It’s hard to believe that it’s been over 10 years.
But instead of reminiscing about the past, I’ll get right to it.
At first, I planned to write about some of the biggest advancements in thyroid diet and thyroid treatment over the past 10 years.
It makes sense because that’s why I started this website and the Hypothyroidism Revolution.
That’s why I create our comprehensive step-by-step thyroid programs and our advanced thyroid supplements.
But then I realized that there’s something bigger and more important that you need you to know.
Anyone can follow our programs or use our supplements and improve their thyroid health.
That’s not what’s holding most people back.
After working with so many clients over the years, I’ve come to find five recurring roadblocks.
These roadblocks are often what make the difference between success and failure, or the difference between good results and amazing results.
Each one of these five roadblocks can teach us an essential lesson.
But they probably aren’t what you would expect. So pay close attention because each of these five lessons is a prerequisite… a requirement before you can ever successfully overcome your hypothyroidism.
It all starts with lesson number one…
Lesson 1: Limiting Your Beliefs WILL Limit Your Results
Let’s not forget, there was a time when most everyone believed the earth to be flat.
Get too close to the edge and you might fall off.
Sure, today you might laugh at such a ridiculous idea.
Yet, just imagine how our future generations will be laughing at some of the ridiculous fad diets that have become quite popular today.
Remember those old jiggle machines that were supposed to melt fat away?
One day, our future generations will look at low-carb diets like we look at this jiggle machine.
What we teach isn’t necessarily popular.
In fact, it challenges most people’s dietary and health beliefs to the core.
Yet, that’s also why it’s so effective.
We refuse to be blinded by popular theories.
Instead we simply search for the truth.
Many of my clients come to me believing that carbohydrates and dairy are bad for their health… that adrenal fatigue, food sensitivities, Candida, and so many other misleading theories are the cause of their thyroid condition.
(NOTE: Are you still stuck in these beliefs? If so, I’ve written about each of these theories in detail. You can read more about them using the following links: [dairy intolerance], [adrenal fatigue], [food sensitivities], [Candida].)
For most, focusing on these misleading theories hasn’t made much of a difference with their thyroid health.
Yet, these theories have become so popular that many refuse to believe anything else.
Everyone has a choice.
You can remain stuck in old beliefs… believing that the world is still flat.
Or, you can open your mind and accept that there is something you just might be missing… that the world may actually be round after all.
But, one thing is for certain…
Limiting your health beliefs will surely limit your ability to overcome your thyroid condition.
Lesson 2: Big Results Sometimes Require Big Changes
Let’s face it, change is not always easy.
For many, change strikes up emotions of fear.
In most cases, what I teach my clients, strongly conflicts with the recommendations of their doctor, naturopath, or their own research or ideas.
Most of my clients have seen so many doctors and tried so many treatments, diets, etc. that they’re willing to make whatever necessary changes, big or small, to feel normal again.
It’s no coincidence that these are the clients that consistently get the best results.
Then there are those clients who resist change.
Some listen to their doctors, who often insist that what I teach will never work.
Some are too afraid to even try something different, so they fail before they ever get started.
Yet, the reality is that if what they were already doing was working, they never would have come to me to begin with.
Sometimes you have to accept the fact that what you’ve been doing for the past months, or years, just isn’t working.
As Albert Einstein once said…
So, be honest with yourself. If what you’re doing now isn’t working, then stop the insanity.
Try something different, even if it conflicts with your current beliefs. But I can assure you of one thing.
The only way you’re guaranteed to fail is if you give up before you ever get started.
It may not be easy, but remember, big results sometimes require big changes.
(NOTE: Want an easy way to jumpstart your thyroid health? You can do just that with this super simply 60-Second Thyroid-Boosting Carrot Recipe.)
You can download this 60-Second Thyroid-Boosting Carrot Recipe here.
Lesson 3: The Importance of Therapeutic Thyroid Trials
Long ago, when doctors were more successful at treating hypothyroidism than they are today, they used a powerful technique called therapeutic trials.
They would treat their patients with, say, desiccated thyroid and observe the resulting changes.
If various symptoms and lab markers improved during this trial, then the diagnosis was confirmed and the treatment continued.
This is the same approach I successfully use with my clients.
It’s like putting together the pieces to a puzzle.
You might try a few different pieces before you find the right one that fits.
There can be many causes of your symptoms and your thyroid condition.
For example, most hypothyroidism sufferers have very high levels of stress hormones.
These stress hormones can be caused by:
- Blood Sugar Issues
- Elevated Estrogen
- Bacterial Endotoxin
- Elevated Serotonin
- Etc.
Often we must address each of these problems before we see considerable improvement.
We don’t just try one and then give up if we don’t see immediate results.
Instead, we learn from what doesn’t work, to help us better understand what will work in the future.
It’s much like Thomas Edison’s journey of creating the light bulb.
Through his own trials, Edison found the solution to his problem, but only by discovering what didn’t work first.
Now, hopefully it doesn’t take you 10,000 trials, but I think you get the point.
Don’t be discouraged if you don’t experience overnight miracles.
Sometimes we have to put the puzzle together piece by piece.
It might take a little longer, but you still solve the puzzle in the end.
Lesson 4: Expect the Unexpected
Unfortunately, the journey to overcoming hypothyroidism isn’t always filled with rainbows and butterflies.
It’s nice when it is, but it’s not always that easy.
My clients often experience ups and downs along the journey.
Much of this is due to transition periods, when we are re-balancing hormones.
Sometimes things can initially get worse before they get better. It’s kind of like fixing a broken nose.
Sure, it hurts badly when you break it.
But sometimes it hurts even worse as the doctor is fixing it.
Nobody wants to experience worse pain or worse symptoms.
Yet, sometimes this happens for very good and important reasons.
I spend a lot of time educating my clients about potential negative reactions that may occur.
How supplementing thyroid hormone can sometimes cause feelings of stress and anxiety.
How using carbohydrates to properly regulate blood sugar can sometimes worsen your fatigue.
How certain dietary changes can upset digestion.
These types of reactions do happen, but often for good reasons.
I teach my clients what these reactions mean, and how to handle them. So, don’t be discouraged if you experience ups and downs.
It’s all part of the healing process.
Lesson 5: The Right Diet Is a Prescription Not a Recommendation
Correcting dietary imbalances and restoring nutritional deficiencies are essential parts to overcoming hypothyroidism.
This is often why I give my clients very specific dietary instructions.
If these imbalances and deficiencies aren’t corrected, then you simply can’t expect amazing results.
Yet, many people adjust our dietary recommendations “to their liking”, instead of their “needs”.
Yes, we are able to make adjustments when needed.
For example, sometimes we can use certain supplements in place of foods to compensate for nutritional deficiencies.
We might use a selenium supplement if a client has a severe shellfish allergy, or must avoid shellfish for religious purposes.
Or, we might temporarily use eggshell calcium if a client is having a difficult time digesting dairy, until we can heal and regulate their digestion.
But if you just ignore these dietary requirements, then you are limiting your results.
Or worse, you can perpetuate your imbalances and deficiencies, making your condition more severe.
This is why you should think of your thyroid diet like a prescription and not a recommendation.
There is a very important and specific purpose behind every dietary recommendation I make.
So, you might not be a coffee drinker.
But let me ask you this…
Would you start drinking coffee if it could help you live a better quality of life… add years to your life so you can watch your grandchildren grow up, prevent unnecessary suffering from diseases like cancer and Alzheimer’s?
Well, I know through research, and clinical experience, that coffee can do all of these.
Sometimes it’s the little things that can make the biggest difference in your life.
If you feel like you’re struggling along your journey to better thyroid health, don’t give up.
Take these five lessons to heart, and determine what roadblocks you may be facing that could be limiting your results.
Keeping an open mind, committing to change, changing your expectations, and using every tool and resource you have at your disposal can make the difference between success and failure.
I’ll leave you with another relevant quote from Thomas Edison…
“Many of life’s failures are people who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up.”
Whatever you do, never give up.
(NOTE: Want an easy way to jumpstart your thyroid health? You can do just that with this super simply 60-Second Thyroid-Boosting Carrot Recipe.)
You can download this 60-Second Thyroid-Boosting Carrot Recipe here.
This seems like a good place to put in a recent comment I made on Amazon to someone who herself was commenting on a book known as “STTM” (interestingly when posting this below onto Amazon, I saw a comment I personally had made on that book down in page 39 of those comments, around 7 years earlier I think it was). So needless to say, I for one know that I’ve been trying a LOT of things before Forefront and it wasn’t working anymore. Someone else’s blog I saw recently had an interesting remark too which is that stress hormones [being what’s fueling you] feel great until they don’t anymore. So true! And the resultant crash is BAD, plus the awful realization that it was all illusory, is how I found THAT to play out! Anyhow this program (Forefront) works and is worth undertaking it despite some ups and downs as this Blog post today here mentions.
QUOTED COMMENT I MADE ON AMAZON:
This is in answer to knowing something about the Tom Brimeyer Plan. I have been trying the diet for about 4 months after spending the $97 for recipes and info and I also got a very reasonably priced exercise DVD (so not a lot of money for what I got and very worthwhile I believe). So this isn’t something for sissies, trying to overcome LIFELONG hypothyroidism and also in due course of time, hormonally speaking, Hashimoto’s (diagnosed that almost 9 years ago) but I think it’s working albeit very gradually. I’ve been off gluten since 2008, which has helped a lot and removed toxic home cleaning items, tried various supplements (believe me everything in the Health Food Store since the seventies trust me), and tried to get progesterone that would be effective (that since 2000). Due to this Brimeyer info I’ve become aware of Raymond Peat Ph.D. (endocrine physiologist) — another whole world of interesting “takes” on matters of health, science, big pharma and big food industry doings, cellular level mechanisms, you name it. I am interested in Peat’s writing on Russian “mind and tissue” and “PMS to Menopause” plus am inspired to start finding out more about Blake (the poet) but that’s another story. I completely recommend trying the Forefront Program but proceed v.e.r.y. slowly. (For example, I’ve become super-sensitive to such things as magnesium and B vitamins as found in typical “supplements” and rice and corn have joined wheat gliadin (gluten) in my avoid-list but amazingly milk products and fruit (previously could not do them) are now working quite well! Go figure. Well everyone’s different and needs to experiment with her/his personal situation, so good luck and all the best!
I,ve Hypothyroid for last 4 /5 years, do you have any suggestion for people like me who are vegetarian , Indian background?
Hi Simran, regulating thyroid function on a vegetarian diet is very difficult. One of the biggest hurdles is getting the necessary 80+ grams of high-quality protein necessary for the thyroid and liver just to function. Nutrient deficiencies are another problem as is overconsuming thyroid-suppress foods. It can be done, but it’s more difficult.
Hello Tom
Do you have a phone number can speak to you directly about my situation?
Hi Maureen, I do work directly with clients. Please contact support and they will be happy to help.
I am from India. We religiously never touch non veg. So pls design something that work for vegetarians also
Hi Sriumadevi, it can be extremely difficult as adequate high-quality protein is necessary to support both liver and thyroid function. Protein deficiency is a common cause of hypothyroidism today, especially among vegetarians and vegans.
J. Willingham here again and let me tell you I am doing so much better than when I left the comments above in 2016 it is phenomenal. DO Everything that T. Brimeyer is saying to do and all will be well. It is amazing the improvement I have experienced and it is accelerating due to underlying metabolic systems getting online properly. WOW.
That’s great to hear Janice. Thanks for sharing!
I just wondering, if desiccated thyroid is better for hypothyroid person with Hashimoto’s than T4+T3 combination. Or these are pretty much equal. The other thing is how to find out what stress hormones are at work, if they are. There are so many different tests it’s even hard to ask your doctor what to test.
Desiccated thyroid contains thyroid hormones in storage form that still need to be “digested” by proteolytic enzymes before the T3 and T4 is released and can be absorbed. The biggest difference with synthetic T4/T3 combinations is that they can be absorbed without requiring digestion first. So, for some with digestive concerns, they may respond better to a T3/T4 combination.
This is a really positive and empowering article. I recently started some progesterone and it excited my estrogen receptors and it was a little challenging physically and emotionally. But the best part is that it showed me and confirmed the estrogen dominance so at least I know which roads to take, and I know more specifics. If you have any other protocol beyond carrot/coconut salad(I think it’s actually really helping). Also cutting out xeno and phytoestrogens, toxic laundry detergent and filtering out my shower water. I love the vitamin e and adk.
Hi Stacy, thank you for the comment. And sometimes it’s better to start with a higher dose of the progesterone to prevent those initial estrogenic effects.
I wonder if anyone can help on that topic of thyroid glandulars. If they should be taken orally or sublingual (under the tongue ) and then … would one do either of these methods with food or on an empty stomach without food ?? Tnx so much. :). Greg
Hi Greg, glandular thyroid or desiccated thyroid exists in a protein storage form that can’t be absorbed sublingually. Even if you tried, it would end up going down your digestive tract where it has to be “digested” before the hormones can be released and absorbed.
Go Stacy! And I once again want to enthusiastically thank Tom B. for everything! (Just on here ordering some collagen powder at my new abode.) I am in the process of a big move from one state to another and I mean U.S. actual states, but of course there’s also mental, emotional, and physical states aren’t there? And I know I have much more stamina, resilience and positive emotional state now, thanks to thyroid makeover in-process, than 1 year ago! So this move is better than I ever anticipated it could be and I am sleeping better than in years at the same time, as all this is going on! (New job July, hurricane threats August and September I think it was, apt. search in this state October and now move.) Stacy, do you know about the Facebook private group? It’s great!
I’ve been on Amour Thyroid for 7 years now and still having issues. After one round of prescription I’m Hypo, then the next round I’m Hyper. I’ts been back and forth for almost 2 yrs now. What is the best meds to take for this condition? Do i still need to take my meds while on the program, or is it best to stop completely and only do the program? I used to weight 120 and now weight 200! I’m at my wits end! Please advise.
What you describe sounds like the cyclical loading and unloading of your thyroid gland, often referred to as a thyroid storm during the unloading phase. This occurs when the release of thyroid hormone from the gland becomes blocked by the effects of estrogen. The gland continues to produce thyroid colloid/hormone but since it can’t release it, it builds up within the gland often enlarging the gland itself, resulting in a goiter or nodules. Then the gland often transitions into a phase where it unloads too much thyroid hormone too quickly, pushing you into a transient hyper-thyroid state. However, the underlying issue is still the gland itself being blocked, which is a hypothyroid issue and should be properly treated as such. We talk more about estrogen here: https://www.forefronthealth.com/hypothyroidism-and-estrogen
Hi Tom,
I’m using your NDT, 130 mg. I’m dividing it in two doses. Is it OK that I put it directly on the tongue and then swallow with water? Or capsule is a must?
Also I”m now taking 300 mg Clindomycin due to inflammation after tooth removing (6 days now). Still feel terrible. Dr. RP said if body do not respond to thyroid it means inflammation or virus present. So, should I increase the dosage or it’s useless at all and I need to stoop until l recovery occurs?
J. Willingham checking in here again (see above comment I made on 9-2-2016) — today is 12-28-2018 – it will be 3 years on my thyroid makeover the Tom B. way this coming February of 2019 and it’s been gradual, generally steady improvement all the way along. That does not mean it was easy and delightful every second — blood sugar swings and the like are rather uncomfortable to say the least.
As a hyper-sensitive anxiety-prone individual anyway by both heredity and upbringing it’s been challenging to get all that to lessen enough to calm down and just let the healing and balancing occur in its own time and way.
By the way, everyone please make sure and check out “IBT” (see Andrew Fletcher’s website regarding that, for additional information).
I credit the following: the combined Tom B. methods particularly dietary improvements (and recipes, coffee and supplements) and TB’s excellent blogs / knowledge base of information; the Dr. Raymond Peat newsletters and Peat Forum; on the physical front various things including Inclined Bed Therapy as well as qi gong, Callanetics, Five Rites exercises (“Fountain of Youth”), self-massage, stretching, bag breathing, temperature-taking and oximeter purchase (versus laboratory testing all the time not to mention expecting medical doctors to help who won’t support hypothyroid women my age in the least) (note: I’ve gotten far less anxious as time has gone by, due to less SIBO, in part I do believe, but anyhow have lessened my fretting about temps and pulse and oxygen etc. so don’t constantly do those types of readings the way I did at the outset).
As an “HSP” Highly Sensitive Person, now called SPS apparently (I fit the description and read some books on that topic a few years ago by psychologist Elaine Aron) I have found that a little goes a long way whether it is a food one’s trying, or a supplement or method one is trying.
Persons with hypothyroid conditions, in my opinion, are in essence HSP’ers and I advise not attempting too many (or too much of, quantity-wise) remedies at one time, but take it very easy and slow. Listen to your body and it will be trying to help the healing efforts. Do not overwhelm it or stress out with expectations of instant progress.
There are layers that have to be worked through physically and psychologically; granted, a multifaceted approach is OK but for myself, I’ve tried to slow down these days and combine the mental, social, physical and environmental healing elements in balance (easier said than done but I’ve been working on all this over 50 years straight since age 12, therefore have finally gotten a bit of a clue how to proceed — wish there had been all this great information available back in those early days!).
Just eat what T.B. says eat, do what he says do (and avoid what he says to NOT do) and you’ll be off to a great start! Happy New Year’s coming up but don’t wait, start now!