Thoughts... help me out of my own head!

[OJazzy1]

I am 5' 7" , female, I weigh 132 as of this morning. I am very athletic. I strength train 6 days a week for about 15 - 20 min and that does not include abs that are 3 times a week. I either run or bike (indoors mostly right now) 6 days a week for 30 + min sometimes twice a day.

I am trying to bring my calories up a bit since I have been averaging 1,600 for the most part. I have been reading up and seeing that just doesn't seem to be enough and since I am competing (duathlon, bike racing and running) I need to gain some more speed and I just don't seem to have enough energy.

I eat really clean, whole grains, veggies, fruit, good protein and my fats consist of some butter, olive oil, coconut oil and some heavy cream in my coffee (just a little bit)

I also drink green tea, black tea and coffee and plenty of water.

I have been drinking hot chocolate (about 8 - 10 oz) after my workouts as a "recovery" drink instead of choc milk as it is cold outside.

There you have it. I am also hungry quite a bit but it usually doesn't catch up until later as I am a very active person during the day.

My "problem" is that I did weight less and it seems that I just keep gaining weight. I don't really know where it is going, I do have very muscular legs and butt. But I am concerned, I dont' want to keep gaining and to be honest I feel like if I were lighter I would be faster but maybe that is just all in my head because I am a woman and always think I should be lighter?

Thoughts?

[redrhodie]

My thought is you're already low weight for your height, so don't try to lose any more. It is all in your head. I've been there. You could have a zinc deficiency. Try adding some nuts and seeds to your diet.

Think of food as gasoline, and you're an engine. When you feel hungry, you're fuel indicator is flashing. Time to fill up, and better still, don't let it get so low that it flashes again.

[goldfinch]

At your height and weight 1600 calories barely keeps your body going if you were sedentary, and would not be enough to fuel the amount of exercise you do. You body might now be doing its best at conserving energy because it doesn't have enough fuel.

[indysteel]

Two questions: how old are you and have you had your thyroid checked lately?

I generally think you may be underfueling and have thereby encouraged your metabolism to slow down.

[ny biker]

I'm 5'7". When I was in grad school I weighed about 130 lbs. All my friends thought I had an eating disorder because I looked too thin.

If I tried to survive on 1600 calories a day I would be hungry and lightheaded all the time. I probably get more like 2000 calories a day. I currently weigh 141.

[pll]

5'6.5" here. Current weight: 125, but I have gained a couple of lbs since Thanksgiving (gotta start running again!), and I'm not underweight. I try to consume an average of 1900 calories per day. During the summer, when I bike 2-4 hours, I am careful to have a meal soon after the ride.

Protein helps me keep hunger away, for the most part: I added protein to my breakfast (hard boiled egg whites, smoked salmon, Greek yogurt, peanut butter... ) and at the office I keep a jar with a mix of almonds, pistachios and cashews, for quick snacks. A nutritionist suggested I increase my protein consumption to ~50g per day.

PS: At 5'7", you'd have to go under 118 lbs to be considered underweight by the BMI tables, but I think it depends on your overall bone structure. Some people can look emaciated at that weight, others look just fine.

[Owlie]

I'm a little shorter than you and I'm 135-ish. My friends think I'm a stick.

You're active. You need to eat to fuel those workouts. Redrhodie has good advice. I'm not nearly as active as you (though does refusing to turn the heat up too much count?) and while I haven't tallied it up, I'm probably eating 2000 calories a day. I would be very unhappy on 1600, as would everyone around me.