Since I've retired, I eat less, weigh less, train less and care less.
I realized that I had an eating disorder in which I controlled myself to a point that I would not let myself enjoy what I wanted to eat or eat what I needed to eat, all to stay a certain size.
I am not a vegetarian. I subscribe to my own mantra: eat less, move more, eat plenty of fruits and vegetables, don't eat too much junk food, and enjoy what you eat. Or, to summarise: eat less, eat better, move more, and get political.
I really had to train myself to eat like a maniac really four or five meals a day until I felt sick, just to keep the weight on.
I weaned myself on the nostalgia equivalent of methadone (less addictive, less obvious, less likely to make you crazy): missing what I had never had.
'Long Black Train' was inspired by a vision that I had of a long, black train running down this track way out in the middle of nowhere. I could see people standing out to the sides of this track watching this train go by. As I was walking, experiencing this vision, I kept asking myself, 'What does this vision mean and what is this train?'
I recognized that I needed to re-train my brain to stop eating like I wanted to punish myself or punish someone else. I needed to re-learn how to eat like I loved myself, and want to nourish and support myself.
I'd rather play a tune on a horn, but I've always felt that I didn't want to train myself. Because when you get a train, you've got to have an engine and a caboose. I think it's better to train the caboose. You train yourself, you strain yourself.
I eat healthier than you think. I eat grains and vegetables when I'm home - and I eat in courses. My wife, Lori, thinks it's because I don't want foods to touch. That's not it. If you eat courses, you slow down your meal and eat less. It's a trick I picked up in France as a kid.
I'd eat, eat, eat, not exercise, go to sleep, eat and eat. I looked up in the mirror and said I had to make a change if I was going to continue to live.
He who would eat much must eat little, for by eating less he will live longer, and so be able to eat more.
I had over-trained. I put too much pressure on myself because I wanted that gold medal too much. If I had trained 15 per cent less, I would have won. I was training like a crazy person. There was a lack of self-confidence and a lack of maturity. An athlete does not only train with his body. He trains with his mind.
There's this idea that because I'm a heavyweight, I'm not supposed to be in condition, that I should take advantage of the fact that I can eat. But I train and eat well, and it shows when I step on the scales.
I actually lost weight by not obsessing. When I crave something I eat it and then I eat healthily, and I don't go: "Oh, I can't eat." It means I don't want to eat too much because I'm letting myself be comfortable with it. It's really interesting. It has worked for me.
When I start training, I get very serious and focused about it. I probably train 4-5 days a week, and I eat probably eat 5-8 small meals a day to keep my metabolism going.
If the crow had been satisfied to eat his prey in silence, he would have had more meat and less quarreling and envy.