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What's the hypothesis there? Were they just shitting out the extra starch without digesting it? Due to conservation of energy the calories can't just vanish. I

by nradov 1y ago

What's the hypothesis there? Were they just shitting out the extra starch without digesting it? Due to conservation of energy the calories can't just vanish. It doesn't seem physically possible for most adult men to consume 13 pounds of potatoes a day. I'm a large man and I think I'd burst or vomit before choking down that much, regardless of how hard I'd been working. Most likely that number is just wrong.

carabiner 1y ago
Hypothesis is that the irishmen were doing hard physical labor that required a high caloric intake. PCT thru-hikers consume 4,000-4,500 calories per day (at least I did) while staying thin. According to inter-net, 13 lb of potatoes has about 4,500 calories. Apparently US civil war soldiers expended 3-4k per day.
- nradov 1y ago
  I was responding to the claim by @codeableconcept that the absence of significant dietary fat somehow prevents obesity, independent of energy balance. That seems unlikely. Obviously it's possible for an active man to expend ~4500 kcal/day. I've done it myself many times. Even back during the Civil War, US soldiers typically consumed more energy dense food and only got a fraction of their calories from potatoes.
astura 1y ago
>it doesn't seem physically possible for most adult men to consume 13 pounds of potatoes a day. I'm a large man and I think I'd burst or vomit before choking down that much, Presumably you aren't doing hard manual labor every day.
- nradov 1y ago
  Not every day now, but I've done enough hard manual labor to know that it wouldn't allow me to eat 13 pounds of potatoes. Seriously no one was eating that much on as regular basis.
  - codeableconcept 1y ago
    If your diet is 90% potatoes and you do hard manual labor all day, you would absolutely need about 7 pounds of potatoes (2500 calories). I don’t think 13 pounds seems that crazy. I have sat down at a meal and eaten 3 pounds of potatoes before.
    - wafflemaker 1y ago
      A little off topic, but there is this joke: A Russian and American soldier meet during some peacekeeping mission/veteran fair and discuss which army is better. They go through weapons, the American really likes AK-47. They talk about training. They discuss the distributed vs centralized command. Finally the American says that they eat 5k calories per day. The Russian suddenly jumps up, points his finger at the American and starts yelling: "Liar! Nobody can eat that much potatoes!"
  - ipsento606 1y ago
    13 pounds of potatoes is about 4600 kcals. That's in the range of what an NFL athlete consumes in a day.
    - nradov 1y ago
      The problem is digesting that quantity of food, not the energy content. Elite athletes typically eat some potatoes but most of what they eat is more nutrient dense. Seriously guys, get out your scale and weigh 13 pounds of potatoes. Could you really consume that much volume in a day without feeling sick? Let's do a reality check here.
      - schrectacular 1y ago
        I had a HS friend who was a serious swimmer (not quite Olympic level but he won state championships) and watching him eat was insane. He would eat about 3x of what we all ate. Like literally down 3 sandwiches while we had one. I think he was on a 6000 calorie a day diet. I believe the potato thing. It sure sits outside what I think I could eat, but having seen others do similar, it seems realistic.
- triceratops 1y ago
  I thought human bodies adapt to strenuous effort and become more efficient over time. Meaning your average keyboard jockey might need 4000 calories per day if they become a manual laborer. But over time their body would adjust and they'd be able to get by on maybe 3000 calories.
  - triceratops 1y ago
    That's a weird thing to be downvoted over. I didn't realize I was saying anything controversial.
  - nradov 1y ago
    Human bodies don't adapt much to become more metabolically efficient. Some endurance athletes will gain a few percent after extensive training but the effect is small. For some activities there is a skill and technique aspect which impacts the amount of energy required. Like if a keyboard jockey literally doesn't know how to swing a pickaxe effectively then they're going to burn more calories digging a ditch compared to someone who's been doing it for years.
    - triceratops 1y ago
      > Human bodies don't adapt much to become more metabolically efficient https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/the-exercise-paradox/ https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/the-exercise-para... That's not what recent research indicates. The author has written a book about this as well. It's the key evidence behind the idea that you can't outrun your fork. To lose weight diet is the only way. Exercise gives you a nicer-looking, stronger body but it can't do much to make you shed fat.

by nradov 1y ago

carabiner 1y ago

Hypothesis is that the irishmen were doing hard physical labor that required a high caloric intake. PCT thru-hikers consume 4,000-4,500 calories per day (at least I did) while staying thin. According to inter-net, 13 lb of potatoes has about 4,500 calories. Apparently US civil war soldiers expended 3-4k per day.

nradov 1y ago
I was responding to the claim by @codeableconcept that the absence of significant dietary fat somehow prevents obesity, independent of energy balance. That seems unlikely. Obviously it's possible for an active man to expend ~4500 kcal/day. I've done it myself many times. Even back during the Civil War, US soldiers typically consumed more energy dense food and only got a fraction of their calories from potatoes.

astura 1y ago

>it doesn't seem physically possible for most adult men to consume 13 pounds of potatoes a day. I'm a large man and I think I'd burst or vomit before choking down that much, Presumably you aren't doing hard manual labor every day.

nradov 1y ago
Not every day now, but I've done enough hard manual labor to know that it wouldn't allow me to eat 13 pounds of potatoes. Seriously no one was eating that much on as regular basis.
- codeableconcept 1y ago
  If your diet is 90% potatoes and you do hard manual labor all day, you would absolutely need about 7 pounds of potatoes (2500 calories). I don’t think 13 pounds seems that crazy. I have sat down at a meal and eaten 3 pounds of potatoes before.
  - wafflemaker 1y ago
    A little off topic, but there is this joke: A Russian and American soldier meet during some peacekeeping mission/veteran fair and discuss which army is better. They go through weapons, the American really likes AK-47. They talk about training. They discuss the distributed vs centralized command. Finally the American says that they eat 5k calories per day. The Russian suddenly jumps up, points his finger at the American and starts yelling: "Liar! Nobody can eat that much potatoes!"
- ipsento606 1y ago
  13 pounds of potatoes is about 4600 kcals. That's in the range of what an NFL athlete consumes in a day.
  - nradov 1y ago
    The problem is digesting that quantity of food, not the energy content. Elite athletes typically eat some potatoes but most of what they eat is more nutrient dense. Seriously guys, get out your scale and weigh 13 pounds of potatoes. Could you really consume that much volume in a day without feeling sick? Let's do a reality check here.
    - schrectacular 1y ago
      I had a HS friend who was a serious swimmer (not quite Olympic level but he won state championships) and watching him eat was insane. He would eat about 3x of what we all ate. Like literally down 3 sandwiches while we had one. I think he was on a 6000 calorie a day diet. I believe the potato thing. It sure sits outside what I think I could eat, but having seen others do similar, it seems realistic.
triceratops 1y ago
I thought human bodies adapt to strenuous effort and become more efficient over time. Meaning your average keyboard jockey might need 4000 calories per day if they become a manual laborer. But over time their body would adjust and they'd be able to get by on maybe 3000 calories.
- triceratops 1y ago
  That's a weird thing to be downvoted over. I didn't realize I was saying anything controversial.
- nradov 1y ago
  Human bodies don't adapt much to become more metabolically efficient. Some endurance athletes will gain a few percent after extensive training but the effect is small. For some activities there is a skill and technique aspect which impacts the amount of energy required. Like if a keyboard jockey literally doesn't know how to swing a pickaxe effectively then they're going to burn more calories digging a ditch compared to someone who's been doing it for years.
  - triceratops 1y ago
    > Human bodies don't adapt much to become more metabolically efficient https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/the-exercise-paradox/ https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/the-exercise-para... That's not what recent research indicates. The author has written a book about this as well. It's the key evidence behind the idea that you can't outrun your fork. To lose weight diet is the only way. Exercise gives you a nicer-looking, stronger body but it can't do much to make you shed fat.