Lightweight Eats

I see what other people eat on a regular basis and it gets me to wondering: how are Americans so incredibly thin? Don't get me wrong, we're an obese nation, but with the amount of food most people eat, I'm amazed that we aren't a fatter nation.

Despite exercising for significantly more than two hours daily, I eat a diet of primarily vegetables just to maintain my weight. I don't eat cake, muffins, ice cream or even bagels slathered with cream cheese, when people (myself included) think I should be able to eat whatever I want.

Believe me, I want to eat a lot more than I can.

Even looking back on my high school years, I find it remarkable how much food I consumed. Even when I began training in May, I was eating significantly more. Yet, clearly I was still the same person. So I got to thinking.

The Garmin Dan gave me for Christmas has a heart rate monitor that tracks calorie expenditure. There are a few factors that go into this: your self-assessed fitness level (on a scale from 1-10), your weight/size, and your heart rate.

My heart rate at any given time? It's very low. In fact, it's much lower than it has ever been for a given energy expenditure. It stays under 100 for a brisk walk; sits around 55 when I'm lounging on my computer; and has trouble going over 140 on the stationary bike.

And that's what a lot of exercise is supposed to do: make your muscles more efficient. This allows you to go faster for longer.

But I wonder: does it also mean I burn fewer calories on day-to-day activities? Perhaps, where I used to burn 100 calories a mile, I now burn 70-80 because my body isn't working as hard. And perhaps, sitting still, my base calorie burn is almost nonexistent.

I certainly don't miss the days where running a mile was impossibly difficult. But maybe, just maybe, there's a fringe benefit to being out of shape--every little thing really does count.

In the meantime, I'll take my lunch salads with a side of Olympic dreams.