Losing weight when you have hypothyroidism is quite a tall order. Hormonal medication is not a sure way of losing it either, unless you use the drug optimally. Also, some side-measures that aim at cutting calorie intake and reducing body calories are very critical.

What is Hypothyroidism?

Hypothyroidism is a condition that comes from reduced thyroid hormones. This condition often leads to obesity, but treating it with hormonal medication helps to return the body to a healthy weight.

Since patients of hypothyroidism usually have weak thyroid glands, the recommended treatment is in the form of a synthetic hormone supplement. Levothyroxine sodium works to restore the amount of thyroxine hormones that a healthy thyroid is supposed to have.

What is Levothyroxine?

A synthetic, medicinal hormone restores an essential hormone that controls energy in the body and regulates the digestive system. This drug also treats other conditions like goiter.
Although this drug somehow contributes to weight loss, it is not wise to use it as a direct treatment for weight loss.

Levothyroxine can work by default, but not by design, as a weight reduction treatment- one of its side effects if used in excessive doses is weight loss. So if you are on Levothyroxine treatment, how do you strike a balance and succeed in achieving significant weight loss with this treatment? How do you make it without suffering the excessive side effects of hormonal medication?

How to Take Hormonal Medication Safely

The best decision to make if you have hypothyroidism and are on a weight loss program is to seek your doctor’s direction. He or she will direct you on how to manage your Levothyroxine treatment without overdosing, and without misusing it. You may achieve significant results if you use the drug as follows:

• You should leave the standard prescribed period if you have to take other medication after using hormonal medicine. The main reason why you should observe this is that the other drugs will reduce the functionality of Levothyroxine.
• Take your medicine on an empty stomach to ease the rate of absorption. It must be absorbed in the right way for the drug to work well, and having a full stomach prevents its proper absorption. The best time to take it is in the morning when before you have taken breakfast.
• If you develop allergic reactions after taking Levothyroxine, for instance, consider talking to your doctor to recommend an alternative drug that may not have much of these reactions. The doctor may prescribe some NDT drugs (natural desiccated thyroid drug), which may turn out to be a better treatment for weight loss than Levothyroxine.

Weight Loss Measures That Complement Hormonal Medication

Since hormonal medication may fail to lead to loss of weight if you do not use it correctly, it is essential to supplement it with other measures. You will need to make more critical decisions concerning how you eat, how you sleep, and what you do with your body in your free time. Here are some of the complementary measures.

Have a Healthy Diet

You cannot expect to lose weight if you are not following a healthy diet. In addition to using drugs to boost your body’s metabolism rate and taking medication on an empty stomach for absorption, you also need to have the following dietary considerations, among others:

• Take food with more fiber so that the roughage can make the process of breaking it down in the stomach faster.
• Reduce the intake of sugar and carbohydrates- if you can stick to natural sugars like raw honey, you are better off.
• Continue with your calorie-check before taking any meal. You should enhance the vigilance and reduce calorie intake even further.
• Eat more food in the morning, less during the day, and if possible, do not eat anything after 9:00 p.m.- while you are asleep, your body manufactures more fat.

Exercise to Make the Drugs More Effective
Whether you are on medication or not, we all know that regular exercise helps to burn excessive calories and, in the end, contributes to the loss of excessive weight. Daily work out gives the idle fat “work to do” as they provide the energy you need for the vigorous activities. Get out and work out during your free time.

For Patients of hypothyroidism, maintaining the optimal dosage and treatment procedure (with your doctor’s help) when using hormone treatment for weight loss is good. However, observing other non-medicinal measures like exercise and dieting keeps you on schedule as far as your desire for weight loss is concerned. Call us on (205) 352-9141 for the most needed expert consultation.