Why are young men always so hungry?!

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The discussion centers around the challenges of feeding young men with hearty appetites, particularly in the context of preparing meals. A parent shares a recent experience of cooking a lavish meal of red snapper, only to find no leftovers due to the voracious eating habits of their sons. The conversation highlights the high caloric needs of active young men, especially those involved in sports like marathon running. Participants reminisce about their own youthful eating habits, sharing anecdotes of consuming large quantities of food, often fueled by physical activity. The dialogue touches on the humorous side of parenting boys, with suggestions that they should contribute to food costs given their appetites. Additionally, there is a light-hearted debate about the proper way to make chili, with strong opinions on the inclusion of beans. Overall, the thread captures the blend of nostalgia, humor, and the realities of feeding growing boys.
  • #31
I don't like chili, my body can't process it. It goes in one end and straight out the other, much more dramatically.
 
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  • #32
DH, you ate Magnetic Resonance Imagers? I applaud your unhingable jaws and massive stomach.
 
  • #33
Oops. That's the wine. It was MREs, not MRIs.
 
  • #34
lol, just being a smartass.
 
  • #35
binzing said:
Turbo, about how heavy were you as a freshman (15 or so). I'm about 95 pounds right now (15.5 yo)
I was about 100# as a freshman in HS, and about 125# as a freshman in U. No fat. I could (and sometimes did) run for hours.
 
  • #36
Cyrus said:
I don't like chili, my body can't process it. It goes in one end and straight out the other, much more dramatically.
Glad I don't have your physiology. I would have to give up life as I know it.
 
  • #37
turbo-1 said:
Glad I don't have your physiology. I would have to give up life as I know it.

I used to have that kind of reaction when I was younger. My parents never offered spicy foods and when I did eat anything spicy, although I liked the taste, it didn't agree with my digestion. After moving to the southwest and changing my diet, I seem to have lost any negative effects of eating very spicy foods.

The consequence is that any time I visit home anything my mom cooks tastes horribly bland. Medium strength salsa that she buys from the grocery store makes her sweaty and uncomfortable. I don't even get started until I dig into the fire sauce. I think her head would explode if she ate some of the things I enjoy.
 
  • #38
I've never had an appetite that large, not even when I was supposed to be growing. Then again I'm not very big. I still weigh just 60 kilos (about 130 lbs).
 
  • #39
Moonbear said:
I could understand eating a lot over the course of a day if you are burning a lot of calories doing physical work, and I know guys go through those growth spurts where they suddenly need to eat you out of house and home, but HOW do you fit that much into one stomach in a single meal?! Are you sure they're young men and not cattle?
One just works up to it.

I have a high metabolism. Back in high school, I rode a bike, played football (more soccer than US), ran long distance, and did weight training. I kept it up in college. During college, I started doing iron work, which was 8 to 10 hrs a day of constant heavy physical labor.

By the time I was 15, my weight was about 150-155# (68-70 kg). I could lift my father who was about 170#. By the time I left high school, I was about 165#, and when I was doing iron work, my weight max out about 180# (~82 kg).

Also when I was 15, I got a job at a gardening center which involved lifting 50 and 70# bags of fertilizer, or up to 100-120# of dirt (soil), manure or sand. I got to the point where I could grab a 100# bag in each arm and carry it to a car, then lift each and lay them in the trunk. I also helped unload trucks and stack the fertilizer in the shed, so I got to point where I would lift two 70# bags overhead and toss them up to someone standing on the stacks.

When I worked iron, I'd do the work of two people, so I could lift 200+ # and simply put the iron (column or set of purlins) where I needed it. It was faster than someone helping me or waiting for the crane or forklift. I loved the heavy work and working high off the ground!
 
  • #40
Kurdt said:
I've never had an appetite that large, not even when I was supposed to be growing. Then again I'm not very big. I still weigh just 60 kilos (about 130 lbs).

Don't woryy kurdt!, when you start doing heavy and i mean heavy physical activity, you'll get that appetite in no time. It's one of the sideffects.

Right now, i weight 170. I used to weigh in 2005 140, but then i got into lifting weights and riding my bike. I get so hungry these days, it's like i am always eating.

WOW, Astronuc! that's a real heavy work!.
 
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  • #41
Cyclovenom said:
Don't woryy kurdt!, when you start doing heavy and i mean heavy physical activity, you'll get that appetite in no time. It's one of the sideffects.

I used to do loads of physical activity when I was a teen. I was in an athletics club, I played football and I cycled over 200 miles a week. I've only ever eaten normal portions. I tend to snack a bit though since I don't seem to be able to eat a normal portion without feeling sick. I must have a small stomach.
 
  • #42
D H said:
Well now you've done ruined my dreams, too. The carne in "chili con carne" means beef. There ain't no beans in my chili con carne. I use real beef, not that ground up, who-knows-what-part-of-the-cow it comes from hamburger stuff. And no beans. If I want beans I eat chili con frijoles. Mixing them is pure evil. The next thing you know we'll have dogs and cats, living together. Armageddon.

Con frijoles, con carne... Call it them what you will, I call 'em all delicious!
 
  • #43
Moonbear said:
I could understand eating a lot over the course of a day if you are burning a lot of calories doing physical work, and I know guys go through those growth spurts where they suddenly need to eat you out of house and home, but HOW do you fit that much into one stomach in a single meal?! Are you sure they're young men and not cattle?

I don't know how exactly it fits in. I think it's like how Astronuc said, you just work up to it. My girlfriend is always asking me, "You're eating again?" I don't change weight though, I've been 6'2" and average about 196 lbs since high school. That is, save for the one stint when I was seriously working out and got myself up to 220 lb... You want to talk about eating? :smile:
 
  • #44
Yeah, I need to calculate my fat percentage sometime. I did once off of estimations and it came back about 6% or summat.
 
  • #45
LOl I remember when I played lacrosse and ice hockey in high school my daily caloric intake was probably around 4000+ calories and I was still cut. I used to eat almost an entire box of cereal every morning. My dad would always get so pissed.
 
  • #46
D H said:
My young men, that is. I need to rant.

<begin_rant>
I just cooked a fantastic meal, main course was red snapper cooked in wine topped with tomatoes, portabella mushrooms, shallots, and then topped with cheese. I used three pounds (three pounds!) of fish filets for four people. Any leftovers? No. I have two young men at home who would eat wood if necessary to keep their metabolisms on overdrive. At least my son who runs marathons for fun (two so far this year) isn't home. I would have needed to have cooked at least six pounds of fish were that the case. The bright side is that in a bit more than a year and they will all be on their own (or so I hope).
<end_rant>

They would eat wood but instead you serve snapper. What am I missing here?
 
  • #47
Ivan Seeking said:
They would eat wood but instead you serve snapper. What am I missing here?
I wouldn't eat wood. I prefer food that has some taste.
 
  • #48
So make enough snapper for yourself, and enough wood for the lot of them?
 
  • #49
NeoDevin said:
So make enough snapper for yourself, and enough wood for the lot of them?

Or tell them they don't get snapper until they bring it home themselves. :biggrin: If they're old enough to eat THAT much, they're old enough to get a job and help with the food bills. (Now I think I see why parents of boys are more likely to shove them out to a job sooner than parents of girls are...they NEED the boys to earn some money to pay for the enormous amounts of food they consume. :biggrin:)
 
  • #50
Just buy them a cord each per month and theyll be fine!
 
  • #51
In old country, we harness young man like this to plough. Plough one acre per pound of fish. хороший!
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