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 competit

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.