Oh the dreaded topic of racing weight, diet and triathlons. Last year my friend and relay teammate, Lee, gave me a copy of the book with the title: Racing Weight. It gave me information about the different body types of athletes and tons of useful information. But truly it's not something that we don't already know and haven't known forever.
Calories in-calories burned-resting calories used daily=weight gained or lost. And if only it were that simple. My daily burn without training is about 1500. I burn anywhere between 500-4,000 calories a day in training. TYPICALLY, I only burn the big number, 4,000, once a week and it's the long ride and brick. Second to that is the long run which comes in around 1,200. It sounds like a lot but when I start adding up the food I eat, that bank of calories doesn't go very far.
Take a long ride/brick. Burn 4,000 cals. So I get to "spend" 5500 cals that day. I eat about 1,250 on the ride. Breakfast is 500. I get home and immediately stuff 500 cals of something down while I'm getting ready to eat. I will eat most of a pizza and a coke. That's 2,000. A little ice cream or a treat and boom, the cals are all gone for the day and I have broken even. BROKEN EVEN? I just trained for 5 freaking hours and I break even????? I didn't even have lunch and Gu does NOT count.
It's pretty nuts to me that despite the long hours of training, I still have to watch what I eat so that I won't gain weight. And the hunger that is born from all of this training will oftentimes make me eat foods that I never dreamed of eating before last year. I have actually began a search for the holy grail of tater tots. So far the tot-chos (think nachos made with tater tots) at The Nook are tying with the Tater Tots at Midway.
The other downfall of pigging out after a long training day is that it makes me think I can eat like that every day because I train every day. But since I am not burning those cals every day, I simply can not.
There is also the issue of when the IM training ends and the appetite continues. But I'll save that for another blog. Perhaps I'll use the $600 IM entry fee for lipo next year. That'll probably get me the equivalent of 5 tater tots.
I put on weight in the winter and it comes off in the spring...my eating habits do not changes....what do I do in the spring that I don't do in the winter.... 4 letter word that rules my life.
ReplyDeleteI worry about the not training or slowing down the training and then gaining weight. So far I've been lucky. Last year I quit training in December. I was only doing swim one day a week and stopped running and biking. I thought I'd put on a lot of weight, instead I just gained a couple pounds (2-3) and maintained it until I started back up in January. Once I got back into training I lost the weight I gained and then lost some more. I actually dropped 10 this season.
ReplyDeleteI don't count calories at all. It's too much work. I use a scale and weigh myself first thing in the morning and before I go to sleep. I use that information to gauge my eating habits. It's natural to gain and loose weight, but if there are significant changes then I need to adjust my training or eating. I also have to take into account that with training, I'm also building muscle, so some weight gain is expected. There needs to be a balance and by monitoring my weight, I can make adjustments.
Due to the training I've been doing and the weight I've lost, I don't think I'll ever completely stop exercising, it's now part of my lifestyle. I'll slow down a bit during the winter and reduce my meal portions, but I'll keep running, doing easy miles for fun and not part of any training plan. I might put on a little weight and that's to be expected, as long as it's not excessive.
I think I read somewhere that in the off season, athletes can expect to gain up to 10% (that's crazy, I'm not putting on 14-15 pounds in the off season). It would be very difficult to keep your race weight year round (doesn't mean I won't try).
You're a very active individual & healthy eater, I don't think you have anything to worry about.
Haha Joseph. I'm guessing that 4 letter word is BEER! And Dave- I gave gained 8 pounds since January I find very weird! Some of it is muscle but some fat. That's why I'm going to have to cut back. :(
ReplyDeleteI swear Dave's post could have been my own. I gain a few in the off-season (but never fret it because I know my lifestyle will change that when the weather turns). I also live by the 'weigh myself often' principal; every morning when I wake, every night before bed, and before and after 'mega' training sessions. I rarely ever deny myself my food pleasures, but when the scale says I'm up a pound or two - I'll cut back on dinner or skip the ice cream ;-) I will say that after 30+ years of doing this, my body has an unbelievable basil metabolic rate - and that's good because I LOVE FOOD.
ReplyDeleteP.S. I hope that book told you that you will need a little extra 'fat' on your body come Ironman race day. I like to eat every hour on the hour the day before Ironman events. My goal is to wake up on IM morning about 5 pounds over my normal racing weight. My body will need every bit of those 5 extra pounds to feed off of in the marathon.
Great advice Chris. Thanks.
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