Re: The UK has more obese women than any other country in Europe

[Guest guest]

There is also an enormous amount of overweight people in the US as well, but I

do think it starts with nutrition, or rather lack of nutrition. I don't know if

you know who our comedian, Jay Leno is, but he starts every joke saying;

" How lazy have we become...... " and " How fat are we getting.... "

I understand that people are not being treated properly with thyroid meds which

actually work, but my question is how does one allow themselves to become so

big? This escapes me. We just had our Thanksgiving holiday and I gained two

pounds from eating all the goodies, but here it is 2 days later and those two

pounds are gone. I made sure of it. It seems that people are allowing themselves

to get bigger and bigger before they question their eating habits, drinking

habits, sugar habits and lack of exercise.

There has to be a point where you realize that your clothes no longer fit and

that something needs to be done about it. You life is always in your own hands.

Cheers,

JOT

> http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-15901351

[Guest guest]

I think this post is out of order. If you know anything about having an

underactive thyroid you will know how difficult it is to lose weight. I have

PCOS too and my actual consultant said its virtually impossible for me lose

weight. Before I was diagnosed I went from a size 8 to a 22 within a year and I

wasn't even eating much because I was too skint. My doctor at the time told me

it was just old age and I just had to put up with it and exercise more.

I spent a year exercising every day of the week and eating healthily and the

people at the gym could not understand how I was not losing weight.

It may be easy for you to lose weight but its not easy for everyone. I didn't

chose to have an underactive thyroid or any of the other symptoms which include

depression and comments like this do not help one bit.

>

> There is also an enormous amount of overweight people in the US as well, but I

do think it starts with nutrition, or rather lack of nutrition. I don't know if

you know who our comedian, Jay Leno is, but he starts every joke saying;

> " How lazy have we become...... " and " How fat are we getting.... "

>

> I understand that people are not being treated properly with thyroid meds

which actually work, but my question is how does one allow themselves to become

so big? This escapes me. We just had our Thanksgiving holiday and I gained two

pounds from eating all the goodies, but here it is 2 days later and those two

pounds are gone. I made sure of it. It seems that people are allowing themselves

to get bigger and bigger before they question their eating habits, drinking

habits, sugar habits and lack of exercise.

>

> There has to be a point where you realize that your clothes no longer fit and

that something needs to be done about it. You life is always in your own hands.

>

>

> Cheers,

> JOT

>

>

>

> > http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-15901351

>

[Guest guest]

Hi Jot,

I was 8.5 stone when I got ill and went to 16 stone

within months – it ruined my career and because I was so ill I could not

lose weight at all – if I did try to restrict a normal diet my skin would

hang in lose folds as my hormone levels were so low (growth hormone and cortiol

both muscle building hormones) hence exercise to me (before I got ill I had

been a regular gym person) meant I swelled up as the exercise was being

classified as stress by my body.

I don’t think you are being fair I really don’t

– how lovely if I was still as I was and able to lose weight as I used to

by doing what you do – but when your metabolism and the adrenal cascade

of hormones go out as many of us on the forum experience - you have no chance.

I am surprised someone could be so unsympathetic.

Best wishes

Mandy

P.S, Now down to 11.6 stone and reducing as my

thyroid and adrenals have been sorted but nothing to do with diet.

[Guest guest]

JOT wrote: "It seems that people are allowing themselves to get bigger and bigger before they question their eating habits, drinking habits, sugar habits and lack of exercise. "Could this be down to systemic candida? Or depression brought on partly because of low thyroid but also the state this country is in, and of course misleading dietry information from the NHS, and excessive advertising by the fast food and fizzy drink brigade. This is compounded by the fact that parents today seemd to be ruled by the whims of their children and not in control of either their children or themselves. When I was growing up a packet of crisp, a few square of chocolate and a glass of fizzy drink was a once a week treat.Sue

[Guest guest]

This article suggests nothing about hypothyroidism or any thyroid-ism

whatsoever. It speaks specifically of WOMEN/MEN WHO ARE FAT IN THE UK. There is

not one sentence or word about thyroid issues. The article was put up insisting

that all these issues are due to low thyroid problems. They very well could be,

and perhaps this is true for half of them. We don't have any of those answers

here, all we have is AN ARTICLE ABOUT BEING FAT IN THE UK.

So let's see, if the article was about a bunch of SKINNY guys would everyone be

crying *HYPERTHYROIDISM?* The answer here is NO. I have worked with many people

who are hypothyroid and skinny just as I have had people who are hyperthyroid

and FAT. We also have skinny diabetics; not all diabetics are FAT.

If you're going to put up articles for debate, you should expect a debate.

THIS ARTICLE IS NOT ABOUT HYPOTHYROIDISM.

But I will reiterate here: Your body, your soul, your health is in your own

hands. You're responsible for researching what your medical advisors tell you or

dispense to you, and everything else you put in your body. It is YOUR

responsibility to do the research and get yourself the correct care. If one

method is not working, you find another and another until you find the correct

method that works for you.

Cheers,

JOT

[Guest guest]

Jot, I think you're being insensitive and unfair. The point being made was that

many people with weight problems may also have undiagnosed hypothyroidism. It's

a good point. There's no need to be offensive to people who do struggle with

this symptom of hypo - nice for you if you don't, but not everyone is so lucky,

and it's not very constructive to go on the attack...

H

> They very well could be, and perhaps this is true for half of them. We don't

have any of those answers here, all we have is AN ARTICLE ABOUT BEING FAT IN THE

UK.

[Guest guest]

Nope its too much reliance on wheat and the effects it has on blood sugar highs

and lows. Read the first pages of wheat belly and get a glimmering of what wheat

is doing to us as a species.

have a look at the 'look inside'. This doctor does say that if you go wheat free

and the weight doesn't start coming off then to look into thyroid problems.

http://www.amazon.com/Wheat-Belly-Lose-Weight-Health/dp/1609611543

2

>

> I understand that people are not being treated properly with thyroid meds

which actually work, but my question is how does one allow themselves to become

so big? This escapes me. We just had our Thanksgiving holiday and I gained two

pounds from eating all the goodies, but here it is 2 days later and those two

pounds are gone. I made sure of it. It seems that people are allowing themselves

to get bigger and bigger before they question their eating habits, drinking

habits, sugar habits and lack of exercise.

>

[Guest guest]

HI HELEN

You are correct in saying that this article is unfair on those that have weght

problems due to Hypothyroidism.

However consider how people live today and eat, and I put an article about all

this.

More women go out to work today in a car instead of walking or cycling. The

children get taken to school in a car. The female most likely including males

sit all day at a computer. On getting home out comes the ready made food filled

with carbohydrates, and this meal is clearly for the whole family, so the poor

Husband piles on weight as well.

Electrical gadgets are used for many things today instead of manually doing a

job to burn off excess fat from the ready made food that has a high ammount of

carbohydrates in it.

Our Doctors are as bad by providing us with pills that pile on the weight or

cause constipation or an upset stomach (and my weight has risen each time I have

had a psychiatrist prescribe drugs). These drugs cause you to be lazy and pile

on the weight, but I have put my foot down as regards any of this form of

treatment.

The problem is that when the parents then get overweight this can then pass down

to their children becoming part of their genes.

I think women should work, but perhaps part time in an active way, but if this

makes you feel ill and still put on weight then I would say consider

Hypothyroidism.

I also feel that as most of our food comes from abroad a lot of the vitamins are

lost as the older food gets the less vitamins there are, so perhaps you can

guess why supermarkets come up with " BUY ONE GET ONE FREE "

One last thing not all women who are overweight have Hypothyroidism, so I hope

nobody feels offended by me.

Kathleen

>

> Jot, I think you're being insensitive and unfair. The point being made was

that many people with weight problems may also have undiagnosed hypothyroidism.

[Guest guest]

Oh I Soooooooooo agree about the wheat being a major culprit.

F

>

> Nope its too much reliance on wheat and the effects it has on blood sugar

highs and lows. Read the first pages of wheat belly and get a glimmering of what

wheat is doing to us as a species.

>

> have a look at the 'look inside'. This doctor does say that if you go wheat

free and the weight doesn't start coming off then to look into thyroid problems.

>

> http://www.amazon.com/Wheat-Belly-Lose-Weight-Health/dp/1609611543

>

> 2

>

>

>

>

> >

> > I understand that people are not being treated properly with thyroid meds

which actually work, but my question is how does one allow themselves to become

so big? This escapes me. We just had our Thanksgiving holiday and I gained two

pounds from eating all the goodies, but here it is 2 days later and those two

pounds are gone. I made sure of it. It seems that people are allowing themselves

to get bigger and bigger before they question their eating habits, drinking

habits, sugar habits and lack of exercise.

>

> >

>

[Guest guest]

Obviously not everyone who is overweight is hypothyroid. I don't suppose anyone

is saying that. However, as the UK is so poor at diagnosing and treating low

thyroid, the situation here for hypothyroid sufferers is particularly bad. For

example, my doctor said to me that once my TSH got below 10 she would not give

me any more increases of thyroxine. Would that happen in the States?

What made my son and I so angry when we saw this item on the TV news was that

there was no mention of the cost of a healthy diet. So many people are

unemployed, have part-time or low-paid jobs, not to mention people trying to get

by on state benefits, etc. Many old people have to choose between having enough

to eat, and paying their heating bills. Are families on a tight budget going to

buy a cucumber in the supermarket when for the same money they could buy 6

doughnuts? In the last few months the price of some kinds of meat has almost

doubled. If the goverment goes ahead with the additional 3p tax on petrol in

the New Year this inflation of food prices will get even worse.

Petrol/gas prices are over £1.30 per litre. A litre is roughly 1/5 gallon. So

a gallon of petrol is about £5.90. That's about 9.19 US dollars. Because of

the way supermarkets operate, most of our food is driven for hundreds of miles

all around the country. The majority of lorries on the motorway are carrying

food or food-related products.

Miriam

> This article suggests nothing about hypothyroidism or any thyroid-ism

whatsoever. It speaks specifically of WOMEN/MEN WHO ARE FAT IN THE UK.

[Guest guest]

That is not necessarily the case for everyone. I did a very strict low carb

diet for a whole year, which also happened to be wheat and gluten free. I put

on a stone in weight.

Miriam

> Nope its too much reliance on wheat and the effects it has on blood sugar

highs and lows. Read the first pages of wheat belly and get a glimmering of what

wheat is doing to us as a species.

[Guest guest]

Hi there,

Rubbish – 1 in 5 of the population in the UK have thyroid

dysfunction………………sorry they don’t

stand a chance !

M

[Guest guest]

> P.S, Now down to 11.6 stone and reducing as my thyroid and adrenals have been

sorted but nothing to do with diet.

i'm not sure how you can say that mandy ...you went on the hcg diet didn't you?

trish

[Guest guest]

> That is not necessarily the case for everyone. I did a very strict low carb

diet for a whole year, which also happened to be wheat and gluten free. I put

on a stone in weight.

just a thought but maybe that was because you were too low carb miriam

....apparently being too low interferes with t4 to t3 conversion.

trish

[Guest guest]

It is possible however to debate without being insensitive and perhaps to

realise that you dont have ALL the answers ! Furthermore I'd say the US wins

hands down when it comes to being FAT !

>

>

>

> This article suggests nothing about hypothyroidism or any thyroid-ism

whatsoever. It speaks specifically of WOMEN/MEN WHO ARE FAT IN THE UK. There is

not one sentence or word about thyroid issues. The article was put up insisting

that all these issues are due to low thyroid problems. They very well could be,

and perhaps this is true for half of them. We don't have any of those answers

here, all we have is AN ARTICLE ABOUT BEING FAT IN THE UK.

>

>

[Guest guest]

.....thanks for this link and all I can say is OMG I am an addict ! The bit

about the opium receptors did it for me and I am now setting about ditching the

wheat. I've been baking my own organic wholewheat bread for years thinking I was

doing myself a favour.

thanks again

>

> Nope its too much reliance on wheat and the effects it has on blood sugar

highs and lows. Read the first pages of wheat belly and get a glimmering of what

wheat is doing to us as a species.

>

> have a look at the 'look inside'. This doctor does say that if you go wheat

free and the weight doesn't start coming off then to look into thyroid problems.

>

> http://www.amazon.com/Wheat-Belly-Lose-Weight-Health/dp/1609611543

>

> 2

>

>

>

>

> >

>

[Guest guest]

This is so interesting.

As a Blood group A person, should I in theory, according to the hypothesis you

speak of here, be less likely to be wheat intolerant and thereby less prone to

thyroid disease.

My family tends to be dark swarthy types with a tiny bit of Northern European

latterly, yet there is quite a bit of thyroid problems about !

I'd read about the 'famine' theory before but this blood group one is new to me

and v interesting !

J

>

> I read the book for doctors written by Dr about 's Temperature

Syndrome, which is an explanation of RT3 and a proposed treatment.  In it he

states that he believes people of Red Indian and Celt origin to be the most

often afflicted by this condition because in the past these people were

subjected to famine. 

[Ed]

[Guest guest]

Hi there,

I am not trying to say anything inflamatory here - so don't jump on me - I did

the hCG diet but would not have contemplated doing so last year when I felt so

unwell, fatigued and taking in even less calories which may have slowed down my

metabolism even more so. It was only when I had seen Dr P, had been takign

adrenal supplements and added T3 to my thyroxin and so started to feel an upturn

in energy and the where with all to start on any diet regime - that I did so.

It is difficult to say whether had I started it last year feeling as bad as I

was I would have benefitted?

Maybe Mandy, you did it that way?

The diet did help me to move away from the wheat carbs and look to lean proteins

and getting carbs from veg instead - and although I didn't stick to the cal

allowance I still lost nearly 2 stone and felt cleaner inside for doing it.

I also know what it is like to work alongside someone (a while ago) who ate king

size Mars, crisps and went out to lunch at the local all you can eat chinese

buffet at least once a week and made no secret of the fact that they hated fruit

and veg and usually had fish and chips or pub meals as they couldn't be bothered

to cook. They were 24 stone and were under access to work for specialist

equipment and chair because of joint problems and could barely walk - in the end

having to work in a downstairs office as they could not get up the stairs and

having the rest of their work colleagues running around after them! They were

later diagnosed with sleep apnoia and ended up having to have a driver under

access to work to get them about! even when they were given prescription fat

absorbing drugs - this intelligent person chose to continue eating as they did

and with no shame much to the ire of their colleagues. So some people do chose

to live in a certain way - especially when it is harming their life.

Fruit and veg is cheap enough and you can buy supermarket value chicken and fish

- it is the time it takes to prepare a meal - I don't have a family so would not

presume to comment.

Anyhow, just a few thoughts - do not shoot me down.

Stacey

>

[Guest guest]

Thanks for the suggestion. Are there any scientific references for that?

Miriam

> > That is not necessarily the case for everyone. I did a very strict low carb

diet for a whole year, which also happened to be wheat and gluten free. I put

on a stone in weight.

>

> just a thought but maybe that was because you were too low carb miriam

....apparently being too low interferes with t4 to t3 conversion.

> trish

[Guest guest]

>

> Hi Helen, , , and all other members who have apparently misread

> what JOT had written.

Oh dear - I knew I shouldn't have posted on this thread - everyone is talking at

cross purposes! For example, are we discussing the article, or Jaki's point?

Which I took to be 'look - British women are fatter than average, I wonder if

that's because many of them have un-diagnosed hypothyroidism, given that our TSH

cutoff is higher?'. So, I would have expected a discussion about TSH

interpretation, or about non-diagnosis - not about how fat UK women are, which

wasn't (I thought) the point of her post?

I am indeed sorry if I misunderstood Jot's comments, I can see that she is

knowledgeable and she has already given me helpful advice. I just interpreted

the following to be rather unsympathetic because it seemed to imply that hypo or

no hypo, treatment or no treatment, people who get very large are 'allowing'

themselves to do so.

'I understand that people are not being treated properly with thyroid meds which

actually work, but my question is how does one allow themselves to become so

big? This escapes me.'

Which seemed a little hurtful on a board where there are people with bona-fide

hypothyroidism and PCOS and so forth, and associated weight problems, who

*can't* solve them by diet and exercise, and haven't 'allowed' themselves to

become overweight.

On other boards I frequent, capitals is regarded as shouting, so I also felt

that Jot was being a little aggressive when she used them, e.g. 'if the article

was about a bunch of SKINNY guys would everyone be crying *HYPERTHYROIDISM?* The

answer here is NO.'

So I also based my feelings somewhat on that, I'm sorry if it's different on

this board. I apologise to Jot if I got the wrong end of the stick.

best wishes (and backing away from this thread now), Helen

ps - it wasn't personal affront - I'm 9st-something, which is a tad overweight

for me, but I'm not obese...

[Guest guest]

i think there may be some references in the deiodinase link i posted the other

day ..here it is again:

http://nahypothyroidism.org/deiodinases/

trish

>

> Thanks for the suggestion. Are there any scientific references for that?

> Miriam

[Guest guest]

Hi Happy to apologise to anyone I offended. I just thought the conversation was

progressing and that I was just agreeing with 2 that wheat can be a

contributing problem.

Sorry if I contributed to taking the discussion off into other directions

F

>

> Hi Helen, , , and all other members who have apparently misread

> what JOT had written. It really is important that because we cannot see a

> person's body language, we look carefully at what was actually written and

> not jump ahead believing they have written something they have not. Many of

> us who are suffering with hypothyroidism and are carrying excess weight, and

> because of that, and because the link was posted onto the main Thyroid forum

> instead of the Chat forum, probably feel a little over-sensitive and I

> think this is what has happened in this case.

>

> I think it was Jacquie who first posted the link

> http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-15901351 to the original article in the

> Mail about " UK Women are Fattest in Europe " and rightly pointed out that

> probably this could be because the TSH reference range in Europe has an

> upper level of 2.5 or 3.0 - whereas in the UK, the upper limit according to

> the RCP and BTA is 10 - so they are being left without a diagnosis and

> therefore no treatment.

>

> If you had all read JOTS message correctly, you would have seen that the

> FAT IN THE UK.

>

[Guest guest]

>when I felt so unwell, fatigued and taking in even less calories which may have

slowed down my metabolism even more so.

you may has misundertood the hcg diet (or i have)...you take in X amount of

calories (is it 500?) but due to the hcg drops there is a release of Y calories

(from inappropriately stored fat)so the reality is that you are on something

like 1800 calories per day.

it seemed mandy was saying she had lost weight (and was continuing to lose

weight) purely down to getting thyroid and adrenal hormones corrected ..i

thought that was somewhat disingenuous ...the hcg diet helps re-set the

hypothalamus as afar as i understand it (making it easy to maintain correct

weight with *proper* eating habits.

> Fruit and veg is cheap enough and you can buy supermarket value chicken and

fish - it is the time it takes to prepare a meal - I don't have a family so

would not presume to comment.

i don't understand what you are getting at? steaming some veg doesn't take any

time at all and ditto for fish?

trish

>

>

>

> Hi there,

>

> I am not trying to say anything inflamatory here - so don't jump on me - I did

the hCG diet but would not have contemplated doing so last year when I felt so

unwell, fatigued and taking in even less calories which may have slowed down my

metabolism even more so. It was only when I had seen Dr P, had been takign

adrenal supplements and added T3 to my thyroxin and so started to feel an upturn

in energy and the where with all to start on any diet regime - that I did so.

It is difficult to say whether had I started it last year feeling as bad as I

was I would have benefitted?

> Maybe Mandy, you did it that way?

[Guest guest]

I used to have trouble with my weight fluctuating up and down, till I gave up

wheat when I was 30 - which is 15yrs ago now. It was then rock-steady at 7st10lb

for years and years.

In the past couple of years, though, I've put on over a stone, that I can't seem

to lose, which may be either encroaching middle age, or my low thyroid function.

With my adrenal exhaustion, it's hard to exercise much so this could also be a

factor.

Cutting out treats used to see the weight drop off, it doesn't work any more...

> I was just agreeing with 2 that wheat can be a

> contributing problem.

[Guest guest]

>

>

Hi Trish - ok look at the risk of this turning into something unecessary- I

apologise for having not written the phrase properly - of course it does not

take time to prep and cook from scratch - that is what I do - and advocate it -

I know that some people say that for whatever reasons - family etc etc they may

not have time - I was trying to avoid offending and in doing so - well ...

As for the hCG diet - well last year unmedicated and very unwell I would not

have considered it - when I started to feel gradually better I did and whatever

my cal count was etc, I honestly don't remember - it just did work and I did

lose weight and felt better for it.

We need to be able to feel supported on this forum - we don;t need to be

confrontational and I did not feel that I had been.

So, in the spirit of sharing a common bond which is why we are on this forum - I

once again apologise for not having read my message to check for accuracy before

posting.

No hard feelings - eh.

Stacey

> i don't understand what you are getting at? steaming some veg doesn't take

any time at all and ditto for fish?

>

> trish

[Ed]