Do I REALLY eat that much? (Read 365 times)

I can eat much faster than I can run.

I do not comprehend what "a beer" is ... I am from WI ... Beer is always plural

 

Yeah, well, I'm turning into a light weight (drinker that is, I still tip the scales at almost 200 pounds and I'm only 5'8") in my old age.  A few weeks ago I went to a party and had a pint and a half of Sam Adams Summer Ale, and I had one mother of a hangover the next morning.  When I was in my youth (when I lived in Chicago), I could, ummm, consume more than one (or two or three...) and not suffer the consequences. 

I can eat much faster than I can run.

Yes, true for me as well.  mta: sadly.

I sympathize, I run a lot of miles yet I really have to watch what I eat or I put on weight like nothing. I had a friend on my team analyze my numbers and he says I'm running at a weekly calorie deficit - despite the numbers, I don't lose weight and have been at a pretty consistent level for the past year or so. (~ 150 lbs, give or take)

I must eat a lot more than I realize.   I seem to have gained 5 lbs in the last couple of months and I generally feel bloated and spare-tire-y.  But I'm running a lot.  I run to and from work 3 -4x a week.  It's 5.3 miles each way, sub seven pace so it's no joke.  2 nights a week I also coach speed sessions, so I get more miles then, at least 6 miles per session including the run to and from the workouts. On the very rare non run days I'm biking to/from work.  I think I take the subway an average of mayyyybe once a week, more like 2-3 times a month.

 

I've stopped the weekend long runs since having twins (they were 10-15 miles every weekend, occasionally marathon distance or more), but now I'm on weekend long strolls with the twins in their buggy.  At least 4 or 5 miles each weekend day.  We stroll a lot.  So, I must be getting a good deal of calorie burn weekly, but still, I think I'm gaining weight.  I must be eating a lot more than I realize.

 

Maybe I just need to accept that I'm getting old.  Once upon a time I could eat a whole pizza and come away lighter, now I look at a slice and bam. Not lighter.

 

I did use one of those meal tracking apps a while back when I was supporting a friend on her weight loss.  I did the app with her so she could see what others were eating and exercising.  Each day it said I was in a caloric deficit, or certainly well under the 1,500 or so I was "supposed" to consume.  I think the program was off a bit though. I was maintaining weight then, not losing or gaining.

 

On the bright side, I don't think I'm getting much slower, but it's hard to tell because I'm not racing much these days.  The last race I did I was pushing a double jogging stroller, and I rocked that race but I have no idea how a ten miler would have been w/o the twins.

 

I'm not lifting weights, so I can't blame it on extra muscle mass and while I'm still getting at  40-50+ miles a week, it's a lot less than last year, so it's not leg strength adding to my weight either.  Maybe my metabolism is used to 75-100 mile weeks.  Maybe I have an alien growing inside me.  Is so, I promise to post pics when it bursts out of my chest.  I hope it wears a little top hat like the one from Spaceballs.

Two things to keep in mind:

1)  All the numbers (calories in, calories out) are wrong.  They are just a crude estimate for what happens with an "average" person according to primitive and outdated science.

2) Even if you knew the correct value for calories burned (per mile of running, say), that number would change with time.  Hopefully you are gaining fitness and improving your efficiency; sadly, this also means you aren't burning as many calories as you used to.

I went through many months of successful weight loss by tracking calories w/ MFP.  I compared my real weight loss per week to the calculated calories and learned to adjust until things matched up.

Then, with no changes, my weight quit decreasing and began to creep up a bit.  The problem : I had become leaner and much more efficient at walking.  To fix things, I re-adjusted the calories/mile figure for walking, and increased intensity.  Then eventually added running.

But TBH, I lost almost all the weight I needed before I started running.  Running just allows me to eat more of the stuff I like.  I think that's pretty common.

Sounds like you don't have the right bacteria in your stomach . . . not enough mud-pies growing up?

 

It's now becoming evident that our old thinking that we were stuck with the genes we inherit wasn't exactly right.  Instead, we need to cultivate the best possible genetic makeup for our bodies.

 

It might explain why adults in some cultures lose the ability to digest milk - adults don't consume it, so they have none of the gut bacteria needed to digest it.

 

And, a person who goes 100% gluten-free might later feel like crap after consuming some gluten for a similar reason.

 

Just hypotheses; someone (else) needs to run the experiments.

According to this, the milk thing is genetic and developed in Europe:

http://phys.org/news170657572.html

Professor Mark Thomas, UCL Genetics, Evolution and Environment, says: "Most adults worldwide do not produce the enzyme lactase and so are unable to digest the milk sugar lactose. However, most Europeans continue to produce lactase throughout their life, a characteristic known as lactase persistence. In Europe, a single genetic change (13,910*T) is strongly associated with lactase persistence and appears to have given people with it a big survival advantage. Since adult consumption of fresh milk was only possible after the domestication of animals, it is likely that lactase persistence co-evolved with the cultural practice of dairying, although it was not known when it first arose in Europe or what factors drove its rapid spread.

2 gallons a week. whole milk, not that blue stuff.  favorite beverage in the world.  Wish there were milk bars . . . but we know where that leads.