Seriously upped cardio = weight gain

Sometimes when you change your excercise or increase your level of activity it can take a while for your body to adjust to it. As long as your diet is in check, the weight gain should only be temporary.

endurance/cardio training can add a confusing twist to your weight. First of all it isn't fat that is causing the weight changes. It is an adaption your muscles are making to burn fat better. If you train for endurance Your muscles store energy in the form of sugars...these sugars are bonded with a gazillion water molecules. when you exercise the water is released. Your muscles are also building mitocondria which help you burn fat more efficiently...(yay!)

The only way I have found to overide this a combination of the following:
1. get enough sleep
2. reduce carbs
3. do High intensity intervals to burn the stored carbs in my muscles
4. follow the high intensity training with activity that is primarily fat burning...walking, housework, recovery pace liesure cycling

You're body will adapt to any stimuli metabolically. Its best to shift back and forth between "exercises more/eat more" and "eat less/do less".

Few things:
1. Your body reacts to stress by suppressing T3. When T3 is suppressed, your body starts storing fat. Cardio=stress.
2. Your body adapts to chronic cardio by becoming more efficient. More efficient=fewer calories burned.
3. Chronic cardio is catabolic. Less muscle=lower metabolic rate, preferential fat storing.

Of course, time, frequency and intensity as well as diet are going to shift any of the above variables one degree or another. Anyway, to mitigate the damage, make sure you're training with resistance, periodizing your training/upping your intensity, and incorporating HIIT (sprints/bursts).

p.s. as a runner, I'll gladly take a beating from any fellow endurance athlete who cares to disagree, but the alarming number of skinny-fat runners I see at races illustrates my point. If you're a one-trick pony, it will show.

skinny fat is where you lose weight without muscle training, and thus have no muscle mass though your body weight is lower. Typically "skinny fat" people get to the body weight they had in mind but are then disappointed they don't look the way they want to, and continue more dieting with no muscle training...hence vicious cycle.
Stop the cycle. Lift the heavy things!

Unfortunately, probably. haha
It takes work to make serious muscle gains. I mean, all humans have some muscle, but you might want to consider increasing your weight lifting to see a better body transformation. Or even find some videos online/youtube of how to do weight training in the home with your own body weight as resistance.
I mean, there's nothing persay wrong with being skinny fat, it's just that most people don't it aesthetically pleasing even if their BMI is healthy.

My physiotherapist has given me some exercises with a milk jug half-filled with water. The half-filled part is important because as it sloshes around, I have to work different core muscles to balance.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7s4OfkpRFcw

VickiLogan11 wrote: »

Thankyou r5. Gona start with a book I've seen mentioned for women. I think it's called killer curves ??? By Brett someone. Thanks again

I think you mean Bret Contreras - Strong Curves.

When you start or increase exercise, your muscles retain water in order to repair themselves, which often results in a temporary scale gain. My loss stalled for 6 weeks when I started lifting weights; it's just part of the process.

r5d5 wrote: »

skinny fat is where you lose weight without muscle training, and thus have no muscle mass though your body weight is lower. Typically "skinny fat" people get to the body weight they had in mind but are then disappointed they don't look the way they want to, and continue more dieting with no muscle training...hence vicious cycle.
Stop the cycle. Lift the heavy things!

Also I would add, that more worryingly among the general population 'Skinny Fat' is a reference to internal or viseral fat around your organs. Many people who appear thin and healthy despite never working out and eating whatever they want can unknowingly have dangerous levels of viseral fat