Hypothyroidism: Why are some FAT and some SKINNY?

[CuriousOne]

In hypothyroidism, a person is under chronic stress and in a catabolic state, so the body "POWERS DOWN" the thyroid system in order to slow the metabolic rate, and prevent the body from eating itself to death. Despite this, some hypothyroid people become fat, and others become skinny.

Why is it that some hypothyroid people become obese, and others skinny?

 

[kimbriel]

It's just a different manifestation of the same issue - which is, at root, an inability to properly utilize glucose to generate energy. I was an obese hypo. No longer obese, but probably I can credit a lot of that (if not all of it) to medication.

 

[curious_anthro]

This is purely anecdotal but I wonder if it is linked to different gut microbiomes/overgrowths. Myself and my sister in-law both have hypo symptoms (low temp/pulse, cold intolerance, fatigue, etc) but she is thin and near anorexic looking (despite eating lots) and, although I am not obese, am the opposite in that I am above what my weight should be and put it on VERY easily/need to be careful with calories. We both have food sensitivities but they are different. I suffer from chronic constipation and she suffers from the exact opposite. Pretty sure we both have some form of IBS and I read somewhere once that different bacterial overgrowths are involved in diarrhea vs constipation... I have major acne and her skin is completely clear. This is also something that makes me so frustrated and confused. I have so many friends with hypo symptoms, endometriosis, low hormones etc but their skin is flawless. That makes no sense to me either!

 

[TAG145]

I’m one of those who has hypothyroid but not well managed as I’m having trouble trying to educate doctors on how they should do their job and not treat hypothyroid based on TSH, etc. I gain weight with little calories, have endometriosis, struggled with acne until pretty late in life, always constipated, cold, dry skin, brittle nails. I’ve never known a person hypo that was thin, so that is interesting. I was thinking if getting a gut analysis to see if something stands out. Someone posted info on how to do that in the forum.

 

[curious_anthro]

I’m one of those who has hypothyroid but not well managed as I’m having trouble trying to educate doctors on how they should do their job and not treat hypothyroid based on TSH, etc. I gain weight with little calories, have endometriosis, struggled with acne until pretty late in life, always constipated, cold, dry skin, brittle nails. I’ve never known a person hypo that was thin, so that is interesting. I was thinking if getting a gut analysis to see if something stands out. Someone posted info on how to do that in the forum.

I feel you, I have all of the above. I have thought about gut analysis several times but there are a lot of mixed opinions. In the functional space, the GI map is often recommended but then some have said its not really an accurate reflection of the microbiome (kinda like testing hormones via blood work).

 

[TAG145]

I feel you, I have all of the above. I have thought about gut analysis several times but there are a lot of mixed opinions. In the functional space, the GI map is often recommended but then some have said its not really an accurate reflection of the microbiome (kinda like testing hormones via blood work).

Thanks, I haven’t looked into it much. I feel like I’ve been obsessed with figuring out my health for honestly 20 years. Pouring over books, medical journals, this forum and yet cannot figure it out. I’m not giving up yet-lol! Maybe a gut test will give some insight even if just a little.

 

[CuriousOne]

Thanks, I haven’t looked into it much. I feel like I’ve been obsessed with figuring out my health for honestly 20 years. Pouring over books, medical journals, this forum and yet cannot figure it out. I’m not giving up yet-lol! Maybe a gut test will give some insight even if just a little.

Thanks for all the replies.
In the cortisol connection, the author shows how high cortisol is linked with weight gain, but it's strange because cortisol is catabolic.

However, an interesting link has come up in my research, and it turns out any lipophilic industrial pollutant, which are everywhere in our food supply and environment, are stored immediately in fat cells, just like toxic PUFA, and so during stress, not only do you get high levels of PUFA to contend with in the blood, but you've also got all kinds of chemicals, many of which are classified obesogens. Turns out they're redistributed during stress to major organs, especially lipophilic ones like the brain.

I suspect this may be a big player in sending fat storage signals. The lowered metabolic rate from all the stress means less calories are needed, and so eating too much becomes easier. Maybe at the end of the day it's the reduction in the caloric needs caused by the low metabolic rate that causes what seems to be a normal caloric intake to be actually too much.

If that's the case, a skinny hypo would be one who has less pollutants stored in adipocytes, and/or eats less.

 

[Ringleader]

My levels have just recently began to indicate possible hypo issues after I have dealt with possible symptoms such as fatigue, brain fog, joint pain, muscle tightness, etc. for almost 10 years. But I am also pretty skinny and in the past couple of years have had difficulty putting on much of any weight.

Unfortunately, I feel like I'm still a complete beginner in terms of my health journey, so I really don't have any substantive insight to this, just my simple anecdote. When I would bring up possibly having a hypo issue to my dad, he always said he thought you had to be overweight, but I always figured this was incorrect. I have long thought this question was important, though, because it really seems to touch the core of what hypothyroidism is. I.e, if hypo is not a strict causation of weight gain, then maybe the key to an individual person's healing from it depends on if their body is reacting by putting on weight or losing/failing to put on weight.

 

[sunny]

bioenergetic search

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[sunny]

bioenergetic search

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[sunny]

bioenergetic search

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[Ringleader]

bioenergetic search

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These are great clips, thanks. I'll listen to this more closely when I can.

 

[Rinse & rePeat]

It's just a different manifestation of the same issue - which is, at root, an inability to properly utilize glucose to generate energy. I was an obese hypo. No longer obese, but probably I can credit a lot of that (if not all of it) to medication.

I wonder if calcium makes the difference. When I was in my twenties I was severely underweight drinking lots of milk, but eating everything else un-Peaty. When I was in my forties I gave up milk, but ate everything else just the same and I became overweight.