Ever hear of the dichotomy, Eat to Live vs. Live to Eat? If the activity level goes up, so does the capacity to Eat to Live.

Taste buds change, cravings change, responses to food textures change, brain chemistry changes. I had heard that theorized, but it was not until our summer vacation that I saw it in practice.

My husband and I focus on our respective sports; my BIL and SIL who we were visiting focus on their scales and their tastebuds. Guess which couple managed to find time to squeeze in their sport workouts even while on vacation, and guess which couple were gorging at the restaurant meals?

Yes, my husband and I enjoyed some treats, but in small portions. Not by discipline, as might have been the case formerly-- but because eating as much as the other couple just FELT.... gross.

Yes we took a bite or two of whatever was passed to share-- but we were fine with just the tastes, and filled up much sooner on far less food than our counterparts. They dreaded returing to their high-paid gym trainers; we looked forward to our next day's sports plans. And let me tell you, we had a lot of challenge in those plans from weather, facilities, and equipment problems-- mere grist for the problem-solving mill.


As an athlete, I eat to live. At the pool I divide lunch into two mini-meals. In these mini-meals, the grapefruit I hate otherwise tastes GREAT after a hard running set. Once or twice a month (now that I have all these muscles itching to burn fat) I live to eat, in much smaller quantities than before.

If you focus only on the food and treat it as an enemy, you spend far more mental energy and angst than if you simply get moving. Yes, it took a year to convert my metabolism. Yes, I thought I would never lose, never feel well, never get strong without hurting all the time, never change measurements. Yes, menopause complicated things metabolically. More mere grist.

It takes longer if you don't start. Once you start, though, what you quickly discover is that road cyclists, runners, and swimmers actually know a thing or two worth studying and emulating. And that is-- DUH, we need calories! :~)

~Susan-with-results-and-poolful-of-people-with-results