Running but putting on weight!

[Rassy]

I started running in January (3 times a week probably doing about 10 miles at the mo in total plus one Zumba class) and I have been putting on weight!! Nothing horrendous - I am 5ft 3 and currently weigh 9st 2lb which I know isn't overweight but I would be happier if I was under 9 stone by a couple of pounds. According to DH I am toning up but am feeling a bit dispirted. Have not actually been on a diet (so I shouldn't really complain ) but I thought weight would fall off me?! It doesn't help that I am more hungrier than ususal and probably am a bit too fond of carbs...

Running stimulates your appetite massively IME. I am training for a marathon and have been running 40+ mile weeks the last few weeks, I still haven't lost any weight! It makes me hungry though and I do eat quite alot!

You will be more toned though, and much healthier

This happens to me! I feel more toned and flexible etc but have not lost weight. I have tried an Abs workout to loose the flab around my middle (5ft 5 10.7 stone)its really punishing and still no weight loss! I am not a big eater and cook healthy vegetarian food from scratch (no fries etc). Perhaps carbs are the problem? I wonder if anyone has solved this.

What gets me is that four years ago I trained to do the Moonwalk and weight just fell off me without modifying my diet. I am now doing more streneous exercise than I have done in my entire life (feel great ) but I want to scream at my scales. I don't know if it is my age - am 41 and the past year the scales have just been going in the wrong direction... Also, I feel that with all this exercise I 'deserve' not to have a regimented diet but now it is looking like I have to exercise hard and watch what I eat - not fair!

Rassy I think you have answered your own question! Feeling like you deserve to eat lots because you are exercising lots is recipe for disaster, especially if you are eating lots of carbs. Easy calculation, running at about 10kph burns around 600 cals per hr-how long are you spending and what extra food are you eating? More than likely you are eating more than you are burning

Try having a protein rich snack straight after a run - a palmful of nuts, bit of roast chicken, a boiled egg or small tin of tuna (one of these, not all ). Plenty of water. Hopefully this will stave off hunger pangs. Same kind of snacks through the day, or better still, veggies or miso soup also a good one Try cutting out/back carbs after 4pm, especially stuff like bread and pasta. Give yourself a night or two to have whatever you like though, don't make it agonising! I bet this will get a few pounds off over a month or so and you'll really see how much more toned you are then too. Failing this, think about trying interval training which really blasts the fat and calories.

Also, re age, as we age we lose muscle density. Because muscles, even at rest, burn more energy than fat, this means our metabolisms slow down, so it does get easier to put on weight and harder to lose it. This is why weight/resistance training is really important. Ideally you should introduce 2-3 sessions of weight training into your exercise regime....only has to be 20 minutes a time. Get some proper instruction so that you use the time properly (and review your programme every month to ensure you continue to challenge your body) and you will definitely tell a difference in your body and it can only improve your running.

If you prefer to do something at home I hear the 30 day shred is pretty fantastic.

Thanks Sleepwhenidie - time to renew the gym membership I think and put a lock on the bread bin!

You may be losing fat and gaining muscle. Because muscle is more dense than fat (weighs more by volume) you could be getting trim, fitter and looking better but still weigh the same. It's much better to go by how your clothes fit than by what the scales say.

Agree with going by what clothes say rather than scales nocake but the fat/muscle thing is pretty unlikely. Although muscle is denser, so heavier than fat, it is very difficult to build up muscle mass, I would say almost impossible if you aren't doing any resistance training! A body composition scales would confirm that if you were interested though.

Sleep posted this for me yesterday and was a really good read... I'm the same at the moment as well, dam those scales!

figureathlete.t-nation.com/free_online_article/training/the_final_nail_in_the_cardio_coffin

Sleep, you're talking nonsense. My muscle mass changes with the amount of training I do and I never do any resistance work.

And as for that website... something promoting muscle building is hardly an unbiased source.

I've run for years, but eating well and drinking meant I still put on weight despite the running. Regular exercise is not a get out of jail free card allowing you not to think about nutrition.

Am losing weight now - but only because i am paying attention to my diet, as well as running (and other exercise)

On the muscle debate - haven't researched it thoroughly, but I would be very suprised if running didn't build lean muscle mass in the gluteals, thighs and perhaps the abdomen (i have thighs of steel!)

However I agree that resistance training is more effective for building lean muscle mass...as are exercises like squats etc which don't require weights

My understanding is that runners often don't lose weight for quite a long time because a) they are building SOME muscle and b) because they are not exercising at a fat burning level but at a heart-building level. It's only once you get quite fit, and are jogging along with your heart rate at a decent 150 or so that you lose weight. When you start out, your heart rate is probably very high. Great for your cardio vascilar fitness, but not for weight loss.

I never claimed the website was an unbiased source nocake, although I think the muscle building aspect of it is irrelevant to the article's message, which is about interval training. That is cardio, not weight based, so you could do it without doing any weight training if you wanted. I also posted the article for Style's interest as she started a thread about her weight and her workout which sounded very much oriented towards an endurance event. It doesn't seem quite so relevant to the OP who seems happy with her running but sounds like she may need to look more closely at her diet and was open to the suggestion of resistance training.

As for talking "nonsense" I still don't believe running 3x per week, a total of 10 miles, plus a zumba class would build enough muscle mass to change your weight.

hmc, I agree with you - lots of exercise is not a free pass to eat loads and not put on weight, also re building up some muscle by running - squats would build muscles because they are resistance exercises, they use your own body weight.

Hi Rassy how are things going now?

This is my exact problem, was just discussing this with a mate this morning, been running for three weeks now, averaging 7 km a time, 4 x a week and have actually PUT ON 2 ibs! Fuming!

It s useful to know that others are struggling with this too and the reasons behind it.

Sleepwhenidie - Apologies, just seen your message! Have lost a pound and a half but to be honest have not really taken myself to task yet . However have given up Zumba and will start a killer circuits class after Easter!

Hi, i started running last january. Never really got past 10k. I did 10 miles once. Anyway, i was generally running about 8k twice a week aswell as 2 swimming sessions. I really noticed a change in my body shape but not weight for a while. When i cut down on my carbs, which is hard to do when you're running, i noticed a difference in my weight. I stopped running for a bit, only 3 months. And i felt sluggish and felt fat. Am now back to it, about 7/8 k twice a week and swimming. Currently I weigh the most that i ever have when not pregnant. But i can still see that i look leaner, so go figure!