The Best T3 Supplements for Weight Loss

Are you a thyroid patient struggling to lose weight?

If so, you aren’t alone, and the key to long-lasting weight loss may just be your T3 status.

T3 is the single most important and powerful thyroid hormone in your body, and if you want to lose weight and keep it off, you must have enough of it.

Many thyroid patients know this, but they struggle to reach the threshold that matters.

But that won’t be a problem for you, because today we are going to talk about how you can increase your T3 with the use of natural supplements.

You’ll also learn more about the difference between T3 medications and T3 supplements (and which is better for weight loss).  

How More T3 Will Help You Lose Weight

Understanding this connection is easy.

The more T3 you have in your body, the higher your metabolism will be (1), and the more calories you will burn at rest.

I can’t tell you how many thyroid patients I’ve seen who effortlessly lose weight once they get their T3 status optimized.

The hard part isn’t understanding why T3 is important but figuring out how to increase your status into that “optimal” range.

And to do that, you have a couple of options:

The use of T3 support supplements or the use of T3 medications.

If you’re looking for natural options that don’t require a prescription, here’s what works best:

#1. Thyroid Supplements with Zinc, Selenium, and Guggul Extract

These minerals and compounds help your body convert the inactive T4 thyroid hormone into the active T3 thyroid hormone by supporting special enzymes in your body (2).

And because many thyroid patients are deficient in both zinc and selenium, taking them in supplement form often results in a natural increase in T3 levels.

Guggul extract works via a slightly different mechanism (3).

It’s a plant-based botanical compound that has direct effects on inflammation and thyroid function.

Research shows it also supports this conversion process but probably through its effects on metabolic health.

How much you need for weight loss:

• 75 to 150 mcg of selenium (preferably as selenomethionine but other forms work as well)
• 5-15 mg of zinc (preferably as zinc glycinate or zinc citrate)
• 500 mg of guggul extract

If used by themselves, your weight loss will be modest (maybe a few pounds over 1-2 months).

Who should use it:

The reality is that all thyroid patients will benefit from these ingredients, but especially those with low free T3, low total T3, and high reverse T3.

You can get my recommended zinc, selenium, and guggul extract supplement here.

#2. Adaptogen Complexes with Ashwagandha

Adaptogens are plant-based compounds that support the HPA axis, which indirectly impacts your thyroid.

This is the axis that gets triggered in states of stress.

In small amounts, this isn’t an issue, but with too much stress, it starts to put negative pressure on thyroid function, leading to decreased T3 levels (4).

And because disordered thyroid states make you less resilient to stress, this is a problem for many thyroid patients.

Ashwagandha is one of these adaptogens, but it’s special because research shows that it specifically can increase T3 levels.

One study from 2018 found that taking ashwagandha resulted in an increase in T3 levels by 18.6%.

How much you need for weight loss:

• Ashwagandha (200-600mg of standardized extract, 2.5% withanolides)

Who should use it:

I haven’t met a thyroid patient who didn’t benefit from stress support supplements, but they are very beneficial for thyroid patients with high or low cortisol.

#3. Tyrosine + Iodine Combinations

Out of all of the T3 in your body, 80% comes from thyroid conversion (5), and 20% comes directly from the thyroid gland.

So far, we’ve discussed how to support the T3 that comes from the conversion process.

But you don’t want to neglect that other 20% that comes directly from your thyroid gland.

And this is where L-tyrosine and iodine come into play.

These are compounds that your thyroid gland can use as building blocks to create more thyroid hormones.

Yes, some of that thyroid hormone will be T4, but if you are taking the ingredients we’ve already discussed, this won’t be a problem.

And when you stack thyroid conversion support supplements with direct thyroid hormone support supplements, you get a winning combination.

How much you need for weight loss:

Who should use it:

All thyroid patients need iodine, but it is one of those ingredients you want to make sure you aren’t getting too much of.

As long as your total intake is between 150 to 300 mcg, you’re in the safe zone.

L-tyrosine is quite safe, but some people can be sensitive to it, so start with lower doses and titrate up as needed.

You can get both L-tyrosine and iodine in the ideal doses with this supplement.

#4. T2 Support Supplements

What does T2 thyroid hormone have to do with your T3 status?

More than you might think.

Because T2 is a downstream product of T3 metabolism, taking T2 can help prevent T3 breakdown.

So by taking T2, you may experience higher T3 levels in the blood.

Research also shows that T2 can support T3 function in your cells by acting as a ligand (6).

So as counterintuitive as it may sound, T2 actually helps your T3 levels.

And because T2 is a thyroid hormone, it also has a direct impact on metabolism, energy production, and heat production which makes it great for weight loss by itself.

How much you need for weight loss:

• 100-300 mcg of T2 as 3,5 diiodo-l-thyronine (capsule form)
• 37.5-100 mcg of T2 as 3,5 diiodo-l-thyronine (cream form)

Who should use it:

If you have low T3 then you are very likely to benefit from T2 supplementation for the reasons discussed.

While you can’t directly assess your T2 status, you can indirectly assess it using these techniques.

The Best Prescription T3 Medications for Weight Loss

If we are talking power, T3 medications will always be more effective for weight loss when compared to T3 support supplements.

But that doesn’t mean you should always use them.

Not only are they actually quite difficult to obtain (they require a prescription), their power also comes with more side effects.

But it’s been my experience that thyroid patients can use them safely for weight loss, provided they use them correctly.

If you like the idea of using T3 medication instead of T3 supplements (or in concert with one another), here are the ones that work best:

• Cytomel – This is an immediate-release T3-only thyroid medication and the brand name option.
• Liothyronine – This is an immediate-release T3-only thyroid medication and the generic option.
• Sustained release T3 (compounded) – This is a compounded slow-release T3-only thyroid medication available from compounding pharmacies. It’s generally not preferred over immediate-release versions unless you experience side effects with their use.

How much you need for weight loss:

• T3 dosing ranges from 5-25 mcg for most thyroid patients but may go as high as 50 mcg for some patients with thyroid resistance. Most people do well on a dose between 12.5-25 mcg. Most doctors are only willing to give out 5 mcg, though, so you may need to advocate for higher dosing.

Who should use it:

If you are like most thyroid patients and you are only taking levothyroxine, then you would likely benefit from the addition of T3.

T3 can be used by itself but is best used in combination with other thyroid medications like levothyroxine and Synthroid.

Should you use T3 Supplements or T3 Medications?

I think the best way to understand the benefits of T3 medication and T3 supplements is as a set of complementary pairs.

Instead of focusing on just one over the other, most thyroid patients will get the most benefit when using them BOTH.

But that doesn’t mean there aren’t situations in which you may want to use one or the other (or situations in which only one option is available to you).

And for those situations, and many others, it’s important to understand the pros and the cons of each, because they are certainly not the same.

Pros of T3 supplements:

• Available over the counter (anyone can purchase them, and you can control your dose).
• Natural (not synthetic like T3 medications).
• They will not push you into a hyperthyroid state (they only help your body produce the T3 it is naturally capable of producing).
• Much better tolerated with fewer side effects.

Cons of T3 supplements:

• Not as strong as T3 medications.
• Fewer dosing options compared to medications.
• May be more expensive compared to T3 medications.

Pros of T3 medications:

• Incredibly powerful (the most powerful of all thyroid hormones available).
• You will get results, and you will get them faster compared to T3 supplements.
• Available in multiple doses and in multiple forms (slow release versus immediate release).

Cons of T3 medications:

• Much more likely to cause side effects.
• Much more likely to require dose changes.
• Much more difficult to obtain (you need to get your doctor on board and most doctors are unwilling to prescribe doses at a high enough level to provide symptomatic relief).
• Require frequent monitoring and testing (blood tests, heart rate checks, basal body temperature checks, etc.).
• Can be expensive and difficult to obtain (only certain pharmacies provide sustained-release T3).

Wrapping it Up

Optimizing your T3 status may be the missing key to feeling 100% as a thyroid patient.

And you can optimize your T3 with the use of T3 medications and T3-boosting supplements.

My recommendation would be to use both, but you can experiment to see what works best for you.

By the way, there are other natural treatments you can use to increase your free T3 status, and if you want to see those, check out this article next.