Samwell's weight problems.

[House Martell]

Those claims of 10.000-12.000 daily calories, however, are largely exaggerated estimates and have never been confirmed.

Multiple sources site Phelps "12,000" calorie a day diet (http://www.michaelphelps.net/michael-phelps-diet/). He trains 6 days a week 5 hours a day of Olympic level swimming and exercise. I also saw that the average Tour de France competitor burns between 8-10,000 a day, So these are the very upper levels of physical exertion, Sam is also riding a plow horse most of his time north of the Wall, or walking with a woman and baby, so while he definitively should have lost weight I don't think he'd be "slim" yet considering how large he started at.

[Ygrette]

Multiple sources site Phelps "12,000" calorie a day diet (http://www.michaelphelps.net/michael-phelps-diet/). He trains 6 days a week 5 hours a day of Olympic level swimming and exercise. I also saw that the average Tour de France competitor burns between 8-10,000 a day,

I am familiar with Mr Phelps and other fitness gurus with miraculous claims and diet protocols that claim to defy the laws of thermodynamics.

However, if you look at scientific data (peer reviewed studies), there is no indication for a daily caloric burn that exceeds ~6000 calories. Maybe for one day (Tour de France - how has the data been aquired?), but not on a day-to-day basis. And people who burn 6000 a day are Navy Seals in training or lumberjacks and work a lot more than 5 hours a day like Mr Phelps.

In the Minnesota Starvation experiment people have been kept awake, been forced to walk 22 miles a day additional to several hours of military training and drills. Those people burned ~6000 calories a day and were driven to the very brink of physical exhaustion. I don't think Mr Phelps or any other athlete exceeds or even doubles that.

So nope, I don't think so. ;)

[House Martell]

So nope, I don't think so. ;)

I don't know what he claims to burn but he outlines exactly what he consumes so based on the fact he maintains a constant weight it would stand to reason he's burning that amount. Same with the Tour de France competitors.

people who burn 6000 a day are Navy Seals in training or lumberjacks and work a lot more than 5 hours a day like Mr Phelps.

Navy Seals lose A LOT of weight during their training, the purpose is to push them to their physical/mental limits, not improve performance, I imagine Phelps swims more and much faster than Navy Seals (or lumberjacks) and is doing specifically designed 5 hr workouts with express purpose of improving physical performance. I dunno, the guy says he eats 12k cal a day, I don't know why he would lie....

[Ygrette]

Navy Seals lose A LOT of weight during their training, the purpose is to push them to their physical/mental limits, not improve performance

And therefore, they have a higher burn, because their bodies do not adapt to the stress. As opposed to athletes, who are supposed to slowly adapt which leads to a lower caloric burn (= higher efficiency). That's why Navy Seals burn MORE than athletes. Athletes are not after a maximum caloric burn, they want to run/swim faster and therefore, become more efficient. And therefore, burn less calories.

That's why athletes have such a low resting heart rate, because their bodies no longer get "excited" about exercise. Especially when it's exercise that they've been doing for years.

Samwell would burn a whole lot more during an hour of swimming than an athlete would.

I imagine Phelps swims more and much faster than Navy Seals (or lumberjacks) and is doing specifically designed 5 hr workouts with express purpose of improving physical performance. I dunno, the guy says he eats 12k cal a day, I don't know why he would lie....

Same reason why all fitness gurus with a "miraculous diet system" for sale lie: because they need the attention.

And it's working: everybody has heard about Mr Phelps and his crazy caloric burn. Because it's crazy. ;)

I know what he says. Many people say crazy things. Many people say "I don't eat much" and yet they weigh 300 pounds. But just because one individual says something that has never once been confirmed by a scientific source, it doesn't mean it's true. Especially if it flies in the face of modern science and everything we know about the human body and its metabolism.

I've read at least a dozen articles about Mr Phelps and his spectacular wonder diet and many experts (university professors, not fitness gurus on the internet) even say it would be physically impossible to even ingest so much food. In order to eat 12.000 calories every single day you would spend all your day eating and you'd have to eat 90% fat, because you couldn't digest protein or carbs (which are only 4 calories per gram, while fat has 9 calories per gram). Even if you tried, you would get very sick.

12.000 calories is the equivalent of 1,5 liters of olive oil. Noone could digest this much fat every day. Maybe once, maybe even two days in a row, but every day on a day to day basis? Not possible. And if you think carbohydrates, it's 5 kilograms of bread. Or 7,5 kilograms of eggs when you look at protein. That's 125 eggs every single day. Even if you could eat that much, there's no way you're doing 5 hours of training every day or eat the same amount on the next day.

6000 calories is tough to ingest and digest, that's why the Navy Seals lose so much fat during their training. Because it's an insane amount of burn and an insane amount of food.

Trust me, noone doubles that. ;)

EDIT: And if they do, I'd like proof. In a laboratory, not on a website with a "click here to buy" button.

[The Roaring Bear]

In the Minnesota Starvation experiment people have been kept awake, been forced to walk 22 miles a day additional to several hours of military training and drills. Those people burned ~6000 calories a day and were driven to the very brink of physical exhaustion. I don't think Mr Phelps or any other athlete exceeds or even doubles that.

So nope, I don't think so. ;)

You've never seen a wrestling practice lol. And we would go days without eating and do similar activity levels (the most I ever went was 3 days, dropped 12lbs in one, 22 over the 3).

I'd like to see these scientific studies that have Navy seals only burning 6,000 calories.

Have you heard of the Harris-Benedict equations? It's equations to determine what your BMR (Basal Metabolic Rate. Meaning how many calories your body burns when in a completely relaxed state, so its when your metabolism is at its lowest).

The Harris-Benedict equations are standard calorie expenditure quotations available from Weill Cornell Medical College.

The Harris-Benedict equation for men is BMR = (5.003 x height) + (13.75 x weight) - (6.775 x age) + 66.5.

The corresponding equation for women is BMR = 655.1 + (9.563 x weight) + (1.850 x height) - (4.676 x age).

These equations require your height in centimeters, your weight in kilograms and your age in years. The product of your activity level and your BMR provides your daily calorie expenditure.

I'm too lazy to do all of that so I just found a quick calculator. According to the calculator my BMR is: 2148.8. Now you're telling me that with intense physical training I cant double that with relative ease? I mean I'm almost burning 50% of the argued 5000 calories just doing nothing (That does not even include the metabolism spike my body would go through when digesting food and sitting on the couch!). Now factor in the fact that I work my ass off in the weight room for 2-3 hours a day as well as another 1.5hrs of jiu jitsu/Muay Thai (depending on the day it alternates between the two).

I mean come on...

[Edit: Don't get me wrong, equations are not always accurate since there are always variables that do not get taken into account. For instance, though I do think the BMR calculation is probably close, other calculations such as the BMI (Body Mass Index) are absolute garbage, especially when it comes to muscular individuals. For instance There was a time when the BMI said I had like 25% body fat, but when I had a skinfold test done my body fat percentage was 10.5% so there can be major flaws in some.]

[House Martell]

Same reason why all fitness gurus with a "miraculous diet system" for sale lie: because they need the attention.

And it's working: everybody has heard about Mr Phelps and his crazy caloric burn. Because it's crazy. ;)

I for one my good lady will not sit idly by while you attempt to besmirch the good name of a national hero like one Mr. Michael Phelps! If he says that he eats 12,000 calories a day then gosh darn it the man eats 12,000 calories a day, if he says part of his training routine involves him running across the top of the water then so be it. He eats a pound of pasta for one meal, he drinks several 1,000 calorie drinks throughout the day, as a matter of fact the only reason he trains for 5 hrs is so he can have enough time to eat the rest of the day. I believe he sleeps with an IV of nacho cheese and bathes in milk and honey (just to absorb more calories through his pores). And in summation I would like to point out the obvious fact that Samwell Tarly is still indeed fat. Thank you and good day... :P

[Blangadanger]

25 posts into this forum topic, and all I have learned is olive oil is bad for you and Michael Phelps is Coldhands.

[Ygrette]

I'd like to see these scientific studies that have Navy seals only burning 6,000 calories.

I have done a quick search on pubmed and in all of those studies there's not one that measures a daily caloric burn higher than 6000. And this is already a very extreme number and only occurs in extreme situations. I already mentioned one study: the Minnesota Starvation Experiment.

Have you heard of the Harris-Benedict equations?

Indeed I have. This is among the most accurate formulas to determine your BMR.

However, muscles only need a fracture of the calories your organs need. And there is only so much faster a heart can beat. You cannot just "double" that by moving around.

I have been wearing a Bodymedia Fit system, a device that measures your caloric expenditure during the day. I run a farm, workout daily (heavy weights), go horse riding, dog sledding and power walking, run a household and lead a very active lifestyle. However, even when I'm working all day, my measurements do not exceed 3000 calories. I know that if I were heavier I would burn more. But not 4x as much. And in my gym there are really heavy guys working out 6x per week, running, cycling and swimming. None of them burns more than 4500 calories.

If you've lost a lot of weight, not all of that has to be fat. Heavy guys can lose 12 pounds in water weight in 1-2 days. I've seen that happen (water depletion for bodybuilder contests).

Okay, I have a lazy evening today. So just for shits and giggles, I assume Samwell Tarly is 6'5" high, weighs 300 pounds and leads an extremely active lifestyle. If I go to caloriesperhour.com and calculate his daily caloric intake for weight maintenance, it says: 5217 calories.

This website is already very generous with caloric expenditure and usually overestimates the burn. It overestimates mine by 600 calories a day. "Extremely active" is the utmost a human being can be active. Maybe there are some supernaturally active humans who can do 6000. But I'd say that's maxed out. There is no factor higher than 1.9 (Extremely Active - Hard daily exercise or sports and physical job). And you will be hard pressed to find men who are heavier than 300 lbs, taller than 6'5" and still "extremely active" (Navy Seals training level).

I have met very few people who'd reach even 1.6. I myself (see above, farm, lots of intense exercise) range around 1.4.

So I think I'll leave the discourse at this point, because I start repeating myself and it's getting boring. But I'm still convinced that 6000 calories is pretty much the maximum a human being can burn on a daily basis.

[Ramez012]

In the beginning of AFFC, Samwell says he feels more muscular and he lost some weight.

[Shaggy Rickon]

I actually think it is a valid question. Sam's trek back to castle black from the fist should have caused considerable wieght loss no matter what the calorie intake was or how many calories he burned. It was a lot of physical activity with very less food and in extreme cold forcing his body to burn more fat in order to keep him warm. He should have lost a lot of wieght. Not to spoil anything but he is described as very fat later on. I won't say by which character or when or where cuz I don't know how to put the spoiler thing on it.

[Magdelaine Snow]

Maybe GRRM, being overweight himself, doesn't really see Sam's weight as a physical quality that could change but something like a physical characteristic like black hair?

[K1T]

I wonder if George will ever see this threat and transform Sam into a juice head gorilla. And I want to see (read) his fathers eyes when he is back home.

[niamh]

Sam says himself he's not as fat as he was, to Jon i think. He started enormously fat, remember. He probably went down to "quite fat". There's no mystery.

Of course he'll now put all the weight back on in Oldtown. Sam likes his food, and that's fair enough.

[Mother of Mini Dragons]

I thought it was pretty obvious that Sam is losing weight. There are several references to him having a hard time keeping his pants up, they keep slipping down. I think he's definitely losing weight, but his awareness of it may be lacking and he's still bigger than everyone else to start with so that's why people still refer to him as large. Sam's gonna end up being a heartthrob. :drool:

[K1T]

He didn't eat in braavos. He didn't have much of food while he was with the night watch. He traveled thousands of miles. In our world he should be like quarter of his original weight.

[Rolex Baratheon]

The Night's Watch was eating crabs when Tyrion visited, and there seems to be no shortage of wine there. Or anywhere in Westeros. They also seem to be adequately supplied with meat.

[Lion of Judah]

Samwell Tarley aka Fat Mack doesn't have weight problems, he's just ahead of the game. Obese is coming back in.