# Fitness Question - Low Thyroid - What is good?



## Swimmer (Sep 12, 2013)

I'm a swimmer who is NOT swimming at the moment -- unless I find a lake and make myself swim in the lake in the fall weather... (I have what I need) but... I'm staying away from the chlorine & chloramines for the time being as I feel that they have contributed to my situation negatively ;(

SO in the meantime... I will possibly join a gym today.

My experience with "Racewalking" recently -- I think I might have just overdone it. I'm thinking that all the work and practice and pushing myself for miles (even though dealing with that hypothyroid fatigue for so long) -- I think that's pushed me too much...

So I've been resting for - about one month now -- I'm eating nutritiously --

Do you think "spin class" 3x per week is bad for hypothyroid? Do you think it can make numbers worse?

Do you think that instead, increasing metabolism through muscle building (toning weight exercises) is preferable/advisable?

What has been your experience?

thanks hugs4


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## Andros (Aug 26, 2009)

Swimmer said:


> I'm a swimmer who is NOT swimming at the moment -- unless I find a lake and make myself swim in the lake in the fall weather... (I have what I need) but... I'm staying away from the chlorine & chloramines for the time being as I feel that they have contributed to my situation negatively ;(
> 
> SO in the meantime... I will possibly join a gym today.
> 
> ...


My experience has been that my doctor has been crucial to my success at the gym and race walking. It took some time but as I gained strength back, my doc had to titrate my Armour by 1/4 grain about every 8 weeks or so until I reached my maximum level.

And the caveat is, one must be very disciplined from that point on. Your exercise has to come first and foremost in order to maintain the euthyroid state and to keep your thyroid replacement at a stable dosage.

This I do. I am in the gym 5 days a week and walk several times a day outdoors for a total of 4 to 6 miles each and every day, 7 days a week. No excuses.

My diet is consistently clean and I drink plenty of water.

And I feel awesome every single day.

This will happen for you as well but you do need to get your doctor's assistance in this matter. You might find a sports medicine doc to be more w/the program on this issue.

I do free weights, Kettle Bell, combat rope, MMA on the Octane and the Lateral on the Octane plus use all the resistance equipment and some yoga.

You can do this. You are on the right track and you are so right about the chlorine. It's a shame but it is true. It may or may not cause hypo but it sure can make it worse. I don't think the jury is exactly in on this yet but there is a lot of research about it.

To answer your question, in my particular case, muscle toning has been extremely advantageous. And, in my humble opinion, for spin class, you would need your FREE T3 to be consistently in the 75% of the range given by your lab.

Understanding the Thyroid: Why You Should Check Your Free T3
http://breakingmuscle.com/health-medicine/understanding-thyroid-why-you-should-check-your-free-t3



PS: Thank you for all of your wonderful encouraging posts!


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## joplin1975 (Jul 21, 2011)

Until you are euthyroid and stablized on a medication, I think its a work out when you feel like it, walk when you don't think you can do much else. I'm not a big believer in full on rest unless you've had surgery or are seriously ill.

Prior to my dx/surgery, I did ~25 miles a week, plus bootcamp classes, plus weight lifting, plus horse back riding and I was hypo. Being active didn't hurt me long term...if anything, I think it helped with the recovery.


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## Andros (Aug 26, 2009)

joplin1975 said:


> Until you are euthyroid and stablized on a medication, I think its a work out when you feel like it, walk when you don't think you can do much else. I'm not a big believer in full on rest unless you've had surgery or are seriously ill.
> 
> Prior to my dx/surgery, I did ~25 miles a week, plus bootcamp classes, plus weight lifting, plus horse back riding and I was hypo. Being active didn't hurt me long term...if anything, I think it helped with the recovery.


You go, girl!!! Whooooooooooooooooooohoo!!!


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## StormFinch (Nov 16, 2012)

Check with the gyms in your area. One of my local hospital attached gyms uses a salt water system rather than chlorine in their pool.


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## Swimmer (Sep 12, 2013)

Thank you all for your suggestions & feedback!! I don't know what euthyroid is yet... And I'm not on any medications yet... I'm hoping to see what I can do on my own -- under my docs supervision (he is wonderful & letting me give this a go). So far, I've been making bone broth, drinking more milk (following a thyroid diet plan) and going gluten freee but then OOPS... cheated. :\ I am eating a minimum of two brazil nuts a day. I need to figure out how to eat this interesting diet -- which favors fresh OJ and very close to paleo -- however - not dairy free when it comes to milk - specifically raw milk -- and it also favors getting real nutritious food like organ meat - which reminds me, I have elk heart chunks in the fridge (oh boy oh boy)... So -- I have a lot to learn :\ Feel like I'm all over the place. I don't want to lose my athletic abilities  and the month off for rest -- wow, I really really needed that. Today the lump in my throat feels smaller than usual!! PTL!!! I have some vitamins, doc told me to take vitamin d (several thousand) and I need to do that daily :} cuz I'm not yet... a multi, b-stress complex for adrenals, vitamin c, and then the questionable supplement... I ran it by my doc, he thought it should be okay... So I joined the gym yesterday (thanks to my husband for helping me decide what to do.) If only there were a clean pool... Even the saltwater pools, unfortunately, are loaded with bromine -- another thyroid nono. They sometimes have to shock their waters as well. The salt they pour in, plus the process it goes through -- actually creates chlorine. I've done some research, talked to a pool professional who sent me info, it's just basically the same thing. The other big concern are the chloramines. (really bad.)

So -- how to detox from chlorine & chloramines? Wow, that's been really hard to figure out when it comes to the body. It looks like to me that chorella and cilantro could potentially help without hurting the thyroid... I'd really like to know how to get the effects away from my thyroid. The other thing I heard was the idea of displacing it from my thyroid with iodine usage (yikes) and it sounds like kelp could be the safest way... ??? So many unknowns.

For now, I need to figure out a menu with enough CARBS in it to feel great and still follow this plan. Wowzers.

Wow, lots of rambling - sorry! Thank you all for your help & support!!


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## puritanize (Apr 11, 2013)

Wanted to chime in on this, my wife has been digging into the exercise stuff for me and found High Intensity training is great. I guess studies are showing that oxidative stress really tears the body down from over exercising and the HIT exercising is more natural. Mercola is big on this as well, he said he really damaged his body being an over exerciser.

I also do Foundation Training for my hip, T5 slipping out of place issue. Very slow and long term program so we will see how it goes.


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## Swimmer (Sep 12, 2013)

Cool - thanks for sharing.


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## ChrisP (Oct 29, 2013)

Want to jump in here 

I find that having a banana before doing any physical exercise is great for me! Here's a little list on why you should have one or two before exercising:

*1*. Bananas help overcome *depression *due to high levels of tryptophan, which is converted into serotonin - the happy-mood brain neurotrasmitter.

*2*. Eat two bananas before a strenuous workout to pack an energy punch and *sustain *your *blood sugar*.

*3. *Protect against *muscle cramps *during workouts and night time *leg cramps *by eating a banana.

*4. *Counteract *calcium loss *during urination and build *strong bones *by supplementing with a banana.

*5.* Improve your *mood *and *reduce PMS symptoms *by eating a banana, which regulates blood sugar and produces stress-relieving relaxation hormones known as the after-effect of epinephrine.

*6.* Bananas *reduce swelling*, protect against type II diabetes, *aid weight loss*, strengthen the nervous system, and help with the production of white blood cells, all due to the high levels of vitamin B-6.

*7. *Strengthen your blood and relieve anemia with the added iron from bananas.

*8. *High in potassium and low in salt, bananas are officially recognized by the FDA as being able to *lower blood pressure*, and protect against heart attack and stroke.

---

Also, I would recommend peanut butter before doing weight lifts, they're great for carbohydrate intake, which is what your body will need when you exercise. (Your muscles will love you the morning after )

I started out doing simple cardio like walking, but instead juiced it up a little and went hiking for a better experience (I love exploring!). After a few weeks I began jogging lightly, then running, then fluctuating between long-distance and sprints. Also, it's good to do cardio workouts AFTER you lift some weights because it aids in the healing process with your muscles.

Exercising literally is a natural way to supplement your thyroid, whether it's been removed or not; your body will love you for it. AND you still get to eat good too !

xx


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## puritanize (Apr 11, 2013)

Watch out for peanut butter if you have thyroid issues, it's a goitrogen and is full of aflatoxins. Be careful comsuming too many high goitrogen foods, especially raw. Just my 2 cents 

I have been exercising more and more and loving it. But doing HIT/Burst training...


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