on mitochondria to burn fat.”
Dr. Arem’s new book—The Thyroid Solution Diet: Boost Your Sluggish Metabolism for Optimal Weight Loss and Lifelong Health—offers a diet and exercise plan to get the thyroid back in shape.
Losing the Weight with Thyroid Imbalance
Even after thyroid imbalances have been addressed, potentially with medication, Dr. Arem says weight loss can still be a problem.
“It’s important to know that once a slowdown in your metabolism has been triggered by thyroid problems, treatment... won’t necessarily make you lose all the weight you’ve already gained,” he says.
Support Your Thyroid with Diet
Dr. Arem combines the healthy Mediterranean diet with a high-protein diet for his Thyroid Solution Diet to help lose the rest. The diet focuses on high-fiber foods and combinations of diverse proteins eaten at certain times of day. His outline for eating is precise, and he stresses the importance of eating on a schedule.
The diet begins with a six-week plan where you consume lots of protein and veggies and no grains. A sample do-it-yourself dinner, for example, might include fish, tofu, or chicken; a quarter-cup of low-fat cheese, a cup each of three or four vegetables, and a teaspoon of oil or other fat (which could be some olives or an eighth of an avocado).
The second phase adds back in grains like brown rice.
In addition to diet, Dr. Arem’s 20/10 exercise plan integrates 20 minutes of intense cardio work, including sprints, with 10 minutes of strength training. Days of 20/10 alternate with days of light exercise, such as walking.
