Running causing weight gain?

rnfreed

Hello all! I am a distnace runner who is training for the 5K/10K distance. Last summer, I lost about 15pounds(135-120) and then a couple more pounds during the fall. This summer, I have upped my mileage from 35 miles a week to about 45-50 miles a week along with core, swimming, and biking a few days ever week. I gained a few pounds over the winter but nothing major, so at about the same time that I increased my mileage, I reduced my food intake in order to get my weight back down(I eat ~1500 cal. a day). Unfortunatley, I gained weight!!!! Over the past 1.5 months or so I have gained about 6-8 pounds. I know that this isnt huge, but to be in top condition for my races I need drop a few pounds. I feel like I shouldve lost weight with my calorie reduction and excersise increase am concerned that the opposite happened. Any ideas?

BigT555

you sure your tracking your calorie counts accurately?
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1234699-logging-accurately-step-by-step-guide?hl=logging+accurately
have you changed your routine up in any way recently, eating, exercise, or otherwise?

editorgrrl

I eat ~1500 cal. a day). Unfortunatley, I gained weight!!!! Over the past 1.5 months or so I have gained about 6-8 pounds.

You lose weight by eating fewer calories than you burn. Open your diary for personalized advice, but you're probably underestimating your food &/or overestimating your burns.

Set your goal to .5 lb. per week and log everything you eat & drink accurately & honestly. Get a digital food scale and weigh everything you eat—even packaged food. If you're still not losing, eat back half your exercise calories.

The Sexypants post should be required reading for all MFPers: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1080242-a-guide-to-get-you-started-on-your-path-to-sexypants

timrpm

Yes, it's a miracle, your body actually gains weight the more exercise you do on a steady source of food calories. If you stopped exercising and eating altogether, you would be a total fattie. You have a divine source of energy and can never starve to death.

Either that, or you're not calculating your intake correctly.

Make a choice which you think is more likely.

rnfreed

I have been counting accurately. I know how to keep a food diary and add the numbers. I'm eating the same as I did when I lsot 15 pounds.

NotAResolution

It may be that you require less calories than you did when you lost the weight earlier. It's hard to know exactly home many calories you require a day and how much you burn. Are you getting more tone with all of the exercise?

Sobus76

Thats a head scratcher, eating that much and running that far shouldnt be gaining weight.

BigT555

I have been counting accurately. I know how to keep a food diary and add the numbers. I'm eating the same as I did when I lsot 15 pounds.

do you weigh or volume measure your food?
literally the only logical explanation (omitting medical complications) is that you are eating more calories than you are burning, which would be explained through mistracking calorie intake

Sabine_Stroehm

Hello all! I am a distnace runner who is training for the 5K/10K distance. Last summer, I lost about 15pounds(135-120) and then a couple more pounds during the fall. This summer, I have upped my mileage from 35 miles a week to about 45-50 miles a week along with core, swimming, and biking a few days ever week. I gained a few pounds over the winter but nothing major, so at about the same time that I increased my mileage, I reduced my food intake in order to get my weight back down(I eat ~1500 cal. a day). Unfortunatley, I gained weight!!!! Over the past 1.5 months or so I have gained about 6-8 pounds. I know that this isnt huge, but to be in top condition for my races I need drop a few pounds. I feel like I shouldve lost weight with my calorie reduction and excersise increase am concerned that the opposite happened. Any ideas?

You're eating 1500 calories a day and exercising that much? Yikes.

Laurenloveswaffles

You can only gain weight by eating a calorie surplus.

_Zardoz_

I have been counting accurately. I know how to keep a food diary and add the numbers. I'm eating the same as I did when I lsot 15 pounds.

I'm sorry but the amount of people that say that but when you have a close look at their diary's they are not accurately counting. That is the most likely culprit.

Surely it's worth double checking? You're obviously doing something wrong because it's not working and that is the likely problem

Have a look at this thread

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1234699-logging-accurately-step-by-step-guide

Sabine_Stroehm

OP: how tall are you?

SRDB00

Sounds like you are not eating enough for all of the activity you are doing.

scode83

I remember at a previous gym I used to go to someone claimed to me they avoided the treadmill because whenever they went on it their weight went up. I hope this isn't the case as I just resumed HIIT on the treadmill today after an injury and if I end up morbidly obese after several HIIT sessions I'm going to feel rather annoyed.

KseRz

Yes, it's a miracle, your body actually gains weight the more exercise you do on a steady source of food calories. If you stopped exercising and eating altogether, you would be a total fattie. You have a divine source of energy and can never starve to death.

Either that, or you're not calculating your intake correctly.

Make a choice which you think is more likely.

LOL

I was thinking maybe the OP was drinking extra calories that arent being accounted for?

rnfreed

5'7"

hill8570

Do you track any measurements besides weight? That's an awful lot of weight to be muscle, given all the cardio you're doing. Do you look like you're gaining fat in any of your usual places? If it doesn't seem to show anywhere, I vote for a broken scale.

rnfreed

Yes, it's a miracle, your body actually gains weight the more exercise you do on a steady source of food calories. If you stopped exercising and eating altogether, you would be a total fattie. You have a divine source of energy and can never starve to death.

Either that, or you're not calculating your intake correctly.

Make a choice which you think is more likely.

LOL

I was thinking maybe the OP was drinking extra calories that arent being accounted for?

I only drink water, sprite zero(yes I know diet sodas are bad, I just cant help it!), and occasionly a gatorade after a long run.

husseycd

I've read a case study on a woman training for a marathon that actually put on weight while eating at a deficit. When tested, her RMR was depressed. Distance running is one of those things that causes high stress in our bodies. Couple that with a large calorie deficit, and the body reacts to that stress. Stress produces cortisol, and according to some researchers, that causes weight gain.

Now, not everyone is a believer, especially not on this site. And I agree. I think it's less common to over exercise and under eat your way to a suppressed metabolism. Most people just eat more than they think and burn less than they think. However, it isn't impossible.

If your are absolutely, positively, 100% sure you are logging accurately, there's an easy way to test your metabolism. It's a quick, relatively inexpensive test. I had mine done and it took about 20 minutes.

You are also small, right? Water retention from exercise will also show up as weight gain. 1500 calories isn't very many. I need to eat an average of 2200/day to maintain my weight of 130 lbs (at 5'5" and 38 years old). I work out everyday, but do very little cardio. Just a little bike riding here and there.

Sabine_Stroehm

5'7"

How much lower than 120 are you planning to try to force your body to be? Perhaps it's telling you something? You're already at the low low end of normal.

rnfreed

Do you track any measurements besides weight? That's an awful lot of weight to be muscle, given all the cardio you're doing. Do you look like you're gaining fat in any of your usual places?

I do track my measurements, but I dont really know how to properly analze them. My thighs have had a slight increse, as well as my biceps. Is this likely to be fat or muscle?

Laurenloveswaffles

Do you track any measurements besides weight? That's an awful lot of weight to be muscle, given all the cardio you're doing. Do you look like you're gaining fat in any of your usual places?

I do track my measurements, but I dont really know how to properly analze them. My thighs have had a slight increse, as well as my biceps. Is this likely to be fat or muscle?

You won't know unless you chop your arm or leg off. With a gain like that, you are more than likely eating a calorie surplus so it's either fat or muscle.

hill8570

I've read a case study on a woman training for a marathon that actually put on weight while eating at a deficit. When tested, her RMR was depressed. Distance running is one of those things that causes high stress in our bodies. Couple that with a large calorie deficit, and the body reacts to that stress. Stress produces cortisol, and according to some researchers, that causes weight gain.

He's logging 50 miles a week. Good exercise, but hardly "high stress" training.

jlapey

If you just changed your workout routine, you may be retaining water. Not a big deal. Give it a couple more weeks to balance out. If it doesn't, then tweak your intake.

rnfreed

5'7"

How much lower than 120 are you planning to try to force your body to be? Perhaps it's telling you something? You're already at the low low end of normal.

I get my best times at 118. Now I am ~125. I know it seems insignificant, but it really does affect me and I have a lot of high competition races this fall.

Sabine_Stroehm

5'7"

How much lower than 120 are you planning to try to force your body to be? Perhaps it's telling you something? You're already at the low low end of normal.

I get my best times at 118. Now I am ~125. I know it seems insignificant, but it really does affect me and I have a lot of high competition races this fall.

It's pretty low, and if you're accurate, those are pretty low calories for competition. I eat more than you at 50 years old with 20 miles a week of slow running.

hill8570

Do you track any measurements besides weight? That's an awful lot of weight to be muscle, given all the cardio you're doing. Do you look like you're gaining fat in any of your usual places?

I do track my measurements, but I don't really know how to properly analyze them. My thighs have had a slight increase, as well as my biceps. Is this likely to be fat or muscle?

With all that cross-training, I would expect it would be more likely to be muscle, especially if you're putting in significant pool time. Although I have no clue how you could have enough calorie excess at 1500 gross calories to even get out of bed, let alone build 6+ pounds of muscle. There are sites around with pictures of people at various body fat % -- might want to take a look and compare to your build.

SanteMulberry

I've read a case study on a woman training for a marathon that actually put on weight while eating at a deficit. When tested, her RMR was depressed. Distance running is one of those things that causes high stress in our bodies. Couple that with a large calorie deficit, and the body reacts to that stress. Stress produces cortisol, and according to some researchers, that causes weight gain.

Now, not everyone is a believer, especially not on this site. And I agree. I think it's less common to over exercise and under eat your way to a suppressed metabolism. Most people just eat more than they think and burn less than they think. However, it isn't impossible.

If your are absolutely, positively, 100% sure you are logging accurately, there's an easy way to test your metabolism. It's a quick, relatively inexpensive test. I had mine done and it took about 20 minutes.

You are also small, right? Water retention from exercise will also show up as weight gain. 1500 calories isn't very many. I need to eat an average of 2200/day to maintain my weight of 130 lbs (at 5'5" and 38 years old). I work out everyday, but do very little cardio. Just a little bike riding here and there.

^^^QFT^^^ Long-distance running is catabolic (that is, it breaks down muscle). Heavy lifting is anabolic (that is, it builds muscle up). What can happen if you don't lift at the same time, is that the running reduces your lean body mass (some people who run a LOT have problems with osteoporosis, as a lot of running breaks down bone as well as muscle). When you lay off of running for a while, the lost lean body mass is replaced with fat because the RMR is now lower because of the loss of lean body mass. If you run and lift, your weight will likely go up before it goes back down because, on women, your hormones favor hanging onto fat and you will be replacing the lost lean body mass with the lifting (as long as you are eating at a small surplus). But the good news is that, if you lift (and eat at a surplus, favoring protein and "good" carbs) you will add muscle which burns calories at a higher rate 24-7 and help you to burn through the unwanted body fat.

husseycd

I've read a case study on a woman training for a marathon that actually put on weight while eating at a deficit. When tested, her RMR was depressed. Distance running is one of those things that causes high stress in our bodies. Couple that with a large calorie deficit, and the body reacts to that stress. Stress produces cortisol, and according to some researchers, that causes weight gain.

He's logging 50 miles a week. Good exercise, but hardly "high stress" training.

Well, he is a 19 year old female, but I see what you are saying. Testing one's RMR is pretty dang simple. If the OP is truly only eating 1500 calories/day and running ~ 5-7 miles per day, and doesn't think her weight gain is purely water, I'd recommend she have her RMR tested.

I get that we hear it all the time on this site, so everyone has this knee jerk reaction. But it isn't impossible, and the OP is very small anyways. Her BMI is close to being underweight. Even only running 5-7 miles per day could over stress her body, since it's likely already a bit stressed.

BTW, OP, you are awfully tiny. Are you sure you want to lose any more weight? I know the common thought for endurance athletes is to be very small, but you might want to look at other avenues to improve performance. :flowerforyou:

dpwellman

1500 calories is way too low, most likely. . .

Most assuredly

SLLeask

If you really are exercising that much and really are only eating 1500 cals then the only thing I can come up with is....



Could you be pregnant....? That would add those pounds on...