Lesson 6: Eating Right and Losing Weight With Hypothyroidism
Some Popular Diet Plans You May Want To Try
In the last section, we discussed the basics of a food plan that seems to be the most successful for not just the hypothyroid, but for most people. However, the one hard and fast rule I put forth was that there really are no rules. People are different and require different things from their food plans.
(Note: I prefer to use the term “food plan” to “diet”. I feel diet is a 4-letter word for a reason. Diets are also temporary and tend to be faddish; whereas, a food plan is very mutable and should last for a lifetime.)
We will discuss several diet plans here. (Yes, I used diet because, it seems to fit at least a few of these. However, I make no endorsement nor wish to discredit any of these plans. I am neutral.) These include:
- Dr. Siegal’s 28-Day “Diet” and follow-up plan
- Weight Watchers
- The Zone
- Atkins
- and The South Beach Diet.
I realize that there are other plans that may work better or be preferable to some. I’d suggest that you check out the resources in Lesson 8 for reference materials so you can research these on your own.
First up is Dr. Siegal’s plan. Dr. Siegal asks his patients, who are usually monitored by him or some other doctor, to follow a 28-day “test” diet so that they can monitor their metabolism and see if their thyroid is what’s making them fat. The diet is pretty strict and allows no more than 1,000 calories per day.
Fresh, whole foods are preferred on this plan. Beef is a no-no unless it has less than 5% of fat. Butter, margarine, bread, cheese, grains, nuts and other sweets are not allowed on this plan. You can eat fruit, fish and other types of seafood, lean cuts of chicken and turkey, and lots of vegetables. Watch the condiments, sauces and salad dressings, however, because you are counting calories.
At the end of the testing period, restrictions get a little more lax. Patients can have some of the foods from the no-no column such as nuts and grains. However, the calorie count usually stays at the 1,000 level. Often, Dr. Siegal will advocate an 800 calorie a day plan. In his book, Is Your Thyroid Making You Fat?, which was published in 2001, Dr. Siegal mentions that patients can eat two or three meals per day.
However, since that time, Dr. Siegal has invented The Siegal Cookie™. Patients at his center receive lab tests prior to beginning the program. Then, they move to a one-meal-a-day plan. They are allowed six cookies per day. These cookies help suppress the appetite. Calorie count is 800 calories a day. (For more information on that plan, you’ll need to contact the Siegal Medical Group at 305-256-5643, or online at http://www.drsiegal.com/Our_program/our_...
Weight Watchers has been a global leader in weight loss for decades. Currently, Weight Watchers is using a FlexPoints Plan™. Every food has a point value. Individuals receive a daily POINTS target, based on their current weight and an extra 35 FlexPoints per week to use for special occasions or treats. (You can also earn additional FlexPoints for exercise. Exercise is a very important part of all of these plans, and a healthy life in general. The next section is completely devoted to exercise.)
With Weight Watchers, you can eat any and all foods, in moderation and as long as you stay within your points range. However, a balanced diet that is high in fiber, low-in-fat and simple carbohydrates is recommended by this group. Support is a mainstay of this program and most assuredly attributes to its success as well.
Barry Sears, Ph.D. invented the Zone Diet. This plan maintains that humans have not genetically changed much over the course of evolution. The diet that our ancestors ate which was rich in complex carbohydrates such as fruits, nuts and vegetables as well as meats and fats is one we should still be following today. Zone meals are based on a 40-30-30 scale. That’s the percentage rates of low-glycemic carbohydrates, protein and fats, in monounsaturated form (such as the EFAs).
(Note: Low-glycemic carbohydrates are those that don’t cause peaks and valleys in blood sugar. They include most vegetables and some fruits. There are Zone charts out there if you wish to follow this plan. You’ll need ‘em.
Next up on our roster of popular diet plans that may help the hypothyroid is the grand-daddy of the low-carb plans, Atkins. This program was created by the recently-deceased cardiologist, Robert Atkins. Adherents to the program must begin with a two-week “induction” period. During this time, the dieter must NOT eat 20 grams of carbohydrates or less. Sugar-free sweeteners except Stevia and Splenda are no-nos, as are nuts, which are allowed on other levels of this controversial plan.
General no-no’s on Atkins include fruit, most grains, starchy vegetables such as potatoes, corn and yams and bakery goods. Atkins, however, does not discriminate against the different types of fat. Butter, cheese and whole cream products are allowed on this plan. One doesn’t count calories; they count net-carbs. Net-carbs are what you get when you subtract the fiber grams from the carb grams in a product. For example, ½ cup of broccoli has 3.1 grams of carbs, but 1.6 grams of fiber. The net-carbs of ½ cup of broccoli is 1.5.
After induction, a person moves onto the OWL phase. (OWL is an acronym which stands for On-going Weight Loss.) The dieter increases the carb grams by 5 grams per week until weight loss stops. At that point, the dieter must go down by 5 carb grams until weekly until weight loss starts again. Atkins has a pre-maintenance and lifetime maintenance phase as well.
The South Beach Diet is the brain-child Dr. Arthur Agatston, another cardiologist. The South Beach Diet is not low-carb or low-fat. Dr. Agatston believes that there are good carbs and good fats. Like Atkins, you don’t count calories. In the first phase of the plan, an individual eats liberal amounts of lean meat, chicken, turkey, fish and other seafood. Eggs, vegetables, cheese and nuts are allowed. You will also eat three meals a day and two snacks. You can not eat: rice, potatoes, bread, pasta, fruits or any baked goods during this two-week period.
After that, you move onto phase 2. (You can also return to the first phase if you overindulge say, over the holidays or fall off the plan for a few days due to whatever other reasons.) In this phase, you begin reintroducing carbs slowly, including pasta, bread and baked goods, but only one at a time and in moderation.
You will keep introducing these foods back into your plan until your weight loss stalls or you reach your goal weight. In Phase 3, you can relax the rules of the diet’s stricter phases.
There are many differences among these plans. However, water and exercise are two of the mainstays of all these programs. Individuals should drink at least eight 8 oz glasses of water per day. If your weight is significantly higher than normal, you may want to add a few more glasses to that minimum. Water helps to regulate body fluids and keeps us hydrated. Studies show that it can significantly impact weight loss.
In the next section, we will talk about exercise and how it can benefit the hypothyroid. I will recommend some exercises that you can do even if you don’t feel your best and give you some guidelines to follow.
We are ready to move along now.
