You are absolutely correct to monitor the salt in your diet since a side effect of estrogen replacement therapy is fluid retention. However, I suggest you clarify with your physician why he/she chose to restrict carbonated beverages from your diet. For example, diet cola contains approximately 30 mg of sodium in a twelve-ounce serving. Gingerale, which is one of the higher sodium containing beverages has just 75 mg. A piece of bread has 123 mg in one slice. These values are not high, considering an adult could consume 2400 mg of sodium in one day.

There has been a fallacy surrounding sodium in carbonated beverages possibly because it is called soda. However, the carbonation is created by carbon dioxide (carbon and oxygen), not sodium. By the way, phosphorus can increase the loss of calcium.

Don't know what you weighed 2 years ago, but yes is it still possible for you to lose weight. Your metabolic rate may be lower though depending on whether or not you still have your ovaries (you did say estrogen therapy).

The best combination for permanent weight loss is diet, exercise and nutritionally analyze everything that you eat. Exercise increases your metabolic rate up to 15 hours afterwards. Rowing and stair stepping are good arm and leg exercises which depending on your heart rate, can be aerobic and help maintain your muscles which burn more calories than your body fat. What about exercising the muscles in your torso? Thirty minutes of exercise 5 times per week is recommended.

Set a realistic goal of losing 10% of your current weight and plan on 1 or 2 pounds per week. This will reduce your health risk. Use the Healthy Body Calculator to establish a calorie and fat recommendation for weight loss. Then implement a meal plan that follows this recommended intake.

First if your are taking synthetic thyroxin pills, make sure you are taking a therapeutic dose. When was the last time your blood was tested for T3 and T4 levels?

Next, ask your doctor to refer you to a dietitian to help plan a healthy weight loss-eating plan. That should include a moderate reduction in calories, no lower than 1200 per day and low fat foods planned in 3 meals. Many foods are OK in moderation and very few foods such as sugars and high fat - high sugar sweets and desserts are omitted. Read the Overweight topic for more information.

Given your 50-pound goal, plan on reaching it in 5 to 10 months. You should also include regular exercise 30 -60 minutes, 3 to 5 times per week. If you don't know where to start, ask your doctor to refer you to an exercise physiologist or call your local health club. Research has shown the most successful long-term weight loss occurs with moderate changes in eating habits and exercise.

Your hypothalamus measures the temperature and solids in your blood. When your body temperature, glucose or salt in your blood goes too high, your hypothalamus signals you to drink fluids. The more recent research has focused on the hypothalamus as the organ that signals eating and satiety (feeling of fullness). Research on eating disorders (anorexia and bulimia) have focused on this gland and the secretion of several neurotransmitters (epinephrine, norepinephrine and serotonin as influencing eating behaviors.

I do not know about the influence acupuncture or herbs would have on weight loss though I have read many promising articles on the use of both in medicine.

I would suggest you ask your doctor to measure your blood to determine if you are taking enough synthetic thyroxin to be therapeutically effective for your metabolism. Many systems in your body are interrelated and dependent on many hormones and biochemicals to function normally. I would also suggest you ask to see a dietitian who can evaluate your diet and energy needs to make recommendations for weight loss.

No, thyroxin is not used to treat obesity. Thyroxin is used to treat people whose thyroid doesn't produce enough which can be assessed by measuring the amount in blood. Thyroxin is prescribed and usually taken for the remainder of life.

The body to regulate the basal metabolic rate uses thyroxin. (The amount of calories burned when a person is at rest.) If the body produces insufficient thyroxin, weight gain and fatigue are common. If excess thyroxin is produced the person's eyes will bulge out and weight loss is common.

If a person has insufficient iodine in their diet, they will develop a goiter, which is an enlargement of the thyroid at the base of the throat. If thyroxin is deficient during pregnancy, the infant is born with mental and physical retardation (cretinism). Iodine is an integral component of thyroxin. Iodized salt is a one-food way to get iodine into the diets of people who do not eat seafood on a regular basis.

I do not know of any source of naturally derived thyroxin. Why don't you contact the drug company that formerly made it. My knowledge base is limited to drug nutrient interactions. And yes, your friend will have to take thyroid hormone for life. And no, there is no nutritional supplement, herb or vitamin that will substitute.

FYI Thyroxin, made by the thyroid gland at the base of your neck regulates the human metabolic rate. If your body makes insufficient thyroxin, you gain weight. If your body makes too much, you lose weight and typically such person's eyes bulge from the eye socket.