Calories for weight loss?!

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The best doctor to see to check for thyroid issues is an endocrinologists. Most GPs are not trained in the detection of subclinical thyroid issues and some do not know how to interpret test results properly.

Being cold all the time is one symptom of low thyroid levels.

You may also be pre-diabetic and thus insulin resistant. This can cause the body to hold onto fat at the expense of muscle. An endocrinologist can also determine this.

Here is how thyroid issues contribute to weight gain. (subclinical thyroid issues means that the tests are normal but their is still a thyroid issue contributing to a slow metabolism.

The thyroid gland releases hormones that regulate the body's metabolism. This helps the body utilize fats, proteins and sugars efficiently and doing so keeps the body at a normal weight.

If the metabolism is slow, more fats and sugar will be stored in the tissues from the foods you eat rather than efficiently used for energy. When this happens people gain weight.

Also TSH levels influence the hormone leptin. Leptin helps in breaking down and eliminating fat.

http://thyroid.about.com/od/loseweightsu…

FROM THE LINK: Kent Holtorf, MD: The hormone leptin has been found to be a major regulator of body weight and metabolism. Leptin is secreted by fat cells and the levels of leptin increase with the accumulation of fat. The increased leptin secretion that occurs with increased weight normally feeds-back to the hypothalamus as a signal that there are adequate energy (fat) stores. This stimulates the body to burn fat rather than continue to store excess fat, and stimulates thyroid releasing hormone (TRH) to increase thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH) and thyroid production.

The mechanisms that are activated include diminished TSH secretion, a suppressed T4 to T3 conversion, an increase in reverse T3, an increase in appetite, an increase in insulin resistance and an inhibition of lipolysis (fat breakdown).

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thyroid

FROM THE LINK: The thyroid gland participates in these processes by producing thyroid hormones, the principal ones being triiodothyronine (T3) and thyroxine (T4). These hormones regulate the rate of metabolism and affect the growth and rate of function of many other systems in the body. T3 and T4 are synthesized utilizing both iodine and tyrosine. The thyroid gland also produces calcitonin, which plays a role in calcium homeostasis.

Also brain chemistry associated with hunger signals is affected by a slowed metabolism;

Changes in Brain Chemistry

Hunger is intricately tied to your brain chemistry. According to Dr. Aronne, your hypothalamus senses you need energy, and issues the brain neurotransmitter neuropeptide Y (NPY) with the message "eat carbohydrates." The surge of NPY is what you experience as "hunger," Once the hypothalamus senses you've eaten enough carbohydrates, it releases serotonin to tell the body, "enough carbohydrates."

But this system can be dramatically altered by several factors, all of which can be present in chronic thyroid disease:

http://thyroid.about.com/cs/dietweightlo…

FROM THE LINK: * Your metabolism is too slow for the appetite level set by your brain. Thyroid disease slows down the metabolism. What your brain perceives as appropriate food intake levels can then exceed your body's metabolism, creating weight gain.

http://www.nytimes.com/ref/health/health…

FROM THE LINK: What are the dangers if I don’t get treated for my underactive thyroid?

Thyroid hormone is an important driver of the body’s metabolism, so without an adequate supply, patients can experience a slowdown in physical and mental functioning, as reflected by the many symptoms. More worrisome, the endocrine disorder can foster an increase in blood pressure and cholesterol levels, and raise the odds of heart disease and congestive heart failure. For would-be mothers, treatment of thyroid deficiency is crucial for a healthy pregnancy and baby.

Yes, eating this little is pushing your body into starvation mode. In order to get your metabolism up and running you need to make sure that you are eating the right kinds of foods. I strongly suggest te Eat Clean Diet by Tosca Reno, her book has a section dedicated to tailoring the diet for men. Basically the plan calls for you to eat 5-6 small meals a day and you always must pair a complex carb with a lean protein. No processed food is allowed and you have to drink a lot of water. This diet (which is not really a diet it is a lifestyle) coupled with exercise like cardio and weight training will give you loads of energy and rev up your metabolism. I tried it and it did wonders for me!

I think that would be a good place to start. Being cold all the time, when you usually aren't is a sign your body is shutting down to conserve energy (see it in anorexics all the time). Increasing should rev your metabolism and get it going again. Best of luck.

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Cheers and Good luck

Input answer source here.

Hey, if you eat below 1200 calories for a man your age then yes, your body will go into starvation mode, hording every single calorie that it intakes, essentially slowing metabolism down to a critical rate and preventing weight loss.

To stop this from happening, eat 5 small meals a day, and do your best to go for brisk walks, and maybe go on a cross trainer(As it has low joint impact) Aim for burning 250 calories a day, then bump yourself up to 500, then to whatever you like.
1300 is not the magic number for weight loss, exercise and eating within your calorie range is, eat around 1800 calories a day, and burn of about 600. Its pretty straight forward.

I used to be very overweight, so started eating 5 meals a day (It keeps your body digesting, which effectively burns more calories by keeping the metabolism going) With heavy lifting and cardio(Bike, running on a treadmill, cross trainer) I'm not skinny, but I'm sure as hell not fat.

Give it a shot, you might be surprised!

Lost 4 stone through experience with various weight loss techniques.