Unexplained Weight Gain

[SheFly]

I'm hoping someone here can give me some advice.

Last year, I really cranked up my riding, and could definitely see results. I dropped a bunch of weight over the season, getting down to my college weight. I felt great, was really active, and wasn't really doing anything in particular to my diet regimen.

This year, the training has gone up to a whole new level. I have ridden more this season than in many of my past years, and am on target for my biggest mileage ever. I also started road racing this season, and am having a blast. My issue is that I can't seem to drop any weight, and have, in fact, gained weight over the past few weeks. I am currently almost 13 lbs OVER where I was at my lowest last year.

I don't feel that I have significantly changed anything in my diet or habits other than riding more, so am at a loss to explain the weight gain. Any thoughts?

Thanks,
SheFly

[cindysue]

How are your clothes fitting? Tighter? Looser?

see:

http://forums.teamestrogen.com/showt...ht=weight+gain

[SheFly]

Thanks, Cindy! I'm pretty sure this isn't an issue of gaining muscle though, as my clothes are fitting tighter instead of looser. And even if that were the case, I'm pretty sure that 13 lbs of muscle isn't going to happen - at least not to me .

This has also been a gain in a short period of time - since about February.

SheFly

[mimitabby]

I'm no weight expert, but what I have seen over the years is that weight loss is slow and if you are weighing yourself every day it's harder to see the forest for the trees. If you've gained weight (you didn't say how old you were) it could be due to hormones too. Keep exercising, eat well, and get back to us in a month. Hey that sounds like what a doctor would say!

[SheFly]

FWIW, I'm 38. And I know all about slow weight loss - trust me! The problem isn't with the loss, it's with the unexplained gain, and inability to lose....

I have done WW in a past life, so understand how to lose slowly and make significant life changes. My diet has NOT changed, thus increasing my perplexity on the weight gain given the increase in exercise.

I am 5'10" and currently (as of this morning) 163 lbs . I should be down near 150 (which is more typical for me).

SheFly

[GLC1968]

I don't feel that I have significantly changed anything in my diet or habits

You don't feel that you have, but do you know for sure? The best way to figure it out is to log your intake. Keep good record of your diet. More often than not, unexplained weight gain is due to an unconscious increase in intake. If that has been ruled out, it would be worth checking with a doc. Changes in hormones (pill, age, etc.) could definitely affect weight...as could other problems like with your thyroid.

I'm up about 10 lbs since last year, but I know I've been eating too much!

[mtkitchn]

I agree with GLC1968. I started gaining weight recently after initally losing it when I began riding, and I didn't THINK I was eating differently. Fortunately, I'd been keeping track of my food intake on fitday.com while trying to cut fat, and as I look back I realize I'm actually eating about 4-500 more calories a day than I was a year ago. So it might be worth looking into....
OR, it might be muscle gain....
If your clothes still fit the same.
Now that I look back I see that you have been keeping track of your diet, so maybe it's the muscle thing....

[Bike Goddess]

Since you say it's been in the last few weeks, I'd look at WHAT and HOW MUCH you are eating AFTER you do a big race or fast ride.

[geckogirl]

I've been through the same thing recently as a result of an ovarian cyst. I had the cyst removed laproscopicaly and my OB put me on low dose birth control and my weight shot up 15 pounds over 2 months. I've been on thyroid medication for some time now and it suddenly felt like all the low thyroid symptoms were coming back again. After being to 2 different docs and hearing that I must be eating too much (I'm not, nothing had changed in my eating habits) I finally stumbled onto information on estrogen dominance. Too much estrogen (mine was from the birth control pills but it can occur naturally also) can interfere with thyroid function and cause rapid weight gain. You might try Googling estrogen dominance and see if any of the info helps. There's a simple saliva test that you can get that will tell if it's a problem. Hope this helps.