Keep gaining while training for half marathon

xStrawberryBubblegumx

Did any of you keep gaining weight while training for a half marathon? I read a lot about initial weight gain, like a couple of pounds in the first weeks, but it has been 2,5 months and the scale is up 10 lbs!! It's not like I'm eating everything in sight. I just calculated that training burns about 2100 a week, so I eat 300 calories more per day. I was only eating 1700 calories before, and was not happy about it, so I decided to use this opportunity to up my calories. But since I am only eating my exercise calories back, I really don't get why I keep gaining weight. I mean, obviously it is NOT 10 lbs of muscle, so it must be fat, but how is that possible?
It sounds like I am eating too much, but 2000 calories for a 5 ft 9 girl, weighing 145 lbs, training for a half marathon isn't that much, right? Especially since I used to maintain a weight of 25 lbs lower last year, without the half marathon training of course, on 2100 calories. So that would suggest I should be able to maintain on much more than back then, right?

jamien604

Do you weigh your food?

You're probably way off on what you think you are eating, most people are.

Don't just assume when you consume something you're consuming 1 serving, people typically eat 2-3 times what a company lists as a serving on a container.

Try buying a food scale, it's pretty cheap.

Were you losing/maintaining/gaining weight on 1700 calories?

brianpperkins

How many miles are you running per week for you 2100 calorie burn?

xStrawberryBubblegumx

I don't weigh my food, because I used to have an eating disorder and weighing would be a huge trigger for that. I do measure some stuff and from my ED times, I know how many calories are in all the things I eat (and that can't be way off, because then I couldn't have lost that much weight back then). I mean, the 2000 calories can be like 100 calories more or less sometimes, but I've always counted my calories this roughly, so in the end it should all average out. And since I've been gaining about a pound per week for the last months, that would imply that I would maintain on only 1500 calories. That's pretty low while training for a half marathon. Especially since I had my RMR tested in July and it was 1322.

On 1700 I was maintaining, but was not training for the half marathon yet. Similarly, a year ago I was maintaining a weight of 25 lbs less on 2100 (also no running). Besides exercise, my daily activities haven't changed much over the years. So even if I am overestimating the calories burned from running, the only way it can compare to last year is if running burns zero calories, my body doesn't burn any extra calories from weighing 25 lbs more AND I have zero additional muscle mass. That does't sound right, does it?
I would really love to hear some kind of explanation or someone who has been trough the same thing.

Springfield1970

You've answered it yourself. I'm sure you will be much happier if you weigh your food! You will know for sure then. It's better than having this mysterious fat gain, and not knowing why.

I'm pretty sure you're eating too much! I did the same when I started triathlon training and gained a lot. It's so easy to overeat when you don't eat enough in the beginning half of the day to prefuel your workouts. The body will do a mini binge afternoon evening if you don't get it right.

Find out your burns and pre fuel them. You're halfway there with the calculations, you naught as well be as accurate as you can.

Also, I wouldn't now try and drop the weight while I was training, it's a recipe for injury.

Good luck on your journey!

rybo

I'd say you are eating too little.