The Druids Grove

Tudamorf wrote:There are plenty of fat ex-athletes, so no, it's not magic anti-obesity genes.

I have a family friend who would like to disagree with you

For over 40 years he ate/drank close to 7k calories and never gained a pound. Age is finally taking over his metabolism though and he hates it

Genetics does have a factor, even if you don't believe it. But mainly wanted to comment on his caloric intake. It was crazy what his intake of calories was at one point in his life. BTW, he's down to 5k calories (cut out the alcohol and soda mostly but replaced some of that with candy) and he's only gaining 1-2 pounds a year. That's 5k calories a day avg. Dang him and his fast metabolism.

AbyssalMage wrote:Genetics does have a factor,

But it's not specific to athletes. Athletes gain and lose fat just like everyone else. Former athletes who become sedentary and don't change their diets get fat. But those who remain active throughout their lives rarely if ever have an issue with getting fat.

The notion of the fanatic low-carb zealot quoted above, that athletes have magic anti-obesity genes that somehow subconsciously guide them all to athletics, is absurd. Then again, "eat a good balanced diet and exercise" doesn't sell fad diet books to desperate fat people, even though it's the only weight management advice that has remained consistently true for many decades.