Why Do Old Guys Get Fat in Winter?

The elusive "Old Guys Who Get Fat in Winter"
Racing Team jersey

Several years ago on Ride the Rockies I saw a guy wearing an "Old Guys Who Get Fat in Winter" racing team jersey (but I've never been able to find one for sale!). Having battled the bulge in my 20s and lost it in my 30s, I could relate to the annual weight gain cycle that plagues many men (and women, I gather from this Fabulous 40 & Beyond post) as we age. Now approaching the big 5-0 it seems to get harder and harder to lose the lose the weight come springtime so I am trying harder to avoid the gain. But I am finding that gets tougher, too.

So why do old guys get fat in winter? Some theories suggest that humans, like most mammals, instinctively store fat in winter to stay warm. I am somewhat skeptical of this hibernation theory -- essentially that our metabolism slows down to conserve energy during a period of cold weather when food supplies are scarce. We live in a climate-controlled world with abundant supplies of food a short ride away (hopefully with heated car seats)!

I put more stock in the "Holiday 10" hypothesis. Beginning with Halloween candy and extending through Thanksgiving over-eating, Christmas cookies, and New Year's over-indulgence my holidays are punctuated with family events focused on eating, drinking and being merry. I cannot even begin to calculate the number of calories I consumed this past week but it had to be at least 1,000 per day in beer alone!

But I am not going to deprive myself of holiday cheer in order to maintain my goal weight. As I have for the past 18 years I will simply increase calories burned to account for increased calories consumed. It's not really a very complicated concept. As I have often said, I swim, bike and run so I can drink beer (and enjoy other high calorie indulgences). And I eat beef to fuel my body with protein and nine other essential nutrients in a low calorie package (not to mention it tastes great and leaves me feeling full longer than other foods). 


One 3 oz. serving of beef provides more than 10 percent of 10 essential nutrients and vitamins for less than 10 percent of your daily calories

So here's my New Year's Resolution: Ride faster, run harder, swim more, eat more BEEF (and fruits and veggies) and save the calories for the good stuff (like my mom's pie!).

Diet and health can seem complicated. Keep it simple with beef.

Ride on,

Daren

P.S. Fire up a beef tenderloin for your New Year's celebration. One of the leanest and most tendcer cuts, tenderloin (aka filet) is an elegant and healthy way to ring in the new year and start 2013 off on the right foot! Try this recipe from Beef. It's What's for Dinner for a party pleaser!



I grilled up three 7-8 lb. whole tenderloins for Christmas dinner. The total price tag of $250 seems steep until you factor in that we fed 26 people for less than $10 per serving (and had at least half a roast leftover). Considering the crowd-pleasing flavor and low-calorie consequences (about 150 calories per serving), you can't go wrong with a tenderloin for your New Year's Eve party!

Why I Hate 5Ks

Sitting on the couch watching the traditional Detroit Lions game, I am questioning my decision to run the 8th annual Turkey Rock Trot 5K. My feet hurt, my legs hurt, my back hurts and even my brain hurts. During the race I kept trying to tell myself the pain was only temporary but the fact is I am still hurting and probably will be for the rest of the day.


Me (at left), my brother Jon (right)
and nephew Alex (center)
looking pretty confident before the race.

The thing that hurts the most though is I didn't even run a particularly fast race (my unofficial time was 24:50 according to my Garmin Forerunner 410). My 8:00/mile pace was almost half-a-minute per mile slower my last race that covered twice the distance (10K) and only slightly faster than my last half marathon (13.1 miles).

I could blame the altitude (Castle Rock sits at about 6,400 ft.) but that last half marathon was in Denver (the Mile High City at 5,280 ft.). I could blame the weather but it was a fairly pleasant morning in the 40s with very little wind, similar to that 10K in North Dakota. I could blame it on a tough course but it's actually pretty flat and not particularly challenging. It just doesn't add up.

Maybe I'm just sore that I didn't reach my goal to break 24:00 and set a new 5K PR. I was battling a lot of mental "can't" during the race. My splits tell the story. I ran the first mile in 7:34, right on the pace I wanted to run today, and it's the toughest mile on the course. But for some reason I couldn't hold that pace and slowed to 8:06 in mile two.

I was just telling my brother and nephew that I got discouraged when I saw the 2K sign. "Only 1.2 miles?" I thought, "Not even halfway. I can't run this fast for another 2 miles." Then I got irritated. "Why do they have K markers instead of mile markers? We aren't in Europe!"

My brother just told me he got discouraged when a guy in an elf costume passed him. Funny how we let silly things discourage us. Thinking back I should have just set my sights on reaching the 3K marker and celebrating being over halfway. Instead I slowed down.

Here we are post-race, trying to mask the pain with a smile :)

By the time we made the turn towards home with about one mile to go I knew I would have to run a 7:30 mile to break 24:00. Instead, I slowed to 8:24 in the third mile before sprinting the final one-tenth of a mile to the finish line. To be honest, for much of that last mile I was thinking about walking, but I never did. 

I hate finishing a race feeling like I didn't give it my all. Seems like that happens to me every time I run a 5K. That's why I hate 5Ks. Short races require you to run all out for the entire race. To do that you have to push through the pain and negative thoughts that come with it. The devil on my shoulder got the best of me today.

While I didn't reach my goal I didn't quit either. I crossed the finish line ahead of everyone who didn't run the race :)

Ride on!

Daren

Let's Talk Turkey (and BEEF, of course!)

With Thanksgiving fast approaching (why is it so early this year?) many people's thoughts turn to turkey. According to the National Turkey Federation, nearly 88 percent of Americans eat turkey at Thanksgiving and approximately 736 million pounds of turkey were consumed in the United States during Thanksgiving in 2011. Frankly, Thanksgiving is one of the few days out of the year that even I will consume fowl :)

But more and more every year, most runners' thoughts about Thanksgiving include beginning the day with a 5K, commonly known as a "turkey trot." I found 458 activities matching "turkey trot" on Active.com, including these 10 Turkey Trots to be Thankful For. And why not? It's a great way to start a day when the average American will consume more than 4,500 calories on Thanksgiving Day alone, according to the Caloric Control Council. That's twice the number of calories (2,000) recommended daily for most Americans!


I'll be trimming up a beef rib roast for Christmas!

Speaking of calories, did you know there are more calories in 6 ounces of white and dark meat turkey (340) than the same amount of BEEF prime rib (330)? I've blogged before about how turkey (and bison) are not leaner than beef but even I found this calorie comparison surprising! Check out this Thanksgiving Calorie Calculator to total your Thanksgiving feast calories and see how far you must walk in steps, miles and kilometers to walk it off.


I'll be running in my Team BEEF jersey
on Turkey Day 2012!

Running a Turkey Day race has been a holiday tradition for me since my first Turkey Rock Trot shortly after moving to Castle Rock, Colorado, in 2006. This year I will be running it with my brother, Jon, and other family members visiting for Thanksgiving. My goal is to break 24 minutes for the first time and set a new PR around 23:30 (according to Athlinks my official 5K record is 24:09). This would be about the same pace (7:35/mile) that I ran the Beefin' It Up; Fuel for the Finish 10K in North Dakota earlier this year (at a much lower altitude!).

I have been running fairly consistently since that race, averaging around 8 minute miles on training runs in mostly flat, lower altitude places like Lubbock, Texas (on the campus of Texas Tech University), Kansas City (through Westport) and Manhattan, Kansas (through Aggieville and the campus of Kansas State University).

To get back in race form I plan to follow a similar pattern to my Two-Week 10K Training Program, working in at least one speed workout per week on the local high school track. But right now I'm heading out for an LSD trail run with my black lab, Casey. Goal for today is just to enjoy the bright Colorado sunshine and burn some calories!

Ride on...

Daren