Ya know, at a music clinic put on by the Canadian Brass when I was in college, one of the kids asked Charles Dallenbach a question about why tuba players were typically fat. They were wondering if it was for lung capacity, or just a culture difference ("Two tuba players walk past a bar... Hey, it could happen! ), or something else.

He said that when the body takes in a lot of oxygen -- such as when playing tuba -- it "thinks" that it's done a lot of exercise, and signals the brain that it's hungry and needs to eat more food. But, of course, playing tuba for a while is really not that taxing, and never burns as many calories as the player wants to eat afterwards.

I always feel hungrier after a long ride, just like I feel hungrier after a concert or a few hours of rehearsal.