The point is the Machka often makes generalizations to the entire population based on her experience. Another of my favorites is her saying that everybody sweats more in winter because she wears a waterproof outer layer so her sweat doesn't get evaporated like in summer. I see her make another ridiculous statement extrapolating from her experience giving out bad advice, and I am asking her to stop it.
Still waiting to know if it is your experience that you gain weight while exercising in the 7000-9000 cal./week range.
I never wear waterproof clothing winter or summer. Oddly enough though, it's my experience that I get dehydrated more frequently while riding in the PNW winter simply because I don't get thirsty. I find that very odd, but there it is.
Personally, I've found Machka's experiences very applicable to my cycling, especially when I was first starting to rando. I hope she is not discouraged and will continue to post frequently on these forums.
BTW, Stoker and I just completed our first tandem trip, touring 115 miles in two days with full camping gear, stuffing ourselves in conventional restaurants, and lost about a half pound each. Not that we cared about that - we just cared about the riding. But next time, we'll just eat about half the restaurant food and pack the rest in a pannier for another meal. We were uncomfortable. Great advantage of touring over rando. You can take the leftover spaghetti with you!