How Fixing Your THYROID Improves Fat Loss, Hair, Skin & Energy, With Dr. Amie Hornaman

Ben Greenfield (0:00)

My name is Ben Greenfield, and on this episode of the Boundless Life Podcast.

Dr. Amie Hornaman (0:05)

So if your thyroid isn't working, there's nothing that is working, there's nothing that you can do. And this is what I see, they're doing the most perfect diet, the perfect exercise regimen, they're doing all the supplementation, they're doing peptides, they're doing all the things, and they're not seeing the results. They'll say, listen, the scale is not moving down, and in fact, it's moving up. And that is the thyroid's control over your metabolism.

Ben Greenfield (0:29)

Welcome to the Boundless Life, with me, your host, Ben Greenfield. I'm a personal trainer, exercise physiologist, and nutritionist, and I'm passionate about helping you discover unparalleled levels of health, fitness, longevity, and beyond.

Ben Greenfield (0:49)

In this episode of the Boundless Life podcast, I'm doing a throwback to a conversation that I had with Dr. Amie Hornaman. I'm re-airing this because Amie is one of the world's leading voices in thyroid health, and this is still probably one of the most comprehensive conversations that I've had on the subject. She got misdiagnosed six times before anyone figured out what was wrong with her, and that's what sent her down this thyroid road. So if you've been told that your thyroid labs are normal and you're still feeling terrible, this one's definitely for you. Usual note, neither of us is giving medical advice. This is for informational purposes only. So proceed at your own risk or benefit. Show notes are at bengreenfieldlife.com/thyroidhealth.

I'm always curious when I talk to people who are big experts in a particular field, especially for you, being a doctor, how did you actually get into specializing in the thyroid and also related to that, since you're approaching so much different than the standard synthroid prescription doctor approach, where'd you veer away from standard sane medical advice into all this woo-woo stuff?

Dr. Amie Hornaman (1:57)

Into all the thyroid stuff. Well, like most of us in this space, it was a pain-to-purpose journey. Like you, years ago, I competed in fitness and figure competitions, I did fitness modeling.

You've talked about this on the podcast before. It was the chicken, fish, asparagus, gym twice a day regimen. I mean, you're killing yourself.

Ben Greenfield (2:21)

That's right, brick and chicken and brown rice. Yeah.

Dr. Amie Hornaman (2:24)

So good. Memories. Such great memories, right? So I was doing all the things. I had done multiple shows before. I had done multiple preps for photo shoots before. So I knew what to do with my body. I knew what worked, what didn't work. This one show was a big one, and your listeners that compete will know. It's the MPC Pittsburgh. So I was getting ready for a pretty big show at the time, and checking in with my coach, doing the weigh-ins, all of that.

And I'm getting on the scale week after week, and the scale is going up. And we know biologically that doesn't make sense. Whether you believe in calories in, calories out or not, does not make sense with what I was putting into my body, what I was expending.

No, didn't, no, unacceptable. So I kept, I kept going to my coach. We kept talking. He was trying to troubleshoot. Every week I get on the scale, 10 pounds, 15 pounds, eventually 25 pounds heavier.

Now I'm frustrated. Right?

Ben Greenfield (3:29)

Yeah. And by the way, you were in full on competition phase, eating, like you said, the chicken and rice, and cutting calories, and I would imagine exercising pretty heavily, and you were up like 15 plus pounds.

Dr. Amie Hornaman (3:43)

Yeah. Yeah, I stopped weighing after it hit 25 plus pounds because I was just depressed. I mean, I fell into a true depression, despair. And you know, I mean, you always think like people at the gym are judging, oh, she's not doing it right. She's eating too much. Look at her. She's just gaining weight. Here's a fitness model, not looking so good.

So I did what we all do. I went to my doctor. And at the time I wasn't into functional medicine at all. I just went to regular conventional, allopathic, sick medicine, trusting that they would have an answer because I knew my body was rebelling against me. So I figured, well, if I go with all my symptoms, right, they're going to test something. They're going to tell me what's wrong. I'm going to get an answer on a pill.

So I do that, and I'm told you're normal. Everything is fine. Eat less and exercise more. I was like, right, like that is even possible with the regimen that I'm on.