Post Marathon Weight Gain

2 watchers

Rexy Mar 2016 4:30pm, 9 Mar 2016 2 posts	0 Rexy Hi, Not sure if this has been in a thread already, but I'm genuinely interested in folk's opinions on yo-yoing weight. I've noticed this particularly after a long run at the weekend (usually a marathon) and several pounds seems to jump on. Is this the body sucking up every ml of water I consume and retaining it, or is it the body storing every ounce of fat or carbs I put into it during Monday & Tuesday? The weight slowly drops off through the week until the next big run, then the cycle starts again. Thoughts/comments?
ndellar Mar 2016 4:34pm, 9 Mar 2016 3,240 posts	0 ndellar I try to only weigh myself once a week and it's usually on Sat the day before my LSR, but I have heard of long runs / Ultras causing water retention through muscle damage/repair I think....
ndellar Mar 2016 4:34pm, 9 Mar 2016 3,241 posts	0 ndellar Oh and welcome to Fetch!
Oranj Mar 2016 5:27pm, 9 Mar 2016 196 posts	0 Oranj This is quite a well known phenomenon amongst cyclists [citation needed], where a hard weekend ride can lead to a bit of bloat on the Monday and Tuesday (for me an extra ~2kg). It then all seems to be peed away in the middle of the week. Training for PBP last summer I went through this cycle every weekend for about 8 weeks, although the gain got a little less extreme as my body adapted to the distances. Since I took up marathoning in the last few years I've noticed the same thing, although maybe not quite as extreme. I think it has something to do with either: water gain due to the muscles hoarding more glycogen, or water hoarding associated with muscle damage.
Oranj Mar 2016 5:31pm, 9 Mar 2016 197 posts	0 Oranj Re-reading your question I realise I largely re-wrote what you wrote; soz, I must remember to read the OP thoroughly!
Fragile Do Not Bend Mar 2016 5:36pm, 9 Mar 2016 673 posts	0 Fragile Do Not Bend It keeps happening to people in my slimming group who suddenly take up exercise having done very little before. They get very dissappointed as they have worked so hard and stuck to the diet and not lost weight (or gained weight) that week, but usually they lose weight the week after.
Rexy Mar 2016 1:46pm, 10 Mar 2016 3 posts	0 Rexy I think a lot of people take up running (particularly when they're less young) to get fitter and lose weight. Once you get to a certain level and want to get faster/stronger it becomes more difficult to lose weight as you need to eat well and gain muscle. I was never slim to start with and I suppose I was bound to plateau anyway.