Overweight but doesn't eat apparently - possible?

[Mozismyhero]

So, my DM is massively overweight. She is also diabetic. She says she doesn't eat, 'I've only had one piece of toast all day. I couldn't possibly eat all that (when eating out/at our house). And yet she doesn't lose any weight. Is that possible? Surely the weight would be falling off her if she didn't eat? Or do I just not understand diabetes?

AIBU to think that she must do it for attention and that she's secretly eating packets of biscuits and crisps?

PCOS : Fasting is great - it starts to massively offset the symptoms

and as for "medicines making you put on weight"
bilge
they make you burn up food less efficiently
therefore you need to eat less
to maintain the same weight

a 65 year old 5'2" woman only needs around 1300 calories a day to stay at a healthy weight
more than that, she will get fatter

My dgm was a "larger" lady and usually couldn't stomach much more than a kids size potion and used to say she "ate like a bird" except that little birdie managed to get through a packet of biscuits, a loaf of bread and half a packet butter plus jam and a couple of pints of milk in her tea every single day, so she could never stomach a full meal because I think she was always full!

Hypothyroidism usually goes hand in hand with diabetes. Needs her thyroid levels checked out.

Diabetes can also be a symptom of certain hormonal Cancers for which loss of appetite and apparent weight gain is a symptom.

Suggest she gets a full health assessment as soon as she can.

but hypothyroid
as with many such " medical issues" is dealt with by
reducing calorie intake
to offset the medication
not just getting fat

I know a Prader Willi kid whose mum spent years making him think that healthy eating was the only way
he still gets the PW craving, but for carrots

I don't really understand a medical condition (or medication) being used as an explanation.

Ok so those things make you more hungry or slows down your metabolism or limits activity. But ultimately we put the food in our mouths. In most cases more food than our bodies needed so some food got stored as fat, or so much that the body never gets a chance to burn up the excess fat it's already carrying.

I think some people will disagree, because they don't want to be accused of having bad character if they are fat -- but over-eating isn't a moral thing or a personality defect. It's just a strong biological urge.

Breaking the laws of phsycs if gaining weight but eating nothing.

Secret eater or not being honest, pick one (in the nicest possible way :) )

1200-1400 calories to some people can seem like "nothing"
especially if you have a few high calorie items during the day.
I would agree that some people do only eat a few high calorie items during the day which to them and others might seem like nothing.

Lljkk

I would have thought the same as you until I experienced cushings. My face and abdomen swelled but my arms and legs stayed tiny. I was barely eating and still "getting fatter". When I saw the endocrinologist she said my arms and legs are a reflection of my "true" weight and the swelling elsewhere was the condition.

It is very rare though and I agree most people are overweight by choice.

fair enough, I hadn't thought of a condition that causes water retention. How easy is Cushings to treat/fix?

Depends on the what it's due to. Sometimes it's brought on by medication and then it's easy to stop the medication.

The other version is a tumour on a gland which stops a hormone being produced. The hormone regulates various things in your body including weight gain in certain areas. In this case the tumour had to be removed and hope that the gland starts producing the hormone again.

Pberry I agree. Cushings is v v similar to the body's reaction to long term steroids. My face and body are horribly fat and bloated, but my legs are still slim. I've always had big arms because I swam a lot and also rode badly behaved horses.

Possibly an under-active thyroid. Especially if she is diabetic. Simple blood test will determine if this is the case. And for all the doubters out there! My daughter has PWS and can certainly put on weight with 500 calories a day as is proven! Get her checked at the Doctors lovely x

Xjalux, How old was your DD when she put on weight that easily?

Is a silver lining with PWS, that it's easier to get vegetables into them (this says)?

This is interesting about PWS, calorie reqs of children, combined with their difficulties doing activity.

Don't think many folk has PWS. If PWS happens to 1/15,000 people, it's pretty exceptional.

She is probably eating more than she says, although if she is on medication like steroids they do puff you up.

There is a faint judgmental, nasty tone to the original post. She is more likely to be ashamed than attention seeking-although I can see that it could be irritating if she says it often.

Perhaps she eats small amounts but all the wrong things? Eating a couple of biscuits, packet of crisps, slice of cake and a chocolate bar wouldn't be much in volume and it could be said that that is not eating much - true. But the fat sugar snd calories would add the weight despite 'not eating much'.
Having said that some people are genetically prone to putting on and carrying more weight than others - that's just a fact we have to deal with.

It's not true that people are overweight by choice - there is a genetic link to being overweight and you can see it in some babies of larger ladies wholst still breast fed. I'm not saying that it can't be worked at but some people can eat an awful lot of calories and not carry much weight - others can't.

I know of a lady who gained weight when on insulin... maybe this has something to do with it..

If you don't eat a lot your body goes into starvation mode which means it holds onto any fat that you eat, so she could be eating very little, just all fatty foods, plus carbs are terrible for weight.
Also has she been checked for an underactive thyroid, that can cause you to pile on the pounds even though you don't eat.

Mary have you got any evidence for that? I see it as a theory on here loads and am of the opinion it is a load if rubbish but can't find anything to support or discredit it either way.

Steroids can make u gain weight as can other drugs. My mum lost lots of weight when they discovered she had a heart problem & was put on water tablets - she was literally carrying lots of water

My DM says that all the time. But I know from when I stay with her it's far far from true. She'll even say things like. Helena will tell you I never eat. I never comment. I think some people have funny perceptions of what constitutes under or over eating.

I'm on 3 meds which have the side effect of weight gain, an underactive thyroid plus I suffer from chronic pain which limits my mobility. I was a bit overweight when all this started ages ago, and am fatter now. A friend stayed with me for a month recently and commented, fairly bluntly, that she'd always assumed I was a big eater but I wasn't. Oddly enough it seems to have made her more sympathetic to my health problems, not though getting sympathy is a priority for me.

My physio says it would be very difficult for me to lose weight with the combination of meds I'm on - 8 different ones a day and not being able to take much exercise (though I do my best). So yes, it can happen.

Your metabolism will slow a little if you restrict calories but all the studies show it's a very small effect.

If you went into 'starvation mode' and held onto every calorie then people wouldn't well...starve; which they do all over the world. There'd be no such thing as anorexia. People wouldn't lose weight on v.low calorie diets - which they do. Usually masses. They're not good and are unsustainable but very effective for the time you do them.

There are conditions that cause some people to gain weight that have nothing to do with eating. One I'm familiar with is Cushings Syndrome which has to do with your body producing to much cortisol. Though with Cushings the weight tends to be around the abdomen and face but thin arms and legs. It's also rare, but just mentioning bc you never know, there could be a reason other than over eating.

All the women in my dad's side are diabetic and are all massive, me included. A friend of my mum's always looked pregnant with her diabetes so it's very possibly her illness.