Deleted by the author because I don't want to offend anyone.

Edited by reacttocontact on 03/24/2012 23:04:50 MDT.

Mostly because Americans are the fattest people on the planet perhaps? Looking to make new friends?

Middle age... eat too much... slower metabolism... eat too much...

I just thought it was a legitimate question. time to make my thread go away.

Hey Ben, I'm 35. That middle age stuff doesn't work.

Edited by rcaffin on 04/22/2012 03:19:24 MDT.

"Hey Ben, I'm 35. That middle age stuff doesn't work."

Give it time... won't be long now...

Nah. I drive less than 5000 miles a year. I hike/run 50 miles a week. I have a newfound love for Ultra Marathon's also. Doing the Run Rabbit Run 50 and the Bear Chase 50 this year. Not a chance. :)

Check back in 20 years.

Can you at least tell us what the OP was ? Maybe using some diplomacy??

I think i know what you are asking judging by the responses.. but maybe not.
Anyhow, I became a fat pig after two of my thru hikes.
Mainly from comparative lack of activity and eating like I was still hiking 14 hours a day.
I still train all year but it's pretty hard to compare an 8 mile hike twice a week to 25 miles a day everyday for 4 months.
After my third hike, and having lost 20 lbs doing it, I made a concerted effort to keep active and re-train my eating habits.
Have i been successful? Not really.. i like beer.
I definitely wont win any beauty contests but that has never been my intention.
I am healthy and now know I could walk out my door and accross the planet with the only limiting factors being time and money.. not my body.
I choose to identify with the mental strength I have gained from experience and the spirit i have fostered instead of how I look or how small my waist line is.
Of the younger friends that hiked with, many stayed skinny after the trail. Some gained weight.
Us "older" folks mostly gained weight.
We like beer.
Gaining weight does not seem to be an inhibiting factor to the completion of long distance hikes since the weight is lost quite quickly out on the trail in the first weeks of the hike.
Another interesting factoid regarding gender and weight loss on long trails;
Guys lose a lot of weight and get the "T-Rex" physique (big legs and tiny arms only suitable for eating) while gals lose very little weight.
Womens bodies switch into survival mode and become more efficient or something.
It is a really weird phenomenon.
For my next hike i plan on having Ron Bell make me a cuben fiber wheel barrow to haul my gut with. :)

Edited by Ice-axe on 03/25/2012 11:09:18 MDT.

"For my next hike i plan on having Ron Bell make me a cuben fiber wheel barrow to haul my gut with. :)"

That is FUNNY!!!! Good laugh to start the day.

I think that once the starvation response has been activated, the body will want to store fat.

It gets funnier.
Part of the original reason i got into longdistance hiking was because i was turning 40.
I was losing my body to time and my youthful perception of myself no longer jibed with the reality of my physical form.
It was on the CDT in 2010 when a piece of my molar fell out of my mouth when i came to the stark realization that my body is finally falling apart due to age and wear.
I carried that piece of tooth to the next town and even tried to glue it back in place with some 2hr epoxy to no avail.
I already had grey hair but this was something new.. a part of my body had fallen off.
I resolved to identify with the "light" instead of the "light buld" which is the vehicle.
Now i am free to fall apart at will. I am okay with that. I will never be 20 years old again.

But my journey is not over yet...

To hear people here talk about "middle age" and turning 40 as if it's some pivotal point in life where you just concede to the slow decline of your body is about the biggest cop out I've heard. Age is a figure that's all in your head, a crutch that so many people use to excuse inactivity. We live with our bodies everyday, it is habitual neglect and poor choices that accumulate, not a year turning on a calendar that is to blame. You can do things at 40 that you never dreamed about doing at 20. Age isn't a weakness. Don't give me the "Oh, just wait until you're my age" speech, or "Wait 20 years" talk, it's all rubbish.

Excuses.

I wish that were true, Eugene. I wish that were true.

Sorry, Eugene, but you will age.

You can slow down the effect, but you will still age.

A good physical fitness plan, carried out, will help immensely. But you will still age.

And then there are things like car accidents, cancer, etc.

When you are 60, you won't be the same as when you are 35. Because you have aged.

I'm not getting any older. I simply quit celebrating my birthdays.

Remember, it's not how old you are that counts, it's how old you think you are.

--B.G.--

I'm a foolish optimist with a big mouth, that's for sure. Forgive my immature brashness.

I understand Stephen and you're right, our bodies will inevitably succumb to unexpected events and trauma (accidents, cancer, disease, genetics, etc), but our mind, attitude, outlook, and willpower does not have to. It seems that it is instilled in our culture here in America to fear being of middle age or a senior. Why? That's a sad outlook on life. To always be looking at the past thinking "Man, if I were only 20 again!" doesn't do you any good at 30, 40, 50, etc. I'm not saying it's easy, but we do have some choice. I have seen my father who is now 52 cultivate a life of activity and seen this payoff for him. Maybe my inspiration is atypical here in America, but it is a possibility and not out of the realm of reality.

Edited by Eugeneius on 03/25/2012 15:19:40 MDT.

> "middle age" and turning 40 as if it's some pivotal point in life where you just
> concede to the slow decline of your body is about the biggest cop out I've heard.
Me Too!
40 is young. Seriously. We see 80 year olds still walking in the mountains. The secret is, as someone once said here on BPL, is 'never stop'.

Cheers

"Maybe my inspiration is atypical here in America..."

Actually, no, not atypical at all. I still remember the "jogging craze" back in the mid / late '70s. Baby boomers in their '30s were pretty determined they were not going to age like their parents -- and were equally sure that if anybody could avoid aging, it would be they.

Of course it pays to keep healthy and in shape regardless of age. Ah, but youthful exuberance to think that aging is rubbish...

Edited by ben2world on 03/25/2012 16:01:07 MDT.

My motivation was the opposite - my dad died of heart disease when he was 52. So did a couple of uncles and an aunt, all on my dad's side. That gave me a lot of motivation to stay fit.

Then I got cancer at 53! Couldn't believe it wasn't heart disease! "No, no, we don't get cancer, we get heart disease!" By the time that was over, I'd gained 20 lbs and lost my lean century-riding cyclist physique. It's taken me seven years to lose ten of those pounds and get back to halfway decent shape.

So in spite of what I was at 30, 40 and even 50, as I'm coming up on 60, my pride in my fitness (pre-cancer) is knocked out of me, and I'm still determinedly fighting to get back into good condition, so I have as much chance as possible to maintain fitness in my 60s, 70s and 80s.