It's not bullshit; it can account for a BMR difference of about 200 calories a day between a hyper thyroid and a hypo- thyroid. So one person could ear 2100 calories a day and someone with the same activity level could eat 1900 before gaining weight. These gelatinous cubes are eating 4000+, so they could have the metabolism of a Eurasian shrew and still gain weight.