Marathon Running and Weight Loss

The prior post aside, no, you can't run yourself thin:

"Runner's World: Why did you do this study?

"Mary Kennedy: I got the same question so often from people in marathon-training groups: 'Why aren't I losing weight?' Usually I'd give the standard response: 'You must be eating too much.' It was also possible that people weren't moving as much as normal after their workouts–they were 'compensating' for their workouts–so maybe their calorie output didn't actually increase. Eventually I realized, we don't really know the answer, and there's no good data to work from. So I thought we should devise this simple study to begin the data collection.

"RW: Did the results surprise you?

"MK: I wouldn't say there were any big surprises. More women tended to be weight gainers. I think I might have guessed that, though the reasons aren't clear.

"Also the subjects' 'eating habits' appeared to be very important. The ones who were very diligent about what they ate were less likely to gain weight. That's not a big surprise either...."

This was my experience.  I didn't lose the extra 15 pounds I was carrying around until I fixed my diet.  No amount or frequency of running or other exercise made a meaningful difference.

Running is great for you, and a terrific complement to the sort of healthy diet I advocate here, and it apparently has many other health benefits.  Plus it's a heck of a lot of fun, IMHO.

But it's not a reliable way to lose weight.

"My 120 Pound Journey"

Terrific.

"Wheat One-Liners"

Dr. Davis is firing on all cylinders....

Follow-Up To "Vitamin D Foolishness"

Dr. Davis writes the statement the Institute of Medicine should have released.

Original post.

P.S. Dr. Davis is still annoyed about this.

Olympic Gold-Medalist Lindsey Vonn Goes Low-Carb

Low-carb, high energy

"Vonn has also sought the advice of a nutritionist, hoping for an energy boost to get her through the nearly 40 races of the World Cup season.

"'I always ate healthy, but it wasn’t scientific,' she said. 'Now it’s a high-protein diet and no carbohydrates. I have more consistent energy and I don’t get tired after a meal. It does take a very detailed meal plan.'

"Thomas Vonn, a retired ski racer who given the opportunity might prefer beer and pizza, has gotten used to his wife weighing her specially designed meals beforehand."

Makes perfect sense to me.

Via John Durant.

Pro Golfer's "Foot Fault"

Five.

No, I have no idea who Oliver Wilson is, but I do like his shoes.

"Oliver Wilson's Foot Fault": what a great title.

My Vitamin D Experiment

As you'll note from this picture, I'm not well-adapted to the sun. ;) 

My ancestors pretty clearly lived mostly in the woods in an area with little annual sunlight, and consumed a fair amount of wheat.

For years this has been my bane: any lengthy sun exposure, say an hour or more, would leave me roasted.  To top it off, I hate sunscreen.

So I developed an extensive collection of hats, and learned to wear long-sleeved shirts on hot days.

Then at the end of last winter I read this post by Stephan Guyenet*:

"There's a mouse model of skin cancer called the Skh:HR-1 hairless mouse. When exposed to UV rays and/or topical carcinogens, these mice develop skin cancer just like humans (especially fair-skinned humans). Researchers have been studying the factors that determine their susceptibility to skin cancer, and fat is a dominant one. Specifically, their susceptibility to skin cancer is determined by the amount of linoleic acid in the diet."

Post moved to Substack.