Overeating and Exercise

Question
QUESTION: My husband works out at least five times per week. He often runs several miles a few times a week, and strength trains the rest of the time. Because of this he likes to eat very large portions of food. He is currently at his desired weight, however, I worry that the large portions (of unhealthy foods) are still not good for his system in the long run. I cook healthy foods at home 90% of the time, but when we go out to restaurants he eats enough for 2-3 people. Is this habit offset by his exercise? Or, will there be a negative effect down the road on his heart, arteries, etc?

ANSWER: Francesca-

Honestly he needs the fuel for all that he is doing. If your cooking good 90% of the time then he's really doing great and should show no real ill effects of the eating he is doing. Just like the diet reported of olympic athletes like Micheal Phelps often we have to really bump our calories up to sustain our activity. Ive had to eat in excess of 9000 calorie a day to maintain when training for strongman.

I would make sure he's not eating a LARGE amount of processed carbohydrates on a daily basis and that he's getting a balance of fats usually thats means he would need to supplement with a fish oil in pretty high doses for the intake you are reporting. Id suggest in the range of 15-30 grams a day. Try to avoid trains fats. Saturated fats are OK as long as your getting the others Nuts, olive oil etc.

So in short he should be fine and it may be needed the High intake for his activity. It would be smart to have blood work done annualy to see how things are and if he stops training hard he must stop eating Big

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Thanks for that answer! Now, here is another issue we've been debating about. I'm an advocate of eating BROWN Rice. But my husband insists that WHITE Rice is really not that bad. I've been told that eating white rice is like eating glue! So, what is your take on the matter?

Answer
Francesca-

Your right in one aspect white rice is stripped of pretty much all of what we consider healthy, its been stripped of the germ and bran, many of the nutrients and pretty much all the finer and is now a highly processed, HIGH GI food, like white bread or even table sugar. Its quickly digested and takes very little energy to process, spiking insulin and leave you hungry very fast. This can be a BAD thing for many and they should stick to the brown whole rice still intact like it is in nature to get the nutrients and fiber.  

BUT!!!!!! In cases like you husbands white rice may be just what he needs to keep his calorie intake up. Due to his energy output / activity. Its away form him to get the calories he needs and have it digested fast so he can eat more later in a shorter amount of time and fuel his energy needs and recovery process.

Yes your right in the fats that brown rice from a health aspect is a MUCH better choice, BUT white rice is still very functional for some and it has its place in active individuals that need high caloric intake and dont have a problem with being over fat. But hey need to be sure to get their vitamin, mineral, and fiber intake elsewhere in their diet as white rice is pretty much worthless in that aspect.

I would also like to urge you to check out our site, articles and forum where myself and more of the best coaches, nutritionist, etc present info and answer questions.
www.staleytraining.com

Hope that helps  

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