Triathlon training and weight management

gddrdld
gddrdld Posts: 464 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
Any triathletes out there??

I am pretty new to the sport and have really struggled with maintaining the energy levels to do long distance and speed training while trying not to gain weight. I have made tremendous gains in my bike leg and swim over the past year, but in the process managed to gain 15 lbs. As a consequence, my running has suffered and my knees are hurting.

Anyone else out there dealing with this?

Replies

  • jacksonpt
    jacksonpt Posts: 10,413 Member
    Putting in long hours of training and asking for peak performance on race day really requires you to have your nutrition/diet dialed in. Have you experimented with different calorie levels and different macro breakdowns?

    If you're gaining, then first assumption is that you are eating too much.

    When you say you struggle with energy levels on long distances - how long are you talking? What distance and time?
  • gddrdld
    gddrdld Posts: 464 Member
    When it comes to weight management I do much better with lower carb, higher protein. But, with distance training of anything over 20 miles bike or 5 miles run, it seems like I hit the wall bad if i don't take in over like 300 grams carbs the day or two days before.

    I know for sure I've been eating too much..hense the weight gain, but finding that balance has been really hard. Currently I'm sticking to about 30-40-30 macro breakdown, and have been cutting calories to lose this weight, but my energy level is not there.
  • jacksonpt
    jacksonpt Posts: 10,413 Member
    What is "low carb" for you?

    You shouldn't need 300g in carbs to get through a 20mile bike or a 5 mile run. Part of it may well be psychological, part of it might be your body needing time to adjust to the demands while being on a lower carb diet.
  • gddrdld
    gddrdld Posts: 464 Member
    I would consider low carb to be less than 40% calories from carbs daily. I don't need 300 g carbs to get through a 20 mile bike ride, it's when it gets much longer than that, that I tend to run into the weakness and fatigue issues if I have restricted my intake the day before.

    I have done several century bike rides and half marathons and not had that issue as long as I carb loaded a couple of days ahead and consumed some nutrition during.
  • BrianSharpe
    BrianSharpe Posts: 9,248 Member
    You may find this interesting.....

    http://journals.cambridge.org/download.php?file=/61025_8AA8D253BBA55FE3C6ED68B56C06E5D9_journals__PNS_PNS57_01_S0029665198000068a.pdf&cover=Y&code=02e83317e8f31a67968140bc4db80943

    at my tri club the conventional wisdom for endurance athletes is to aim for around 60-20-20
  • gddrdld
    gddrdld Posts: 464 Member
    Thanks, but the link for the article didn't work for me.
  • gddrdld
    gddrdld Posts: 464 Member
    You may find this interesting.....

    http://journals.cambridge.org/download.php?file=/61025_8AA8D253BBA55FE3C6ED68B56C06E5D9_journals__PNS_PNS57_01_S0029665198000068a.pdf&cover=Y&code=02e83317e8f31a67968140bc4db80943

    at my tri club the conventional wisdom for endurance athletes is to aim for around 60-20-20

    I agree with the 60-20-20 for endurance ahtletes, but the issue I'm having is when I eat that way, I am starving ALL the time and end up consuming way too much and gaining weight.
  • jacksonpt
    jacksonpt Posts: 10,413 Member
    I would consider low carb to be less than 40% calories from carbs daily. I don't need 300 g carbs to get through a 20 mile bike ride, it's when it gets much longer than that, that I tend to run into the weakness and fatigue issues if I have restricted my intake the day before.

    I have done several century bike rides and half marathons and not had that issue as long as I carb loaded a couple of days ahead and consumed some nutrition during.

    So what exactly is the issue? It's normal to need calories when your workouts are 2-3 hours +. Carb loading the day before is standard practice for most endurance athletes.

    It sounds like you know what to do and what works, but need to work on total calories so you don't gain weight between races or during the off season... If you live somewhere where ther is an off season.
  • gddrdld
    gddrdld Posts: 464 Member
    Yeah...That's what my triathlon buddys say.. "what's the problem?" Haha..

    Knowledge is not my deficit, I guess willpower is. I deal with extreme hunger and lack of abillity to portion control when I train at that level. The weight gain does NOT happen during the off season, it happens when my training is at it's peak, actually.

    The problem is I have a low metabolism, so when I eat like everyone else I'm training with in order to have the energy level to keep up with then, I steadily gain when everyone else maintains or loses. Bad genes...
  • BrianSharpe
    BrianSharpe Posts: 9,248 Member
    You may find this interesting.....

    http://journals.cambridge.org/download.php?file=/61025_8AA8D253BBA55FE3C6ED68B56C06E5D9_journals__PNS_PNS57_01_S0029665198000068a.pdf&cover=Y&code=02e83317e8f31a67968140bc4db80943

    at my tri club the conventional wisdom for endurance athletes is to aim for around 60-20-20

    I agree with the 60-20-20 for endurance ahtletes, but the issue I'm having is when I eat that way, I am starving ALL the time and end up consuming way too much and gaining weight.

    Maybe try tweaking it a little along the lines of 50% carbs and 30% protein - the extra protein may stop you from feeling starved all the time.
  • AlessisMore
    AlessisMore Posts: 179 Member
    I can't really give you any help since I grapple with this too. I have had great results losing weight by eating "fairly low carb" over the past few months. But as my runs and rides get longer I find that I seem to need to trade off weight management with fuel management. I'm still experimenting but I suspect that optimal performance and weight loss are mutually exclusive. YMMV of course.

    What distance tris are you training for?
  • beyg
    beyg Posts: 212 Member
    Yeah...That's what my triathlon buddys say.. "what's the problem?" Haha..

    Knowledge is not my deficit, I guess willpower is. I deal with extreme hunger and lack of abillity to portion control when I train at that level. The weight gain does NOT happen during the off season, it happens when my training is at it's peak, actually.

    The problem is I have a low metabolism, so when I eat like everyone else I'm training with in order to have the energy level to keep up with then, I steadily gain when everyone else maintains or loses. Bad genes...

    What you are calling hunger may be a deficit on a specific mineral, therefore your body thinks is hungry.
  • gddrdld
    gddrdld Posts: 464 Member
    I can't really give you any help since I grapple with this too. I have had great results losing weight by eating "fairly low carb" over the past few months. But as my runs and rides get longer I find that I seem to need to trade off weight management with fuel management. I'm still experimenting but I suspect that optimal performance and weight loss are mutually exclusive. YMMV of course.

    What distance tris are you training for?

    Yay! Someone who feels like I feel! I agree that optimal performance and weight loss do generally not happen at the same time, At least for me.
    I have done several sprints, some olympic level and am now training at the half IM level,
  • gddrdld
    gddrdld Posts: 464 Member
    @beyg- I thoght about mineral and elyte balance and the sodium drops do tend to get me more when I restrict my carbs. So I rutinely take vit/min supps and add extra magnesium calcium and potassium as well as sodium during tough training days and it seems to help some but the hunger continues.

    Thanks for all the great suggestions!
  • jacksonpt
    jacksonpt Posts: 10,413 Member
    Optimal performance and weight loss may not go hand in hand, but that doesn't necessitate weight gain.

    Most people don't need to carb load all the time, only the day before race day. Have you tried cutting back slightly on cals Mon-Thurs, then loading (both carbs and cals) on Friday for a Saturday race? Have a more balanced diet thru the week may help keep you from feeling hungry all the time.

    The nutrient imbalance is a good thought as well... Are you taking any kind of multivitamin? Do you drink any kind of sports/performance drink?

    Lastly, could any of the "constantly hungry" feeling be mental?
  • gddrdld
    gddrdld Posts: 464 Member
    You're right. I think I just need to real it in a little bit more on light training days and only carb load before long sessions (maybe not true carb load but increased intake).

    I do take a good multivit and extra cod liver oil, calcium with magnesium and D and B12 sublingual. I add extra Mg and K+ when I feel I need it. I take "salt stick" caps during hot long training (we are in the south).

    Thanks for all you help! I know some of it is mental and just related to my difficulty with food addiction/binge eating too.

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