The Missing Piece in My Hashimoto’s Healing Journey (That Helped Me Lose 100 lbs)
When I was first diagnosed with Hashimoto’s thyroiditis back in 2007, I felt completely overwhelmed. Doctors told me it was an autoimmune thyroid disease that would require medication for life - and to be honest, that alone was a hard pill to swallow.
But what made it worse was the rapid, unexplained weight gain. I packed on over 100 pounds in what felt like the blink of an eye, and no matter what I tried, nothing seemed to help.
I was desperate for answers and exhausted from feeling like a stranger in my own body.
What Everyone Recommended — And Why It Didn’t Work
Over the years, different practitioners suggested versions of the same advice:
Go gluten-free
Eat clean
Try the AIP (Autoimmune Protocol) diet
And trust me - I did.
Sometimes, I’d drop a few pounds or notice a slight boost in energy, but it was always short-lived. The weight would creep back, the fatigue would return, and my hair continued thinning. I kept thinking, Is this really as good as it gets?
The Game-Changing Advice That Made Me Stop in My Tracks
In 2017, I met with a naturopath who shifted my entire perspective.
He asked me, “But what are you doing for your gut?”
I paused, confused, and replied something along the lines of, “Well, I’m eating AIP — isn’t that healing my gut?”
And here’s where everything changed.
He explained that while AIP is a beautiful tool for reducing the inflammatory burden of food, it doesn’t address the root causes of gut dysfunction - things like leaky gut, imbalanced gut bacteria, poor digestion, and nutrient absorption issues.
AIP isn’t a gut repair protocol. It’s a food elimination protocol.
The Missing Piece: Gut Healing + Anti-Inflammatory Eating
What he recommended was combining a temporary gut healing protocol (with specific, targeted supplements for a short period of time) while following an anti-inflammatory diet - again, not as a long-term lifestyle, but as a phase of healing.
This combination made all the difference.
For the first time:
✨ My inflammation started to drop
✨ The scale began moving in the right direction
✨ My energy returned
✨ My hair regrew
✨ My mood stabilized
✨ And the weight loss journey that once felt impossible finally began
Why You Can’t Skip Gut Healing
If you’ve been following strict diets like AIP, paleo, Whole30, or even clean keto — and you’re seeing some improvements but feel stuck, it’s probably because your gut health hasn’t been fully addressed.
Without healing:
The gut lining stays compromised (hello, leaky gut)
Digestion and nutrient absorption stay suboptimal
The gut biome remains imbalanced, continuing to fuel inflammation
That’s why gut healing has to come first. Once your gut is thriving, your metabolism, energy, mood, and immune health can follow suit.
What I Did Differently
During this healing phase, I:
✅ Followed a temporary anti-inflammatory meal plan — one that was simple, nutrient-dense, and still delicious. (I wasn’t about to live on bland chicken and steamed broccoli.)
✅ Used targeted, temporary gut healing supplements — things like gut lining support, probiotics, and digestive enzymes.
✅ Focused on reducing stress, improving sleep, and gently moving my body.
And that’s when the magic happened.
Want My Recipes and Gut Healing Protocol?
I know how overwhelming it can feel trying to figure out where to start or how to piece everything together. That’s why I put together a Simple Healing Recipe Guide and my full Hashimotos and Hypothyroidism Healing Protocol to help others with Hashimoto’s skip the years of trial and error I went through.
✨ Check out my Simple Healing Protocol here
✨ Grab my Full Healing Protocol guide here
You don’t have to do this alone — and you don’t have to stay stuck.
Final Thoughts
Healing from Hashimoto’s is rarely about just one thing. It’s about addressing the body as a whole - starting with the gut, calming inflammation, and then supporting the thyroid and metabolism from a place of strength.
If you’ve felt stuck or frustrated with your progress, consider looking at what’s happening in your gut. It might just be the missing piece you’ve been searching for.
Come hang out with me on Instagram or TikTok @happyhashimomma for daily anti-inflammatory recipes, gut health tips, and a big dose of encouragement.
And if you have questions, drop them in the comments. I answer every single one.