Question: I understand the need to fire up one’s metabolism inorder to “burn fat”, but I am stumped because I have hypothyroidism. The medication they are giving me seems to not be working and they keep increase my dosage. I walk and run 3-5 days per week and train with weight 2-3 days per week, my diet is sketchy. I’m still having trouble with weight loss! What can I do.
Answer: Thyroid medication (synthroid?) rarely improves metabolism due to the body’s adjustment of endogeneous thyroid hormone production in response to synthetic drugs. At best, it usually helps metabolism slow its decline. The answer is within your question….”diet is sketchy.” Diet is the most important factor in metabolism, with muscle mass maintaining a close second. An effort to get a lean protein , strachy carb, and a fibrous carb 4–5 times per day, reducing sugar and saturated fat intake and minimizing intake of refined flours should help. I’d also suggest trading a bit of cardio for resistance training. Bump your weight training up to 3-4 per week. If you add a bit of muscle and get your body more efficient at burning through supportive “thermic” meals,improvement is likely.
