Can't Lose Weight?

The thyroid is a small butterfly-shaped gland in the front of the neck just below the Adam’s apple. Its main function is to produce thyroid hormones, which regulate the body’s metabolism.

Hypothyroidism is a disease in which the thyroid becomes underactive and does not produce adequate amounts of thyroid hormone. This leads to a slowing down of the metabolism and bodily functions. Virtually every organ system is affected. Here’s some key information you should know about hypothyroidism:

How common is hypothyroidism?

Hypothyroidism affects nearly 25 million people in the U.S. and it is estimated that half remain undiagnosed with early disease. It can occur at any age, but tends to be more common in middle to late adulthood. Women are 10 times more likely to develop hypothyroidism than men.

What causes hypothyroidism?

The most common cause of hypothyroidism is “Hashimoto’s thyroiditis” in which the body’s immune system produces antibodies and inflammation that can damage the thyroid gland. Sometimes this can be associated with tenderness and enlargement of the thyroid. Genetics plays a role and it is common to have other family members with thyroid disease or some other autoimmune disease. Medications like lithium, amiodarone and high-dose iodine can cause hyopothyroidism. Prior thyroid surgery, radiation exposure or treatment, and pituitary disorders are also risk factors.

What are the symptoms of hypothyroidism?

Few symptoms may be present during the early stages of hypothyroidism. But as the thyroid hormone levels decline, the body’s metabolism starts to slow. Prominent progressive symptoms then start to occur, including fatigue, weight gain, bloating, fluid retention and edema, cold intolerance, impaired memory, depression, dry skin and brittle nails, muscle and joint aches, heavy or irregular menses in women, and increased sensitivity to many medications.

Hypothyroidism can also affect the blood pressure and can raise cholesterol levels, which increases the risk for heart disease and stroke.

How is hypothyroidism diagnosed?

Physicians diagnose hypothyroidism based on symptoms, physical findings and blood tests. Laboratory blood tests are a critical part of establishing and confirming the diagnosis. An increased blood level of TSH (Thyroid Stimulating Hormone, produced by the pituitary) is the most accurate and earliest abnormal lab finding in hypothyroidism. Blood levels of thyroid hormones (T4 and T3) might or might not be low in the early stages of hypothyroidism, but do eventually decline. The presence of thyroid autoantibodies point to “Hashimoto’s thyroiditis” as being the cause of the hypothyroidism. An endocrinologist, a specialist in thyroid disease, often assists in the diagnosis and management of hypothyroidism.

How is it treated?

Thyroid hormone replacement with levothyroxine is the preferred treatment for hypothyroidism. A single daily dose is given as a tablet, usually starting at a low dose, which is slowly increased over time until the maintenance dose is achieved. Laboratory testing is critical to assure that the optimal dose is being prescribed for each patient. During pregnancy, even closer monitoring is important as maintaining normal thyroid hormone levels is important for a healthy pregnancy and normal development of the baby. With appropriate care and monitoring, hypothyroid patients can live a normal healthy life.

For more information please visit www.thyroidawareness.com

J. Gary Evans is director of research at Northeast Florida Endocrine and Diabetes Associates. He has been in private practice in Jacksonville since 1993 and is a member of the American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists and the Duval County Medical Society.

Read more at Jacksonville.com: http://jacksonville.com/news/health-and-fitness/2013-01-11/story/doctors-call-feeling-sluggish-cant-lose-weight-could-be#ixzz2HzymIO00

They will blame this failure on themselves when, in essence, it was the program, the product or the supplement that failed them.

You see, there really isn't a miracle pill or videotape.

Success doesn't come from a bottle or a package; it comes from knowledge and someone who cares and can teach you, motivate you and hold you accountable to a program that works.

Here is a letter from a beautiful woman who has now lost 16 pounds in 16 days with one of my trainers, and she is on the road to success.

Please read Regina's letter:

Dear Mr. Defendis: I would say I have lost more than 1,000 pounds over 25 years of dieting. So, I really, really know how to lose weight. My problem is keeping it off. I always gain it back soon after, with a few more pounds tagging along for company. I call this phenomenon two steps back (to ideal weight) then three steps forward (to total misery). I figure in 25 years, I averaged going on a diet three times per year. That's 75 tries at dieting, gaining an average of 10 extra pounds each time. That's 750 pounds that tagged along for the diet roller coaster ride.

Don't ask me to name all the things I've tried. I think I lost a few brain cells when I was losing the weight, or old age is setting in. I'll name the one's I remember. Some I know I've tried to erase from my memory. Here goes:

Weight Watchers. I can't tell you how many times I joined that club.

Overeater's Anonymous. The pluses were it didn't cost to join, it was usually held in a church and there were a lot of military men bussed in to do the program. The military doesn't believe in overweight soldiers, I guess. You are led to believe that you are hopeless and helpless without your "Higher Power." It's really God, but they don't want to offend anyone.

Beware of TV commercials that say you can lose 30 pounds in 30 days — money back guaranteed. A hardcore dieter will not admit he didn't lose the 30 pounds in 30 days. There's no danger of the company being inundated with requests for money back.

I have all of Richard Simmons' rock til you drop tapes. Susan Powter and Jane Fonda's step aerobics. I even have subliminal exercise tapes, supposedly telling your subconscious, that you love to exercise and you love to leave food on your plate. Yeah, right!

I have a bookcase full of self help weight loss diet books.

I tried the Master Cleanse — you know lemon juice, distilled water and pure maple syrup that cost an arm and a leg. Sunrider Whole Food Products. Paid a hypnotist to make a weight loss tape.

The first diet pill I took was Dexatrim and later Metabolife. All the others are a blur to me, but you can rest assured their were many.

One of the most far out things I have done to lose weight was the Saran Wrap weight-loss clinic. It promised I would lose weight and inches with no effort on my part. All I had to do was submit to being wrapped in saran wrap and sitting around in a robe for 30 minutes each session. The more you weighed the more sessions, of course. This was the procedure: You strip naked, then you're measured. Next, you grab hold of the bar overhead with both hands. In this position with feet wide apart, an attendant will start loofahing your whole body until it's a rosy hew. Next, she will glob a special lotion all over your body, and lastly, she will start wrapping you in Saran Wrap. When she's finished, you put on a robe and sit for 30 minutes. At the end of the 30 minutes, they measure you again. Viola! You measure less. I think it's all in the way they hold the tape measure.

I started gaining weight when I was 28; I'm now 67 years old. I have spent 39 years overweight and frustrated.

I finally have discovered that the choices you make in life have a direct impact on your body and I now have chosen a program that is intelligently laid out with weight training and nutrition and implemented by an personal trainer.

RT @SiennaAndMariah: Why can't I lose weight as fast as I lose followers?
— jessicurrr_x (Jessica Elizabeth ϟ) (@jessicurrr_x) Tue Jan 15 2013

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