Is it normal for my sister too eat this little?

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5 Comments

Before I get told off: I'm usually not the one to interfere with my sisters life-style, but I've just spend almost a whole month with her and I'm worried. She seems to be paranoid to gain weight and I must admit she hasn't gained a single pound since she's been on her own. She used to be very obese, at 10 she was double the weight she should be and she turned it around herself starting when she was 12, now 8 years later she's still a bit chubby and it wouldn't hurt her to lose ~10kg (~22 pounds) but I'm worried since what she eats seems so little. She lives alone, if something goes wrong, there's no-one there to help her.

Per day she eats:
Breakfast: 1 coffee cup of Oathmeal, she cooks it in water, doesn't add anything but water.
Lunch: 2-3 pieces of fruit, apples, bananas, peaches, sometimes berries or pinapple. If she's having a busy or bad day it often ends up just being 1 apple. If she's really hungry she adds a handful of unsalted peanuts.
Dinner: a few vegetables (less than 200g/7.05 ounces) and on very rare occasions a bit of meat or 1 small potato when I practicly beg her to try it. When I didn't plan on cooking (ordered pizza or wasn't home) she never bought something for herself and judging from the dishes it's another coffeecup of Oathmeal or few more fruits, if anything at all.
She only drinks water and on Sundays she doesn't eat anything besides 1 coffeecup of Oathmeal before she takes her medication in the morning.

I've confronted her about it and she told me what she does eat is relatively healthy and it provides enough energy to get through her day, because she can't do anything. (Due to a disease that left her hips and back very weak she's unable to cycle/swim/do sports and she can walk very little, so her arguement of needing less energy than me is definitly valid, but I eat atleast 3 times as much on my days off) She won't really answer whether this is about losing weight or she just doesn't enjoy food anymore. She looks exhausted and unhappy, though I can think of another few reasons than food that can be the cause.

We both come from a family that consumes too much. Which according to her makes me unable to judge properly. Something I always took for granted since I can eat as much junk as I want and I won't gain any weight (I know it doesn't mean I'm healthy) but her boyfriend expressed his concerns aswell. So it's time for some more, unbiased, opinions.

Thank you for reading and hopefully your opinion.

Voting Results
41% Normal
Based on 37 votes (15 yes)
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Comments ( 5 )
  • Avant-Garde
    10 years ago

    This is tricky because you really don't know all of the facts. If she has a doctor this doctor could have put her on a diet. For the information you've given, its hard to know this much less if she is starting to develop an eating disorder or something else. In case that she is developing an ED, don't be judging. Try to be understanding and calm. I think your best bet would be to consult a professional to see what their take on this is as well as what they think can be done remedy the situation.

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  • Bracelet
    10 years ago

    Thank you both for the reply, now I'm quite a bit more sure it's not me overreacting I'll definitly try to recommend her some changes, such as your mentioned chicken and fish would be a good start. Or see if her boyfriend and I could do it together, I can imagine with my eating habbits she might not be too happy to listen to me. Maybe she's willing to try it together.

    Thank you again for the serious and detailed answers!

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  • [email protected]
    10 years ago

    Thank god I live alone.

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  • Isabella80s
    10 years ago

    She's not eating a normal amount, however, I guess it's normal for her to be worried about weight gain if she used to be so overweight. She wants to stay in control, understandably. Maybe you could say to her that whilst you understand she wants to watch what she eats, maybe she could just add a few more calories in, because currently, she's taking it to extremes. Be gentle as it sounds like this is a real battle for her. I'm not saying you'd be bossy about it or whatever, but I just think these kinds of things require a gentle approach.

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  • Veritassa
    10 years ago

    No, it's not normal or healthy. Besides, eating so little can even make her lose weight very slowly because she's basically slowly starving herself, and her body wil try to hold onto its fat.

    She should eat healthy things like oats, fruit, nuts and vegetables, it's true. But she needs to add some more lean protein like fish or chicken, and eat larger portions, because, eating as she is, she will get deficiencies and likely have issues with low blood sugar (which would explain her frustration and tiredness).

    Having a healthy weight isn't about starving. It's about making changes in the diet that one can maintain for the rest of their life. That means having realistic portions and healthy meals, and even leaving room for the occasional junkfood.

    I lost 15 pounds since winter by doing this, and while it was a slower process of weightloss, it worked because I wasn't holding myself to unhealthy or impossible standards. Your sister needs to understand that her diet is extremely unhealthy, and if she has hip problems, such a low calcium diet as this could only make them worse.

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