I'm a 30 year old 188 pound woman (5' 5" tall) and have an underactive thyroid. I'm having a very hard time losing weight although I am an avid Weight Watchers member. My MD just called me tonight to give me the results of my blood work. She needs to adjust my thyroid med and she told me that my cholesterol was 256 and my triglicerides are 240. What else can I do besides going low-no carb to help this. I'm supposed to go back in 3 months for a follow-up visit.

Thanks to all!

Exercise, exercise, exercise. Do a lot of walking, and eat a low-carb diet, something similar to Atkins. Such a diet can benefit many people, and I've personally seen results in people who I've worked with who tried it. The only problem was that some of these people didn't stick with it, and then quickly regained the weight. It takes descipline.

Thanks for your reply, but I truly do not feel that Atkins or low carb is a lifestyle that I can live with. That's why I've been a WW member since Aug. 1999.

grits,

I agree that WW is head and shoulders over Atkins as a rational diet.
Try bending the WW plan to include less glycemic items like more legumes and fewer sugars while remaining equal calorically (or "pointally" :D:D)

As you lose weight you can expect some improvement in numbers. Keep alcohol to a bare minimum...I find it's the single worst "food" for high triglycerides.
There are also meds that specifically target triglycerides if they tend to be resistant to any diet adjustments.

Probably thyrod medication is a VERY good idea if you have a proven underactive thyroid. Nothing burns calories like the addition of some thyroxine if it's in short supply.

And, of course, exercise as much as you can.

Thanks for the great advice. Just for the record, I don't drink alcohol. As a professional WW member, I don't waste good points on things I can't chew.
:)

...but I truly do not feel that Atkins or low carb is a lifestyle that I can live with.

Unfortunately, that's a common problem. Many would rather go the way of medicine to cure/curb their ailment(s) so that they don't have to give up a certain lifestyle. The problem with that type of decision is that one doesn't always know what negative side effects medicine will bring. While medicine may be able to help curb your cholesterol problem, it may introduce other problems. I would rather try everything possible to try and avoid medicine as I've heard of the many potential side effects, of which some are very damaging, that they can bring. It's really a gamble - are the benefit cards stacked in favor of a proper diet or medicine? You really don't know until you find out by trying both, unfortunately.

You're already taking medication for one ailment. Do you really mind taking another medication for your cholesterol problem, instead of trying a dietary plan first?

Hint: your body will love you for choosing the latter!