This is a throwaway account.

My brother has always been a very fat person. This has never been an issue for me, and I love him even with his issues but obviously I'd like to see him healthy.

He has never really been any more seemingly upset about it than a normal person would be: I and my family jokingly rib on his weight all the time and he takes it in good jest, so he doesn't really have an issue with it emotionally, or so I thought.

Last year he went on a six month stint of a lifestyle change. He begun going to the gym on a regular basis and counting calories, and there was an obvious dramatic difference he went for like 250 at 6'0 to about 200. He still was chubby (but was still improving) but looked normal. He apparently became very frustrated because the number kept going down but he didn't see any visible difference despite it being very obvious to us. We kept telling him that he had improved but he told us to stop lying/making fun of him. He gained it all back slowly after stopping due to frustration.

So about a month ago he just decided to stop eating. Like, completely. Either that or he eats very very little in secrecy. He drinks water but I've never seen him eating food. He has dropped over forty (at least) pounds in the last month. When we asked him about it around ten days in he said hes doing it for "spiritual examination". I've had several conversations with him and he is pretty much a complete atheist so he is obviously lying. I've pointed out how unhealthy it is and he said he isn't doing it for health reasons, only to explore himself emotionally and such bullshit. It's really dangerous and my parents aren't as concerned as they should be.

A week ago I realized that I should just lie to him and tell him he hasn't looked like he lost any weight so he'll get frustrated again and stop doing this, but he seemed to ignore what I said so I don't know what to do. My parents say they'll only stop this if it becomes obviously dangerous. I don't want him to die because he is being an idiot.
user
brother has been fasting but is
assistant
This is a throwaway account.

My brother has always been a very fat person. This has never been an issue for me, and I love him even with his issues but obviously I'd like to see him healthy.

He has never really been any more seemingly upset about it than a normal person would be: I and my family jokingly rib on his weight all the time and he takes it in good jest, so he doesn't really have an issue with it emotionally, or so I thought.

Last year he went on a six month stint of a lifestyle change. He begun going to the gym on a regular basis and counting calories, and there was an obvious dramatic difference he went for like 250 at 6'0 to about 200. He still was chubby (but was still improving) but looked normal. He apparently became very frustrated because the number kept going down but he didn't see any visible difference despite it being very obvious to us. We kept telling him that he had improved but he told us to stop lying/making fun of him. He gained it all back slowly after stopping due to frustration.

So about a month ago he just decided to stop eating. Like, completely. Either that or he eats very very little in secrecy. He drinks water but I've never seen him eating food. He has dropped over forty (at least) pounds in the last month. When we asked him about it around ten days in he said hes doing it for "spiritual examination". I've had several conversations with him and he is pretty much a complete atheist so he is obviously lying. I've pointed out how unhealthy it is and he said he isn't doing it for health reasons, only to explore himself emotionally and such bullshit. It's really dangerous and my parents aren't as concerned as they should be.

A week ago I realized that I should just lie to him and tell him he hasn't looked like he lost any weight so he'll get frustrated again and stop doing this, but he seemed to ignore what I said so I don't know what to do. My parents say they'll only stop this if it becomes obviously dangerous. I don't want him to die because he is being an idiot.
user
my brother is using a diet
assistant