"Don't let me eat anything"

[Flood]

I'd put this in Cussing out Coworkers, but it wasn't really anything anger inducing.

A while back, I was closing with a tiny female coworker. Codenaming her 'B'. Her size is primarily the result of a recockulously fast metabolism, but she still insists on dieting. I don't think she's gone 24 hours on a diet without breaking it horribly.

Anyways, she came in complaining about having eaten too many cheeseburgers for lunch. She then charged me with the duty of making sure she didn't snack on any of the pastries we keep. All went well until we closed.

As we were closing, I was sweeping up the front dining area, and I glanced over at what she was up to. In the three seconds I wasn't looking, she had shoved an entire donut down her mouth and was chewing furiously.

"B! I thought you said you weren't going to eat anything else?"
She had a momentary deer in headlights look and then said, with mouth still full "Flood! You were supposed to stop me!" swallow "Why didn't you stop me?"

[Custard Chick]

Why didn't you stop her?! I mean, it's not like she's responsible for her own actions or anything! It's your responsibility to babysit her every move!

*roll eyes* Honest to Pete...

[blas]

There's some girls I work that have real self esteem issues. I mean, they are bigger girls, but certainly not obese or anything they make themselves out to be. A change of diet and getting off their chairs and standing for once instead of sitting all night and I bet a few weeks later they'd lose about 20 lbs.

Anyways, if I ever get stuck working with them, all I hear all night is "Oh my god I am so fat, what should I do? What should I take?" "Oh I'm so fucking fat" and "I'm such a fucking whale".....basically the two or three of them bitching amongst themselves but loud enough for the rest of us to hear, waiting for one of us to say "There's nothing wrong with you"

Then ten minutes later "Do you think the guy filled the vending machines yet?"

[PuckishOne]

I've developed my very own Puckish way of dealing with that sort of thing: I agree with them. So you think you're fat? Then you probably are. Harsh, I know, but really there's only two options...either live with yourself the way you are or take the steps to change. It's no one else's responsibility, either way.

[ShinyGreenApple]

I have a sister-in-law who is like that. A few years ago, my brother brought his family to visit us for Easter, which unfortunately meant that psycho bitch from hell came with him. My other brother, S, was visiting as well, and he's probably the least-sensitive person in existence. But I'll tear him up in another thread . . .

Anywho, scenario was as follows.

PBFH: "God, I'm so fat. I wish I weren't . . ." etc, etc. All whilst stuffing Easter candies into her face.

S: "Then put the candy down and eat some fruit instead of just whining about it."

PBFH:


I know she would have liked to say something really nasty back at him, but let's face it, in this case, it was the truth.

[Seshat]

(laughs)

Some of these people need that sort of blunt truth. Certainly the person in the OPs story does!

[PaRaGaS]

I can somehow understand that, as I myself have hellish self esteem issues.
But then again, I used to weigh 247lbs.
Down to 147 (@ 5'7"), but since September I've gone up to 152 for no apparent reason.
Makes me worry.

And no matter how slim I get, it doesn't seem enough.

[BookstoreEscapee]

I tend to ignore it when people say stuff like that. I don't ignore them, per se, just the part about how fat they think they are. They are looking for a response that they refuse to believe, so what's the point?

[BlaqueKatt]

Her size is primarily the result of a recockulously fast metabolism, but she still insists on dieting.

red flag for an eating disorder

Anyways, she came in complaining about having eaten too many cheeseburgers for lunch.

second red flag for an eating disorder

In the three seconds I wasn't looking, she had shoved an entire donut down her mouth and was chewing furiously.

no flag big enough or red enough.

How do I know this-I spent 7 years with one-I always claimed my 88.5 pounds(at 5'5"-yeah I wore a kid's 12 pants and you could see my ribs through anything but a sweatshirt) was due to a "high metabolism", and was always talking about how much I ate-it's a cover. Eating an entire doughnut, when she thinks you're not looking, then blaming you for not stopping her-I would be 98% sure the girl has an eating disorder-more than likely bulimia.

[Seshat]

And no matter how slim I get, it doesn't seem enough.

My vet gives us a report on our pets which includes a pet condition scoring system similar to the one in the link.

Animals aren't that different from humans. I googled 'dog condition score' to turn up that one, and you can use it and the equivalent for cats as a rough guide to what's healthy in humans too.

Assuming you want to be thin enough to be healthy, rather than thin enough to be fashionable, you want to retain some subcutaneous fat (sub-skin). You especially need it as a cushion in the palms of your hands, the balls of your feet, and your butt.

Learn how to tell muscle from fat (if you tense muscle up, it's hard. If you let it relax, it's soft). If the bits of your body you can see and poke at are mostly muscle and bone, you're either healthy or too thin. If you don't have the fat cushion on your hands and feet, see a doctor - you have a medical problem.

If you have a thin (an inch or less on the belly/thighs) layer of fat and skin over the muscle and you're female, you're fine. Males carry less sub-skin fat, but 1 or 2 cm isn't anything to really worry about - you're probably fine too. If you have inches of fat over your belly or thighs, you can afford to lose fat without sacrificing any health.

If eating sensibly and exercising doesn't cause your body to move towards a healthy body (either gaining or losing, depending on what you need), see a doctor. Something's wrong, probably something medical.

[iradney]

And no matter how slim I get, it doesn't seem enough.

If your avatar is a pic of you, then you have nothing to worry about at all. I wish I had your cheekbones *sigh*

*must get off rapidly expanding gluteus maximus and go sweat at the gym*

[Gravekeeper]

I've developed my very own Puckish way of dealing with that sort of thing: I agree with them. So you think you're fat? Then you probably are. Harsh, I know, but really there's only two options...either live with yourself the way you are or take the steps to change. It's no one else's responsibility, either way.

A-frickin' men. ><

People like that drive me crazy. Stop whining and *do* something about it then if it bothers you so much.

[Brighid45]

Ah yes. The food nazis. We have several at my workplace. They bring in yogurt and dressing-free salad for lunch, piss and moan incessantly about how fat they are, how ugly they are, how hard it is to lose weight, brag about how little they eat--and they're the first ones in line anytime someone brings in cookies, cake, fundraiser candy, etc. They also enjoy criticizing other people's lunches. "Ooohh! That's so unhealthy! You'll never lose weight eating that!" Usually followed by 'Can I have some?"

To the OP, you are not responsible for her eating/not eating (as you are aware). She needs professional help, big time. If she tries that 'don't let me eat stuff' line again, you might want to suggest she get some help, if that seems appropriate. I doubt she'll listen, but it should let her know you're not willing to be responsible for her actions.

[lordlundar]

And no matter how slim I get, it doesn't seem enough.

If your getting slim but gaining weight, it might be muscle.

[PaRaGaS]

If your getting slim but gaining weight, it might be muscle.

I have muscle, and I would tell if I gained more.
I exercise a lot.
Sadly, apart from muscle I've also gained fat.