Gain Weight From Running? It’s Possible
December 3, 2007 | Tags: calories • weight gain • Weight Loss
In 2006, I fractured my right hip and left ankle and spent four months off my feet, using crutches to get around only when I had to. I’d just run a marathon and thought for sure the abrupt drop in exercise would result in instant weight gain. But a funny thing happened; I lost about 10 pounds—and without ever feeling hungry.
Within a month of resuming running, the weight had piled back on.
There are numerous physiological reasons why I lost weight once I stopped exercising, and some of them are explained in a recent New York magazine article (“The Scientist and the Stairmaster,” Sept. 24, 2007) that questions the role exercise plays in many weight maintenance and weight loss programs. As author Gary Taubes puts it: “The one thing that might be said about exercise with certainty is that it tends to make us hungry. Maybe not immediately, but eventually. Burn more calories and the odds are very good that we’ll consume more as well.”
Sure, if you reduce the calories you take in and increase those you expend, you will lose weight, at least initially. But the article explains that our bodies will attempt to do an end-run around that initiative and override willpower through the hormonal regulation of fat cells. As Taubes explains:
Ultimately, the relationship between physical activity and fatness comes down to the question of cause and effect. Is Lance Armstrong excessively lean because he burns off a few thousand calories a day cycling, or is he driven to expend that energy because his body is constitutionally set against storing calories as fat? If his fat tissue is resistant to accumulating calories, his body has little choice but to burn them as quickly as possible: what Rony and his contemporaries called the “activity impulse” physiological drive, not a conscious one. His body is telling him to get on his bike and ride, not his mind. Those of us who run to fat would have the opposite problem. Our fat tissue wants to store calories, leaving our muscles with a relative dearth of energy to burn. Itís not willpower we lack, but fuel.
Taubes also contends those who do lose weight after adopting a strenuous exercise regime probably also made a concerted effort to eliminate the kinds of foods that stimulate insulin production. “Rare is the person who decides the time has come to lose weight and doesn’t also decide perhaps it’s time to eat fewer sweets, drink less beer, switch to diet soda, and maybe curtail the kind of carb-rich snacks—the potato chips and the candy bars—that might be singularly responsible for driving up their insulin and so their fat,” he wrote.
So if you find you’re gaining, or at least no longer losing, weight while upping your mileage, it may be what you’re consuming after a workout or later in the day or week.
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I lose weight every time that I stop running. If I lift heavy at the same time that I stop running, then I might manage to maintain my weight, but if I am not active if I take an extensive layoff from running then I can lose 5 or 10 pounds in a week or two (after a week or two of not running, of course.)
The weight comes back once I start running again. Since I have no desire to lose weight, I just keep running.
[...] unfortunate relationship between running and weight gain . – Complete [...]
So are you saying Flamin’ Hot Cheetos perhaps AREN’T the best apres run snack?
In my own experience, I usually don’t eat a lot of junk foods, and pay attention to things like fat/protein/carb ratios and sort of keep an eye on caloric intake without becoming obsessive, but not exercising/running and experiencing some weight loss leads me to think I’m losing muscle.
I too was concerned that I’d pile on weight when I had to take a few months off witn an ankle injury.
I was just a few months away from having to fit into a very small bridesmaid dress too!
However I started to feel much less hungry straight away and even when I did fancy some junk food the “Well you can burn it off in the morning,” devil wasn’t on my shoulder so it was easier to resist and stick to fruit instead.
Not something I hope I’ll have to go through but it was good to find out that a few weeks off wouldn’t instantly lead to a waistline explosion!
I experience this same thing while training. If I just run shorter runs during the week and scale back my long run on the weekend I drop 7-8lbs in a few DAYS. If I resume my long runs again, it’s right back. So what I think is that it is possibly due to glycogen storage in the muscles and liver??? I must store a lot because 8lbs is a lot to me. I wrestle with the concept of if it is water weight, muscle inflammation or fat storage. However, I have never dropped 8lbs of fat in a few days. I have dropped that much in water that fast. My weight fluctuations wildly since I started running and I just don’t know if I want to even bother stepping on that scale! At least my clothes still fit like a glove…if that means anything. In fact my husband says I look leaner than a few weeks ago even. Interesting but the scale has this girl freaked sometimes. Ironically, when I have had to take time off from running and the scale dropped those 8lbs, I felt puffier and my clothes were tighter. I don’t get it. I am blaming my muscles and the fact that they apparently LOVE to store up that sugar!!!! This could be a great performance benefit but I am not so sure of that yet.
I too gain weight as soon as I start running again. My friends think I am crazy when I tell them this and always say “you must be eating more or differently”. The truth is that I’m not eating more or differently. When I stop running I will drop 5-8 pounds in a matter of a week or two. Can anyone really explain this? It is annoying and makes me want to stop running but yet again. Help!!
I’m a 28 year old female and totally relate to this! I have just been running myself into the ground 40-50 miles a week on 1500-1700 calories a day in attempt to lose weight and gained 10 to 15 pounds. Have always told my friends while training for a marathon that I’m likely to put on 10 pounds and they always think it’s nuts. I thought that if I really regulated my calorie intake, I would lose, but not true. I also cannot explain what happens, and I definitely know in my case I am gaining fat for sure because my clothes fit tighter and I feel puffier all over when I’m running high miles. Have always been my thinnest after being sick and unable to work out for a couple weeks. Then people always ask how I’ve lost weight, and it’s usually because I’m not working out and not really all that hungry. Very bizarre. Actually just decided the other day to stop running so much to drop a few pounds. How ironic, huh? My clothes have been too tight, and they’re fitting better already just after a week off. Hahaha. Oh well, too bad I love running, because it would be nice if I could be slimmer when I’m running!
Wow! its quite comforting to read your comments! Im a 21 year old student and Ive been running since I was 9! Recently I’ve upped my mileage to around 60 a week and would say I eat well, and probably not enough! Although I love running sometimes I think I only do it to stay slim, but since I’ve increased my running I actually seem to have put on weight! I do think a lot of the time, however, I eat a little more so I have the energy to run! Ive had a few niggles lately so thought it would be a good opportunity to have a couple of weeks off and see what difference it makes to my weight! glad to hear im not on my own in this though
I am 19 and recently started running about a month ago. I’ve never been a good runner so I decided to start training this summer. I only run about 3 miles a day in the mornings. I normally run every day of the week, sometimes only 5 days. I have not changed my eating habits at all and I am gaining weight. I keep track of what I eat and stay around 1200- 1300 calories a day. My diet consists of fruit veggies whole grains and lean proteins. Why am I gaining?
I started training the end of May to run a half marathon, and have put on about 2-3 pounds. Not much, but I thought that I would lose weight! It’s great to hear that it is normal to gain because I thought that I was going crazy! haha. When I do lots of yoga I tend to lose weight, note to all of those out there who are interested in weight loss exercises. Heated Yoga and Ashtanga tend to do the job.
Well it seems to be unanimous. Over the last three months I’ve lost 15 pounds. I did by 1) stopping exercising and 2) vegan diet. As of two weeks ago, I felt so motivated and happy w/my new body (my mood improved) that I was ready to start being physical. I’ve been backpacking and running- burning up those calories. I kind of knew I might gain some weight b/c last year I gained 10 pounds and was a very active person (biking or running an hour a day 4-5 days a week then going to work where in the restaurant where I’m active all night long). Well as of two weeks ago I’ve gained five pounds back. Grrreat. I feel better though… l love the endorphin rush so much that I don’t plan to stop running.
Also, my dad through-hiked the Appalachian Trail and told me that it’s quite common for men to lose weight and for women to GAIN weight, even though both genders are expending in the upwards of 6,000 calories a day! I’ve heard before that for men, exercise is more effective in weight loss whereas some women’s bodies go into “stress/defense mode,” and start storing fat, muscle, water, etc… from a biological standpoint think of it as women were not the hunter/gatherers… they don’t need to be lean to outrun dinner… they’re supposed to stay in the cave, care for the babies, and cook! haha. whereas when men increase activity, their bodies respond with fat loss. This may not be a little far-fetched, but I think it’s an interesting concept.
this may be a little far-fetched, not “this may not be a little far-fetched”
I should have proofread my post…
Im 21 and am training for the chicago marathon.
2months ago i had a lot of free time on my hand, and i didnt change my eating (cereal&yog, fruit, veggies, wholegrain bread, wholegrain pasta, beans, tuna, quorn) but i started going to the gym for 2-3 hours every day only cardio and i am devastated to know i have put on 1 stone (i am now 1lb off being overweight) so i am 10stone. which is bad for my height. i feel terrible, bloated and fat, all my clothes are tight and stuff. so a few weeks ago i stopped my gym membership because ive started training plan, which is 30-40miles per week but i hate only being able to do that amount (build up gradually) because i like to workout every day, but to workout every day i would have to do less than an hour and when i am used to doing such long workouts i feel like im going to put even more weight on because ill be burning a lot less calories…no?
i dont understand
they say only lose wight if you burn more cals than you eat, but 40miles is only 4000cals ish - i would burn more than 2000 per day in my gym workouts but gained weight. i just feel like my body works against me, and i dont see the point. especially now its summer time and i feel disgusting and ont even want to go on holiday an d get in a bikini!
x
This is so comforting to read - but also a bit depressing! I am really in to my running at the moment, getting my mileage per week up - I used to only manage about 6 miles a week, now I am doing between 13 - 20 dependent on how busy I am - and like the rest of you I am putting on weight too!
And I get married in 8 weeks and have been keeping up the running to maintain my weight!
I don’t know what to do - does anyone know of any exercise that will help me to lose weight as opposed to gaining it!? All of my clothes feel the same and I checked my measurements and they are also the same so why do I weigh more!?
x
By the way, I also have not changed my diet - I always eat wholegrain, good protein and loads of fruit and veg every day!
SOG knives…
Interesting ideas… I wonder how the Hollywood media would portray this?…