Customer Reviews

The Thyroid Diet: Manage Your Metabolism for Lasting Weight Loss

5 star:		(49)
4 star:		(11)
3 star:		(9)
2 star:		(7)
1 star:		(13)

 

 

I was extremely disappointed with this book. It is about how to know if you have hypo- thyroid, (why would you buy it if you didn't know) how to get doctors to give you the appropriate tests, and then how hard it is to loose weight if you are hypothyroid. I expected a book that described types of food or exercise that would be helpful for people who have hypothyroid. Instead, this author basically said,' Different diets work for different people, try Atkins, weight watchers, counting calories, whatever you think might work, and stick to whatever works for you'
Thanks for the tip! I never would have thought of that.
The bottom line is: Don't bother getting this book.

I really am glad I found Mary Shoman's "Thyroid Diet" book. I have been hypothyroid for a few years, and I never had a weight problem in the past. But the weight creeped up and by the time they diagnosed me, I had gained something like 40 pounds. (I never found out the final #, cause I wouldn't even look at the scale at my highest. UGH!) I felt awful, and I tried every single diet program out there, I did no-carb, I did low-fat, I did low-cal, and I just kept gaining weight, or I didn't lose anything.

It was ridiculous. My doctor said that my thyroid had nothing to do with anything, but I knew, I just KNEW that my thyroid had something to do with it, because, for goodness sake, I never had an extra pound on me until the thyroid problems started up and I started with hypothyroidism.

A friend of mine who is also hypothyroid told me that she had some success following some things she'd read from Mary Shoman at her website, and so I decided to get this book. It's been a real godsend, because for the first time in about 5 years, I've actually been consistently losing weight. First it was just a few pounds, really slow, but I LOST!!! I've started taking a couple of vitamins that she recommends, and I think that's helping too, but the overall diet is what's making the difference. I'm eating, but I finally feel like I'm eating the RIGHT things, and believe me, you can go spend 7 a week, or 20 a month, or 2000 a year at a local weight loss program, but if you don't lose weight and you tell them you have a thyroid problem, they're going to tell you you're not "doing the program right." And Shoman doesn't tell you that...she knows how the thyroid affects weight, and she explains it, she interviewed doctors who also talk about leptin, and metabolism, and the impact of thyroid on blood sugar, timing of food, and the best thyroid medicines and such...all things I think are what helped me sort of break the "losing streak" I had at weight loss! I even had a blood sugar test I read about in the book, and the doctor says I could be headed for pre-diabetes, so I definitely am doing the right thing by losing weight!

There is definitely no magic diet cure -- wish there WAS!! -- with a thyroid problem or otherwise, but I feel like with Thyroid Diet, I at least have a fighting chance to figure out what foods, calorie levels, supplements, and other sorts of approaches might actually make a difference for me.

I really recommend this book. I got it January of 2005, and as of April, I'm already down 20 pounds!!!

Can't argue with success, right? ;-)

This is not a diet, it is an overview of all the other stuff Shomon has out. It is a recommendation of how to manage your thyroid, if you haven't read anything or are just finding out about a thyroid problem, it has lots of information, but if you have had thyroid problems and know about them, it is the same stuff you've always heard. I didn't learn anything new, and it really isn't a diet............is was disappointed. No new answers for those of us who are being treated with medication. If weight is a problem, as I have with thyroid problems, this is not the answer..........

Mary Shomon has outdone herself again. In her EASY to understand book that covers the details of how we digest our food, to the MANY herbs and minerals that can help Thyroid disease sufferers lose weight and what are just a waste of time or potentially dangerous. She doesn't just focus on HYPO-thyroid patients, she discusses the whole spectrum of Thyroid Diseases, including Thyroid Cancer Patients. There are also Many many valuable resources listed in the back of her book as well.
Don't pass this book up, if you are suffering Thyroid Disease and cannot seem to lose weight this book will definitely give you hope and insight as to why.

I have had my copy of "The Thyroid Diet" for three weeks, and I've already lost a few pounds. But even better, I'm actually beginning to feel like I may finally have some control over this mess that I've been battling for a long time.

I gained about 25 pounds before I found out that I had a thyroid problem. (If I'd had some of this advice, I have a feeling I would have figured it out much sooner and saved myself major grief.)

I've been doing pretty much every sort of diet and not losing weight -- I could scream-- so I could totally relate to this book. I made a few of the changes suggested right way, I already felt less bloated, and felt my hunger level reduce (and I'm one of those people who has a really good appetite.) Now, if only I could actually start to do some exercise--not my favorite thing.

I'm really psyched about the ideas for supplements, and am going to start trying some of those, but i'm giving my body a chance to get used to the diet for a while before I start. Since I'm actually slowly losing right now, I don't want to mess things up and stop losing.

One thing is I wished that there were more recipes in the book. There are some really good recipes in here, but I could have used even more ideas. But the ones she has in here are good. I've made a few things from the book and they were delicious.

I'm getting a copy of this for my 2 sisters (I'm pretty sure one of them has a thyroid problem, and the other is gaining weight all of a sudden after being thin all her life). Like I said, I wish I'd had book this when I started blimping up a few years ago, and didn't know that my thyroid was totally messed up. Maybe I can save them some of the frustration I had.

I really think this is a helpful book, and recommend it to people who have thyroid problems, and people who are gaining weight fast and don't know why.

--Carina

The author reviews classic tests for the thyroid; such as,
nodule evaluation by blood test, the radioactive thyroid scan
and the thyroid ultrasound. Classic manifestations of thyroid
cancer are discussed. i.e. neck lumps, voice changes, breathing
and swallowing difficulties and lymphatic node swelling.

The TSH test is an important thyroid test tool with a problematic
reference range in excess of 2.5mIU/L. Classic thyroid problems
are with T4 cell production, T4 to T3 cellular conversion
and cellular absorption for T3 cells with regard to weight loss.
Important thyroid treatment modalities are probiotic pearl, zinc,
selenium, L-tyrosine, guggul and Omega 3 fish oil.

Food caloric intake is an important formula parameter:

Food calories= basal metabolism + calories expended with activity
+ calories expended in digestion

Classically, too many carbs cause an adverse insulin reaction.
Therefore, the endocrine system experiences imbalances due to
diabetes and leptin resistance. Certain foods promote goiter
formation. These are broccoli, kale, millet, soy, brussel sprouts and mustard. A single muscle can take up to 50 calories per day
to maintain. Fluoride levels should be kept to below 4,5 mg/ day
for optimal thyroid functioning.

This volume provides good advice for persons having thyroid
issues either hyper or hypothyroidism, as well as metabolic
issues. The book is a good value for the price charged.

This book is a gem; with thyroid disease i feel we are all diamonds in the rough, trying hard to feel, look and function
like we did before thyroid disease. There is a lot of information, in this book. Supplementation, diet guidelines
and tests to take to help determine which one to try, exercise
tips and suggestions.
Real people's accounts of what they did, tried...etc.

One line stands out "Remember riding a bike?" "Did you ride
perfectly, the first time?" it is the try, try again mentality that pushes and motivates you to began again.

The author has done her research and given us a gold mine or
i should say diamond mine or information. She has thryoid disease, as well. Her website is www.thyroid-info.com

This book is good for someone who is trying to figure out if they have a thyroid problem or not, but wasn't good for me - I have known I had thyroid issues for over 14 years now. I was really hoping for a book that would tell me what foods were good to eat and which ones to avoid for my Hypothyroidism. This book really didn't help me at all. A good majority of the book talks about how to discover whether you have a problem with your thyroid or if it is something else and how to talk to your doctor about it. The rest of the book does have eating recommendations, but they are based on a wide variety of other plans. For instance, the book mentions "experimenting" with different eating plans to find out what works best for you and she goes into giving you guidelines on low fat diet, low carb diet, low calorie diet, low sugar diet, etc. All this information I knew before purchasing this book.

Mary Shomon once again explains life as a sufferer of thyroid disease, what it is all about and what it means to live this way. The special body chemistry of the hypo and hyper thyroid patient is used to create food plans that are usable. I have already seen progress in 3 weeks and I do feel better. My carbohydrate cravings are decreasing, my energy level is increasing, but most of all I don't feel my low metabolism is because of something I did....

What a disappointment. Expecting something new here, but didn't get it. Basically this is the GI diet - and if that doesn't work for you then there are a whole host of other well known diets suggested. Though the book begins by giving numerous examples of people who seem to eat little but get/stay fat, it goes on to trot out the usual 'eat less and exercise more' advice.