Lessons from the seat of a bicycle
Disclaimer: I wrote this post long ago when I was feeling facetious, but you can see I have long thought diets don’t work.
Ever imagine eating chocolate malt after chocolate malt, mounds of pizza, piles of french fries? Do you envision eating an entire box of Cocoa Pebbles and a quart of whole milk for breakfast, or perhaps you prefer platters of eggs and bacon? And snacking all day long? If so, this could be you!
What’s the catch, you ask? The catch is riding a fully loaded (40-80 pounds) touring bicycle 35-100 miles a day across the country or, in my case, around the world. I consumed an average of 6,500 calories a day, three times the recommended daily allowance. On my trip across the USA, I lost 40 pounds in the first two months. In fact, short of an all-you-can-eat buffet, I couldn’t get enough. At one restaurant with a scale, I ate 7 pounds of food, and I was saving room for beer at the bar afterwards.
These kinds of eating habits for the adventurer are common. For instance, hikers on the Appalachian Trail may eat whole sticks of butter or bricks of cheese in one sitting, and adventurers in extreme climates, like the Arctic or Mt. Everest, may carry whole buckets of butter. And, in between escapades, what can be more fun than eating like a bear bulking up for the winter months?
That being said, try cycling a marathon day after day on a diet of potato chips and beer. You won’t get far. After some months on the bike, I had trouble keeping the pounds on. I couldn’t get enough protein and nourishment. In addition to calories, my body needed more of everything. More water, electrolytes, vitamins… My body burned my muscles right off my bones to fuel that bicycle. I was frightened to learn that during periods of severe starvation, your body will even burn your bones and internal organs as fuel.
The extreme exercise actually taught me to listen to my body’s cravings. I replaced fat-free carbs with veggies, meat and cheese, and my health greatly improved. Even my mood improved with fewer episodes of depression.
What I propose is more of an exercise program than a diet. I don’t believe in diets. They have never worked for me. However, exercise until you’re exhausted, and your body will teach you what it needs. Learn to listen to your body, and I guarantee you will lose fat, gain muscle, speed up your metabolism and improve your mood, all while eating like a king.
