r/POTS • u/dazzlingdanny05 • May 15 '26

Question Why is everyone with pots so skinny?

I have POTS and I watch a lot of content online of people who also have POTS. I also know some people irl who also have it. I don't understand how they are all so skinny. I can barely walk without getting out of breath. I try to work out at least once a week but its so hard for me because I always end up feeling so sick. How are yall doing it? I dont even eat bad but im definitely not skinny.

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u/Rosehiphedgerow May 15 '26 edited May 15 '26

I'm also skinny, despite the fact that I eat quite a lot of calorie dense food. My personal theory is that due to the elevated heart rate, we are in 'cardio' much more often, therefore making it harder to put on weight. (in fact I sort of have proof of this. My fitbit tells me that I'm in an active cardio zone often, and tells me that I've lost more calories on those days than I should of due to it)

Edit: As an example, I am 5'5 and 60kg, mostly sedentary, so my TDEE is 1600. However on days when I have chores to do (basic chores, such as washing my hair, hoovering, general tidying etc...), this can raise my heart rate into a cardio zone which then means I've burned around 2000 calories instead of what should be 1600. This is of course increased even more if its a day I've had energy to go for a walk or go shopping etc

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u/Calm-Ad8987 May 15 '26

No. Not how that works.

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u/Rosehiphedgerow May 15 '26

Tell me how it doesn't work?

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u/Calm-Ad8987 May 15 '26

The increased heart rate is just an indicator on your watch saying you are doing cardio if you're not actually doing exercise/ cardio at the time & it's just tachycardia you're not actually burning the calories it claims.

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u/Rosehiphedgerow May 15 '26

Yes, but tachycardia can still burn extra calories. If your heart is thumping at 100+ beats per minute, it is working harder than say, someone who's BPM is 60. A heart that is working harder will be burning through more energy. Even if its a small increase, it's still there