Have you experienced random weight gain without changing your diet or exercise routine? You eat healthy, workout regularly, sleep, keep the alcohol to a minimum… but you still struggle with your weight! Sound familiar? You may have an underactive thyroid.
Globally there are an estimated 200 million people who have some form of thyroid condition. While thyroid conditions can occur in anyone, they disproportionately affect women. Here’s everything you need to know about your thyroid and your weight.
What is your thyroid?
Your thyroid is a small, butterfly-shaped gland located at the base of the front of your neck. The hormones triiodothyronine (T3) and thyroxine (T4) are produced by the thyroid gland, and have a significant impact on your health, specifically pertaining to your metabolism.
When your thyroid doesn’t produce enough of those hormones, it can interfere with your body’s ability to function normally and self-regulate. The main role of the thyroid in the endocrine system is to regulate metabolic function – the process by which food is digested and converted into energy. Those with ‘fast’ metabolic function quickly metabolize food, storing less energy, and vice versa for those with a ‘slow’ metabolism.
The speed of your metabolism is connected to the release of the T3 and T4 thyroid hormones, which are made from extracting iodine from the blood. Once these hormones have been released into the bloodstream, food is metabolized. Typically the thyroid gland produces the exact number of hormones needed to keep your body’s metabolism running and in balance. But this isn’t always the case.
What happens if your thyroid isn’t functioning properly?
The thyroid gland may produce too much hormone (called hyperthyroidism) or not enough (called hypothyroidism), resulting in your body using energy faster or slower than it should, respectively. Both of these conditions can severely impact your health and wellbeing, here are the symptoms to watch out for:
Hyperthyroidism symptoms:
- Weight loss
- Fast heart rate
- High irritability/nervousness
- Muscle weakness and tremors
- Infrequent menstrual periods
- Sleep problems
- Eye irritations
- Heat sensitivity
Hypothyroidism symptoms:
- Weight gain
- Slower heart rate
- Fatigue
- Frequent and stronger menstrual periods
- Forgetfulness
- Dry skin and hair
- Hoarse voice
- Intolerance to cold
Your thyroid and weight gain
As your thyroid is responsible for regulating how fast/slow you use energy, if it isn’t able to release enough thyroid hormones into your bloodstream, your metabolic rate – also known as your basal metabolic rate (BMR) – decreases. When your BMR decreases, you burn less calories in a day. If you don’t adjust your caloric intake in line with this decrease, you will store the extra calories and gain weight.
Over time, if you consistently eat more than you need to, you will gain weight regardless of how healthy or active you may think that you are. The truth is, your metabolic function is compromised and so you will struggle to ever adjust your weight through diet and exercise.
That being said, according to the American Thyroid Association, substantial weight gain is rarely associated with hypothyroidism. In general, 5-10 pounds of body weight may be attributable to the thyroid, depending on the severity of the hypothyroidism. So if you’ve gained 20 lbs, it’s probably not just because of your thyroid.
We hope this has helped you understand the thyroid and the functions it operates! If you have unexplained weight gain, getting your thyroid checked can be a great place to start.
Meet Emilina
Emilina is a clinically trained nutritionist turned health writer who has worked with top health and wellness brands including the National Football League (NFL), Muscle & Strength, Breaking Muscle as well as manages written content for many professional athletes. She currently lives in Orange County, California.
More about Emilina