I personally struggled for many years after eating the Standard American Diet of high carbs and low fat. In fact, I attained my Bachelor’s degree in Human Nutrition and Dietetics but was unhappy with the teachings at the time (and currently)! It seemed my options were limited to teaching people how to eat after they were diagnosed with a particular disease. (ie. diet for a person with kidney disease or diabetes). Most people didn’t seem to care. They’d rather eat themselves to death than make changes to live a vibrant life. Perhaps it was the lack of hope that they could heal or things could change.
It seems even the current teachings are so far in the past, behind current research. At the time I started having thyroid problems, I was eating what the American Dietetic Association said was a healthy diet. I ate lots of bread, (the recommendation was 8-10 servings A DAY!) vegetables, fruits, and limited fat and meat. LOW FAT!! I was always interested in nutrition and was very disciplined. It was at about 15 years of age that I started having symptoms of hypothyroidism, mainly extreme sensitivity to cold (I’d wear 3 sweaters, two pairs of pants, and a thick winter coat and hat outside for football games in the fall and would be so cold I couldn’t move my blue lips!) I also had amennorrhea (lack of menstrual cycle).
I was told that I would need to take Synthroid for life, as this was something that couldn’t be cured. I was disappointed, to say the least.
It was at this time that I started struggling with my weight. I wasn’t overweight but I had to struggle more than most to stay slim. Unlike during my childhood, when I could eat whatever I wanted and stay slim, I now had to exercise a lot! And I was still bigger than I should have been! It was a constant battle. People would say that that just naturally happens as you get older. I now know that to not be true. Part of it was the thyroid disease, that although it was “effectively” being treated, I didn’t feel any better. As I got older, the fatigue would get worse. (Another “normal” part of aging… at only 30 years old!)
Fast forward to discovering the keto diet and intermittent fasting… I am now reversing my thyroid disease. I no longer take medication for it. I have more energy than I’ve had in years, despite having two children under the age of 5. And, I’m finally losing those last 15 pounds that I struggled to lose my whole adult life!