I’m ramping up for an ironman. I seem to be gaining weight very fast despite training more and not really changing my diet. Can the stress from training really cause massive weight gain? I’ve gained 7 lbs in 4 weeks. When my volumes was about 7-8hr less per week I didn’t gain any weight and I ate about the same. The weight seems to be going right to my midsection.
I’m ramping up for an ironman. I seem to be gaining weight very fast despite training more and not really changing my diet. Can the stress from training really cause massive weight gain? I’ve gained 7 lbs in 4 weeks. When my volumes was about 7-8hr less per week I didn’t gain any weight and I ate about the same. The weight seems to be going right to my midsection.
You sure you’re not really changing your diet? Define “not really changing” – that is, what is changing? Recovery drinks? Slightly larger portions of the same food you’ve always been eating? Justifying snacks because you’re training harder?
Are you getting enough sleep? Increased intake of food aside (even if it is just extra snacks here and there), if you are training more and not sleeping or resting enough, your cortisol levels may be more elevated than before, which would translate in the body storing more fat/weight. Could also be water weight.
Are you measuring your weight consistently, i.e. at the same time every day under the same conditions? Your weight can vary significantly depending on hydration status which is affected by sodium intake in the day(s) preceding a weigh-in, exercise and how well stocked your glycogen stores are. My guess is it’s a combination of eating more than necessary and fluctuations dues to hydration.
My sleep is about the same but maybe I could use more since I’m training more. I’ve had life stresses as well so I bet my cortisol levels are all messed up. I just didn’t imagine that it would affect me this much weight wise. I mean I trained 30 hrs 2 weeks ago and 27hr this past week.
I’ll guess I’ll start counting my calories.
go keto! seriously, it works…
Are you fueling your workouts well, especially your long ones? I’ve gained weight training for an Ironman and it was because I wasn’t fueling well around my long workouts (especially after) and creating massive calorie deficits on my long days, which led to eating too much on my easy days. Focusing more on fueling my workouts better has led to better recovery and more stable weight. And it has cut out the sugar cravings.
The medium length rides were bad for me too. I could go out for 2 hours and barely eat anything, but I’d burn more than 1200 calories. Add in a run over my lunch break, and I’d end the day with a pretty big deficit.
Are you sure you’re eating enough? That’s a lot of training and if you’re eating the same as you were when you trained 7-8 hours I’m guessing you’re not eating enough.
Matt Dixon has a good chapter about this in his new book.
I’m ramping up for an ironman. I seem to be gaining weight very fast despite training more and not really changing my diet. Can the stress from training really cause massive weight gain? I’ve gained 7 lbs in 4 weeks. When my volumes was about 7-8hr less per week I didn’t gain any weight and I ate about the same. The weight seems to be going right to my midsection.
You are eating more than you need to. Although it does not seem like it, you did change the amount of calories you are taking in. You need to create a calorie deficit. Most triathletes I know eat way too much during training and reward themselves way too much after training. This is especially true of Ironman Triathletes.
Are you sure you’re eating enough? That’s a lot of training and if you’re eating the same as you were when you trained 7-8 hours I’m guessing you’re not eating enough.
Matt Dixon has a good chapter about this in his new book.
Not eating enough does not lead to weight gain. It leads to weight loss.
My sleep is about the same but maybe I could use more since I’m training more. I’ve had life stresses as well so I bet my cortisol levels are all messed up. I just didn’t imagine that it would affect me this much weight wise. I mean I trained 30 hrs 2 weeks ago and 27hr this past week.
I’ll guess I’ll start counting my calories.
I’m always impressed when people train this much (especially non-Pros). Anyhow, how many sugary gu’s, drinks, etc are you eating? How’s your sleep? Remember, training does stress the body, so not eating properly and not getting enough sleep can exacerbate that stress and lead to weight gain. You probably should count your calories and pay special attention to the percentages of protein, carbs, and fat you’re taking in. Have you read Racing Weight?
Maybe throw in some functional strength training to fool my body? I noticed the weight gain when I started increasing the long rides and runs. I don’t take much fuel on these (200kcl per hour). I guess I will pay extra attention to my calories for a the next 30 days and eat super healthy to see if this helps.
I’d try to eat a bit more before/during (or just after for swim/run) workouts and stick to real food (anything out of The Feed Zone) vs. gels, blocks, etc. One trick that worked great for me when marathon training: immediately after the long run I’d drink a smoothie with enough fat and protein to prevent a sugar spike, then before eating anything else (an entire box of thin mints, for example), I’d force myself to go upstairs and take a shower. Those few minutes of blood sugar catch up reduced the urge to play human garbage disposal. My guess is that you’re on a blood sugar roller coaster and you are not actually hungry, but are spiking and crashing, which almost always ends with a box of lucky charms in the wee hours of the night. A rice maker might just be the most important of tri equipment you can purchase. Set that sucker on delay, so when you wake up before a long ride you can have fresh rice with a scrambled egg before heading out. I’ve noticed a huge jump in my quality of workouts and how much less power drops off at the end. Also, know that water retention a couple days after a big training block is totally normal, but it looks like you have something more than that going on.
-edited to change “luck” to “lucky”, charms that is. Those blue diamonds are irresistible…
Maybe throw in some functional strength training to fool my body? I noticed the weight gain when I started increasing the long rides and runs. I don’t take much fuel on these (200kcl per hour). I guess I will pay extra attention to my calories for a the next 30 days and eat super healthy to see if this helps.
No need to “fool your body.” You just need to create a calorie deficit. Most people are not going to be able to do that unless they are eating clean (no processed junk). Most people think they are eating clean but are not. When I was training for Ironman, I would have told you I was eating clean but I was eating lots of junk. Bottom line, if you are gaining fat, you are over fueling, not under fueling.
how do we know if he is gaining fat? He only went with scale weight not DEXA or even calipers
this could just be water weight - muscle damage/recovery does mean holding water in the muscles
I can gain 4 pounds in one day no problem - even eating clean
how do we know if he is gaining fat? He only went with scale weight not DEXA or even calipers
this could just be water weight - muscle damage/recovery does mean holding water in the muscles
I can gain 4 pounds in one day no problem - even eating clean
It was the mid section comment. If his waist is getting bigger, it is almost certainly fat. And the comment about “lots of weight.”
You know your hours and your weight gain numbers.
Question is do you know these numbers?
1.) Amount of calories that you burn per day on your various training days
2.) Amount of calories that you take in on these days
If you know these numbers you should know if you are gaining fat or not. You should also be able to use these numbers to leverage your weight if you need to lose fat.
Many athletes just don’t manage their diet. They tell themselves “I am training 25-30 hours- I can eat anything” or they reward themselves after a hard workout and overdo it.
Also if the volume is high and intensity is really light you may not be burning as many calories as you think.
If I had to guess what Mike is hinting at is that, by not eating enough to fuel your workouts properly you end up “rebound” eating and eating to much later because your so damn hungry.
Yep.
Some days I was under-eating which led to over-eating other days which is what was causing weight gain.
It’s not popular here on Slowtwitch, but I find if my volume is high (>15 hours/week for me), it helps to do heavy lifting 2x per week. My pure speculation is it has to do with hormones. Endurance training is known to reduce hormone levels. Strength training is known to increase hormone levels. And good hormone levels correlate with low bodyfat.