Awesome Ironmom! You sound like my sis who lives in Bellingham,Wa except for the cow. We all need to be more like you and my sis!!!:)

I look around and see a lot of couch warmers that eat more than I do. I saw a kid yesterday that couldnt have been more than 9, he was the size of three normal kids his age (who has was waddling around with.) That kid probably ate nearly as much as I do on a daily basis. I argue we are the sports cars of the human race. Those couch warmers that eat lots of food and go nowhere notable, THEY are the Hummers.

Good topic. I think we are less the Hummers that tend to be the commute car to a coffee shop or office a few miles down the road, that by the way probably never see anything but pavement beneath their chassis (sp?). We are the fuel efficient cars that travel long and experience more on the fuel we burn. Maybe we burn more, or equal to the average american (I never quite hit 4K kcal except maybe big big days), but we use that fuel more efficiently. 1,000 calories above what I need to maintain balanced health and weight can run me through the mountains, a lake swim, or cycling for a few hours. Unfortunately many consume that much extra just to get through looking at a computer of tv screen 10 hours a day. I think we set the good example, and you can take the approach Ironmom takes by eating organic and local and making less of an impact on the environment.

Cool to think about this though. What extras we consume because our bodies crave it and making sure we don't abuse that and become indulgent.

i think we are space shuttles. heck yeah we use a ridiculous amount of fuel, we get to FLY!!!

Gotta agree with Tribro here that we're the fuel efficient end of the spectrum. A hummer is selfish vanity. When was the last time a hummer used its performance to affect positive change? Didn't see any hummers or hummer drivers participating on behalf of ACS, Team in Training, or any like causes recently. Hummers don't seek out the healthiest or best environmental options. They utilize whatever petrol fuel source is readily available - and they do it often.

This discussion goes way beyond food. The average North American has a carbon footprint roughly 20 times that of someone living in India. And we have the nerve to scrutinize them for producing the Tata cars which will sell for a couple of thousand and improve the standard of living for many of India's residents. God forbid we should allow a developing nation to come even remotely close to the standard of living North Americans devour. What happens when they decide they all want electricity, heat, 2 cars, pools, carbon fiber bikes, fast food, cheap gas, bottled water, 4000 square foot home, 4000 calories a day...? Mother Earth goes belly up. They are now following in the carbon footsteps of the standard of life we are all guilty of creating and endorsing. At this point, I don't see caloric intake making much of a difference. We can probably slowly convince a nation to change it's eating habits. But trying to change it's sense of entitlement... Good luck.

I recently traveled to a midwest city. I was totally shocked to hear that the city did not offer recycling as an option. The people who I spoke with said they would only consider it if it "benefitted them". The restaurants I got take out from used the dreaded STYRAFOAM for to go cups of coke! You would never see that here. We recycle everything, in fact in Seattle fines are imposed if you don't. They just made it easier to recycle food--now it can go in the yardwaste cans and they pick up weekly. I honestly can't imagine not doing it as it is second nature to us. Our recycle bin totally fills where as our trash rarely comes close.

Soon the city will be charging .20 cents /plastic bag at the grocery-- a step in the right direction!

I would love to have chickens like Ironmom--but we travel quite a bit for recreation (races, vacations) and finding a "chicken sitter" is a bit more complicated than taking the dogs to the "spa" . Plus I think my beagles might eat them :)

Is a prius that is driven 1000 miles a day better than a hummer that is only driven 4? Sure we get more bang for our buck than most people but just because we can doesn't mean we should. I don't care if your car gets 100mpg, if you just drive around for $hits and giggles it is still a waste. Lets face some facts here, many of us are exercising far more than what is required to maintain good health. Will we cost the health care system less in the long run? Sure but could we get the same health benefits with half the exercise and fewer calories... probably. And this idea that we are competing to better a cause is almost silly. There are better ways to help if you are really interested. Can you raise more money for cancer by training 10 hours a week or by spending 10 hours every week doing fundraisers?

We train because we love it. We race because we love it. Are there benefits? Yes, and lots of them but this is a sport we do for ourselves. I think I agree with chekmarks. We are space shuttles or sports cars, want to see how fast we can go? Sure I burn more than the average person but I'm high performance. I hope to god I'm not a smart car. If I'm a smart car I'm going to end it all right now. That has to be one of the most stupid vehicles on the road. No horse power, no room inside, no storage capacity, not safe, and only 33mpg city. If I'm going to drive a golf cart with doors it had better get better gas mileage than my civic.

This sport enlarges our carbon foot print. And I'm ok with that. I don't race for the environment, I don't race for humanity, I don't race to be green, and I don't race to decrease my carbon footprint. To be honest, I could give a rats a$$ about my carbon footprint. I race and train for MY health, for MY mental well-being, for MY own entertainment. I race for Me and so do the rest of you and there is nothing wrong with that.

VIVA LE SPACE SHUTTLES!

You are forgetting the value of the impact our training has on others. Sure we train more than what is required of the human body and I'm just as guilty about eating enough food to feed a small village (I love Costco!).

But since I've started triathlons about a year ago:

-my dad has started running (first time in his life at the age of 52)
-I convinced a fried to join TNT for her first marathon
-my wife runs more now just so she doesn't feel lazy (she definitely is not) compared to my training
-I have a new guy at work who decided tri's were cool so he started training with us
-co-workers look to me for exercise advice since they know I'm one of those "crazy triathletes"
-my friend's brother was so impressed by my first triathlon that he decided that he would save his money to buy a bike and focus more on running so he could get into tris (he's 18 and a lifeguard)

So, yes I consume more than the average person and I do it primarily b/c it makes me happy, but I'm also not blind to the second hand effects that my training and dedication to triathlon has had on others.

I totally agree with caeagle16 about the health care costs we all pay for. If you look at the health problems in America we can trace the majority of them right back to unhealthy lifestyles. So, I'll use the extra fuel (food) that I have to put into my body to allow it to train at the volume I do if that means I have the opportunity to improve the health of others around me.