Hey Everybody,

A conversation I had over on the Groves thread got me to thinking about this. One of our Groves girls is concerned about her body temps and her thyroid. She is cold all of the time and has body temps as low as 96. She is currently getting blood work done. I started thinking maybe I should take my temperature. We all know that a slow thyroid can make it hard to lose weight. The first time I took it 96 degrees. Over the next couple of days it never got higher than 97.7 even in the evening when temps are supposed to be higher.. After what I had been reading, that didn't sound good. In fact I was freaking out. I hate doctors and avoid them if at all possible. I'm one of those kind of people who just getting their blood pressure taken shoots my heart rate up to 120. It takes a lot to get it up to 120 when I'm working out, so that's how paranoid I am. I couldn't understand the low body temp because since doing Groves I am warm all the time, my hair is really shiny, no ridges in the nails, no dry skin, no fatigue, nothing. So what's up with the low temps?

After doing a bunch of research I was ready to head out to the health food store for coconut oil, dessicated thyroid, and whatever else would help me. I decided to take my temp again so I pulled out the old mercury thermometer this time instead of the digital I was using. Wow, 98.6. The next morning upon arising it was 98.2.
Moral of the story, don't trust the digital too much.

What I did learn from all of this is that some feel that body temperature even if it falls within a normal range (not everyone is 98.6) is related to metabolism and how hot the furnace is burning. The warmer you are, the higher your metabolic rate. Starvation brings on lower temps as the body attempts to conserve energy,and so does repeated low calorie dieting. Has anyone else had the experience of "heating up" after changing to a low carb diet? Is anyone out there battling low thyroid? Just curious. If you have a story about that, please share it with us.

Except during the dog days of summer, I STAY cold all the time. My hands are like icicles and I chalked it up to my body had to cool that 400+ pound man for so long that it doesn't know how to adjust to my new 220-pound weight. It's kinda weird, too. My wife Christine used to be cold all the time and I was always hot, but we reversed when I lost my weight. Freaky!

I got a lot colder when I first lost my weight and started working out a lot. The weird thing is since I started doing Groves I'm warm all the time. Go figure. I hope it's because Groves has jacked my metabolism up a little. Especially since I did a little stint on WW and then Kimkins.

I've heard that the 98.6 temperature for all humans is somewhat of a myth. Peoples' temperatures actually fall within a range of about 3-4 degrees. I've always had a below average temperature since I was young and never had any indication of thyroid problems. The only time my temperature registers above about 96-97, is if I've got a fever.

Thanks Linda Sue, I've heard that too. That makes you living proof that the temperature thing may not be true.

I am interested in this discussion about temperature because I am one of those with a life long thyroid condition who is always cold. In fact, instead of hot flashes, I have cold flashes. On Groves, I have noticed that my hands are not as cold as usual. I look forward to seeing how I do this winter.