My favorite feeling is perhaps the empty hollowness of hunger. That statement, in itself, is a declaration of the privileged life I’ve led; it is borderline obscene to boast of such a thing in a world where 842 million people don’t have enough to eat. Nevertheless, being lucky enough to have been raised in America and just competent enough to hold down a job, I find myself in the enviable position of needing to invoke “discipline” in order to experience this sensation.
All that aside, I love feeling hungry, both physically and metaphorically. Physically, being hungry brings something primal out in me; there is an edge that awakens which feels dormant when I’ve eaten. I’m sharper, more alive somehow.
When I eat or drink too much, I feel it in my flesh; I feel the lethargy that comes with food everywhere. I feel it on my back, I feel it in my limbs, I feel it in my eyes – everything is weighed down and blurred. When I am overweight, I find I can go all day without eating and hardly give it a thought. When I’m training and riding well and my weight is down, I can eat breakfast, lunch, and dinner and never feel sated. That is the feeling of hunger to which I refer; not a desire to starve, but a physical condition where sustenance feels impossible to achieve. This is a beautiful state where everything feels alive and there is a sharpness and precision in every motion.
There is also a metaphorical hunger, which I don’t think we can achieve without the physical sort. The metaphorical sort is borne of desire and need. This is what drives us to achieve more than we normally would. Sean Kelly talks of this hunger in his book by the same name; in his opening chapter, he says he would rather fall into the any of the greenhouses below the sweeping hairpins along the descent from the Poggio into Sanremo than face defeat by Moreno Argentin. That is hunger in the metaphorical sense.
I am a better person when I feel hunger; I have drive, I have humility, I have courage. When hunger stirs, we come alive with an urgency we don’t otherwise find. Without it, there is no compulsion to act, to fight, or to endure.
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@meursault
Ah, the old "Borderline Obscene". Brings back memories. The best Tex-Mex porno film I ever saw.
@unversio
Why would you order granola ? It's like going to the LBS to get your punctures repaired.
Pretty much anything you buy will have more sugar and more fat than what you could make yourself, and granola is pretty damn easy.
Having a quick look at the dietary values on their website it looks to me to have as much sugar and fat as many commercially available cereals. You'd probably be better off with Kelloggs Cornflakes although I don't have a box in front of me to compare. It's certainly got more fat and sugar and overall calories than Weetabix or Puffed Wheat / Oats.
It all adds up.
@Gianni
Oh, FFS. Dance of the Seven Veils is it? Gianni twirling slowly, divesting himself of silk layers? Is this really attractive?
@frank
Just seems dangerous to me to be using someone as a dietary or training role-model when he wasn't telling us -- and we're probably(!) not on -- the full program. If your blood and general organism isn't boosted by injections of pharmaceuticals, you might need to put in more, or at least more of some things, via a more traditional method, i.e. eating.
Back on-topic, I was re-reading an article about post-war riders a couple of days ago, who'd seen a World War and come from the fields or mines. That'll give you a hunger not too many of us know all that much about, I'd dare to suggest.
Also, when it comes to some things, whether crap food or luxuries, moderation often leads to mediocrity, I find. Abstinence is discipline and strength, and yes, hunger.
@scaler911
Yep, right on. I found this a great article to come at a great time. I have set myself a very stout off-the-bike goal and if I just keep my head down, I think I can have it cleared for the Giro, which will be a perfect launch into summer cycling.
Cycling goals and really any sporting goals come easy, it's the work goals that are harder. But hey, riding bikes is kids stuff and work, well, that is what you avoid until you have to grow up.
@frank
He's right, Frank, but not in the way that you think he's wrong. When you train, you damage muscle. Your protein intake is what allows repair and rebuilding of the muscle damaged through hard work. Over tie, the body adapts by adding muscle to deal with the high workload. When you deny the body the calories to recover (especially by limiting proteins), you run the risk of losing the muscle damaged in training. It's not being used for metabolism - as you say, the body won't burn muscle for fuel until you are already in dire straits - but it can still be lost.
I'm not sure that's what he meant, but I'd like to think so. Skipping meals and riding oneself into the ground improves the threshold for suffering, or rather for cracking under suffering, but also limits performance. Try the experiment - ride the same roads with plenty of fuel and on fumes. Generally speaking, you will perform better, generating more stress for your body to adapt to, with eating than without. I'm not saying we should all get fat, but we shouldn't overdo it either.
If you haven't, Check out Allen Lim's work. He explains things much better than I do.
@Marcus
Once again, by post # 51 the discussion goes completely (and hilariously) off the rails. Thanks Marcus!
Last year during one of his Eurosport gigs King Kelly was asked about his fighting weight. I was amazed when he said that he was 12-13 kilos heavier now than he was back in his prime. Kelly is no blob, he's still in good shape but it brings home the importance of leaving the table still hungry. It will save you money too; in these parts a "hungry hooer" is someone who is carefully with money. Eating clean and a bit of willpower is a lot cheaper than light wheels, carbon stems and titanium bolts. As I think Kate Moss once said, "nothing tastes as good as skinny feels."
@ChrisO They claim that that prefer not to add anything, especially when it comes to Wheat Germ. I like it as the main reason for ordering Granola, Muesli, etc. from Bob. I'm curious why you would care where my Granola came from anyway.
@ChrisO Protein Plus