Off Season Weight Gain?

my season this year saw my lightest weight just under 150 at the end of winter running, and races tris around 150.

in the month after my last race i did (and typically do) go up 6-8 pounds. wont worry at all about it, and as i start training again it starts coming off. should be gone by christmas.

I continue to train/workout during the winter and stay the same weight pretty much all year.

I lost 75lbs 5 years ago. I did it with eating healthy + general exercise. Went from a miserable, miserable person at a size 18 to a very happy, fulfilled person with a totally different life/personality at a size 2.

So I've exercised 5+ days a week for 5 years, all year long, long before I ever started doing races. For me, while there may be an off season from racing in tri's, there is NO off season from exercise, health and fitness because I never want to be that miserable person again.

So no weight gain planned, expected or allowed here.

It doesn't really. It's just that sometimes I'm a firmer 135 lbs., and sometimes I'm squishier.

Race at 147 and I'm at 157 right now. Starting to feel vary fat which makes me the flip the switch and start shedding again. I'll drop down to 152 for the rest of the winter and early spring before losing the last five +

I never let myself "go" took too long to get here!

I train all year round too so my weight stays within about a 2kg range. Over Christmas last year I put on a couple of kgs with more eating and less running but it shifted pretty quickly when things got back to normal in the new year.

Mademile - Aren't size two's wonderful!  I'm proud of you - good job.  I lost 33, no off season for me either!

Edited by poetryart 2010-11-02 9:59 PM

Well my weight only goes up because my activity level goes down and my eating does not.

Last couple of years I was lucky because I was able to train for a marathon and some half marathons. I can't really run right now, so that has been taken away. Now I can't swim due to a bike wreck. I'm down to cycling and a really pathetically slow walk/run. Blah.

My weight has been going up, up, up. I tell myself to stop eating... and then... there I am... eating! Ugh.

eating habbits change much slower than workout habbits.  I know this first hand when i had transitioned from a body builder, to a senior studying engineering that sat at a desk all day every day for 2 years straight. senior year was a long one  

I peaked at 180 lbs before i stopped weight lifting.  Went down to 170 within 6 months.  Then as i continued to loose more muscle mass, it was quickly replaced with fat.  I've been at a constant 167 untill i started tri training.  Now i'm at 155.  I havn't weighed this little since highschool!!!! 

Personally, my off season will consist of free training.  Doing whatever i want.  I'll go as hard as i want for as long as i want.  And i'll take as much recovery between workouts i feel like!   I'll kick it back in gear once thanksgiving comes though.  Nothing will be more satisfying than putting in 6 hours of biking/running and then come home to a meal fit for a medieval king!!!

Thanks for the feedback.  I'm only talking about a 3-5lb fluctuation (on a 124lb frame), so it's not as though I am packing the 15lbs I lost last season back on, I just wanted to make sure I wasn't on a slippery slope! I wish that my training levels could stay the same year round, but the reality is I need a mental and physical break after the season and my training goes from 10hrs/wk to 5-6.  If only my caloric intake dropped by the same percentage!

I wouldn't worry about 3-5. I can fluctuate that much in a day sometimes. I've gone up about 7-8lbs from my peak race time at 163. It's totally my eating habits though. I'm addicted to food!! and have been bad lately. I train all year round so no issue there, but I need to control my eating better. To me it's all about diet. Some months I've spent the most time training I've still gained weight. I find it hard to control my diet when I'm hungry from training.

I actually find my caloric intake does drop with a drop in exercise, I'm just not as hungry and therefore eat less. It was through my weight loss experience that I was able to really gain an understanding and ability to read my body's cues when it comes to hunger and nutritional needs, so if I just listen to it, the caloric intake takes care of itself and matches my training level so that I maintain my weight no matter what my volume is.

Definitely pretty normal - that seems to be me too.  3-5 lbs is very manageable and once you get back into your training it will come off again.

As long as you're staying active you'll be fine!

This is what it comes down to, plain and simple.

If you don't want your weight to go up when you dial down the workouts, then you have to dial down the calories.  If you eat more than you burn, you'll gain weight.  If you don't, you won't.  As someone else already pointed out, though, it is easier to cut back on exercise than it is to change your eating habits.

For me, the holidays are difficult--uncooperative weather, time pressure to be with family (rather than working out), and too much unhealthy food and alcohol available (although I don't drink anymore, which helps)--generally, my weight goes up 3-5 lbs between Thanksgiving and New Years Day.  This year, I'm going to try very hard to avoid that gain. 

off season is when I concentrate on losing weight, when I am not in the full swing of a training plan.  I'm still active during the off season but I just watch what I eat.  Now, if I was already uber thin I might not do this, but then I would just watch my calories to make sure I don't gain.  Although a swing of a couple of pounds back and forth is normal and not really classified as weight gain in my book. 

About the same here.  I usually average 195 over the winter and try to be around 185-190 for summer.

This year I tried tried to get a little more serious about my cardio.  Took a few months of lifting and dropped to 172.  People think I'm sick and my wife wants me to go to the Dr.  I have no idea of the last time I was this scrawny.

I  plan to get back to the gym and put on at least 10lbs just so my nice clothes fit again.  

As has already been hinted at, if you are at your ideal weight at the end of the season, there's no real harm in gaining a couple pounds during the off season, and then losing them in the early season.  However, if you have some serious weight to lose, then the off-season is really the ideal time to do it.