Another round of Fatty-Bashing by the readers o... - Thyroid UK
Another round of Fatty-Bashing by the readers of the Daily Mail.
GG, It's a pity her depression and hypothyroidism weren't better managed, it may have prevented the comfort eating which has made her so obese. There must be squillions of healthy meal plans on the internet so not sure why she thinks she needs a support worker unless it helps her stick to a healthier diet.
I don't understand why anyone exposes themselves to the Daily Mail's scrutiny. Feels very exploitative to me.
Oh, l know what you mean! You can imagine all the nasty comments flying around. Silly girl. But that's probably brain fog. And you're right, had her thyroid been managed correctly - had she been diagnosed in time - she wouldn't have needed all that comfort-eating. And I think it's brain fog that is stopping her from working out her own 'healthy diet' and sticking to it.
But did you notice, she said she's now giving up crisps and eating low-fat yoghurt? I give up! Pity we can't contact her to join us here...
Could you rephrase that gg .
I read the daily mail . It's the journalist that is " the fatty basher "
Pp
No, it was the comments by the on-line readers of the Daily Mail that were Fatty-Bashering - although the journalist didn't help! But I didn't say ALL Daily Mail readers were Fatty-Bashers, just the ones that commented. I Don't think you commented, did you?
I felt really sad when I read it. She is around 60kg heavier version of me.
But I agree, why oh why put yourself out there for public abuse???
It sounds like her weight went on suddenly too, over a few years, which is what happened to me. For a long time I was in a complete fog.
I hope she gets the helps she needs. And soon.
When you are that overweight with the tiredness that thyroid problems bring, I get how hard it is to get through a day.
I do think her doctor should send her to a nutritionist, get on proper meds and although this sounds mean, I would also make her benefits dependent on getting to a weekly weight watchers meeting, or dietician at the hospital.
She could actually pay for it herself as the amount that she is getting in benefits is actually massive.
Let's hope this story has a happy ending.
I disagree entirely about the weight watchers and the dietician. That could do more harm than good. But she does need to be on the right dose of the right hormone replacement, but what are the chances of that happening!
Things have gone so far, though, it's going to be very hard to reverse them. Then if she does lose that weight, she's going to need surgery to get rid of the extra skin. It would be so much easier for everyone if thyroid disorders were diagnosed and treated correctly!
But this article isn't even about that! No, it's about the tax payers money that's being paid out for her supposedly lie around gorging herself. Just enflamming the public against... something. That's what sells papers, isn't it.
I Don't actually suppose that it took that much food for her to get to that size, being hypo. It really is a disgrace the way people are treated when they're over-weight. But I cannot imagine what was going round her head when she allowed herself to be photographed and exposed like that. So sad.
I don't know, I would have loved to have been subsidised to go to Weight Watchers. I did it for a while and really liked the group who were there each week. They were nearly all big like me. I stopped going as I couldn't afford it as I was saving to move to Sweden.
Being hypo and able to put on weight if the wind blows funny, I learned a lot about my own eating habits and I use that knowledge even today.
She says in the article that she would like weekly support so maybe it is something for her, or something similar.
I won't be able to see the program she is on as I am not in the UK, but I bet there will be a lot of fall out from it. I think she has not done herself any favours by putting herself in the firing line of internet trolls and bullies.
I really hope she finds the will and motivation to
1: Find a GOOD doctor who will listen and actually help her with her thyroid problem
2: Start moving. Even if it is just around the house. Every step counts!
3: Throw out all the junk. If it isn't in the house you can't eat it!
Most of all I wish I could give her a hug and tell her not to read the papers and if I could go back in time I would convince her NOT to be on a stupid TV program.
You are so right! And, of course, she does need some education about eating. The problem is, WW isn't geared towards hypos, who are a special case. She must not cut her calories too drastically. In fact, she shouldn't be thinking about calories at all, but about nutrients. She probably doesn't know much about them, but then, in my experience, neither do doctors/nutritionists/dieticians. They could make her worse.
What she really needs is T3 - I bet hers is really low. But the medical profession doesn't seem to know that, either.
What I wish is that someone would point her in our direction. I'm sure we could help her with our collective knowledge. We could at least give her the support and encouragement she needs! Is there any way of contacting her, I Wonder? I Don't think she's quite understood what having a thyroid condition means.
And you are right about the internet bullies and trolls. I wouldn't like to be in her shoes on that one. They could completely destroy her! But I Don't know what anyone could do.
Hear you on the T3. Took one doc here (still after a few years) to finally do the blood test to find that that was my problem too. No doc in the UK did it, even though I put on weight super rapidly and all the signs were there.
Problem is, even though once someone is on the "right" meds, it still takes motivation and perseverance to start getting the weight off.
I have a looooooooong way to go. But now that I am feeling good on the meds I feel like I can do it.
You can't get away with the fact that calories DO count. Input vs output = your weight gain or loss. It is important that hypos eat nutrient dense foods though and ideally reduce carbs as we don't process them very well. I think the figure is around 18 calories per hour burned LESS than those with a decent metabolism. So until optimum med levels are reached (good temperature etc) then this has to be factored in to your daily allowance. Sad but true
Not true, actually. There isn't a single health authority in the world who can demonstrate that reducing your calorie intake by 3,500 calories loses you a pound. It's just been quoted as "fact" for so long, everyone believes it. If you reduce calorie intake your body simply down-regulates so that you don't need as many calories to stay the same weight. That results in you needing to reduce calorie intake to such an extent you miss out on vital nutrition at the expense of getting slimmer, leading to further problems down the line.
Obesity and the causes of it are completely misunderstood.
But if you eat too much you gain. So how can the opposite not be?
Faith just explained it to you. The human body is far more complex than you think. And who says that eating too much makes you gain? What is too much? And what else is going on in the body that you Don't know about? There are some people that eat stacks of food - so much would make me sick - but stay stick thin. Others only have to look at a cream cake and put on weight - a slight exaggeration, but you know what I mean. So what has that to do with calories in vs calories out, which you are suggesting? There's a lot more to it than that, Horatio!
In those with normal metabolism, eating more doesn't lead to weight gain. Did you you see Katie Hopkins' attempt to gain weight for her "I'll show people how easy it is to lose weight" experiment? She had to eat thousands of calories more than usual to put weight on. Not just hundreds more - thousands more! The body is supposed to up-regulate in the face of excess food - and hers did exactly what it was expected to do.
She probably didn't do much for her metabolism, mind. It wasn't broken - but it's probably damaged now.
Well to put it another way there aren't many diets out there that encourage people to eat over their calorie allowance. When you do reach a certain level then you weigh less and burn less. If you check out your basal metabolic rate which is based on height, weight gender and activity level then this helps you calculate roughly what you need. Clue.....it ain't that much unless you're a strapping 6 footer!
Diets are a nonsense. You shouldn't be counting calories, you should be counting nutrients. And the most essential nutrient - fat - has the most calories. So what does that tell you?
It does, you're right but it's one of those you don't tend to gorge on, unlike carbohydrate. I've been eating a high fat low carb diet of late since reading it was good for hypo as we don't deal with carbs. I've enjoyed what I've been eating and my digestive system has been beautifully quiet! I decided to have a couple of high carb (gluten free of course) and straight away I'm bloated and bunged up. Back to HFLC tomorrow I think! Calorie wise I probably eat more but your body switches to burning fat for fuel instead of carbs. It's tasty and it works and best of all you're forced to eat unprocessed foods x
Completely agree with Grey Goose - did the low fat diet staying below 1500 calories for the last 5 years (4 or so of them with untreated, advanced hypo symptoms) and put on 4 stone.
For a year I was on Levo and kept on low fat, eating sensibly but not calorie strict counting (but in region of 1,500 - 1,900 per day)and lost around 4 lbs. Last Sept I started NDT. In Feb I went onto Atkins - the old fashioned sort. Bacon and mushrooms fried in butter for breakfast. Max 20 g carb. Calories around the 2,000 per day. I've lost 1/2 a stone.
Just on exercise: I do at least 3 but ideally 4 sessions per week of heavy exercise mostly designed to increase muscle base. I built up to this since diagnosis but have been doing it for at least a year. My muscle density is at the upper end of normal range for a woman of 5' 9". In theory (given the exercise) I should be dropping around 2 lbs a week on a 1,500 calorie a day diet. I don't.
So Intake<outtake does not equal weight loss
The right sort of intake plus a lot of damned hard work in the gym = slow weight loss.
With hypothyroid you're through the Looking Glass and the normal laws of nature do not hold true 
Of course you Don't. You're using up all your T3 on exercising. Have you had your FT3 tested? Sounds like it's low.
Had everything tested. Numerous times
According to NHS endo (who is about 12) I don't need to be taking anything as there's nothing wrong with my thyroid
According to private endo I do need to be taking T3 and T4 (ie NDT). He's tested me for everything else and it's all well in ranges (including the various vitamins). He actually knows what he's doing
My acute symptoms are managed and gone. I still have times when my energy drains through my feet but am better than I've been in 10 years and given that I was spending 70% of my life either asleep or ill I'm now happy with my levels.
I see the inability to lose weight as a symptom that cannot be managed. The notes you put in about being 18 cal/hr less on basal metabolic rate explains a lot. But, despite showing doctors my weight charts (we have an electronic scale that posts directly to the internet) for the past few years which shows a steady 1-2 lb/month gain for the final 2 years of me being in advanced stages which levelled out when I started on thyroxine my statements that I did this while eating 1500 calories a day are met with incredulity by conventional medics. My recording of the amount of exercise that I do and measure on food intake currently is also (mainly) ridiculed by the conventional medical profession who do the calories in - calories out = weight simplistic calculation. If I eat carbs unless I go below 800 cals per day I don't lose. If I don't eat carbs I lose weight even when eating over 1500 calories a day. Hence my comment about the looking glass as the simplistic 'if you eat less calories than you use you will lose weight' calculation does not work for someone with hypothyroid in my (admittedly low sample size) experience.
Possibly me (and the rest of the women in my mother's family as we all have hypo) are strange because ours is obviously genetic (we can trace it back to our mutual grandmother) but we all have the same experience; we have high activity and muscle levels but do not lose weight while eating a carb rich diet....
Don't you just hate those 12 year-olds!
So, have you had your FT3 meansured? Is it low? If so, that's why you can't lose weight. And by exercising so much you are keeping it low. Do you take T3?
All the women in my family, on both sides, more than likely were hypo - only they never went to doctors! Plus my dad. I have a double dose of autoimmune. All the women were fat, with thin hair and red faces (well, not when they were Young, but in later life. Except me, who had this when I was a kid, I'm 99.9% sure of that!) It often runs in families. Although a lot of doctors will deny that!
We have the di102 gene snip issue.
My t3 is measured regularly because I'm on NDT. Levels are fine.
There's other issues (liver/insulin resistance/ adrenal fatigue) because my previous GPs dismissed me as menopausal for 7 years. Looking forward to result of NHS ombudsman investigation if my complaint although not holding my breath
I'll keep my fingers crossed for you. It really is disgusting the way they treat us!
I feel so sorry for the people on here who are struggling to lose weight because they are too unwell to work and surviving on a pittance.
It appears a lot of this person's ills are of her own making, and how much did the dreadful Daily Mail pay her to do the article.
I also feel sorry for pensioners like us who are still being taxed in our old age to pay for people who haven't got the nous to work out why they gained so much weight in the first place!
Perhaps in France people's taxes are not used for this reason?
I think if people on here had the courage to tell you what they really think, you would be surprised.
Pp
I Don't think I'd be surprised at all.
In France people's taxes are used to support those that can't work, just as they are in England. That's only right.
This girl has been let down by the medical community. This happens in France, too. But imagine if her hypo had had the opposite effect - which sometimes happens - and her neglect had lead to weight-loss, instead of weight-gain. Then everybody would feel sorry for her and be saying oh, poor thing, how terrible! It's just because she's fat that everyone is ganging up on her. The fat are always discrimintated against, and the skinny applauded. Where's the justice in that?
But had she become skinny instead of fat, she still wouldn't be able to work, because it's her hypo stopping her working, not her fat. I would have expected a little more humanity from people who are also suffering.
And yes, I'm retired and still paying taxes out of my very meager pension.
I agree on all your points greygoose!
Thank you, rebekah.
You're welcome. Inequality is something that saddens and annoys me. Weight has become so embedded in our society and the underlying reasons ignored. I haven't watched the programme on channel 5, but have read the daily mail article. She is young and living in a society that is driven by social media and '15 minutes of fame'. As well as her being hypo, there are probably social reasons to look at (such as her mother and social background). I don't think it wrong that as a society we try to look after each other. That way it becomes healthier...wasn't that the reason for the NHS in the first place.
Absolutely! But things have come to such a pass that they are now trying to do away with all that! There's a petition here :
secure.38degrees.org.uk/pag...
One I hadn't 'already signed'. Thanks for posting grey.
You're welcome. It only arrived today.
The lady was on a programme on channel 5 last night. She definitely needed help - her days were spent lying on her bed, smoking & using the internet while eating snacks and food her mother prepared for her because she couldn't be bothered to cook. Her mother seemed to have a similar existence but was a lot smaller than she was.
The GPs were no help - just told her to lose weight. When that big, just telling someone to do it seems useless. I saw another programme where there were similar people, at least one of whom got a psychologist who specialises in Obesity that visited them in their home, a personal trainer who tailored their workout to their size and a dietician who supported them with food choices/recipes etc. The man I saw lost weight - significant amounts - and it changed his life (and the lives of his family).
Ok all I admit defeat.
Let's say to hell with our old folks dying without proper care, and to hell with the NHS which is on it's knees.Let's put the money where the NEEDY overweight people who don't want to help themselves need it.
This article was not in my paper, I got it from Gg . I must have misread it as the amount of help she was offered was staggering.
I think this site is too biased for me and I should say to hell with that as well.
Biased people with an axe to grind don't do it for me!
Pp
Um, ok.
I don't think any of the comments here were directed at you, PP, so I'm not quite sure why you've taken offence. As for being biased and having axes to grind, you're the one who seems to be saying that fat people only have themselves to blame and shouldn't be supported by the state. As you say, many people hold that opinion. GG and others (and me) hold a different view. Obesity is a metabolic disturbance. People become inactive because they've become fat - they don't get fat because they're inactive. I'm sick to the back teeth of reading that obese people are fat because they stuff themselves silly and don't exercise. What a ridiculous generalisation. But fatty-bashing is an international sport, so people will carry on.
It is strange that accusations of a fat bias are occurring on a thyroid forum. I never thought I'd see the day!
Maybe people on here have a health at every size view through experience, because many of the members on here have suffered with a lack of adequate medical treatment because of being fat/overweight/obese and the doctors refusing to identify the underlying cause and treat it. Thyroid issues frequently cause weight gain and difficulty to regulate weight.
It is easy to blame fat people for causing their own health problems. It is cheap to do so - refusing treatment for fat people. But one has to ask which came first, the chicken or the egg? People with metabolic health problems can eat 1000 calories a day and be fat and malnourished.
We live in a thin privileged society.
Lastly, it could be argued that all this repetitive talk of pensioners, old people not getting proper care and tax paying also equates to bias and an axe to grind, but hey ho...
It's a pretty depressing article and the poor woman seems to have given up all hope of turning her life around.
Once again I come back to the point that schools should be teaching children about nutrition and healthy eating as well as actually preparing and cooking meals. Back to basics!
I think the GPs she's consulted with should be asking themselves whether they've done all they can to help this person, can't help feeling we're not hearing the truth though.
She is not helping herself by leeching off the State but of course the Daily Mail is being quite irresponsible for publishing this.
I watched the programme she was featured on, and hadn’t actually realised that she had been diagnosed with hypothyroidism. I have a bit more sympathy for her knowing that now BUT, despite that (and acknowledging that the programme-makers edit everything to suit the “message” they want to convey), she really didn’t come across very well and would not be a good “advert” for anyone trying to get better treatment for their thyroid problems.
She didn’t seem willing to want to do anything whatsoever to help herself. Unfortunately, because of her size and her apparent unwillingness to do anything herself, she will be judged by that and not any medical conditions.
I agree - they didn't state (as far as I heard/remembered) that she had hypoT on the programme... I don't know why or if she was unaware when the programme was filmed.
She did not present herself well in terms of attitude and so on, and I have a feeling there was more than only thyroid problems affecting her. Perhaps nutritional deficiencies, other underlying/developing metabolic issues and/or mental health problems.
Her mother was not helping her with encouragement to seek another way of life/eating and I noticed her mum also smoked and didn't seem to work. I thought the environment/situation all seemed a bit toxic.
I think part of the problem is, being so big affects the ability to move/do things and so the things that are easy to do become very passive and sedentary which just compounds the problem. Plus self esteem issues probably affects confidence and self belief in the ability to change the situation and so on.
I felt it was all a big mess and a bit sad really.
Sensationalism, that's all. Hey, guys, look at this fatty! Let's all have a good laugh at her expense, set her up as the Aunt Sally and throw things at her.
To be that big, and depressed as well, she is probably very, very hypo, and when you're like that - especially if you Don't know what it's all about - how the hell are you supposed to help yourself? That's what doctors are supposed to do, that's their job. But we all know how good they are at doing it when it comes to hypo.
I very much doubt she knows what a big deal it is, being hypo. I'm sure if she knew that she could get out of it, with proper treatment, lose weight, stop being depressed, have a life like other girls her age, she'd make more of an effort. Just telling her to lose weight and criticising her isn't going to motivate her, is it. It must seem like mission impossible to her. But someone should have given her the correct information to help her help herself. And guess who that person should have been...
Had she been diagnosed soon enough, and treated properly, she wouldn't have sleep apnea - it's a hypo symptom.
Telling her to go to the gym when she's very hypo is bad advice. Exercising when you're very hypo, with not enough T3, is going to make you worse. It uses up your T3 and she hasn't got enough to begin with.
Besides, if you were her size would you go? With people watching you struggle to do things you really aren't able to do? And even if she did go, it wouldn't make her lose weight. Quite the opposite because she'd be using up her T3...
She obviously doesn't understand how serious her condition is. Her doctor should have explained it to her. But obviously, he has no idea about thyroid, either, like most doctors.
She obviously has no idea how to look after herself with this condition and has made some bad choices - Don't we all! Let he who is without sin cast the first stone, etc. That does not give us the right to judge her. Do you really think she thought to herself, ok, smoking and eating crisps is bad... so I'm going to do it!!! She is seeking comfort, like most of us when we're ill and have no idea why. Hypos are far more prone to addiction than other people - cigarettes, alcohol, drugs... I expect she is enormously brain-fogged, in pain, and has no idea why.
All that could have been avoided if there wasn't such a patient-blaming climate in the NHS, and doctors knew more about thyroid, and hadn't got their heads so far up their own backsides.
I really don't remember them saying that she was hypothyroid in the programme, that was something I read in the newspaper article link. Of course, that wouldn't have made "good" TV 
Exactly.
<Admin deleted>
You only have to look at her to see.
Doctor-blaming the same as patient-blaming? How so? It's their job. What they get paid for. We didn't ask to get sick. Is it so unreasonable to expect them to do what they're paid for - what they went to med school for 7+ years to do - and help us get well? How many of us have been to med school? Yet we know more than them! We diagnos ourselves, treat ourselves, all without being trained. What were they trained to do? Sit behind a desk and computer screen and make rude, condescending remarks? Because that's what they're good at!
Oh, please!!! Where have you been hiding? No GP would skip or miss an abnormal result? They do it all the time. You only have to read on here to see how often they miss them. They just tell fat patients to lose weight, as if their saying so is some sort of magic wand that will make is so.
And yes, you only have to look at her. When I saw Dr Dalle in Paris, I just walked through the door and he said 'Madame, your thyroid is dead and your adrenals are on the way out.' And then did blood tests which proved it. he showed me how to recognise low thyroid, low testosterone, low progesterone etc, just by looking at people. How many other doctors can do that? No, they aren't taught to do it. But it is possible. You hormones show, distribution of fat, shape of your face - even the shape of your knees. But how many doctors know that?!?
Mrschips – many people are on this forum simply because we have already been let down by our doctors. My (old) GP admitted he didn’t know much about Hashimoto’s – I never expected him to be an expert, but he seemed to think it was then OK to actually ignore my test results, ignore symptoms, and ignore my pleas for testing for things like vitamin B12, D, etc. (later proved to be very deficient). He ignored my obvious symptoms, completely and utterly. I was, however, offered anti-depressants and a referral to a pain clinic.
Pre-diagnosis, I would never have believed that (some) doctors could behave the way they do. Some of my symptoms have proved to be life-threatening (non-thyroid-connected).
I had one set of results done (from a short synacthen test) which a doctor admitted she actually didn’t understand because they were abnormal and so far outside the ranges, so decided that they were probably OK. Probably OK?? It’s almost as if they get to pick and choose what they will address.
I know doctors will say that they are overworked, but I used to be “overworked” in my job (in the days when I was capable of working) – it didn’t mean that I didn’t do my job to the best of my ability, and would ask for advice if I didn't understand something.
I feel very disillusioned. Rant over, sorry.
<Admin deleted>
Mrschips, are you enjoying this? Are you just arguing for the sake of arguing? Are you really that hard-hearted and bitter? Don't you think you're very nearly out of arguments? Do you know what a rhetorical question is? Well, Don't bother to answer any of these questions because they're all rhetorical.
You have obviously got it in for this girl - perhaps for all fat people, who knows - so nothing anybody is going to say is going to change your mind. Obviously you have a thyroid problem, or you wouldn't be here. Presumably, you're one of the Lucky ones that hasn't put on weight, and is receiving good medical treatment. But we wouldn't know about that, because there's no information on your profile and you haven't posted before, not even to introduce yourself. But if you're really and truly here to learn, I would suggest you reread some of the comments on here - especially the ones from jazzw. That is if you have already read them, but something tells me you haven't.
In any case, for my part, this is the last time I will comment on this thread. I think I've indulged you quite enough. End of.
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Ah, mrschips, the masks fall! You have revealed your true character. You are not really the bumbling, illiterate idiot you made yourself out to be. You are actually quite literate. And a troll. What are you? A bored doctor spy with nothing better to do on a rainy weekend? No Wonder you went on so much about how wonderful doctors are, and what is and is not their job!
Well, I hope you learnt something here. But I doubt it. You are obviously so grounded in your misguided beliefs that nothing will change you. Such a shame...
mrschips....Dr John Midgley who created the most recent TSH test and the FT3 test - spoke at the Thyroid UK Conference last year - and said that blood test results were only as good as the person interpreting them.... And so it is - GP's constantly say things are 'normal ' when they mean 'in range '. Where the result are in the range is important for people to feel well on treatment - or even to be diagnosed...
If they have not tested her anti-bodies - due to cost cutting - she may never know like thousands of others - that she is suffering with Hashimotos the most common of thyroid conditions. All my TFT's were in range - however HIGH anti-bodies clinched the diagnosis and treatment began...
You wish to look up Diogenes in the Member List of this forum and check out his recent research into the TSH testing which has been published....
You can't have it both ways - either we're 'supposed to help ourselves - or not - need to make your mind up
Sorry, jeaniex, to whom is this remark addressed?
sorry greygoose - there's a troll on the site mrschips it was meant for them
Oh yes! I know! But I thought I might just have said something that confused you.
oh no - mrschips appears confused. Shouting down someone on another thread who 'dared' to challenge their GP, and look to find ways to improve their own health, and now on this thread accusing someone of not doing anything for themself - poor confused chip
Yes, I've read the other thread. I Don't think 'she's' just a troll, I think 'she's' a doctor who is outraged that a mere patien dare to think she understands something about her own body. Just ignore 'her' and she might go away - or come out of the closet and be honest with us!
trouble is there are too many people on here (including me) who have been failed by the conventional route to treatment - hard to keep stumm when someone goes on like that - insulting doesn't begin to cover it (I'll shut up now) x
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