Olympics - The Fit, the Fat and the Forties page

[annedawso]

Been enjoying watching some of the Olympics, especially the weight lifting.
What has shocked me is not how fit the Olympiads are, but how overweight a lot of the middle aged trainers are with big massive stomachs. It was the same for the table tennis and other sports we have watched. Presumably the trainers in their youths were athletic themselves. I assumed for some reason they would all be slim even now.

Just goes to show how the modern diet is affecting even the athletic community as they age.
Just read Gary Taubes book Why WeGet Fat and he says in there about how in middle age it is more and more difficult to stay slim cos of elevated insulin / blood sugars and that you become more sedentary not cos you want to but cos you have less energy due to metabolic disturbances.

As a 46 year old woman I can relate to all this. Despite doing several high intensity gym sessions a week and eating relatively clean I struggle to maintain a healthy weight.

[Leida]

It is actually very normal for athletes to gain a lot of weight once they stop training (i.e. become couches). In training the competitive athletes put in 6-8 hrs a day expanding huge resource, having huge external pressures to improve, i.e. intensifying their training. A lay person just doesn't have the time and drive to keep up with something like that, while the dietary changes are not as severe. Hence, a layer of fat. When I stopped swimming competitively at about 13 y.o (the crash of my very unsuccessful carrier, but still I was swimming 1.5 hrs 6 days a week), my mother was on me like a hawk to make sure I ate less. She knew what she was doing since she was a hurdler till she was 16 and went to the Uni (far more successful hurdler than i was a swimmer, lol!) and have faced an almost immediate weight gain.

[brighthorse]

Yes, I was noticing that myself. It seems if you are at the gym, pool, etc. for work that working out too would be a nature thing to do.
Yes, the older you get the harder it is. I am determined to keep on going. I like eating this way and the primal workout. Although I have a bit to go before I hit my goal weight, I am amazed at the reaction I get from friends who haven't seen me in awhile. Most comment, not on my weightloss, but how fit I appear. 8)

[noodletoy]

it's very common for retired athletes to pork up. they no longer work out 6-8 hours a day, and it seems many of them do nothing to scale down their food portions.

retired football and baseball players seem especially prone to this, since many of them are big dudes to begin with.

[sbhikes]

As a 46 year old woman I can relate to all this. Despite doing several high intensity gym sessions a week and eating relatively clean I struggle to maintain a healthy weight.

I hiked the Pacific Crest Trail, about 3000 miles, 25+ miles a day, and I had trouble with my weight even with that much exercise. Flour and sugar will do that to you. I just got back from a trip of 15 miles a day on moderate carb primal foods and lost lots of weight. I ate pemmican, dehydrated sweet potatoes, dried fruit, dried veggies, heart jerky, fresh wild greens and wild mushrooms. Never felt healthier.

[noodletoy]

i'll add too that many pro-athletes are pretty broken down with serious injuries and since they no longer get paid and shot up to "play through the pain", many activities are very difficult. lots of guys have hip and knee replacements well before the "normal" age for that sort of thing.

[annedawso]

I hiked the Pacific Crest Trail, about 3000 miles, 25+ miles a day, and I had trouble with my weight even with that much exercise. Flour and sugar will do that to you. I just got back from a trip of 15 miles a day on moderate carb primal foods and lost lots of weight. I ate pemmican, dehydrated sweet potatoes, dried fruit, dried veggies, heart jerky, fresh wild greens and wild mushrooms. Never felt healthier.

Trouble with me is I eat healthy but eat dark chocolate as a treat. Am trying to go cold turkey as think it has stalled my weight loss. Like the sound of your 15 mile a day hike, think 25 might be too much for me.
Never heard of pemmican, or heart jerky. Sounds very healthy and low carb. I am from Liverpool in the UK, our holidays are normally to a place called Centerparcs were you stay in a lodge in the woods. We walk about 5miles a day, ride bikes, play tennis and my kids play a lot of football, so we are quite active. However I find I come home exhausted. Plus I reward myself with dark chocolate. It really is my downfall.

[otzi]

Trouble with me is I eat healthy but eat dark chocolate as a treat. Am trying to go cold turkey as think it has stalled my weight loss. Like the sound of your 15 mile a day hike, think 25 might be too much for me.
Never heard of pemmican, or heart jerky. Sounds very healthy and low carb. I am from Liverpool in the UK, our holidays are normally to a place called Centerparcs were you stay in a lodge in the woods. We walk about 5miles a day, ride bikes, play tennis and my kids play a lot of football, so we are quite active. However I find I come home exhausted. Plus I reward myself with dark chocolate. It really is my downfall.

Dark chocolate is not a downfall--it is a blessing, especially if you can eat the 100% baking chocolate. 60-70% = downfall, though. Many, many health benefits to eating a couple ounces of dark chocolate a day.

re: OP, Did some extensive travelling the past few weeks. Spent a lot of time in Denver and Seattle airports. The sight of 40+ year old men's bellies was eye-opening. Very few men over the age of 40, it seems, have flat stomachs. The ones that do, look like they have been skinny their whole lives. It was easy to spot the 40+ yo men who exercise and eat right.

I saw some MONSTER guts out there, but the 'normal' belly seems to look like a normal weight man with a protruded abdomen. I believe one doctor calls this "Wheat Belly".

[sbhikes]

Dark chocolate and wine are both downfalls for me, and to some extent so is cheese. I consumed no chocolate or wine on my vacation and feel kind of happy to continue without it. Before my vacation it was hard not to give in. Seems easier now. My only problem now is that my body is rebelling from the weight loss and it's telling me that I'm so hungry. I don't know what to do. If I give in and eat I'll gain everything back. If I stay hungry won't I just ruin my metabolism just sitting here hungry at my desk? I really don't know what to do. It's not possible to get adequate exercise (adequate = strenuous exercise from breakfast to after dinner for me) as a person with a job. It's only 10AM and my stomach is growling.

[Leida]

Eat or it will drive you mad I have been there. I would go for high protein boring meal.