hungry

There's a compelling article by Mark Sisson in the recent Rivendell Reader about endurance athletics. Sisson was a competitive triathlete and marathon racer until he discovered an alternate exercise plan. This plan is based on evolutionary ideas: that mankind has historically walked around most of the time with sporadic bouts of sprinting. For example, a hunter slowly wanders around looking for game until he finds it. Then, he sprints all out to catch it. On the other hand, he could jog at brisk pace for several hours looking for food. But if the prey appears late in the jog, he might be too tired to capture it. Sisson's theory is that our body systems have adapted to function optimally under these conditions. So maybe super long, hard runs and bike rides aren't actually good for us.

I've sort of taken this approach with my bike riding lately. But what I changed the most is my eating routine. I've started eating less than I can at meals, and I don't eat any snacks (has been candy bars) in the afternoon. Not surprisingly, I'm often hungry. I'm also very excited to eat when it is meal time. The food tastes great!

The most curious thing I've encountered is that I don't know when I'm 'full'. And this is especially challenging since we eat different food every day. Even if I could remember how much pasta I ate last night, that doesn't tell me anything about how many grilled cheese sandwiches I need to eat tonight.

I think my brain is not happy with the situation. It will probably win in the end.