My Thyroid Labs Are Normal—So Why Am I STILL Exhausted?

If you’re tired of hearing your Doctor say to you, “Your labs look fine” while you’re barely making it through the day, keep reading.

Drop a ?? in the comments if this has happened to you!

Let’s be real

Too many women are frustrated, exhausted, and on the verge of giving up...believing thyroid fatigue is their new norm!

Their doctors tell them their thyroid labs (or rather TSH alone) is “within range.” They’re given a prescription for anxiety and depression, and told, “You’re just getting older,” as if that explains their bone-deep fatigue.

Here’s one tidbit most Doctors still haven’t gotten right: healing thyroid disease isn’t all about lab numbers.

After working with a handful of women with thyroid disease, I’ve picked up on a few common denominators that I'm about to share with you to shift your perspective about rebooting your energy from thyroid disease.

It’s not another supplement. It’s not just adjusting medication.

And it’s definitely NOT pushing through exhaustion or just cutting out gluten.

?? Here’s what works.

1. Nourishment Over Calories

Many women unknowingly undereat or focus on low-calorie foods, starving their thyroid of essential nutrients. Your thyroid is the “master gland” and drives metabolism and energy production, which is highly dependent on harmoniously-proportioned macronutrient, mineral-rich, blood-sugar-balancing meals.

Instead of cutting calories, focus on:

• Protein with every meal, which helps stabilize blood sugar and in turn, energy!
• Foods rich in selenium, zinc, and iodine (your thyroid’s best buds)
• Temporarily ditching ultra-processed “low-cal” foods in favor of real, whole nourishment

?? Have you ever noticed a difference in energy when you eat more real food instead of just counting calories? (emphasizing more as in MORE FOOD…comment below!)

2. Exercise Should Supply You with Energy—Not Steal It

One of the biggest mistakes that I was a victim of was enforced exercise to exhaustion. Women with low-thyroid function (Hashimoto’s, Hypothyroidism) tend to gain weight due to a slowed metabolism. This leads to an inaccurate belief they need to exercise more to lose weight, creating a crippling cycle of exhaustion and imbalanced hormones. For thyroid health, more is not always better.

Your “exercise position” depends on the state of your body’s stress tolerance. For most women with thyroid disease, they’re in a low-tolerance, high-stress state, to which I’ll make these kinds of suggestions:

• Swap HIIT & long cardio for strength training & restorative movements (yoga, walking)
• Take intentional rest days (days of little to no movement, or days of stretching)
• Move in a way that supports, not drains, your body (aka, do what you love not what you hate)

When you stop punishing your body and start working with it, your energy levels shift.

BONUS: If you find yourself on the opposite end of the stick of not exercising at all (which is also common). Who has the time or energy? But, this can also be a downfall. If you’re in this pickle, I suggest starting small. At-home movements, body-able movements, use of equipment around the home, etc. The gem is finding your sweet spot when it comes to exercise. Not too much, not too little! You want to move just enough—and you’ll know by how you feel. (Think of it like driving a car. As you progress through your healing, you'll learn to discern when you hit the pedal vs the breaks).

I also had 1 client who “really hated” exercise, and this is what I suggested for her: Start small! Go and YouTube “lazy girl workouts at home”—pick the one that sticks out to you. It doesn't need to be long, about 5-10 minutes is good. From there, you’ll be surprised how quickly you can go from that momentum just by getting started.

3. Trusting Your Body’s Signals Is the Ultimate Superpower

For women with thyroid disease, it’s a common ingrained trait to “ignore their bodies” until symptoms become unbearable.

The miraculous thing about the human body: It’s always communicating with you through signs, symptoms and signals.

• That mid-afternoon crash? It’s not normal—it’s a sign.
• Waking up exhausted despite 8 hours of sleep? Another clue.
• Feeling “off” but labs say you’re fine? Your body knows more than the numbers.

Instead of pushing through, I guide my clients to listen within. It's the “scientific dance” of attuning to your wisdom, as it has much to do with your nervous system and intuition. Healing starts when you respond to your body’s needs with compassion, not frustration.

Healing your thyroid isn’t just about lab numbers or "nailing your diet" or remembering to take your medication (although, these are important, too!)

It’s more about appropriately fueling your body, moving in a way that restores you, and learning to trust yourself, in the most personable way possible.

Cultivating a life of healing takes time, and you will get there!

?? If you’re nodding along thinking, “THIS is exactly what I needed to hear,” drop a comment or share this with someone who needs it! And if you want more tips like this, follow me Sharon Lim and subscribe so you don’t miss the next edition of Hopeful Thyroid, morsels of wisdom for Thyroid Warriors.