Coworker insists she can't lose weight through calorie restriction -- info wanted
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Would medication have anything to do with it?0
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Medically, thyroid conditions and PCOS can make weight loss a little more difficult, and result in weight gain.
Personally, I highly doubt she has a food scale, and is accurately logging her calories. I'm also millionthing the sodium suggestion. We all know how daily fluctuations can jump due to sodium (like me gaining several pounds in a day from Christmas indulging) or eating a lot in one day. Nobody is immune from CICO.
Methinks she needs a MFP account and a reality check.0 -
Sure. Let's derail the discussion with pedantry. 'Cause that always fixes everything.
Your medically and factually incorrect response to the OP's question is not a matter of pedantry, but of medical science. You were/are wrong, and now you are blaming others (me) for your mistake. Good attitude.
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Before MFP I gained every time I tried to diet. I'd avoid "bad foods" (bread, rice, potatoes, cheese, meat, fried foods, bananas, sweets, muffins, eggs, butter) and eat only "good foods" (salad, vegetarian stirfy, spinach, broccoli, turkey, fish, coffee, berries, grapefruit, diet soda). After a few days I'd be starving and miserable, and then I'd eat a lot to make up for my sense of deprivation, and would end up a few pounds heavier.
It wasn't denial, it was lack of knowledge. As someone said above, trying to cut from 2500+ to 1000- all at once because I had no idea what my intake was or what a sensible intake should be.
My advice to your coworker is to spend a few days or even a few weeks not changing what she eats at all, but simply tracking/logging her calories-in on MFP. Then looking at her daily average and making it a goal to lower her average by 250 calories per day. That would be 25 lbs/year either not gained or lost (e.g. if she gains 10 lbs in a typical year, she'd lose 15 instead).0 -
Two years ago I was where she is. And I was very angry. It didn't seem fair that others seemed to sail through their weight loss. I also projected that others were judging me as stupid or lazy. It wasn't a good place.
I got professional help including a personal dietitian. They didn't challenge my denial/myths; they simply suggested small changes to what I was doing already. Eventually the pounds started to drop.
http://www.ted.com/talks/emily_balcetis_why_some_people_find_exercise_harder_than_others
I don't think you are the one to tell her what she needs to hear. I wouldn't try. She might catch on; she might not.0 -
There are a few medical conditions I can think of that are known to make losing weight difficult, and it really is not as simple as a calories in calories out equation - the types of calories, the way your body breaks down different fats and calories, can effect the equation in a negative way. That being said, the blanket statement that calories don't contribute to weight gain/loss is in her head. The calories may not have as big an impact on her as most due to a condition. I know for myself weight loss is insanely difficult due to a few things medically I have going on, and calorie counting is not the best method due to these for losing weight but must be used in conjunction with other methods.
- PCOS (Poly Cystic Ovarian Syndrome)
- Thyroid
- Diabities
- bowel issues
- depression/anxiety
These are all known to cause large amounts of weight gain despite calorie counting and working out.
Anything that impacts the way your hormones opperate will effect weight0 -
She could have something like a thyroid issue or Poly Cystic Ovaries Syndrome which would make it far more difficult to lose weight than fr a healthy person.
But in saying that, restricted calories will make you lose weight no matter what. If she had one of these issues she may just need to be more strict than other people (personal experience with a family member suffering from PCOS).
Although we are all "unique" and "special" weight loss works on the same premise for us all, lower calorie intake v output. Simples
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cwolfman13 wrote: »If I were you, I'd just not waste my breath...some people just don't believe in science and stuff...
The good thing about science is that it's true whether or not you believe in it
Not very helpful but I love that quote
People have such mis-informed opinions about weight loss. It's hard to blame them fully as the amount of mis-information out there is so huge. Keep doing what you're doing, avoid the topic unless she brings it up and hope that eventually she'll come to her own more sensible conclusions. Either that or find a good science-backed article that points her in the right direction and levae it lying around0 -
I've been trying to lose weight for a long time and I have several medical issues. There was a point where I thought I would cut my calories further and lose weight faster. I can't tell you why or if one of my medical issues made a difference (it doesn't as far as I know), but I ended up gaining weight. After progressive gains for nearly a month, I raised my daily calories to a smaller deficit and started losing again.... slowly again, but at least I was losing.0
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cwolfman13 wrote: »If I were you, I'd just not waste my breath...some people just don't believe in science and stuff...
This!
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I suspect she is sailing on a river in Egypt, either in regards to how much she takes in or how much sh
e uses for fuel. Most likely both.Okay. Someone fill me in on the most common medical reason/s someone may be unable to lose weight. I have a coworker who absolutely (angrily, really) insists that she cannot lose weight through calorie restriction. She claims tat she will actually gain weight when restricting calories.
I am trying to keep the peace, so I don't grill her about how this works -- how her body makes fat without an excess of calories. And perhaps she has a real condition. But, I'm no medical expert, so I don't know what that might be.
So, if you'd like to help me understand this gal, fill me in.
Thyroid condtions absolutely cause excessive uncontrolled weight hain withoutu a jump in caloriesu because it severely kills the metabolism... one hundred percent possible... with calries restriction AND. Medication she may be able to lose weight. In time but usuallyu at a much slower rate than most people.The vision in my head:
-She goes from eating 2500+ calories per day to less than 1000
-Those 1000 calories are mostly frozen/processed foods containing lots of sodium
-The sodium causes her to retain water
-Her weight goes up the next day
-She concludes that she cannot lose weight by reducing her intakeOkay. Someone fill me in on the most common medical reason/s someone may be unable to lose weight.
There aren't any. If you eat at a deficit, you will lose weight. Period, full stop, no exceptions. There is no medical condition that exists - or that even can exist - that can change that.She claims that she will actually gain weight when restricting calories.
Okay. Someone fill me in on the most common medical reason/s someone may be unable to lose weight. I have a coworker who absolutely (angrily, really) insists that she cannot lose weight through calorie restriction. She claims that she will actually gain weight when restricting calories.
I am trying to keep the peace, so I don't grill her about how this works -- how her body makes fat without an excess of calories. And perhaps she has a real condition. But, I'm no medical expert, so I don't know what that might be.
So, if you'd like to help me understand this gal, fill me in.The vision in my head:
-She goes from eating 2500+ calories per day to less than 1000
-Those 1000 calories are mostly frozen/processed foods containing lots of sodium
-The sodium causes her to retain water
-Her weight goes up the next day
-She concludes that she cannot lose weight by reducing her intake
Interesting. If I knew her better, I'd ask.
This would make sense.If she does a huge calorie deficit her body will go into starvation mode and store body fat. It is also possible last time she dieted she had high sodium and had a lot of water weight. I have not heard of anything else... but I am not expert either. I do find some people hold on tight to false ideas for a variety of self motivated reasonssimplydelish2 wrote: »
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Let's also be clear about what the coworker is saying. She is not saying "I won't lose weight if I restrict calories". She is saying "I can't make myself restrict calories enough to lose weight." Subtle difference, but the first is clearly not true where the second is true for many people. You can change "can't" to "won't" if you want. Being hungry sucks.0
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There is no sickness on this planet that does that 0
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The real question is, why do you care?
You're her coworker, not her diet coach or doctor. If she insists she's a special snowflake, that just means she's not ready yet. Most people aren't... until they are. You can't do anything to change their minds until they come to the conclusion for themselves.
Focus on you. Don't worry so much about what others are doing.0 -
Endocrine issues.0
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The real question is, why do you care?
You're her coworker, not her diet coach or doctor. If she insists she's a special snowflake, that just means she's not ready yet. Most people aren't... until they are. You can't do anything to change their minds until they come to the conclusion for themselves.
Focus on you. Don't worry so much about what others are doing.I am.
That's why I've kept my mouth shut. She's a nice enough lady, but she goes after those of us who are counting calories. I've been biting my tongue, but wondering about what her issue might be. I would never grill her about her health and weight.0 -
For a while i was convinced that i couldnt lose weight even though i was walking everyday,until my doctor told me to write down everything that i ate. then i realized just how much i was eating0
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NoelFigart1 wrote: »Losing weight is not a moral imperative. Let her manage her body in her own way and concentrate on your own goals.
I am.
That's why I've kept my mouth shut. She's a nice enough lady, but she goes after those of us who are counting calories. I've been biting my tongue, but wondering about what her issue might be. I would never grill her about her health and weight.
You're not keeping your mouth shut or biting your tongue. You're talking about your diet at work, because otherwise how would she know who's counting calories? You are judging her all the time, as you are right now, in this thread. She knows you think she is a lesser person (or weak, or stupid, or lazy, or whatever) because she's fat and not dieting. So that is why she gets defensive and angry, because you're being mean about her weight. Maybe not in what you say TO her directly, but she can read between the lines.
Keep your mouth shut, talk about something besides your diet, and do your best to show her some respect regardless of her body type.-4 -
crimsonsunset79 wrote: »There are a few medical conditions I can think of that are known to make losing weight difficult, and it really is not as simple as a calories in calories out equation - the types of calories, the way your body breaks down different fats and calories, can effect the equation in a negative way. That being said, the blanket statement that calories don't contribute to weight gain/loss is in her head. The calories may not have as big an impact on her as most due to a condition. I know for myself weight loss is insanely difficult due to a few things medically I have going on, and calorie counting is not the best method due to these for losing weight but must be used in conjunction with other methods.
- PCOS (Poly Cystic Ovarian Syndrome)
- Thyroid
- Diabities
- bowel issues
- depression/anxiety
These are all known to cause large amounts of weight gain despite calorie counting and working out.
Anything that impacts the way your hormones opperate will effect weight
Helpful answer. Thank you.
Again, not trying to argue with this gal, but she brings it up and I really don't know what to say.0
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