Gaining weight while training for a tri!

I think you should focus more on how you look and feel. runners are very slim and don't generally have gargantuan cycling quads and calves, and swimming will add all sorts of muscle to your arms back and shoulders. Scales are depressing. stay away from them!

I've been working out hard and really watching what I eat since the end of April.  I need to lose 100#.  I have not lost a pound in 3 weeks!  I've actually gained a couple.

I look thinner and clothes fit better.  I know I've gained a lot of muscle.

I'm hoping I'll hit that point where my muscles kind of max out and start growing slowly and the numbers on the scale start dropping.

As long as you feel good and look good (better), then don't worry about what the scale says.

Edited by JC5066 2009-06-15 8:50 PM

If you feel like you may not be getting enough water, you can try drinking a bit more too.  Your body needs water to build muscle (lots of it actually) and to break down fat- it sounds like both of those things are going on for you.

When I hit a stall in losing weight, drinking more water usually helps a bit.  If it's not that, then everyone else is right, if you're toning up and looking great, what's a number good for?  Is it possible that you have more muscles now than before kids?  If so- you may not want to get back to that original number (even though I completely understand the psychological aspect of a specific number.)

It's true. Very true.

Even though you are working out for hours on end, you still have to monitor your caloric intake closely. That's the only way to keep yoru weight down and to lose some.

Start with a base caloric intake for the day and then add 1/2 of what you burn exercising. So if you have a base of 1600 and burn 800 calories, you can eat 2,000 calories for the day. Log all your food and stick to your calorie count. You will lose weight.

Good luck!

Eh, I don't agree with this.

Sure... last year I felt strong and great while training for my Ironman.... but I was also eating like a pig, because hey... I was training for an IM!

I gained a good 8 pounds and all my clothes were tight. Trust me, it wasn't muscle.

This year I got off my lazy duff and lost the weight. And it will come back if I go by look and feel.

I experienced the same thing about a month ago. Been hovering around 230 and all of a sudden bounced to 240 and then back down to 235. But, my wife commented the other day that some of my t-shirts and shorts are beginning to hang on me. So, my clothes are fitting better and I am gaining muscle. The difference in clothing and some noticeable muscle gain keeps my attitude about weight loss in check.

I think that I'm probably eating more since I've started training. I'm starving when I wake up in the morning and usually in the middle of the day. It's the first time I've felt hungry at mealtime in years! But, good thing is I'm already a healthy eater and drink loads of water during the day. My clothes are fitting better and people think I've lost weight, so I guess it's just a number, huh?Thanks for the encouragement, everyone.

I feel your frustration. I 've been training for a long time, finally breaking through a platue only to find myself hovering in the same weight range no matter what I do. I'll lose 3 or 4 lbs and suddenly, I'll gain 2 over night despite how hard I train or how careful I am about what I eat.

I decided to stop weighing myself, it pisses me off too much. I started focusing on improvements in my training instead.

I think it's somewhat common for people to maintain or gain weight while training for triathlons. I don't think it's an effective weight loss tool. If your goal is weight loss, there are better ways to do it that take a lot less time. If your goal is sport performance, then you need to really start paying attention to what you are eating. Food is 80% of the weight loss equation, IMO.

You are not alone!

I am right there with you!  My first season (last season) I actually gained weight before I lost any.  I, too, was working out hard core, and eating more to compensate the crazy calories I was burning.  

Since I got into tri to lose weight in the first place, this was VERY depressing, but after a couple months, my weight did start to go down.  I think the hardest part (at least for me) is remembering that it takes MONTHS to lose the weight and keep in off properly.  I often feel like I should drop a pound a day for all the calories I burn, but it just doesn't work that way!  

The good news is that even though my weight went up, my body was looking better, I was losing inches all around, and my clothes were fitting better, so DON'T GIVE UP!