Gaining weight after a long ride?

[tctrek]

Thanks for the article! I'm reading it now. I had my body fat tested last week where you go into the tank of water -- it's the gold standard for calculating body fat. I'm 5'2" and 140 pounds. My doctor tells me I'm 26% body fat, but this test says that I'm 34.8%.... There's 50 pounds of fat on me and it's all in my torso! I have lean, muscular legs, almost no hips or butt, muscular arms and big everything else!! Maddening. This all happened in menopause when I found out I was apple shaped. I've been a normal weight all my life and I just don't know what to do with this fat!

Anyway - just reading this makes perfect sense - I need to eat my calories closer to the actual exercise timeframe. I can't imagine this old body is burning fat for too long after exercise.

I'll let you know how if it works!

[indysteel]

Are you sure you're eating enough? I know that sounds counterintuitive, but if your're working out everyday and riding 120 miles a weekend, I have to wonder whether your 1300-1500 calories a day is enough. You may be unintentionally putting into "starvation" mode.

[tctrek]

Are you sure you're eating enough?

I've tried many combinations of daily caloric intake, exercise intensity, percentages of fat/carbs/protein... you name it, I've tried it. I've been pretty scientific about it keeping food and exercise daily journals. I tried 1600-1800 calories a day thinking I was in "starvation" mode. I gained about 8 pounds in 4 weeks. One think I've been strict about is keeping my daily fat intake at less than 25% of total calories.

I've had my RMR tested twice. The first time was with a machine and it came out at 1325. They told me if I ate 1100-1325 per day I would lose weight and not to try to compensate/eat the calories that I exercise unless I exercised for more than 1 hour.

The 2nd time I got my RMR was when I had my body fat water test. It came out at 1420. He basically said the same thing.

My exercise calories average 500 per day not including road rides.

So, is my body in starvation? Beats me. I am going to try the "fueling" suggestions just before/during/after exercise and restrict my calories more during the nutritional window and see how that works.

[DrBadger]

about 2 years ago I was in a similar situation... I am 5'3" and weighed about 150-155...was active, but then started really ramping up my workouts... at the gym 3-4 times/week and riding or running 2-3 times per week. I figured that I would lose weight, nothing. I was countinng calories and was trying to keep between 1300-1500 calories/day, which is what us took me to lose weight before. But nothing. I did an experiment and raised my calories to between 1700-1800/day (I didn't count what I ate while on the bike, that was what I needed to keep going on rides, but I did count what I ate afterwards). As soon as I upped my calories the weight melted off. I ended up losing almost 20 pounds this way. given the amount you are working out I wouldn't be surprised if you aren't getting enough calories. Spend a week journaling EVERYTHING you eat during the day, and how long you are working out. See where you sit, and then add ~200-300 calories a day (assuming you really are eating 1200-1500 calories/day) and see what happens.

Good luck! I know how frustrating it is when you are working out like mad and aren't losing the weight!

Ellen

[michelem]

This very question was posed in last week's www.roadbikerider.com newsletter:

COACH FRED

Why Does My Weight Rise After Long Rides?

Q: Last season I logged more than 5,000 miles to prepare for a big cross-state ride. However, as I added distance, my normal 156-lb. (71-kg) weight would increase as much as 8 lbs. (3.6 kg) in the 2-3 days following a hard, long ride. And to make matters worse, I was ravenous during those days. Is this normal? I'd like to prevent the same thing happening this season. -- Jeff R.

Coach Fred Matheny Replies: I'll give you my take based on what nutritionists have told me as well as my own experience with long rides and multiday tours.

Generally, you gain weight following such rides because they exhaust your glycogen supplies. Glycogen is your muscles' primary fuel. You've essentially done the depletion phase of the classic carbo-loading regimen.

After the ride, as your body replenishes glycogen in the muscles, you gain weight for one simple reason: Glycogen is stored with a considerable amount of water.

So, much of your sudden gain is water weight and will vanish during your next big ride. This water storage is one reason that glycogen-stocked athletes will say they feel "bloated" going into an event.

As for your appetite, sure you're hungry -- you just did an enormous amount of work, your metabolism is elevated and your body is in caloric debt. It compensates (maybe overcompensates) for the deficit. This would be bad if you weren't right back into training. You'll burn the extra calories that result from this feasting. But make sure that what you're chowing on is wholesome and nutritious.

If you rode a consistent amount each week -- say, 10 hours -- your weight would probably settle at some moderate figure. But as long as you're training hard and riding long, you can expect fluctuations. That's normal.

[deedolce]

Wow, I could have written this thread! I gained 2 pounds after a hard week-end of riding.

I DO know I don't fuel sufficiently when I ride hard. Today, I did a 54 mile ride after eating a small bowl of cereal before I left, and I had 1 gu, 1 mini-clif bar, a banana and 6 sports beans during~ and my hrm said I burned 1950 calories

I'm going to make a diligent effort in fueling while I ride. I know, at the very least, it won't feel like I'm riding on empty by the end!

[indysteel]

Post-ride weight gain could also be in indication that you're takign in to much water during a ride.

It seems like the OPs question really poses two issues: (1) why does her weight go up a couple of pounds after a weekend of long rides and (2) why she can't seem to get the scale to go down anymore.

With the respect to the first question, the explanation that it's water weight makes some sense, but that saide, it really makes me wonder if you're perhaps weighing yourself too frequently. Fluctuations of one or two pounds through the course of day or several days is pretty normal. There was a time in my life that I weighed myself at least once a day and found, in time, that my fixation on "the number" wasn't overly helpful. Have you thought about weighing yourself just once a week?

With respect to the second question, I would again suggest that you're not eating enough. I realize menopause affects your caloric needs, but I think your activity level warrants more food. Combine that with a very targeted approach to when you eat those calories, and I think you might see some progress.

[jobob]

about 2 years ago I was in a similar situation... I am 5'3" and weighed about 150-155...was active, but then started really ramping up my workouts... at the gym 3-4 times/week and riding or running 2-3 times per week. I figured that I would lose weight, nothing. I was countinng calories and was trying to keep between 1300-1500 calories/day, which is what us took me to lose weight before. But nothing. I did an experiment and raised my calories to between 1700-1800/day (I didn't count what I ate while on the bike, that was what I needed to keep going on rides, but I did count what I ate afterwards). As soon as I upped my calories the weight melted off. I ended up losing almost 20 pounds this way. given the amount you are working out I wouldn't be surprised if you aren't getting enough calories. Spend a week journaling EVERYTHING you eat during the day, and how long you are working out. See where you sit, and then add ~200-300 calories a day (assuming you really are eating 1200-1500 calories/day) and see what happens.

Wow Ellen, that's great. Thanks for the advice!