Starvation & metabolism--how does it work?

LauraMax

LauraMax

Cathlete
My boss's weight problem has me really curious. Unfortunately he doesn't think it's a problem, but I think he's heading for trouble. He weighs about 300 lbs & is 51. His father died of a heart attack at 52.

Mind you, my boss is a PIA but a great guy & I do like him. His lifestyle drives me crazy & while I don't want to be a nag I'm constantly pestering him to eat better & get a little exercise--just a 30 minute walk 4X a week. He ignores me & it's making me crazy b/c I worry about him.

What I'm not understanding is he hardly eats yet he's still obese. Last night right before we went into a mtg he told me he hadn't eaten since Sunday. First of all, I'd pass out if I went for even 5 hours without food & I'm small--how could someone his size possibly function without food? Second, I just don't understand how he starves himself like that without losing weight? Granted he drinks about 4 liters of Pepsi a day, but I don't get how you can't be taking in any solid food without losing weight.

So I guess this post has 2 purposes. The first is to let you all know that not eating won't necessarily help you lose weight & isn't healthy. But you probably already knew that. :)

The second is out of curiosity--my question is, is he not losing weight b/c his metabolism is completely out of whack? Like, when you don't take in cals/carbs does your body adjust & your metabolism slow? I'm completely mystified by this.
 
Hey Lauramax,

When the body goes into 'starvation mode' from not eating, it coverts whatever caloried it gets (Pepsi!) into fat and stores it. Also, when you're obese, the metabolism really slows (as it does after the age of 35, too). Finally, speaking as someone who has/had obese family members, while they may say they haven't eaten anything, they really have. I guess it's a shame factor or something.

Hopefully that helps you - I'm not sure how much it would matter to your boss, though!! =]
Liz
 
It could be that he is a night eater - starves during the day and eats at night. I did that when I was in high school - didn't eat breakfast or lunch, and ate at night 'cause I was starved. I don't believe that he doesn't eat because he maintains that 300 lbs. somehow.
 
Laura - I agree that his idea of "not eating" might not be accurate. Maybe he snacks a lot instead of eating regular meals or something. But also, he could have a medical problem, like a thyroid disorder.
 
4 liters of Pepsi a day? That is a lot of sugar. My guess is he is not coming clean about eating. And if he is, 4 liters of Pepsi is a lot of calories.

Fellow here was doing a fast one day a week and it was not helping him. He found out it was stalling his metabolism, and causing his blood sugars to go wacky(he just found out he is type 2 diabetes). He has now cleaned up his diet, lost about 40 pounds, and feels much better. 6 small meals a day to keep the blood sugar steady is the best advise I have. It works for me, I have lost 15 since 4th of July.
 
I didn't catch the part about the Pepsi, but I was going to ask about it. Lots of hidden liquid calories that he thinks don't count. Pestering and nagging don't work - he'll change when he's ready and not before.
 
Hi

I know someone who drinks COKE all day, from the moment he wakes up till he goes to sleep. Softdrinks of all kinds have a lot of syrups (sucrose) and body will turn it to fat as stored energy.

But as far as your boss "not eating". He may not eat much in front you but he may be stuffing himself during dinner and late at night.

As for your second curiosity, the Resting Metabolic Rate (RMR) is the key. Our body is constantly using energy (calories)(to breath, maintain body temperature, body pressure and such while we are asleep or just sitting and RMR accounts for approximately 55% of our daily calories usage. SO that means, the higher your RMR, the more calories you burn at rest and you are less resistance to weight gain. When you don't eat, your resting metabolic rate slows down to save energy thus you burn up less calories. So "starving" is not a solution to lose weight.

The only way to increase the RMR is through exercise. Higher muscle mass = higher metabolic rate.

Anyways, that's what I remember from my "fitness for life" class I took at school last year.

I am not a good writer but hopefully my explanation is adequate.

Penny
 
Penny, that's my boss! He doesn't drink coffee, the first thing he reaches for in the morning is a Pepsi. Yuck!

Thanks for the explanation, it's pretty much what I thought without the science to back it up. ;-)

I really do believe he doesn't eat. I know for a fact he doesn't have lunch & he doesn't snack during the day (we spend way too much time together for him to hide it). And I don't think he'd lie, the man doesn't understand the concept of shame. :p We got off work at 1 am on Monday night & he said he hadn't eaten all day. Tuesday morning I asked if he'd gotten something in his stomach & he said no, he couldn't find anything appetizing at home. Last night I brought quesadillas in for him before our mtg (he loves quesadillas) but he had a pre-mtg mtg so he didn't get to eat them.

I wonder if there are other medical problems going on here that even he doesn't know about? Like I said, he's a PIA but I like him an awful lot, he's almost like my big brother. And I NEED him, I can't have him getting sick!
 
Hi LauraMax,

That's an awfully long work day.

Poor man. He sounds really busy.

What's PIA.... oh I get it. HAHA!! {Pain In the @ . I was thinking of his occupation... Private Investigator.. something?}

Good luck. I hope he does take some time off to take care of his health.

Penny:p
 
You know those commercials about Cortisol making you gain weight. Well even those are annoying, it can make you hold onto weight. He sounds stressed, is not sleeping properly or eating properly. Possibly his horrible lifestyle is not helping him at all. This is bad because it cannot have a good ending unless he figures out how to relieve the stress and correct the bad habits.
 
I work with a lady like that. She is not as heavy as your boss is but she is obese. She drinks coffee with splenda through out the day but other than that she barely eats. She only eats crackers in the morning and then hardly anything at dinner. No lunch or snacks. She does have some health problems that hurt her weight but she uses them as an excuse not to try anything.

I was tempted to suggest to her that maybe if she ate small meals of whole food every few hours and worked out it might help her and she might actually lose weight by eating more. However she does not seem open to suggestions and I thought it would be better to just keep quiet about it rather than offend her. Like other people mentioned I always figured that it was because her body was freaked out and was holding onto everything.
 
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