How to convince a family member that her 800/day calories TOTAL (not net) is very unhealthy

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Replies

  • girlviernes
    girlviernes Posts: 2,402 Member
    maidentl wrote: »
    jemhh wrote: »
    For the people who say mind your own business does it depend on the type of relative?
    Also is there any point in time any of you might say something.

    P.s I know it's hard to change some ones mind when they are determined to do something.

    I will say that if it were my daughter and she was young (a minor) I would step in and say/do something. But for a fully grown adult, who I assume has her mental faculties, I would not say/do anything unless I was specifically asked for my opinion/advice.

    OK so if the daughter was 21 years plus she is on her own. And God help a son. I guess he is left to rot.

    Oh, for the love of Pete. How many calories does jumping to conclusions burn? :huh:

    haha, love this. I think I would be much thinner tho!

  • jemhh
    jemhh Posts: 14,261 Member
    jemhh wrote: »
    For the people who say mind your own business does it depend on the type of relative?
    Also is there any point in time any of you might say something.

    P.s I know it's hard to change some ones mind when they are determined to do something.

    I will say that if it were my daughter and she was young (a minor) I would step in and say/do something. But for a fully grown adult, who I assume has her mental faculties, I would not say/do anything unless I was specifically asked for my opinion/advice.

    OK so if the daughter was 21 years plus she is on her own. And God help a son. I guess he is left to rot.

    I don't have a son so yes, I will leave my imaginary XY progeny to rot. Perhaps if he were real I would give a fig about him.
  • Therealobi1
    Therealobi1 Posts: 3,261 Member
    my efforts would depend on how close my relationship is with the relative. If it is my child I am helping no matter what age.

    Honestly this turning a blind is awful in my opinion.

    Again I am not going to be naive and think it will be easy
  • Therealobi1
    Therealobi1 Posts: 3,261 Member
    maidentl wrote: »
    jemhh wrote: »
    For the people who say mind your own business does it depend on the type of relative?
    Also is there any point in time any of you might say something.

    P.s I know it's hard to change some ones mind when they are determined to do something.

    I will say that if it were my daughter and she was young (a minor) I would step in and say/do something. But for a fully grown adult, who I assume has her mental faculties, I would not say/do anything unless I was specifically asked for my opinion/advice.

    OK so if the daughter was 21 years plus she is on her own. And God help a son. I guess he is left to rot.

    Oh, for the love of Pete. How many calories does jumping to conclusions burn? :huh:

    You tell me. Maybe your friend pete knows
  • yopeeps025
    yopeeps025 Posts: 8,680 Member
    my efforts would depend on how close my relationship is with the relative. If it is my child I am helping no matter what age.

    Honestly this turning a blind is awful in my opinion.

    Again I am not going to be naive and think it will be easy

    I don't get it either.

  • BlueSkyShoal
    BlueSkyShoal Posts: 325 Member
    Probably meant "turning a blind eye."

    I think it depends how close you are to this woman. Maybe it would be enough to link her to something and say, "Hey look, according to this you can eat this many calories and lose weight. Isn't that great? No need to be jealous anymore!"
  • jaga13
    jaga13 Posts: 1,149 Member
    There are a lot of personal factors here we don't know. But it sounds like your relative is already somewhat open to talking about since she has shared with you how much she eats. If she didn't want to discuss it at all, she wouldn't have shown you her app/calories. So I think that gives you a reasonable window to talk to her (gently) about it. WebMD probably is a good place to find links as they are reputable and neutral.

    A lot of people here are assuming that she just recently started eating this way. We don't know that. Maybe you could gently open up the discussion with her again to find out how long it's been. Yeah, maybe it's been very recent and she'll come around on her own. But maybe it's been much longer and she's putting herself in danger. I think she must know this to some extent because she DID talk to you about calories. I say take this an opening because she might be looking for someone to tell her it's ok to not go to an extreme. Good luck.
  • jorinya
    jorinya Posts: 933 Member
    Also, if she shares your concerns at all or wants to check into it further, rather than giving her articles, etc. probably the best bet is to encourage her to see her doctor and possibly get a referral to a doctor or dietitian who helps people with weight loss.

    Sage advice as usual.
  • Therealobi1
    Therealobi1 Posts: 3,261 Member
    Probably meant "turning a blind eye."

    I think it depends how close you are to this woman. Maybe it would be enough to link her to something and say, "Hey look, according to this you can eat this many calories and lose weight. Isn't that great? No need to be jealous anymore!"

    Yes it was supposed to say turning a blind eye. Ta
  • farfromthetree
    farfromthetree Posts: 982 Member
    deceived1 wrote: »
    She has a digital scale and weighs and logs everything. My gut tells me that she doesn't have an eating disorder but is just greatly misinformed about the whole process.

    Do you guys think if I linked her, say, a TDEE Calculator, for example, and maybe an article or two (not sure which or if that is a good idea) - that this could help show her that her current plan is not a long-term one?

    I see nothing wrong with doing this. But if you are met with excuses, rejection, hostility, or resistance, I would call it a day. But, at least you can say you have tried.
  • Docbanana2002
    Docbanana2002 Posts: 357 Member
    Tell her about this great calorie counting/tracking tool you found called My Fitness Pal. If she joins it will give her at least 1200 calories and give her warning messages when she tries to go lower.
  • scubasuenc
    scubasuenc Posts: 626 Member
    You can't convince someone they need to change their eating, they need to decide to do it themselves. Over time she might get fed up with how restrictive her diet is, and then be open to change. Or she might find that she is tired, etc. and realize that she would feel better if she ate more. But bottom line, she is going to need to decide to make a change, you cannot convince her.

    The one thing I have learned about this process is there is no one right answer for everyone. I have found that being diligent about tracking food, calories burned, measurements, etc provides the data that I can then use to make informed decisions about the right number of calories and macro goals.
  • dolliesdaughter
    dolliesdaughter Posts: 544 Member
    jemhh wrote: »
    I will say that if it were my daughter and she was young (a minor) I would step in and say/do something. But for a fully grown adult, who I assume has her mental faculties, I would not say/do anything unless I was specifically asked for my opinion/advice.
    Yup, relative or not, I stay out of grown folks business. If they want to know my opinion, they will ask.
  • minties82
    minties82 Posts: 907 Member
    She will figure it out. I was on 800kcal or less earlier this year I realised how dumb it was.
  • yopeeps025
    yopeeps025 Posts: 8,680 Member
    minties82 wrote: »
    She will figure it out. I was on 800kcal or less earlier this year I realised how dumb it was.

    You assume that she will figure it out?
  • jaga13
    jaga13 Posts: 1,149 Member
    minties82 wrote: »
    She will figure it out. I was on 800kcal or less earlier this year I realised how dumb it was.

    Yeah, lots of people don't figure it out until they die, unfortunately.
  • minties82
    minties82 Posts: 907 Member
    You said she was at 160 pounds and 5'3. That's kinda rotund...she has the weight to lose.
    So, how long has she been consuming 800 cals per day and exercising 5 days a week? For two weeks? A month? 3 days?

    It's not so rotund that she should be restricting herself so heavily! It's a BMI of 27 for goodness sake. Not even obese, let alone obese class 3 when people usually get encouraged to do a VLCD.
  • yopeeps025
    yopeeps025 Posts: 8,680 Member
    jaga13 wrote: »
    minties82 wrote: »
    She will figure it out. I was on 800kcal or less earlier this year I realised how dumb it was.

    Yeah, lots of people don't figure it out until they die, unfortunately.

    Or do permanent damage to themselves that could of been stop but some people mind there own business. That is crazy in my mind.
  • minties82
    minties82 Posts: 907 Member
    yopeeps025 wrote: »
    minties82 wrote: »
    She will figure it out. I was on 800kcal or less earlier this year I realised how dumb it was.

    You assume that she will figure it out?

    I assume that she is an adult who is capable of thinking. I don't know her obviously...people assuming she won't figure it out are not being singled out?
  • Therealobi1
    Therealobi1 Posts: 3,261 Member
    jaga13 wrote: »
    minties82 wrote: »
    She will figure it out. I was on 800kcal or less earlier this year I realised how dumb it was.

    Yeah, lots of people don't figure it out until they die, unfortunately.

    agreed and they too are grown folk