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What would you do if you had a disease that made you fat?

3.9K views 129 replies 75 participants last post by  dave  
#1 ·
One of my best friends that actually used to be be bulimic a long time ago has been gaining a lot of weight over the past few years even though she eats normally. On average, she eats less than I do when I'm not restricting. She just recently got diagnosed with this condition that makes it very easy to gain weight, along with other problems. So she's been working out every morning and eating very carefully and cutting back on alcohol to lose weight/make sure she doesn't gain more. The condition doesn't necessarily make her obese, as long as she controls what she eats and exercises regularly, but basically there's no way she'd ever be able to become "skinny".

She's mostly fine with it. Not TOTALLY fine, obviously because what girl would be? But she's not devastated and suicidal like I would be if I was told it was impossible for me to be skinny. What would you guys do in that situation?
 
#2 ·
I'd cry buckets tbh. I'm chubby enough as it is. If I got genuinely fat, I don't think I'd be able to handle it.
 
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#4 ·
I'd probably fight it forever.. but with no results.. idk would you fight to be skinny if you weren't losing weight? Would you restrict if it stopped helping. . I think I'd just fight.. and I feel like eventually I'd give up , depending on what that means for me. I imagine I'd get heavily depressed... idk I can't imagine it really. I dint wwant to say I'd die if I didn't even have the option to be skinny... but idk maybe I'm that way
 
#7 ·
Oh my god if I had a disease that made me gain weight it would feel like my life was over. But hopefully I would be able to find alternatives and exercises and foods that work for me and try and stay positive (which would be so hard for me!!) it's great that she isn't letting that get her down though!
 
#8 ·
Yea, she's a really great person. She has a boyfriend that loves her and her body a lot too. I mean, the condition doesn't make her gain a ton of weight for no reason, but it makes it extremely easy to gain weight if you slip up even a little bit. Most people's bodies will adjust a little bit if you eat too much once in a while, but not for her.

But she has a lot of stuff going for her in her life. She had problems with eating in high school probably because it was high school and everyone's so self conscious then. But now, she has a lot of stuff going for her in life and she doesn't obsess over her weight or looks like we do on MPA.

I just wish that all of us can one day be the same way. Not that I want all of us to be overweight or fat, but wouldn't it be amazing if we could just all live our lives and be happy and exercise and diet for our health and fitness and not obsess over our weight and how we look all the time? I'm so glad I have her in my life as a role model, maybe it'll rub off on me.
 
#15 · (Edited by Moderator)
I have hypothyroidism and apparently it's supposed to make people chubby, and it is true that I gain weight very easily and lose weight very slowly, but it's not like losing weight and being skinny is impossible if you try hard enough (conservation of energy is true everywhere in the universe and no living thing no matter the illness runs on 0 kcal) so I wouldn't be scared because I know that there's no such thing as no possibility of losing weight.

P.S. I forgot about BED, obviously I was talking about physical conditions, mental illness is a different story and I know that BED does make you unable to lose weight/stop gaining weight.
 
#17 ·
Nothing can make you fat. Diseases can only make you burn fewer calories (which can kill your appetite anyway), or give you a bigger appetite. Both of those things are pretty easy to overcome if you really want to be thin. You just have to exert a little more willpower, it's nothing complicated.

Also lipo exists.
 
#19 ·
I had PCOS for a few years and I was a little overweight. I was actually okay with it after a while. I carried the weight really well. I was hot for a chubby girl...haha.

Sad I had more confidence as a size 12 than I do as a size 0-2.
 
#21 ·
I'd end up starving myself to death for sure. There's just no way. I'm not even mentally stable enough to handle being at a normal weight, let alone having to gain weight.

Weight gain from anti-depressants is what triggered my worst relapse. Quit them cold turkey(don't do it.) and went completely mental. I've never fully recovered from that.

I don't think I would take medications if I knew they'd make me gain weight. I genuinely don't.
 
#22 ·
Nothing can make you fat. Diseases can only make you burn fewer calories (which can kill your appetite anyway), or give you a bigger appetite. Both of those things are pretty easy to overcome if you really want to be thin. You just have to exert a little more willpower, it's nothing complicated.

Also lipo exists.
I'm sorry I disagree about nothing can make you fat. I know someone with thyroid disease and epilepsy and between the meds for epilepsy and the thyroid problem they can't lose weight and are over weight. Despite this person doesn't really eat and there is know way of chatting back without not eating at all. Meds and health problems can make someone fat know matter how hard they try not to be.
 
#24 ·
If it's being treated, and she's getting the right hormones replaced, it should be like she doesn't have those problems at all.

But me? I'd kill myself. I refuse to go back to being fat.
 
#25 ·
I'm sorry I disagree about nothing can make you fat. I know someone with thyroid disease and epilepsy and between the meds for epilepsy and the thyroid problem they can't lose weight and are over weight. Despite this person doesn't really eat and there is know way of chatting back without not eating at all. Meds and health problems can make someone fat know matter how hard they try not to be.
This. I hate when people make stupid assertions like that.
 
#26 ·
I'm actually really worried about something like that. i have an overactive thyroid, and the doctors want to put me on medication to make it normal if its still overactive in a month. but the medication will slow down my metabolism and make me gain weight. ughhhhhhh why. idk if i would do it. anyone had something similar ?