ruined metabolism by starving? ?

qb63

Am I the only one wondering how she could have been eating only 500 calories/day for 1.5 years and NOT be underweight? Not to be mean, but how would that even be possible?

GauchoMark

TimothyFish wrote: »

GauchoMark wrote: »

BS. What do you think the body would do with the extra calories? You make and burn fat on a daily basis. If she has been at 500 calories a day for a long time then gets a feast, her body is going to replenish whatever it needs and store the rest to get ready to cope with the next several days of 500 calories a day. It doesn't know if she is going to get another meal and when so it stores the extra energy. It is a survival adaptation.

You're completely missing the point. Let's suppose she needs 1500 calories a day but she's been eating 500 calories. If her "feast" is 1500 calories, her body is going to metabolize the food, put it to use and she won't gain weight. But if her "feast" is 2000 calories, her body is going to metabolize 2000 calories, put 1500 to use and store 500 as fat. I see nothing about that to indicate that her metabolism is "ruined", since that's the way our bodies are designed. If anything her metabolism is working more efficiently because she needs to consume less food to get the fuel required for her activities.

What is really messed up is people's concept of metabolism. People believe that the ideal metabolism is one that allows them to eat as much as they want, whenever they want. There's a word for that, gluttony. No, the ideal metabolism is one that requires very little food to fuel our activities.

That is a pretty judgmental statement with several assumptions. Besides, your original statement of "If a person's body is converting food into fat, their metabolism isn't messed up." is just wrong and WAY different from what you just posted. Your body can certainly store fat even while the metabolism is slowed or "working more efficiently". Furthermore, just because a calculator says she needs 1500 calories, doesn't mean that is the actual need - especially if she has been eating 500 for a long period of time.

As for the "ruined", messed up concept of metabolism, that is all just semantics. If you are stranded on a desert island, the perfect metabolism is slow and efficient. If you are stranded in America where junk food is cheap, plentiful, and the social norm, then it is not ideal.

It doesn't make her a glutton to want her metabolism to function in a normal way.

gothchiq

Where to get your vitamin levels checked? Um... well, my family doctor takes blood, sends it to the lab with orders to check vitamin and mineral levels, gets a report back, and discusses the results with me. Any doctor can do this.

SLLRunner

qb63 wrote: »

Am I the only one wondering how she could have been eating only 500 calories/day for 1.5 years and NOT be underweight? Not to be mean, but how would that even be possible?

I wondered the same thing.

gothchiq

Also by eating way too little your body burns up muscle tissue as well as fat. Less muscle means lower metabolism. So I agree with the other person who said that in addition to eating more, lifting weights to put some muscle back on your frame would be a great idea. While also seeing a nutritionist to design a good, healthy diet for you. I thought I knew everything about eating right, but I learned so much more from my nutritionist!

kangaroux92

no offence if you really were eating 500 cal for over a year you would be without a doubt underweight unless you were really overweight to begin with. check your thyroid, but the weight gain could be water, or your body trying to hold on to calories because it has been starved. after you check your thyroid and assuming everything is ok, i would up to 1000/1200 for one month and see if you keep gaining all month. but eating that little is a disorder so you should also see a counselor.