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How can bodybuilders eat so much and not get fat?
Posted by: PFB
Q. Why can some bodybuilders eat so many calories each day? If I eat over 2,500 calories a day, I get fat. Do these mega-calorie eaters have super-fast metabolisms?
A. Big bodybuilders have always confounded the scientists. I've known numerous top bodybuilders who actually eat at least 6,000 calories a day. Sure, they train hard, but the amount of energy expenditure isn't all that enormous, not like an endurance runner or a bicycle racer. And if you bothered to find out the body temperatures of the big muscle guys, they aren't usually over normal. So what's happening with all the calories? There's no magic going on here. Most scientists don't often see human bodies over 250 lbs with less than 10% bodyfat. Fatter bodies at the same body weight don't need as much food. Fat cells don't use very much energy. Fat also is an excellent insulator. You should understand that body temperature is not only how much heat is generated within the muscle cells. It's also tied in to how much heat is radiated out into the air. When bodyfat is lowered into single digits and the skin is only about two to four millimeters thick, tremendous amounts of heat escape into the environment. If we could suddenly throw another 25 pounds of fat on a 250-pound lean bodybuilder, the energy requirements would lessen because more heat would be held in by the body. If you want to eat more food without getting fat, lower your bodyfat, so you become a better heat radiator. You may not be able to eat 6,000 calories, but then again, if you were 250 pounds and had 6% bodyfat, you wouldn't be asking the question, would you?
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