Why am I gaining weight?
kenjonessa
Posts: 8
in General Chat
Hi All,
I've recently started full on training for this session (albeit my 1st). I used to play Rugby and am quite big (6'1 and 14.5 stone /184 and 93kg) and was relatively unfit. I've started training quite hard for the past 2 and a half weeks and have gained 4Kg's! I'm am carrying some extra weight around, but the past 2 weeks I've gain almost 5% of my previous weight. What is going on?
I have been taking protein before my weight session, but not before my Cardio sessions. I train 6 days a week, mostly in the Gym, and spin sessions (can't wait for it to warm up). I just don't understand. I'm 5 1/2 weeks out from my first event and feeling relatively confident, but not if this weight gain continues.
Please can someone offer me an explanation. I appreciate that muscle weighs more than fat, but I'm doing so much cardio, that this should be a factor (I believe).
Thanks in advance.
I've recently started full on training for this session (albeit my 1st). I used to play Rugby and am quite big (6'1 and 14.5 stone /184 and 93kg) and was relatively unfit. I've started training quite hard for the past 2 and a half weeks and have gained 4Kg's! I'm am carrying some extra weight around, but the past 2 weeks I've gain almost 5% of my previous weight. What is going on?
I have been taking protein before my weight session, but not before my Cardio sessions. I train 6 days a week, mostly in the Gym, and spin sessions (can't wait for it to warm up). I just don't understand. I'm 5 1/2 weeks out from my first event and feeling relatively confident, but not if this weight gain continues.
Please can someone offer me an explanation. I appreciate that muscle weighs more than fat, but I'm doing so much cardio, that this should be a factor (I believe).
Thanks in advance.
0
Comments
Weight is one of the worst measurements there is for fitness/health, only slightly better than BMI!
Whats much more important is to get your body fat measured, as well as relatively fitness and key measurements (waist etc). Also when you are a large size (I am about 14st as well (which is 90kg by the way not 65!) you will find that your body can vary by about 5kg overnight.
This is really quite common and is entirely dependent on when you weigh yourself, what your water level is like and what you have eaten recently.
I'm no food expert, but for instance if you eat a complex red meat like Steak/Lamb/Pork etc it can take almost a week to fully digest - hence extra weight. However if you just eat Mars Bars, your weight will plummet but your fat will go up (Rowers commonly do this to get down to lightweight before an event!)
So overall, don't lose faith, I know its hard to resist getting on the scales to see the results - but the actual weight really doesn't matter as long as your fat is going down and fitness/muscle mass is going up.
I am the heaviest I have ever been in my life just now but have 'only' 14% body fat.
In fact, I had to go for a medical last year (for offshore working) and the young doctor (a very pretty but inexperienced lassie) said I was border line obese based on my BMI !! After I pointed out my low body fat and I stripped down to my shreddies to show her how flamin gorgeous I looked half naked, she withdrew her comment.
Not sure you needed to know that bit....
Next time an attractive doctor tells me my BMI is showing me as overweight - i'll just take my top off an flex a bit.
Just need to make sure its a female doctor first or I could be in even more trouble!
Do you have any recommendations?
When i quite football i started weight training and my weight got up to a 79kg, i was a meathead with only a thought for my next protein hit!
and here's my point.....
Since i started tri I've only dropped to 75kg and i look more like i did as a footballer than i did weight training, just with more muscle!
So.... If you look good naked and your getting results then who cares? My mrs loves the way i look now but its a shame i didn't take up tri when i was single!!![:(]
If you do take the advice of others re measuring fat percentage and you feel it is too high, prolonged low-moderate intensity exercise (exercise at an intensity where your breathing does not feel laboured and amount of breaths per minute stays constant or less than 55% of maximum heart rate) will help burn off fat.
Stick with it and you will soon reap the benefits, however if weight gain continues to be a problem it may be worthwhile seeing a doctor and getting some tests done (eg thyroid ) or consulting with a nutrion expert.
It is important to remember that your body fat will move around a lot so it is critical to measure it at the same time of day (I would suggest the same morning each week - after you have a wee!) Hydration plays a huge factor so make sure you're hydrated! If you get really bored, measure your body fat every hour through the day and see what happens to it (yes, I was bored at work one day!)
My final, far more serious point,[;)] follows on from Bristol Newbie - I am single again after 12 years of marriage. Trust me folks, the ladies really do appreciate the time and effort invested in looking this gorgeous!!
(is being cocky and arrogant a common side affect of triathlons??)
Yes we make a fascinating bunch!
Removing body hair is a critical part of the sport - see the thread on shaving and my comments on the merits of waxing!! Even non-club duffers like me need to have all the hair removed from our bodies, pretty sure its the law!
Strangely, some females see this as strange, those ones are best avoided in the race season.
..and armstrong_jack - I have dated a couple of runners who refuse to train with me - think the continual talk about IM, training schedules, nutritional diaries and so forth put them off. Still, its nice to be appreciated for a while!
I had to get rid of one girlfriend as she was a faster runner than me! I beat her in a 10k race by sheer blood & guts as there was no way she was going to beat me. Then when she targetted a 3:30 Paris Marathon time I thought it was definitely time to get rid of her!
In fact she ended up with a 3:34 which is a different league to the sub 4h i'm aiming for. The fact that she is 6 stone lighter than me definitely plays a part mind.
'Newbie' is referring to being new to the forum I've got a few seasons behind me, but anyway......
I'm taking a vow never to shave my body hair, the benefit cannot nearly be big enough to warrant walking round with less body hair than the missus!!!
I'm off to a wedding now and I'll be drinking man drinks out of a pint glass!!!![8D]
Thanks and enjoy the upcoming season
Bristol Newbie - don't brag about drinking pints, I'm still on halves - a whole pint would see me dancing naked on a table singing Tom Jones songs!!
[;)]
Nothing wrong with tom jones except the leather trousers he gyrates in!!![&:]
No cameras though - I'll be wearing my kilt!