5 ms·

I'm genuinely curious how a person can eat very little, and still balloon up to 300 lbs. To keep it off, they have to work out 2 hours every single day? It just

I'm genuinely curious how a person can eat very little, and still balloon up to 300 lbs. To keep it off, they have to work out 2 hours every single day? It just seems... insane? I wonder what kind of evolutionary adaptation that is...

rarec 9y ago
The truth is you just can't outwork a bad diet. A milkshake is worth an hour's worth of treadmill work. Diets are not something that you just hop on for a short time and leave, it's a lifestyle change. Some diets are more for short term benefit than others, like keto, but once you're down to a decent weight you have to manage it.
- jonnycoder 9y ago
  I completely agree about not being able to out work a bad diet. On the other hand, cardio activity actually reduces my appetite and fills me up faster, and thus I believe that cardio helps more in that area relative to the actual burning of calories.
  - js2 9y ago
    Exercise and a good diet are virtuous cycle. However, as someone who runs a lot (7-14 hours/week), I can tell you that there is such a thing as being rungry. I actually find it easier to lose weight when I'm on the lower end of my mileage range. Also, it's easy to think "I ran so much, now I can eat more," which is a dangerous trap.
- js2 9y ago
  > A milkshake is worth an hour's worth of treadmill work. Not even. The Five Guys base milkshake is 870 calories before adding any mix-ins or whipped cream[1]. An hour on a treadmill at 6 mph for a 150 lb person is 567 calories net (exclusive of basal metabolism), 675 calories total (inclusive of basal metabolism)[2]. [1] http://www.fiveguys.com/-/media/Public-Site/Files/NutritionAllergensMarch2017US.ashx?la=en http://www.fiveguys.com/-/media/Public-Site/Files/NutritionA... [2] https://www.runnersworld.com/weight-loss/how-many-calories-are-you-really-burning https://www.runnersworld.com/weight-loss/how-many-calories-a...
  - whatyoucantsay 9y ago
    And at 9 mph, they will burn over 1,000 kcal. https://www.runnersworld.com/tools/calories-burned-calculator https://www.runnersworld.com/tools/calories-burned-calculato...
    - marcc 9y ago
      6:40 per mile is a pretty intense pace for most people to keep up for an hour.
      - whatyoucantsay 9y ago
        Most people don't run much. Just as with hiking, strength straining, gymnastics and other sport, ability grows with training. Another option is simply running longer. Few people who aren't overweight couldn't train up to 90 minutes. Given that there's overhead in showering and changing clothes, going longer, fewer days per week does have an efficiency of sorts. Edit: Ideally one avoids having a completely irresponsible diet, however just training can do a lot and can also blunt the appetite after a certain threshold.
        tj-teej 9y ago
        Running a 6:40 mile for an hour is outside of what most dedicated runners can achieve.
        whatyoucantsay 9y ago
        Don't be ridiculous. Ed Whitlock ran that pace for an entire marathon at the age of 73. If you're dedicated, under 50, free of serious ailments and anywhere near the weight range this thread used as an example, it's something you can almost definitely achieve for a single hour.
  - deleted 9y ago
    [deleted]
  - 9y ago
- whatyoucantsay 9y ago
  Then how did Courtney Dauwalter recently win the MOAB 240 race in Utah by over eight hours on a diet of nachos, candy and beer? She eats far more calories than a normal human could and is establishing new high marks in performance along the way. Not even the Tarahumara have put up her kind of numbers. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V8DfjXnIk6c https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V8DfjXnIk6c A single hour on the treadmill will burn over 1,000 kcal for most somewhat fit people. It also increases their insulin sensitivity. The truth is most westerners and especially Americans are far too sedentary.
  - rarec 9y ago
    I'm not sure what you're getting at. She doesn't eat/drink those things all the time. Michael Phelps ate an enormous amount of food too for his training too, and he trained very hard. I sincerely doubt him or Courtney devour that many calories when not in training or trying to run for five plus days straight. Short term gorging yourself for fuel is sometimes necessary, but it's dishonest to propose that means a diet of nachos, candy and beer is somehow healthy. If everyone was doing the MOAB all the time that's a different story.
    - sushisource 9y ago
      You're definitely not wrong, but consistent long term training does keep you at a higher metabolic rate. I run pretty frequently (nothing like a ultra competition like that, though) and I can consistently eat ~3kcal a day and not gain a pound, even when maybe 1/3 to 1/2 of those days don't involve training. To be fair, I'm still young, and probably have a genetic predisposition to burning a lot of calories, but I still think it's fair to say that consistent training results in a generally higher caloric intake even when not training.
    - whatyoucantsay 9y ago
      The only thing I was pointing out is that people can, in fact, "outwork a bad diet". It's not easy, but it's not impossible either.
  - gizmo686 9y ago
- LyndsySimon 9y ago
  > Some diets are more for short term benefit than others, like keto I've been on keto for ten months, and have lost ~70 pounds. I don't see it as a short-term change; I intend to spend the rest of my life either in ketosis or regularly spending time in that state.
kyberias 9y ago
I don't buy it. They must eat insane amounts to balance that two hours of workout.
drabiega 9y ago
This is why the common refrain of "Calories in vs. calories out." is so frustrating to someone in this situation. The problem is that those things are not independent. It's a pretty reasonable adaptation to try and keep those things in balance but for some people the balance is skewed towards calories in. If you don't exert constant willpower on both sides of the equation your body will try to balance whatever you are doing on one side by affecting the other. Neither diet or exercise alone are sufficient.
maxxxxx 9y ago
From my (very limited) observation most people who report that they gain weight but eating very little forget that they eat a gallon of ice cream every night or similar. The overweight people I know all without exception eat way more than I do. They may eat a salad for dinner but then they drink 3 glasses of wine or eat a ton of dessert. To me the main effect of exercising is that it balances food cravings. I often eat less when I hike the whole day than when I am in the office.
liberte82 9y ago
You can't.
rasz 9y ago
The "trick" is in what you imagine is very little vs what 300 lbs person perceives as such. You cant beat laws of physics. RMR difference between someone weighting 300 and 150 lbs is merely one kfc bargain bucket, and thats just a dry snack for 300lbs dude, soda will double that.

rarec 9y ago

The truth is you just can't outwork a bad diet. A milkshake is worth an hour's worth of treadmill work. Diets are not something that you just hop on for a short time and leave, it's a lifestyle change. Some diets are more for short term benefit than others, like keto, but once you're down to a decent weight you have to manage it.

jonnycoder 9y ago
I completely agree about not being able to out work a bad diet. On the other hand, cardio activity actually reduces my appetite and fills me up faster, and thus I believe that cardio helps more in that area relative to the actual burning of calories.
- js2 9y ago
  Exercise and a good diet are virtuous cycle. However, as someone who runs a lot (7-14 hours/week), I can tell you that there is such a thing as being rungry. I actually find it easier to lose weight when I'm on the lower end of my mileage range. Also, it's easy to think "I ran so much, now I can eat more," which is a dangerous trap.
js2 9y ago
> A milkshake is worth an hour's worth of treadmill work. Not even. The Five Guys base milkshake is 870 calories before adding any mix-ins or whipped cream[1]. An hour on a treadmill at 6 mph for a 150 lb person is 567 calories net (exclusive of basal metabolism), 675 calories total (inclusive of basal metabolism)[2]. [1] http://www.fiveguys.com/-/media/Public-Site/Files/NutritionAllergensMarch2017US.ashx?la=en http://www.fiveguys.com/-/media/Public-Site/Files/NutritionA... [2] https://www.runnersworld.com/weight-loss/how-many-calories-are-you-really-burning https://www.runnersworld.com/weight-loss/how-many-calories-a...
- whatyoucantsay 9y ago
  And at 9 mph, they will burn over 1,000 kcal. https://www.runnersworld.com/tools/calories-burned-calculator https://www.runnersworld.com/tools/calories-burned-calculato...
  - marcc 9y ago
    6:40 per mile is a pretty intense pace for most people to keep up for an hour.
    - whatyoucantsay 9y ago
      Most people don't run much. Just as with hiking, strength straining, gymnastics and other sport, ability grows with training. Another option is simply running longer. Few people who aren't overweight couldn't train up to 90 minutes. Given that there's overhead in showering and changing clothes, going longer, fewer days per week does have an efficiency of sorts. Edit: Ideally one avoids having a completely irresponsible diet, however just training can do a lot and can also blunt the appetite after a certain threshold.
      - tj-teej 9y ago
        Running a 6:40 mile for an hour is outside of what most dedicated runners can achieve.
        whatyoucantsay 9y ago
        Don't be ridiculous. Ed Whitlock ran that pace for an entire marathon at the age of 73. If you're dedicated, under 50, free of serious ailments and anywhere near the weight range this thread used as an example, it's something you can almost definitely achieve for a single hour.
- deleted 9y ago
  [deleted]
- 9y ago
whatyoucantsay 9y ago
Then how did Courtney Dauwalter recently win the MOAB 240 race in Utah by over eight hours on a diet of nachos, candy and beer? She eats far more calories than a normal human could and is establishing new high marks in performance along the way. Not even the Tarahumara have put up her kind of numbers. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V8DfjXnIk6c https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V8DfjXnIk6c A single hour on the treadmill will burn over 1,000 kcal for most somewhat fit people. It also increases their insulin sensitivity. The truth is most westerners and especially Americans are far too sedentary.
- rarec 9y ago
  I'm not sure what you're getting at. She doesn't eat/drink those things all the time. Michael Phelps ate an enormous amount of food too for his training too, and he trained very hard. I sincerely doubt him or Courtney devour that many calories when not in training or trying to run for five plus days straight. Short term gorging yourself for fuel is sometimes necessary, but it's dishonest to propose that means a diet of nachos, candy and beer is somehow healthy. If everyone was doing the MOAB all the time that's a different story.
  - sushisource 9y ago
    You're definitely not wrong, but consistent long term training does keep you at a higher metabolic rate. I run pretty frequently (nothing like a ultra competition like that, though) and I can consistently eat ~3kcal a day and not gain a pound, even when maybe 1/3 to 1/2 of those days don't involve training. To be fair, I'm still young, and probably have a genetic predisposition to burning a lot of calories, but I still think it's fair to say that consistent training results in a generally higher caloric intake even when not training.
  - whatyoucantsay 9y ago
    The only thing I was pointing out is that people can, in fact, "outwork a bad diet". It's not easy, but it's not impossible either.
- gizmo686 9y ago
LyndsySimon 9y ago
> Some diets are more for short term benefit than others, like keto I've been on keto for ten months, and have lost ~70 pounds. I don't see it as a short-term change; I intend to spend the rest of my life either in ketosis or regularly spending time in that state.

kyberias 9y ago

I don't buy it. They must eat insane amounts to balance that two hours of workout.

drabiega 9y ago

This is why the common refrain of "Calories in vs. calories out." is so frustrating to someone in this situation. The problem is that those things are not independent. It's a pretty reasonable adaptation to try and keep those things in balance but for some people the balance is skewed towards calories in. If you don't exert constant willpower on both sides of the equation your body will try to balance whatever you are doing on one side by affecting the other. Neither diet or exercise alone are sufficient.

maxxxxx 9y ago

From my (very limited) observation most people who report that they gain weight but eating very little forget that they eat a gallon of ice cream every night or similar. The overweight people I know all without exception eat way more than I do. They may eat a salad for dinner but then they drink 3 glasses of wine or eat a ton of dessert. To me the main effect of exercising is that it balances food cravings. I often eat less when I hike the whole day than when I am in the office.

liberte82 9y ago

You can't.

rasz 9y ago

The "trick" is in what you imagine is very little vs what 300 lbs person perceives as such. You cant beat laws of physics. RMR difference between someone weighting 300 and 150 lbs is merely one kfc bargain bucket, and thats just a dry snack for 300lbs dude, soda will double that.