General Discussion

NickB79

(20,329 posts)

52. When I was a teen, I was eating 3000+ calories a day working on the farm

Thu Apr 23, 2015, 11:07 AM

Apr 2015

I was one of those kids who was skinny and struggled to put on weight no matter what he ate. I actually had to come up with a protein-intensive meal plan once I got to college to put on 20 lb of muscle to get where I wanted to be.

Even today, I routinely consume 2500+ calories a day at age 35, but I've only gained 10 lb in the past decade due to remaining physically active at home and at work. I'm 5'9", 160 lb, fairly athletic build.

Now that I'm reaching that age where I have to worry about my metabolism dropping, though, I've started looking at more vegetarian meals and smaller portion sizes to guard against future weight gain. Soda is almost entirely out now, and it helps a LOT that my 5-yr old daughter has inherited my love of physical activity and loves biking, playing soccer, running around the park, etc.

Edit history

Please sign in to view edit histories.

Recommendations

0 members have recommended this reply (displayed in chronological order):

117 replies

= new reply since forum marked as read

Highlight:

�let us bust the myth of physical activity and obesity. You cannot outrun a bad diet� [View all] malaise Apr 2015 OP

Big biz with their ' human rights ' need to be policed. orpupilofnature57 Apr 2015 #1

Good for them. It's about time the food supply got cleaned up. nt Nay Apr 2015 #2

They better be careful. ANYONE who dares to tell the truth about our food supply sabrina 1 Apr 2015 #65

Here is the truth about our food industry.. Stuart G Apr 2015 #108

I remember reading about the fight and the money spent by the Sugar Industry sabrina 1 Apr 2015 #109

Thank You ...Here is an interview with an expert on how the Sugar Industry Addicts Us Stuart G Apr 2015 #110

Myth? Erich Bloodaxe BSN Apr 2015 #3

You lose *fat*, not weight. n/t eggplant Apr 2015 #35

If you want to be technical, you lose mass. Erich Bloodaxe BSN Apr 2015 #45

Agreed LondonReign2 Apr 2015 #39

For me, personally, exercise and activity are vital for keeping weight in check Art_from_Ark Apr 2015 #84

But you can make a hell of a lot of money using that as a smokescreen while feeding shit to the jtuck004 Apr 2015 #4

The junk food industry wants you to exercise GreatGazoo Apr 2015 #5

ROFLMAO snooper2 Apr 2015 #53

I once had a primary care doc explain it this way: mnhtnbb Apr 2015 #6

That's a good way of putting it. nt bananas Apr 2015 #15

Can't... sendero Apr 2015 #29

I call BS Orrex Apr 2015 #40

That's pretty funny. mnhtnbb Apr 2015 #44

it is still a mix though qazplm Apr 2015 #56

Yep. I burn about 400 calories in an hour long run. That's how much one Marr Apr 2015 #68

Thanks for posting this.mnhtnbb... Stuart G Apr 2015 #106

What's so difficult about "Burn more calories than you eat?" DetlefK Apr 2015 #7

Hmmmmmm ..... Scuba Apr 2015 #8

Yep, portion control is key Proud Public Servant Apr 2015 #10

So my parents brought us up playing games and exercising malaise Apr 2015 #19

Madness??People are addicted to this junk food. Stuart G Apr 2015 #107

Great post malaise Apr 2015 #112

Pretty good diagram. pangaia Apr 2015 #27

No kidding... sendero Apr 2015 #30

Too much competition in the industry. randome Apr 2015 #33

I eat at home 98% of the time but when I go to a restaurant I almost always have leftovers. Arugula Latte Apr 2015 #58

Just because portions are bigger doesn't mean people eat them eridani Apr 2015 #89

There's a great documentary on this called Marr Apr 2015 #69

Thanks... sendero Apr 2015 #70

I have only eaten out three times since January exboyfil Apr 2015 #46

Just my personal experience Proud Public Servant Apr 2015 #9

I lost 70 pounds a few years back, while continuing to eat all the things I like. Scuba Apr 2015 #12

Congratulations! TexasMommaWithAHat Apr 2015 #14

My personal experience mirrors your experience fasttense Apr 2015 #16

my experience NJCher Apr 2015 #32

Yup. Its about carbs and the wrong fats. lindysalsagal Apr 2015 #82

Thanks for the advice fasttense Apr 2015 #97

the best part is NJCher Apr 2015 #113

Congrats to you for quitting smoking! mnhtnbb Apr 2015 #38

"AND log everything you put in your mouth." Proud Public Servant Apr 2015 #49

Yeah, it took me a year to gain the weight fasttense Apr 2015 #98

Plateaus are a huge problem. jeff47 Apr 2015 #47

Well I suppose the good news is I'm not gaining anymore. fasttense Apr 2015 #100

Some plateau busting suggestions mnhtnbb Apr 2015 #102

Excellent post malaise Apr 2015 #22

Low carb is working for me. Amazing I am never hungry. nt Logical Apr 2015 #88

Dwayne "TheRock" Johnson says 90% of the work is in the kitchen. KentuckyWoman Apr 2015 #115

We eat more. TexasMommaWithAHat Apr 2015 #11

Sure seems like that - TBF Apr 2015 #13

Portion control is part of French haute cuisine. They know about too much of a good thing. Surya Gayatri Apr 2015 #17

What a great link! spinbaby Apr 2015 #74

The secret is in eating a good diet SoCalDem Apr 2015 #94

Yep, that sums it up spinbaby Apr 2015 #20

Precisely malaise Apr 2015 #23

I try to share meals with my 5-yr old daughter when we're out and about NickB79 Apr 2015 #54

Even With "Healthy' Food AnnieBW Apr 2015 #86

yes. I started counting calories until I adjusted to smaller portion sizes Liberal_in_LA Apr 2015 #103

Also, some meds cause weight gain. Some medical conditions do too. Hypothyroidism for one. nt raccoon Apr 2015 #18

Didn't know that but it makes sense malaise Apr 2015 #24

That's true-- very often, though, people self-diagnose conditions like that and just give up. Marr Apr 2015 #72

For sure laundry_queen Apr 2015 #116

This is not completely accurate Cosmocat Apr 2015 #21

Yes, it's very annoying if what people get from this article is "Hey, I don't need to exercise!" Silent3 Apr 2015 #114

Depends how bad the diet is. You can overeat by 1000 calories if you run 10 miles a day (provided MillennialDem Apr 2015 #25

This is true metalbot Apr 2015 #34

And that's the reality of their findings malaise Apr 2015 #37

I used to work in a sawmill, 8 hours a day of throwing wet lumber around. bemildred Apr 2015 #42

When I was a teen, I was eating 3000+ calories a day working on the farm NickB79 Apr 2015 #52

or you can put the treadmill on a high incline qazplm Apr 2015 #57

Personally, I think weight training is the single best form of exercise for just about everyone. Marr Apr 2015 #73

It depends on how you do it Major Nikon Apr 2015 #78

Portion control. Hoppy Apr 2015 #26

Another key to this entire discussion is to stop being addicted to our taste buds. randome Apr 2015 #28

Yep. Gotta choose the chemistry, not the taste. lindysalsagal Apr 2015 #83

Diet is critical. Doesn't mean exercise "does not promote weight loss" RedCappedBandit Apr 2015 #31

Message auto-removed Name removed Apr 2015 #36

What type of exercise? Yavin4 Apr 2015 #41

But not if you are eating all that fast food junk malaise Apr 2015 #92

No. Of course not, but the article states that exercising does not promote weight loss Yavin4 Apr 2015 #95

A trip to the grocery store fadedrose Apr 2015 #43

Actually, I can see how true that is. Xyzse Apr 2015 #48

Unfortunately, America's poor don't have access to either exercise or proper nutritional food. KitSileya Apr 2015 #50

"without refrigerators"? EX500rider Apr 2015 #101

Yeah, American households have refrigerators. KitSileya Apr 2015 #111

Dump the S.A.D. and start getting healthy! tridim Apr 2015 #51

Oops, wrong place Arugula Latte Apr 2015 #59

When I was younger (under 40 say) exercise was my only effective weight control. lumberjack_jeff Apr 2015 #55

I've heard that weight loss is at least 80 percent diet, 20 percent exercise. Arugula Latte Apr 2015 #60

Well said malaise Apr 2015 #61

Why thank you! Arugula Latte Apr 2015 #63

You can. The question is whether or not you want to Prism Apr 2015 #62

exercise is about more than losing weight, it is about discipline and routine cbdo2007 Apr 2015 #64

I've never known anyone who said "You cannot outrun a bad diet..." Blue_Tires Apr 2015 #66

That could not be more true. Marr Apr 2015 #67

Here's a question: What's more important: weight or health? Adrahil Apr 2015 #71

Well, at a certain point it would become nearly impossible to exercise - but yes, an overweight or MillennialDem Apr 2015 #75

Exactly my point. Mostly. Adrahil Apr 2015 #91

Both are important. Neither should be ignored. Major Nikon Apr 2015 #80

Then there's this Adrahil Apr 2015 #90

The elite athlete is the exception not the norm malaise Apr 2015 #117

You need both. One, reduce caloric intake, and two physical activity still_one Apr 2015 #76

True Major Nikon Apr 2015 #81

Correct, but even mild exercise has benefits including preventing type II diabetis and cardio still_one Apr 2015 #85

Ideally you want to do some kind of exercise that raises your heart rate Major Nikon Apr 2015 #87

yes. and not eat a donut with the plan to exercise it off Liberal_in_LA Apr 2015 #105

The government needs to start subsidizing localvore movement, organic farming, low meat but Dont call me Shirley Apr 2015 #77

"The truth, they say, is that while physical activity is useful in reducing the risk of developing liberal_at_heart Apr 2015 #79

It matters not at all that better diets and more activity don't fix obesity eridani Apr 2015 #93

Losing weight is generally very easy.. Feron Apr 2015 #96

The doctors are idiots. former9thward Apr 2015 #99

Don't smoke, eat a balanced, healthy diet, drink lots of water, get enough sleep, Zorra Apr 2015 #104