A blog post on why endurance athletes don’t always lose weight was linked to on Twitter the other day, and while (1) it was more of a rant on some television show I’ve never seen and (2) I think that the logic of calories is flawed (I’m no less than a zillion percent convinced that a calorie from fat and a calorie from protein and a calorie from sugar don’t act the same), there is definitely truth to it.

If I’m training for a long event, I’m going to have to eat more. I have to. There’s only so much fuel (whether that’s fat or carbohydrate or protein) in my body–and if my carbohydrate (mostly meaning sugar for me) runs low, I’m going to have problems.

So I have to eat. I can eat better or I can eat worse, but I have to eat, and when I eat, it contributes to my weight–whether it’s a gain, loss, or maintaining the same.

Besides, while I do have weight goals–at least from time to time–weight is overrated as an indicator of fitness, and my real goals for events are finishing and not injuring myself.

So I might not be able to lose the weight I want running or cycling for distance. But it doesn’t mean I’ll stop.