It is a math problem. Burn more calories than you consume you will lose weight. Track both your calories consumed and burned- apps like myfitnesspal help.

If you are tracking already, perhaps you need to reevaluate your metabolic rate (perhaps some muscle mass lost?) and your daily caloric needs.

---

Suffer Well.

I'm in the same boat.. after IM Wales in September, decided to back off "training" and just ride some, swim a little and run when I could/felt like and ended up gaining 20lbs over the winter. Started riding on Zwift a few weeks ago, paying closer attention to diet and I'm finally starting to see some slow weight loss. It's noticeably affected my running - which wasn't great to begin with - and I can feel it on hilly rides.

Same boat post IM Coz, 14# over race weight.

Although I am pretty sure the title of my thread wouldn't use the word "can't" but rather "isn't willing to do what it takes" ;)

Plan was to get back to within 5# or so of racing weight for Oceanside in 4 days.... Have a feeling that ain't happening.

I understand the basic calorie math argument, but anecdotally it seems the people who argue it most stridently that I know of live in southern climes (suck it, Duffy). As a Northerner who's not personally inclined to that level of data tracking scrutiny, I find it awful hard to not gain at least a little weight over the winter even in past winters when I tried to stay more active and lay off the booze... Conversely, when it finally warms up for good in the spring, losing weight again becomes fairly easy with only modest effort; when I've really gotten serious about eliminating empty calories (read: beer), I found I could easily drop several pounds in a matter of just a few weeks leading up to the first 'benchmark' race of the season in late June (in multiple years).

I've had this same conversation with several others over the years, and I honestly believe there's a seasonal component to basal metabolism on top of which we act out our ritual exercise & diet regimes, at least for those of us who are exposed to such climate triggers. I wish we had some comprehensive way for a population of STers to track this kind of shit geographically ~ my hunch is that latitude would actually show as a significant variable. 100000 years of evolution doesn't simply get trained away in a couple generations...

Could be winter time vitamin D deficiency.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/...articles/PMC3599592/

---

Simplify, Train, Live

I just keep being amazed at these posts. Do folks not get on the scale and see what is going on? 80% of weight lose comes from portion control, 20% from exercise.
Seems so many just want the easy way out and not stop stuffing their face. I have not been able to have my cookies or ice cream for weeks now since going out to dinner like last week 4 nights means something has to give. If one is serious about racing to the best they can be, then weight would be on top of the list.
But most folks well, they just really are not that serious. And I am back out to dinner tonight, root beer float time, which mean no cookies at lunch today. :(

---

Dave Campbell | Facebook | @DaveECampbell | h2ofun@h2ofun.net

Boom Nutrition code 19F4Y3 $5 off 24 pack box | Bionic Runner | PowerCranks | Velotron | Spruzzamist

Lions don't lose sleep worrying about the sheep

Yeah but you burn a lot more calories than most folks by repeatedly climbing up onto your high horse.

Glad I could join you. :)

---

Dave Campbell | Facebook | @DaveECampbell | h2ofun@h2ofun.net

Boom Nutrition code 19F4Y3 $5 off 24 pack box | Bionic Runner | PowerCranks | Velotron | Spruzzamist

Lions don't lose sleep worrying about the sheep

What is your pre and post Ironman weight? Bigger problem for someone who races at 150 lb.
Keep a for log for a few days- then publish it on this thread.
Then we can help-

X2 - it is a math problem. And it is not a northern hemisphere thing. Again this year I couldn't lose a single lb until I implemented my usual "what gets measured gets managed" routine. Since implementing it, I don't do it in the off-season for a specific reason, I want to be fat, I have been dropping weight, consistently aiming for 300-500 cal deficit a day, but it is a process and you need to be diligent about it.

Here is a piece I did on food scales, that also links to my food journal as well.

---

---

Save: $50 on Speed Hound Recovery Boots | $20 on Air Relax| $100 on Normatec| 15% on Most Absorbable Magnesium

Blogs: Best CHEAP Zwift / Bike Trainer Desk | Theragun G3 vs $140 Bivi Percussive Massager | Normatec Pulse 2.0 vs Normatec Pulse | Speed Hound vs Normatec | Air Relax vs Normatec | Q1 2018 Blood Test Results | | Why HED JET+ Is The BEST value wheelset

Bam! Post of the day!

Don't want to be rude, but that's really a lot. I gain mostly 5 kg over the winter.



I loose about 1 kg a month every year, but that doesn't occur continuously looking at a single month, so taking your "few weeks" into account, you cannot make any conclusions. Weight can be up/down 2 kg around average weight due to e.g. hard training sessions leaving water in your body. If I rest a few days after hard training sessions I have to piss a lot and end up with less weight.

So just be patient and get on consistantly watching your calories.

Interesting is the post above about the vitamine D, maybe it is really so that in winter it is harder to loose weight.

 

Interesting is the post above about the vitamine D, maybe it is really so that in winter it is harder to loose weight.[/quote]
I haven't looked for the confirming evidence but I think it is fairly well agreed that during the colder months (somewhere where there are proper seasons!) your taste/satiety systems shift towards calorically heavier food. Your metabolic rate might shift too. Which makes complete sense on an evolutionary basis in terms of conserving calories when food might be sparse.

That's a lot to gain but in my experience, that's likely to make it a little easier to lose, at least initially. Unfortunately, to gain that you probably got accustomed to a much more generous diet and I'd guess that even when you think you're cutting back now, you're likely still eating/drinking more than when you have been in proper weight control mode in the past. It's all relative. If you don't actually measure it, it's pretty hard to know. Having said that, I don't measure, I just gradually increase my discipline with respect to food until I see a gradual weight loss and then try to maintain it. It's hard to initialise, easier to maintain.


Regarding the comments in other posts about winter effect on metabolism: I wouldn't be surprised if temperature and hours of daylight have an effect on metabolism. I'm sure there's studies on this but I haven't looked. However it would be very difficult to know that from our experiences as athletes since we usually rest somewhat during winter and focus our efforts in training and reaching racing weight around the months with longer days and higher temperatures. So, it's very rare we'd be able to decouple the effects of these two usefully.

Similar situation. I gained about 9 or 10 lbs, but have only managed to lose 3. I know what my problem is though. My appetite skyrockets when I increase my training. Even if I make a conscious effort to stay away from the vending machine, I have portion size creep which is much harder to avoid..

I've struggled on and off for years.

In December I was riding and running for ~10hrs a week, eating very healthy, and managed to go from 199-196. (stocky build, 5'10").

Then I read about Dr. Fung on this forum. I bought the book Obesity code.

Without improving *what* I ate, I went to 3 meals a day, introduced intermittent fasting, and within a couple months I went down to ~182lbs. Keep in mind, I'm 40 years old and haven't been 182 since about 14 years old.

The book was an eye opener. All calories are not the same, and it is *NOT* about calories in vs. calories out. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tIuj-oMN-Fk

I thought it was. And it's funny how often I read that on this forum. If it was about calories in vs. calories out, why does any athlete EVER bother with carb loading!?

Mike

Heresy! How dare you come on slowtwitch and suggest that weight management is anything other than simple arithmetic?!?! Don't you know your body is simply a computer that crunches numbers all day?

OMG! I'm going to forward this to my thermodynamics professor from college. He needs to know that everything he taught us was wrong!

More seriously, weight loss IS about calories in vs. calories used. Acheiving peak athletic performance is more complicated.

ETA you yourself said to lose weight you did not change what you ate, you just started periodic fasting... Which is calorie intake limitation.

---

-------------
Ed O'Malley
www.VeloVetta.com
Founder of VeloVetta Cycling Shoes
Instagram • Facebook

This is me every winter.

When I need to lean out, my best strategy is always cutting back dinner, which I when I think most people tend to overeat. Eat a big breakfast, a significant lunch, fuel your workouts properly, and eat a smaller dinner than you usually would. Don't eat to discomfort, stop the second you stop feeling hungry, and try to stop eating after 8pm. Rely on protein at dinner.

You may also be "overcompensating" for the higher level of exercise you're doing now. Even at 15-20mpw, you're burning what, an extra 1500-2000kcal/week? You may be overestimating your nutrition needs.

Voila, race weight, or at least closer than you were!

---

"Don't you have to go be stupid somewhere else?"..."Not until 4!"

I guess I don't feel so bad after reading this post lol. I was 179 when I raced IM Mont Tremblant, over the winter I eased off training and also welcomed a new baby in Sept. Since then, I've only managed to gain 5 pounds. I didn't lay off the training all that much , gone are the days of 3-5 hour bricks and now I'm doing to a 1.5 hr bric's on weekends. I think the key as some of the other posts here suggests is portion control and simple math. Also stepping on a scale everyday should keep you honest.

 


That's taking it pretty easy. A 2-3 mi run burns 200-300 calories. That doesn't require any extra fueling. You are probably still eating like you're training for something. Either up the exercise, or eat less.

---

maybe she's born with it, maybe it's chlorine
If you're injured and need some sympathy, PM me and I'm very happy to write back.
disclaimer: PhD not MD

The new studies I have seen agree with you and it really is not a calorie in calorie out problem. The type of calories matter. A calorie of Fructose is not the same as a calorie of Protein. Too much sugar can screw up your liver and metabolism and make it harder to lose wait. There is a ton of studies all over the internet from respected folks on this issue. The calories in v calories out montra just doesn't get it.

Additionally, studies suggest do long term, long distance cardio can play havoc on your metabolism too. If your body is used to training for an Ironman, ( 30 hours of more of cardio a week), its not going to lose weight doing 5 hours of cardio a week.

Thanks for the link! I really appreciate the perspective put forward here.

While I appreciate the 'calories in/out' way of thinking, it really ignores any concept of the adaptability of our metabolism. Dr. Fung really starts to addresses this concept around 16min into that presentation.