Hello All - I am looking for a little advice/perspective on training and weight gain. I started training for my first Ironman 9 weeks ago and have gained 3 pounds already. I don’t feel like I am eating any more than normal. In fact, I have been better about getting nutrients and cutting out junk. While my workouts have increased, they are not overly extensive yet (I was training consistently before the IM program stared). I have added light weightlifting but it is pretty minimal & only 2 times a week. I am 5’7 and and weighed 137 consistently for the past year but am now up to 140. This is particularly unnerving because I struggled with my weight for much of my adolescence. I lost about 70 pounds between the ages of 20 and 25 and have maintained a healthy weight for the past 8 years. Has anyone experience this? Any thoughts on what I should do? I did not expect to lose weight while training for the IM but I also did not expect to gain.
Yep, I’m with you. I gained 6 training for my first, and have yet to lose it. And it’s not all muscle, some is fat. My %age went up about a point. Some is muscle, of course, but not all of it.
I think it’s the woman-curse. Our bodies saying “Oh shit, what’s she going to do to us tomorrow? I better hold on to some more fat for that baby” - you know, the one our brains know we’re not having any time soon.
I think it’ll stabilize, just be careful to not use the training as an excuse to eat crap (like me and my cadbury eggs) and it will likely put you at whatever a healthy race weight is for you.
Good luck with your first IM!
rachel
I also gained weight training for IM’s and have not lost it. This will be my 9th year so I don’t think I’m going to lose it. I tried to lose it once and I got sick. So now I just try to eat healthy and I haven’t worried about my weight in years.
I had a comment over the weekend from Paulo–he said it was interesting that training for IM races for 8 years and I lost some weight (but have stabilized in the past couple of years), but once I started bike racing this winter, I’ve leaned out. The scales aren’t different, actually they are up about 5-8 pounds, but I’m leaner. I’m not eating differently, in fact, probably eating more crap in the past month due to stress.
clm
I believe that one adaptation to endurance exercise is the body learning to store more glycogen (and then another adaption is glycogen sparing: burning a higher % of fat than sugar). When you store carbohydrate, you store water with it, and that water weighs something… this may account for some of your weight gain.
Perspective: focus on performance, not weight 
I am almost 5 lbs heavier than when I just did running (was 109, am 113) . I don’t really care; I was scrawny then anyway. But yeah, I think tri training, and IM training in particular, demands you to be fastitidous about fueling and recovery. At 50 miles a week of running…I dunno, it just wasn’t possible to refuel all that. Oh also, swimming makes you hungry.
I don’t worry about weight, but I wouldn’t mind approaching my next starting line somewhere in between “need to shop in the kids dept” and “bloop!” bulging out of my swimsuit. I am not going to sacrifice fuel or recovery though. If I could cut down to one helping of chocolate a day that would probably do it.
Hmm…137 to 140 is not a huge jump…maybe it will stay there and you will get tighter?
i never even bother with the scale, except after surgery this year, when i had a tangible amount of fat to lose. too much variance and emotion built up in a number, that changes daily!
go by how your clothes fit. i find that training will put weight on in the right places, and take it off in the wrong parts.
Oif - I alway gain wait whenever I pick up my training volume. I have a hard time balancing the number of calories to take in to account for the extra training without taking in too many. I have to be super careful as I put on weight really easily and can gain 5 lbs in a week and it will take 2 months to get it off. I feel it in my clothes too, not just on the scale. I envy the people who can self monitor their food and not gain weight. I track everything I eat. I’ve come to realize this after many years of struggling and just accept it.
I’ve also had my coach, a nutritionist and a personal trainer talk about increased blood volume and water weight from the increase in training. While I agree this happens after a good session I still have perminant gain. Really frustrating because I want to get down to 125 for IM CdA and this morning, after some overeating Friday and Saturday, I went up to 132 from 129.4. I might not be able to shake it either.
I suggest tracking your food to see if you are overeating. So easy to do. I use www.calorieking.com. I’ve been using it for 3 years and they have pretty much anything you can think of This should help you see if you are adding more calories than you thought you were.
I also gained weight when doing just long and slow training for IMs, did 5 and was pretty big. It was only this year that I started working on speed and I saw the same thing, Im the same weight, but everyone asks how much I have lost. My face is thinner and clothes are loser.
Are you doing any harder more intense workouts? this worked for me. And also don’t fall into the overeating on long run/bike days.
I gain weight during training as well. Part of it is muscle from swimming because my back tends to get huge and my upper body muscles are much bigger when my swimming volume increases. The rest is just my body holding onto whatever it can. My doctor made me cut back my training volume quite drastically when we were trying to get pregnant and I ate about the same amount and worked out much less and lost weight. I know some of that was muscle loss but my clothes were looser and I looked thinner. The female body does weird things, and especially mine. I’m convinced that the 10 years I spent as a gymnast growing up still has my body confused as to what’s going on.
Thanks All for your advice & experience. It helps to know that this is somewhat common. I have really loved the training so far & don’t want to feel bad about it just because of weight gain. My clothes seem to be fitting the same as always. I would like to stop gaining, however. I have been doing interval training - which is something new for me. The gain may be from building muscle in my upper body, which has always been weak.
It seems all the nutritionists think that women need to eat more just before and after their workouts - so I am going to try that. It is difficult to get much down at 5:30 a.m. - especially protein. What do you all eat before early morning workouts?
Here’s another one who gained weight during IM training. In February I was 117 pounds and weighed in at CdA at 130. In between I saw a nutritionist and got my thyroid hormones checked because I couldn’t believe that I could train that much and eat that little and still gain. This year I’m still pretty heavy (for me) but my clothes are loose. I’ve definitely leaned out and gained a serious amount of muscle mass. I’ve given up on counting calories, but have been slowly making changes to my diet (no more peanut butter!) in an attempt to lose some body fat.
Jodi
Add me to the list too. I gain weight really easily training for IM. Actually, i just look bloated. Very little muscle definition (for me) and an extra 5-7 lbs.
The shorter, faster stuff is what makes me lean. IM training just makes me feel BLAH!
My first breakfast is usually 2 hard boiled eggs and a breakfast bar. I’m eating fiber one bars. Or sometimes I will have oatmeal instead. I have a big appetite and wake up hungry. Right after my first workout I eat a big breakfast usually an eggbeater/veggie omelet and fruit. I usually have a small break before my next workout and eat a bowl of cereal right before.
It is really hard to eat before the pre dawn workouts. I can cram in a few kiwis or bananas on a good day. Or I buy fruit already cut up so I can eat a few chunks of it. I do try to be more fastidious with the post workout fueling and making sure there is protein included.
Are you doing any harder more intense workouts?<<
Actually, that’s about all I’m doing. The track training is high intensity and I’m lifting a lot heavier than before. I’m concentrating on the sprints at the velodrome and we are talking events that take 15 seconds to less than 5 minutes. I’m still swimming and need to get back to running and will do some longer bike rides, but now longer means 3-4 hours instead of 6-7 hours.
clm
Add me to the weight gain list too
I did an IM in Sept of 2006
gained about 5 lbs, cannot get it off
I have had blood work done as well
UGH!
I wonder if boys have this problem too.
No more peanut butter? How do you get yourself out of the bed in the morning?
Been there, done that, still trying to lose it all. Mine was that I didn’t realize how many calories I was getting in… working on using my Infinit (which was PERFECT for racing) during some workouts, more shot blox, etc, etc.
This year I am going to be more vigilant about it and actually keep track of the calories I train with. That was a BIG thing for me. Plus all my friends who knew I was training for an IM and my hubby all thought I should be taking in more food. I was about 122 racing my 1/2 IM in May, ended up being about 128 at my IM in September, and actually got up to about 135 before I got it under control. I’m down to about 125 now. I know I gained muscle, but I don’t know how much. So I’m trying to lose a couple pounds, but am trying to be smart and watch myself so as to not lose strength.
I also turned 30 this year. What worked to drop 5 lbs 2 years ago AIN’T WORKIN!