Your Thyroid And Weight Loss

Your metabolism has a great deal to do with your thyroid,
any malfunction or disease afflicting this area may cause
you to have problems in metabolism leading to a drastic
problem with your weight – you may either gain weight, lose
weight, or may find that losing weight is harder than usual.

Those that plan diets do not take into consideration how
their thyroids and metabolism may affect their weight loss
program. Most experts and even the media generally
recommend that the best way to lose weight is cut calories.

Those with a condition called hyperthyroidism suffer from
an overactive thyroid leading to one having his or her
metabolism go through the roof. If this is the case, then
you will probably lose weight fast, which is a nice thought
for someone who wishes to lose weight. However, this can
actually be hazardous to the health to lose weight too
quickly, as you could see from shows such as "The Biggest
Loser".

Aside from the medical difficulties such a disease brings,
one will also notice weight problems as a result. These
people have trouble keeping on weight and may notice
weakness and bulging of the eyes. This disease may need
special treatment from doctors.

Hypothyroidism on the other hand works in the other
direction – slowing metabolism until the body gains weight
at an incredible rate. Like hyperthyroidism, hypothyroidism
causes a general weakness in the body. It too may need
special treatment and may cause serious health problems if
left unattended.

While cutting calories in itself can be very hard for most
people – imagine, the people involved in inner turmoil at
the supermarket regarding whether to buy that extra box of
sweets, some have exactly the opposite problem.

Instead of eating too much calories – which is a problem in
itself, they eat too little calories instead.

Problem? What Problem The problem with some is that they
believe that since the experts say that they have to cut
calories, cutting calories to an inordinate amount will
reap greater results. Unfortunately, it doesn't work that
way. While cutting calories helps diets, consuming too
little calories pushed the body into a hoard mode, the
body's metabolism slows to adapt to the lesser amount of
available energy.

If your body enters this mode, your body will work at such
slow metabolism that losing weight becomes impossible. The
technique here should be to reduce calories without the
body slowing its metabolism. Only then can losing weight
become easier.

Another problem that can arise from decreased metabolism is
that when your metabolism slows due to a drastic reduction
in metabolism, and then you suddenly eat a good, hearty,
calorie-filled meal, you are bound to gain more weight
owing to the increased surplus of energy.

This is why an imbalanced meal is highly discouraged among
those that seek to lose weight. The sudden loss and
increase of calories will cause an imbalance in one's
energy consumption directly affecting fat deposit.

Here is a simple computation to help you get to the right
amount of calories you will need per day so that you get
your nutrients in the right balance.

First of all, multiply your weight in kilograms by 30. If
you only know your weight in pounds, divide it by 2.2 to
get to its English equivalent. We divide this number by 30
because that is the number of calories you need to maintain
your weight per pound of weight.

For example if your weight in pounds is 150, divide it by
2.2. That will give you a figure of 68.18. This is your
weight in kilograms. Multiply this by 30 and you will
arrive at the amount of calories you will need per day to
maintain 150 lbs.

You may consult a nutritionist to help you come lose
weight. In the end it all comes down to math. If you
consume more that your body needs, it stores it as fat. Now
is probably a good time to start studying the back of those
grocery cartons.

Try to keep your diet at a 40% protein, 25% fat, and 35%
carbohydrate meals at 300 calories per meal. Spread out
these meals in a day for optimum results.

While it may be simple computation to get at numbers, do
not forget the earlier mentioned fact that the body adapts
to its condition. Expose it to extreme ones and you may
find yourself getting results you never wanted. Consult a
nutritionist for more advice.

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Mick Reade is an Australian chef who has been cooking in
commercial kitchens across the country for over 10 years,
and has been teaching others how easy it can be to cook
healthy and delicious food, for more information please
visit http://www.alleasyfoodrecipes.com