overweight but not over eating

sjaakie

person is about 4 stone overweight, but does not over eat, in fact does not eat enough.
weight came on gradually, leads a very irregular life with regards sleep, used to be very sporty, drinks a normal amount of alcohol weekly. Doctor does not take it serious, just says: excersize.
the person does a lot of walking.

opinions and perhaps advice please

WindSock

Maybe this persons metabolism has slowed down? Maybe they are not eating the right kinds of foods at the right times. Irregularity can cause the body to cling to calories. Perhaps their digestion is a little off too?

Varkov

Eh.......go to a PROPER doctor. Could well be a medical condition that needs looking at.

biko

What's the BMI? Rest is a bit for speculation since we don't know how tall you are or how much you weigh etc. Err, I mean this person. Maybe this is better suited for Nutrition or Fitness? Have you looked in those forums?

mikemac

I realy doubt it's a medical condition but I'm no doctor so don't rule out medical advice.

I like this article-the guys speaks sense.
It's about people who carry a lot of bodyfat but don't eat very much

tritium

Generally I'd agree(ish) with Varkov, and have you doctor keep an eye on things. If its only weight with no other problems however, doctor is probably right and exercise may well be the answer. You say person was sporty previously. Possibly if they've stopped recently their body is simply not used to expending so few calories relative to previously and is storing energy that was previously used. Has diet changed (decreased) to reflect change in energy expenditure? Would also be worth looking at type of foods consumed and eating habits/patterns. I'd suggest consult a dietician if it really is problematic

sjaakie

height is 5.8 weight is over 19 stone.. checked for tyrod .. fine in that department.. person has a high bloodpressure , snoars a lot and sometimes stops breathing in the night.. all the latter problems arised after person had more stress in life and hit the 17 stone mark.

thanks so far

gonna read that article now

Giblet

sjaakie wrote:

height is 5.8 weight is over 19 stone.. checked for tyrod .. fine in that department.. person has a high bloodpressure , snoars a lot and sometimes stops breathing in the night.. all the latter problems arised after person had more stress in life and hit the 17 stone mark.

thanks so far

gonna read that article now

I would go to a doctor about sleep apnea. People die from that.

sjaakie

but person feels that if weight would be less then all the other problems would be gone

root of problem is weight, but no clue how it got there

Naos

If it's not medically related, then change their current habits with regards to exercise, diet and sleep regimes.

spurious

There is a great deal of debate as to what range of results constitutes 'fine' (normal) for thyroid.
I would get a second opinion. It seems clear that something is not right and certainly everything you have described would be there in a hypothyroid situation. Does the person have a low resting pulse?

A second opinion cannot hurt.

estar

sjaakie wrote:

height is 5.8 weight is over 19 stone.. checked for tyrod .. fine in that department.. person has a high bloodpressure , snoars a lot and sometimes stops breathing in the night.. all the latter problems arised after person had more stress in life and hit the 17 stone mark.

thanks so far

gonna read that article now

hi

the snoring is probably related to the weight gain, as has been documented

when someone very sporty stops training the muscle mass they used to exercise every day turns to fat.

they retain the same appetite, but the muscle mass and energy output is reduced thus reducing their calorific need

happens a lot to ex-rugby players and weight lifters

those who have a lean build or did lean muscle sports like long distance athletics suffer less.

he should :

1. keep an honest food diary
2. educate himself in the calorific content of foods, many people have no idea
and are surprised
3. reduce the amount of processed food in the diet - very important
4. exercise regularly every day - 30 mins fast walking and a swim twice a week
5. alcohol is a demon for putting on weight. a large glass of wine contains 200 calories - it takes 2000 extra calories a week to put on a pound and unless he has a thyroid problem, is definitely a case of input being greater than energy output. a pint contains around the same, i think. ten pints a week equals one pound gain if you are eating 2200 calories a day, and not burning enough calories.

a man should eat around 2200 calories a day, a woman 1800 to maintain weight, obviously less to lose weight, although not less than 1500 and watch the proportions of fat in the diet. too much - cholesterol. too little - bad for the nervous system and skin. the majority of what a healthy person eats should be vegetables / fruit / fresh fish /meat / low fat dairy products and then some carbs.

walking burns around 500-600 calories an hour at an elevated heart rate - ie finding it difficult to talk.

weight watchers can be great to help people learn about portion control. any dietitican this person go to will first tell them to keep a food diary, all of us eat more than we think............

a healthy weight loss is 1 to 2 ibs a week.

hope this helps. perhaps a visit to a dietician.