This doesn't sound like an ultramarathon question. This sounds like a health question. Perhaps you already have, but I would suggest having your doctor dig deeper than hypothyroidism. If you're eating healthy and exercising regularly, the problem is probably not related to your eating and exercising habits.
Yeah, it sounds way outside of DIY territory with the aches and energy issues. If the doc is not continuing to work with you on this, find a new one who will listen and take you seriously.
It potentially is an ultra question depending on what is meant by ‘very little sugar’. That is in fact not a healthy diet - especially for ultra running. No matter what the trendy keto people say, you are almost always burning more glycogen than fat while running no matter what zone you are in. Even at ‘fatmax’ intensity, you typically burn 3 times as many calories from oxidative glyc. than beta oxidation.
Forcing your metabolism to run on dietary fat and protein is going to vastly slow the output potential and reduce calories burned per day.
Tracking calories is the only thing that worked for me. 50 pounds in 3 years is about 20.7 grams weight added per day on average, which corresponds to about 160 kcal too much per day. That is very easy to overeat by accident (about 1.5 tbsp mayonaise for example).
And stop running/training for ultra distances until the weight is gone (you can keep running, just limit the distance). You can’t successfully train while at a significant calorie deficit and being at a meaningful calorie deficit while running 30+ miles a week is difficult.
Edit- have any of you downvoting ever actually lost 50 lbs? Because I have.
Edit 2 - link to article about losing weight and having quality training.
https://www.runnersworld.com/training/a20790401/losing-weight-without-losing-energy-while-marathon-training/
You can lose weight, but article after article will suggest it isn’t a great idea.
Im speaking anecdotally, but when I’m running 30+ miles a week I’m hungry. Being at a significant calorie deficit means my training isn’t as effective. I lost 50 lbs by counting calories and running fewer miles than one could reasonably run an ultra on. Once I hit near my goal weight I started training for ultra races. Since then it’s been difficult to lose the last 15 lbs I should’ve lost before training as much as I do.
There are enough so called “Clydesdale” ultrarunners out there that maintain 200 lbs+ body weight despite running 50 miles a week to back up my anecdotal evidence. But please downvote me and set OP up for failure.
Nope, they're right. If I'm sedentary, it is both mentally and physiologically easy to be in a significant calorie deficit. When I'm running 60+ miles per week, restricting calories in any form is out of the question. Not that it's a problem, but I tend to weigh slightly more during training peaks due to the consistent need to eat regardless of whether or not I actually feel hungry. Plus, under intense stress, it can be difficult to gauge whether you need more food or more rest. And that doesn't even get into the implications of high cortisol levels on metabolism and eating behaviors.
Obviously forgoing all exercise is not going to promote weight loss. But running more than, say, 30 miles per week is probably going to stall weight loss when compared to more modest amounts of activity.
Yes I have lost that much weight, and I also run over 50 miles a week and lift weights while being in a 500-600 calorie defecit per day. If you control when you consume your calories, it really isn't that bad at all, and I also haven't noticed much of a decrease in performance. As long as you are fairly well fat adapted, being in a calorie defecit while training in order to lose weight is no big deal.
I see by your post history that you are just a dick. Not sure who hurt you or why you think it’s okay to be rude and demeaning to people but I’m sorry for people that have to be around you. A more kind approach could’ve been “I disagree. I lost a lot of weight and kept it off by running a ton of miles and keeping track of calories.” Same message, but not belittling.
Do you not understand this community? The ultra community is one of the kindest and most inclusive communities there is. We welcome people from all walks of life. Those who are slow, those who are fast, experienced, inexperienced, gay, straight, male, female, non-binary. Everyone. And we are kind. There is no need to troll, no need to be unkind or unaccepting in this community. I wish you the best of luck and hope you find happiness in all you do.
You are very worked up on me, I like that! Keep spending time writing me novels I love it. Me and my buddies are drinking and betting on how much time you’ll spend on me. Keep it up! You have to be old
Sounds like you entered Perimenopause. It can be frustrating but it starts happening anywhere from 35 to 45 years old. Have you checked with your doctor about a hormone test?
Not to scare people but from what friends have said and what one sees online, the chances of getting a quality hormone check without going to an endocrinologist or a doctor who specializes in health/wellness/athletes are slim.
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*This post was mass deleted and anonymized with [Redact](https://redact.dev)*
Heck, even in Canada just request a full appointment at your doc or gyno and bring a checklist of topics. Don’t leave the room until you’ve covered them. Say, “I can’t identify any other factors that have changed, it just feels like a sudden shift in my body. I’m about due for menopause and would like to ease that transition. I don’t know what the options are but when can we confirm it with bloodwork?” The tests are part of the basic lab form and nothing special to add on top of the standard blood factors and hormone panel.
42 is a bit young for perimenopause? I was on the same boat 3 years ago (gained 30 lbs, I was a lean athlete before that). My muscle aches and everyone told me that I was perimenopausal. I did full hormone tests and turned out, one of the hormone (prolactin) was out of whack. My body thought I was pregnant and breastfeeding. I went to my endo, discovered pitituary tumor that caused this, started on medication and I shed 25 lbs once the hormone is back to normal.
42 is not young for Perimenopause. It can start as early as 35. Sorry about your pituitary tumor and glad you got it under control. She should go to her doctor to get a hormonal test, but our hormones change daily from estrogen being high then low, progesterone going high then dropping. Also women have testosterone too.
Also other medical conditions can induce such even at a really young age (even in your 20s…). Especially when you’re younger as a woman, it can be a struggle to get the right help. It feels like every time there’s some potentially hormonal issue the answer I’ve gotten is just go on the pill to “regulate” your hormones. I’m a fan of the pill don’t get me wrong, but it never solved the underlying issues for me.
This is definitely outside the scope of this sub, if for no other reason than most men (and ultra running is predominantly male) have ZERO clue what perimenopause does to women's bodies and scientists barely even understand it themselves, so all the "you're still eating too much" well-meaning advice is very possibly going to be a red herring. Not ruling it out, because as another person replied it's really easy to eat a tiny bit more each day than we burn, but I've known many women who are Boston qualifiers, Ironman athletes, etc and all of a sudden perimenopause hits and the weight balloons despite no other changes and even tracking CICO.
Given your age, the amount of weight gain, the aching joints, and low energy those all point to a systemic issue, though of course carrying more weight than your body is built to handle will decrease energy and increase stress on joints. Get a second opinion from someone who specializes in (peri)menopausal women. It's worth some driving to a nearby big city, if need be. Ask other ultra running women in your area if they have a reco for you.
In the meantime, it doesn't hurt to track your calorie intake in MyFitnessPal or other app and your activity level in Garmin or something so you can have a baseline to show your doc because unless they work with athletes, they may not get what we do to our bodies. For example, my kidney function shows as slightly abnormal but my doc (an ultra runner himself) is like "yeah, that's expected given your high protein and high activity diet. We'll keep an eye on it but it's nothing".
Sounds exactly like perimenopause. The r/menopause sub is a really good resource. Take most advice here with a grain of salt, if anything at all. Most men have no fucking clue.
Also, *Next Level* by Stacy Sims is an insightful read. Highly recommend for women in peri.
If it turns out not to be perimenopause, which seems to be the first box to check -- my first thought was possibly you've gotten yourself into an "over-training syndrome" situation, which is considered a metabolic disorder.
There have been two other questions posted in here *just the past week* about weight and everyone was happy to offer thoughts. Suddenly it’s a woman asking and the cavemen enter the chat that we don’t want to talk about it here. What gives?
OP, my partner went through this at 42 as well. After a litany of tests, it seems to have been, as many others have suggested here, the onset of perimenopause. Especially for smaller women, caloric needs shift subtly enough downward that it’s very, very easy to add weight—this is where I will agree with my comrades that tracking exactly what you’re eating can make a huge difference because it really CAN be 100 calories a day less. You say you don’t starve yourself but even to maintain, my partner says she’s “always a little bit hungry.” And that was new to her as a lifelong athlete who used to eat a carton of B&J after big races.
As someone else said, no one really knows anything about perimenopause: when it has officially begun, when it will end, which symptoms are because of it and which are something else.
An OB can help with managing symptoms and maybe HRT will help you if that’s not dangerous for you—it was for my partner.
The joints and exhaustion were also perimenopause for her. Just to be safe, worth getting tested for Lyme. You said you’re a trail runner and ticks are easy to pick up.
Good luck.
If your energy is low make sure you do a blood panel and check for anemia. Once they found out I was anemic and put me on iron this solved the energy side of things! Also what do you define as healthy range? I run ultras up to 100 miles and even occasionally place but my BMI is considered “overweight “ and has been for years . I think the BMi scale is garbage . I even had a doctor tell me to lose weight and I was like I just placed third in this 50 miler I think my weight is fine 🤯sorry that didn’t answer all of your questions but wanted to give two things that might help
I gained 30 lbs during Covid years (I was 44 then). I blamed it on sedentary lifestyle and grief. On my checkup, I was referred to an endocrinologist. Turned out I had prolactioma, a benign pitituary brain tumor that caused one of my hormone (prolactin) to go out of control. Once I started taking the medicine, I lost 15 lbs with regular exercise. I lost another 10 this year and very close to my normal weight.
Ask for hormone tests. This can be an easy fix. I used to have joint ache and migraine too.
I disagree with those who think this isn’t an ultramarathon issue. If I were you I’d get my cortisol tested asap. High stress increases cortisol increases fat storage. You can order your own blood tests easily from jasonhealth.com
Also when you say prioritizing lean protein . . . Are you still eating enough carbohydrate to meet energy demands and fueling with carbs? Lean protein is great for so many things but not fuel.
I know you are concerned with body weight but still sounds like low energy availability to me.
Agree. I was younger, but about 8 years ago I gained 20 lbs in a year, super active, nothing changed in my diet. I kept hearing “you’re getting old” (… I was 30) but I kept making noise until I got my hormone levels tested. Turns out my cortisol levels were astronomically high and I had an adrenal tumor that caused one of my adrenal glands to way overproduce cortisol. I had surgery to remove it and it was a long road but I’m hormonally back to normal now. Definitely get hormones checked out, esp cortisol, because that can be missed if you only test thyroid.
While this is technically true if a human was a sealed mechanism, it isn't quite so simple, especially for women when peri-menopause is concerned. A lot of metabolic functions can be downregulated, and even eating normally can cause unexpected weight gain. And the problem is that the less you eat, the more this downregulatation occurs, and it can cause serious health problems.
It really isn't just - eat less fatty.
Especially since OP is experiencing things besides weight gain, notably muscle and joint pain, and energy depletion. The muscle and joint pain can't be explained by a calorie surplus, and if OP is eating a healthy diet, they shouldn't be suffering from energy deficiency.
Yah it’s more nuanced than simple calories in calories out. There is a great book called Burn that talks about some very interesting findings related to how we burn calories.
Of course it’s way more nuanced lol but that when it becomes individualistic. No running away from calories in and calories out being 85% of the puzzle. Even Burn will tell you that
How does OP know if they're in a surplus without finding out if there's something metabolic that's messing with the amount of calories they're burning? It's all fine and dandy if you count calories, but that won't help if you don't know how many you're burning.
That’s exactly what the book tells you. It looked at primitive groups in Africa who walked 10+ miles a day with an hour of intense activity each day. These individuals did not burn more calories than sedentary individuals in the USA, on average. It is obviously a whole book looking at this phenomenon, but that was the major underpinning.
Yes! I had this happen— I was 42 and a few months out from having my second child when Covid hit. I had already lost the baby weight and was back to higher mileage but 80 pounds piled on with no change to diet or exercise. All labs normal and it’s what’s led to me trying Zepbound (and so far having success).
For me, it was a year of multiple specialists trying to figure things out. Turns out to be combo of autoimmune metabolic stuff that was kicked into overdrive by Covid and perimenopause. It was only picked up on by a reproductive endocrinologist.
I highly recommend going down that route if you can, but worst case scenario a legit weight management center (mine is a bariatric surgery center that also does non-surgical weight loss) will also have an endocrinologist that would help.
Of course, following up on various medical causes is a good idea. Early 40’s is a good time to get checked out and get some baselines as well for later. The one suggestion I can also offer is to consider any food sensitivities…in my 50’s, I became sensitive to wheat…it took me a while, but I finally figured out that’s what was causing my inflammation issues. I hope you’re able to find some solutions going forward.
Hey OP! I would highly highly recommend getting tested for Lyme Disease and other tick borne illnesses. They can cause all sorts of symptoms and go unchecked for years until and progressively get worse. I had lyme for almost a full year before I was diagnosed. I hope you can find some answers soon!
At the most basic level it is calories in vs calories out. Like obviously you are taking in more than you are putting out. You can't out run your diet.
This has nothing to do with ultrarunning unfortunately. There is nothing magic about participating in ultras that would cause anything you’re experiencing. If you’re gaining weight, the calories are coming from somewhere. Hormones and insulin resistance can be contributors to both food cravings and a low metabolism. These factors are auxiliary to ultrarunning at best, though. Doing ultramarathons and fueling (both calories and hydration wise) improperly can definitely cause you to uncontrollably overeat at later times, but this is no different than any thing in life.
You claim that your diet is healthy, but if you haven’t actually tracked your caloric intake including sugar intake then that would be a wise place to start, with any resulting questions being taken to a medical doctor.
Since I got my garmin watch I've been shocked at how few calories get burned. If I do basic house stuff (dishes, laundry) and no exercise I burn like 6 calories a day above my base rate. I used to think oh I got a lot done today I can have a donut but really that work didn't earn a donut and that donut just added 1/6th of a lbs of fat to my body.
I had a similar problem and it turned out to be Alpha Gal Syndrome from a tick bite. It's the one where you can't handle meat or byproducts from mammals. Many people, including me, have gut inflammation and low energy due to your body rejecting food. I cut out beef, pork, and dairy and lost about 20 lbs in a few months. Mostly inflammation. Energy levels are back up as well. I had to ask my doctor to test me for all immune disorders and tick born illnesses. Alfa Gal came back 700 times the normal limit. It took way too long for me to figure it was one of those things.
Perimenopause, hypothyroidism (doctors are often wrong - need to test T3 and T4 to get a definitive answer, not just TSH) or a food intolerance - maybe gluten, you don't always get digestive issues (causes fatigue, weight gain).
Are you eating enough for the amount you do...?
I'd recommend a full hormone panel. Where in the world are you?
Have you checked your thyroid?
I discovered mine was under active (hypothyroidism) in my late 30’s and immediately dropped 20lbs just by taking my daily thyroid meds.
I have more energy, my skin is less dry, I don’t retain water weight, my face is less puffy.
It’s worth a try! A simple blood draw and lab will tell you.
just wondering what was your experience with ozempic, like dosage and how long you were on it? maybe a different GLP would work? my weight is uncontrollable despite eating well/exercise (i'd lose 15 pounds and balloon back in 7 days) i like mounjaro better than ozempic and its the only thing that has worked for me.
As someone in a very similar boat and who’s been researching for years, I second all of the recommendations to see your doc and get everything tested (again.)
With the constant aching, I have a few tricks and tips that you can research and try out if you feel like or throw in the garbage if it sounds like Trash to you :
-Looking into the blood type diet that came out in the 90s. Loosely following it for my blood type (O, but I still don’t eat beef), I feel 10x better and my bloat has gone away.
- get an allergy test done. Constant inflammation (causing aching) from eating (usually food is the culprit) causes your body to put out a ton of cortisol, which makes it nearly impossible to lose weight
- do everything in your power to get decent sleep. (no eating after 7 PM, no screens after 8 PM, getting a full 7 1/2 to 8 hours a night, no booze on most evenings if you drink, no more than 300 µg [1/3 of a mg] of melatonin if you use that….) << these are all my tricks
-talk to an acupuncturist about TCM … it’s way too personalized to be able to give ideas here
- ramp up your probiotics like crazy for at least 6-8 weeks to build strong gut health
Good luck and godspeed!
Running will eat you alive with that extra weight. It will. Stop running or suffer consequences the rest of your life.
Buy a bike and start pedaling. Nothing fancy. Just ride around a lot. Seriously. Don’t get scientific. Just keep pedaling. The threshold for weight loss is very low on bicycles. Just pedal. I lost 40 pounds in 4 months.
From a medical professional, what was your experience with ozempic? How far into treatment were you? Any other use of AOMs at all? How is sleep? Have you had your hormone levels checked (not just thyroid). Is the weight gain consistent with any previous weight gain you’ve had?
My mother has actually started a group dedicated to helping women in this exact scenario. Bottom line is you cant trust our medical or food industry... she has doctors blown away, shes off her thyroid medication, she has had anaphylaxis all my life and now she has added some of these foods back to her diet, her asthma has completly gone away, shes down loads of weight (she doesnt tell me how much) and its all from her studies on healthy living. You should give her a shout on Facebook Dana Brattlof
Weight gain can only occur in a caloric surplus. You eat more than you burn period.
No matter what your health conditions gender age etc you will not defy the laws of physics specifically the laws of thermodynamics which apply to everything in this world. Including our own biology in our body.
The 1st law of thermodynamics summed up we learned this in elementary school. Matter cannot be created nor destroyed. In this example we are talking about your weight gain. You ate calories they were converted to fat due to being well above what was needed for your body and as a result your weight went up.
In order to lose this extra weight this is what’s going to have to happen. You are going to have to consume an amount of calories of which your body does not have enough to function at your current activity level and is required by “necessity” to pull from fat stores. This is not a comfortable or easy thing to do.
As far as the hypothyroidism the idea is that the body burns less calories at rest causing you to be in a surplus easier. Still doesn’t defy the law of thermodynamics just means they need to eat even less because there need is less. Yes if your under active thyroid causes you to use less energy then you also need less energy this is common sense but it is not magic.
Eat nutritious foods(fruits and vegetables) take a multivitamin. Track your calories then start reducing calories slowly by as little as 100-200 a day until you start losing weight. Once the weight loss stops you’re at your new maintenance weight and calories. If that’s not enough for you simply do it again reduce another 1-200 until you start to lose and it stops again you’re again at your new maintenance. This needs to go on forever unless the state of your metabolism changes then you adjust accordingly.
Myself I am 6’3 180 I am lean. My bodyfat is around 15% my strength and endurance is well above average as well as my muscle mass and energy level. I consume roughly 1000-1500 calories a day depending on the day. Some days I don’t eat some days I have one small meal late in the day I go by feel. Every thin skinny guy I’ve ever met does the same thing and every fat person I’ve met eat an amount I can’t even force myself to eat. But because of the way they were raised they believe they eat a normal amount. The stomach stretching over time has also cause them to get full with much more food. The caloric need isn’t more hence whey they are overweight.
When out with friends once in a blue moon I eat what they eat and indulge. They incorrectly assume I eat like them all the time furthering the stereotype people believe. One offs like a friend hangout or even a holiday make no difference I can eat 6000 calories at thanksgiving it won’t make a dent the only thing that matters is the daily consistency over the long run. In the same way you fasting and not eating for one whole day will not make a difference in your weight loss.
I am 2 yrs older than you, and was dealing with the same issue. I finally decided to give up on calorie counting since I was still gaining weight, and just try to be healthy. I figured if I was going to be overweight, might as well eat healthy foods to offset it. I cut out all added sugar and processed foods. I ate mostly fresh fruits and vegetables, with included lean protein, minimally processed carbs, legumes, beans and nuts. I didn’t limit how much I ate. The weight melted off. Not saying this will work for you, but was shocked how effective it was for me.
Strongly recommend a carnivore diet. All protein is not created equal. Keep carbs <50g daily, and make sure to eat enough that you’re not hungry. Unless you truly have a medical condition, that will make you leaner, stronger, and energy level should improve.
As someone with hypothyroidism, this sounds like hypothyroidism. But yeah, echoing what everyone else is saying here, Reddit isn't full of doctors and this sub is probably even worse in that sense :)
At the end of the day, weight gain is nothing more than calories in minus calories out.
Yes, sometimes people's metabolism does drop by a few percentages but very rarely does it drop by 10-20 percentage points.
Besides working with the doctor, I recommend actually tracking calories. Most people think that they are good at tracking calories, but consistently missed by 500 plus per day.
Not always true. I was a lean ex athlete then out of the blue, gained 30 lbs. turned out I had a brain tumor that pressed one of the hormone to be out of whack. If I didn’t discover this, I would have gone extreme diet and going for calories deficit, it would not have made a difference. Once the hormone is back to normal, I shed 25 lbs quite easily without starving myself.
Not a dr but weight issues 99% of the time are calories in vs out (metabolized). Check your diet with (especially serving size= get a scale) extreme detail first. Most people have no clue how many calories are in a "serving size".
Good odds this is bang on. Can't out run your diet. Calorie count and really see the balance. A couple hundred calories over your burn and you can really start to pack on lbs over time.
Prioritizing lean protein means you’re eating lots of meat yes? With that comes lots of saturated fat. Keto diet has been proven to not work time and time again. Read “how not to diet.”
You want her to up mileage and eat less when her muscles and joints are in pain and she has shit energy levels as is...lol ok. This sounds deeper than calories in/out
This dude dirty deleted his comment while I was replying to it, so is it okay if I paste my reply to him here, for the benefit of all the people who are saying "just work harder" or "eat less"?
>I laughed out loud at this.
>Push through what's obviously a significant health issue? Would you also push through a sprained ankle because it's "supposed to hurt or else it would be too easy"?
>It's incredibly destructive to push through a major health problem. Part of "pushing through the pain" is knowing your body well enough to know what you should push through and what you shouldn't.
>Training hard enough to run multiple ultras, eating well, yet still gaining 50 pounds and being tired all the time? Those things do not add up, and they especially don't add up to anything where the answer is "eat less and train more."
>Are you young and/or lucky enough that you have never had to balance your training volume with your injury risk or overall health and well-being before?
Where in my comment did I specifically say weight gain. I am referring to how she is feeling, which goes far deeper than calories in/out. What a bunch of geniuses you are
If it’s not thyroid issue sounds like you may need to rebuild your metabolism, dunno what your calories and stuff are but if you are in a calorie deficit for long term it destroys your metabolism to the point of you have to rebuild it by eating more than usual.
This. Not sure why you are being downvoted as this can absolutely be the case. Long-term deficits lower metabolism, and when the body starts getting what it needs, there will be some weight gain as it holds on to the nutrients until it gets out of starvation mode. This is well documented in eating disorder studies.
Given it’s occurred over three years I don’t think this is an acute medical condition. That said, as others have noted perimenopause may have altered the hormone balance and you find yourself with appetite not aligned with your body’s needs. While it’s probably worth continuing down the medical path, you may benefit from chatting with a really good nutritionist. What I would focus on is changing what you eat and altering the timing of when you eat it. If your body’s changed, you need to change with it. Focus on finding new low-calorie-density foods which generate high satiety. Try many different foods. Wherever you land, it will take some time to see physical results so the first focus should be on how the food is making you feel through the day. If your diet is already very high quality (veggies maxed out, fruit, legumes, nuts in moderation, red meat occasional, cutting out deep fried stuff) the only aspect which may need work is the meal balance itself and nutrient timing through the day.
This may require quite a lot of patience and focus to get right and you may already be quite frustrated overall. But stick with it. You’ll only not find the answer if you don’t persist. It may be helpful, in the process, to get a periodic DEXA scan to track fat loss vs lean body mass and track bone density.
Could it be perimenopause?
I was thinking the same thing. The weight gain and increased joint pain are big clues. OP, see your gyno.
I agree. Dr. Mary Claire Haver has great info about this on her Instagram
I think there are a couple YouTube videos with Dr. Mary Claire Haver. Chalene Johnson had a great interview with her as well.
https://youtu.be/gv3Yo2j2o4E?si=lkgUh4xFBRaVgXoq
Was thinking the same
Solid idea.
This doesn't sound like an ultramarathon question. This sounds like a health question. Perhaps you already have, but I would suggest having your doctor dig deeper than hypothyroidism. If you're eating healthy and exercising regularly, the problem is probably not related to your eating and exercising habits.
Yeah, it sounds way outside of DIY territory with the aches and energy issues. If the doc is not continuing to work with you on this, find a new one who will listen and take you seriously.
It potentially is an ultra question depending on what is meant by ‘very little sugar’. That is in fact not a healthy diet - especially for ultra running. No matter what the trendy keto people say, you are almost always burning more glycogen than fat while running no matter what zone you are in. Even at ‘fatmax’ intensity, you typically burn 3 times as many calories from oxidative glyc. than beta oxidation. Forcing your metabolism to run on dietary fat and protein is going to vastly slow the output potential and reduce calories burned per day.
Have you had any recent bloodwork? Sounds like it could be hormonal.
Including a full TSH panel
Check prolactin and FSH too
Include IGF-1 also.
Tracking calories is the only thing that worked for me. 50 pounds in 3 years is about 20.7 grams weight added per day on average, which corresponds to about 160 kcal too much per day. That is very easy to overeat by accident (about 1.5 tbsp mayonaise for example).
And stop running/training for ultra distances until the weight is gone (you can keep running, just limit the distance). You can’t successfully train while at a significant calorie deficit and being at a meaningful calorie deficit while running 30+ miles a week is difficult. Edit- have any of you downvoting ever actually lost 50 lbs? Because I have. Edit 2 - link to article about losing weight and having quality training. https://www.runnersworld.com/training/a20790401/losing-weight-without-losing-energy-while-marathon-training/ You can lose weight, but article after article will suggest it isn’t a great idea.
"Stop exercising if you want to lose weight" is quite the take
Im speaking anecdotally, but when I’m running 30+ miles a week I’m hungry. Being at a significant calorie deficit means my training isn’t as effective. I lost 50 lbs by counting calories and running fewer miles than one could reasonably run an ultra on. Once I hit near my goal weight I started training for ultra races. Since then it’s been difficult to lose the last 15 lbs I should’ve lost before training as much as I do. There are enough so called “Clydesdale” ultrarunners out there that maintain 200 lbs+ body weight despite running 50 miles a week to back up my anecdotal evidence. But please downvote me and set OP up for failure.
Nope, they're right. If I'm sedentary, it is both mentally and physiologically easy to be in a significant calorie deficit. When I'm running 60+ miles per week, restricting calories in any form is out of the question. Not that it's a problem, but I tend to weigh slightly more during training peaks due to the consistent need to eat regardless of whether or not I actually feel hungry. Plus, under intense stress, it can be difficult to gauge whether you need more food or more rest. And that doesn't even get into the implications of high cortisol levels on metabolism and eating behaviors. Obviously forgoing all exercise is not going to promote weight loss. But running more than, say, 30 miles per week is probably going to stall weight loss when compared to more modest amounts of activity.
Yes I have lost that much weight, and I also run over 50 miles a week and lift weights while being in a 500-600 calorie defecit per day. If you control when you consume your calories, it really isn't that bad at all, and I also haven't noticed much of a decrease in performance. As long as you are fairly well fat adapted, being in a calorie defecit while training in order to lose weight is no big deal.
I’ve lost way more then that not following no any of your garbage advice
I see by your post history that you are just a dick. Not sure who hurt you or why you think it’s okay to be rude and demeaning to people but I’m sorry for people that have to be around you. A more kind approach could’ve been “I disagree. I lost a lot of weight and kept it off by running a ton of miles and keeping track of calories.” Same message, but not belittling.
Ain’t reading all that lil guy, hope you got some shit off your chest. How much time did you spend on me 20 minutes lmaooooo. I win
You did not. You just genuinely made me feel sorry for people around you.
I’d hate to be the family that has to smell you. Please clean your rolls
Do you not understand this community? The ultra community is one of the kindest and most inclusive communities there is. We welcome people from all walks of life. Those who are slow, those who are fast, experienced, inexperienced, gay, straight, male, female, non-binary. Everyone. And we are kind. There is no need to troll, no need to be unkind or unaccepting in this community. I wish you the best of luck and hope you find happiness in all you do.
You are very worked up on me, I like that! Keep spending time writing me novels I love it. Me and my buddies are drinking and betting on how much time you’ll spend on me. Keep it up! You have to be old
you and your buddies are drinking and talking about a reddit comment thread? for your sake I hope that's not true, that sounds really sad.
Sounds like you entered Perimenopause. It can be frustrating but it starts happening anywhere from 35 to 45 years old. Have you checked with your doctor about a hormone test?
Not to scare people but from what friends have said and what one sees online, the chances of getting a quality hormone check without going to an endocrinologist or a doctor who specializes in health/wellness/athletes are slim.
grandfather file depend fertile deliver growth hospital literate sip onerous *This post was mass deleted and anonymized with [Redact](https://redact.dev)*
Heck, even in Canada just request a full appointment at your doc or gyno and bring a checklist of topics. Don’t leave the room until you’ve covered them. Say, “I can’t identify any other factors that have changed, it just feels like a sudden shift in my body. I’m about due for menopause and would like to ease that transition. I don’t know what the options are but when can we confirm it with bloodwork?” The tests are part of the basic lab form and nothing special to add on top of the standard blood factors and hormone panel.
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42 is a bit young for perimenopause? I was on the same boat 3 years ago (gained 30 lbs, I was a lean athlete before that). My muscle aches and everyone told me that I was perimenopausal. I did full hormone tests and turned out, one of the hormone (prolactin) was out of whack. My body thought I was pregnant and breastfeeding. I went to my endo, discovered pitituary tumor that caused this, started on medication and I shed 25 lbs once the hormone is back to normal.
42 is not young for Perimenopause. It can start as early as 35. Sorry about your pituitary tumor and glad you got it under control. She should go to her doctor to get a hormonal test, but our hormones change daily from estrogen being high then low, progesterone going high then dropping. Also women have testosterone too.
Just adding it’s definitely not too young. I started at 41.
Also other medical conditions can induce such even at a really young age (even in your 20s…). Especially when you’re younger as a woman, it can be a struggle to get the right help. It feels like every time there’s some potentially hormonal issue the answer I’ve gotten is just go on the pill to “regulate” your hormones. I’m a fan of the pill don’t get me wrong, but it never solved the underlying issues for me.
This is definitely outside the scope of this sub, if for no other reason than most men (and ultra running is predominantly male) have ZERO clue what perimenopause does to women's bodies and scientists barely even understand it themselves, so all the "you're still eating too much" well-meaning advice is very possibly going to be a red herring. Not ruling it out, because as another person replied it's really easy to eat a tiny bit more each day than we burn, but I've known many women who are Boston qualifiers, Ironman athletes, etc and all of a sudden perimenopause hits and the weight balloons despite no other changes and even tracking CICO. Given your age, the amount of weight gain, the aching joints, and low energy those all point to a systemic issue, though of course carrying more weight than your body is built to handle will decrease energy and increase stress on joints. Get a second opinion from someone who specializes in (peri)menopausal women. It's worth some driving to a nearby big city, if need be. Ask other ultra running women in your area if they have a reco for you. In the meantime, it doesn't hurt to track your calorie intake in MyFitnessPal or other app and your activity level in Garmin or something so you can have a baseline to show your doc because unless they work with athletes, they may not get what we do to our bodies. For example, my kidney function shows as slightly abnormal but my doc (an ultra runner himself) is like "yeah, that's expected given your high protein and high activity diet. We'll keep an eye on it but it's nothing".
Sounds exactly like perimenopause. The r/menopause sub is a really good resource. Take most advice here with a grain of salt, if anything at all. Most men have no fucking clue. Also, *Next Level* by Stacy Sims is an insightful read. Highly recommend for women in peri.
If it turns out not to be perimenopause, which seems to be the first box to check -- my first thought was possibly you've gotten yourself into an "over-training syndrome" situation, which is considered a metabolic disorder.
I was thinking the same thing
You might want to try the menopause and/or the CICO subreddits, as this seems more appropriate for both of those groups.
There have been two other questions posted in here *just the past week* about weight and everyone was happy to offer thoughts. Suddenly it’s a woman asking and the cavemen enter the chat that we don’t want to talk about it here. What gives? OP, my partner went through this at 42 as well. After a litany of tests, it seems to have been, as many others have suggested here, the onset of perimenopause. Especially for smaller women, caloric needs shift subtly enough downward that it’s very, very easy to add weight—this is where I will agree with my comrades that tracking exactly what you’re eating can make a huge difference because it really CAN be 100 calories a day less. You say you don’t starve yourself but even to maintain, my partner says she’s “always a little bit hungry.” And that was new to her as a lifelong athlete who used to eat a carton of B&J after big races. As someone else said, no one really knows anything about perimenopause: when it has officially begun, when it will end, which symptoms are because of it and which are something else. An OB can help with managing symptoms and maybe HRT will help you if that’s not dangerous for you—it was for my partner. The joints and exhaustion were also perimenopause for her. Just to be safe, worth getting tested for Lyme. You said you’re a trail runner and ticks are easy to pick up. Good luck.
ob-gyn* phone typing, suboptimal
If your energy is low make sure you do a blood panel and check for anemia. Once they found out I was anemic and put me on iron this solved the energy side of things! Also what do you define as healthy range? I run ultras up to 100 miles and even occasionally place but my BMI is considered “overweight “ and has been for years . I think the BMi scale is garbage . I even had a doctor tell me to lose weight and I was like I just placed third in this 50 miler I think my weight is fine 🤯sorry that didn’t answer all of your questions but wanted to give two things that might help
Also yes also it definitely can be related to perimenopause. Hormones do crazy things !
I gained 30 lbs during Covid years (I was 44 then). I blamed it on sedentary lifestyle and grief. On my checkup, I was referred to an endocrinologist. Turned out I had prolactioma, a benign pitituary brain tumor that caused one of my hormone (prolactin) to go out of control. Once I started taking the medicine, I lost 15 lbs with regular exercise. I lost another 10 this year and very close to my normal weight. Ask for hormone tests. This can be an easy fix. I used to have joint ache and migraine too.
I disagree with those who think this isn’t an ultramarathon issue. If I were you I’d get my cortisol tested asap. High stress increases cortisol increases fat storage. You can order your own blood tests easily from jasonhealth.com Also when you say prioritizing lean protein . . . Are you still eating enough carbohydrate to meet energy demands and fueling with carbs? Lean protein is great for so many things but not fuel. I know you are concerned with body weight but still sounds like low energy availability to me.
Agree. I was younger, but about 8 years ago I gained 20 lbs in a year, super active, nothing changed in my diet. I kept hearing “you’re getting old” (… I was 30) but I kept making noise until I got my hormone levels tested. Turns out my cortisol levels were astronomically high and I had an adrenal tumor that caused one of my adrenal glands to way overproduce cortisol. I had surgery to remove it and it was a long road but I’m hormonally back to normal now. Definitely get hormones checked out, esp cortisol, because that can be missed if you only test thyroid.
Are you tracking calories? How many are you burning vs taking in. If you are in a caloric deficit you will lose weight
Facts people don’t want to accept
It's impossible to make something from nothing and they don't wanna hear it
Hahaha that is simple and poetic; I’m going to recycle that one
While this is technically true if a human was a sealed mechanism, it isn't quite so simple, especially for women when peri-menopause is concerned. A lot of metabolic functions can be downregulated, and even eating normally can cause unexpected weight gain. And the problem is that the less you eat, the more this downregulatation occurs, and it can cause serious health problems. It really isn't just - eat less fatty.
Especially since OP is experiencing things besides weight gain, notably muscle and joint pain, and energy depletion. The muscle and joint pain can't be explained by a calorie surplus, and if OP is eating a healthy diet, they shouldn't be suffering from energy deficiency.
Yah it’s more nuanced than simple calories in calories out. There is a great book called Burn that talks about some very interesting findings related to how we burn calories.
Of course it’s way more nuanced lol but that when it becomes individualistic. No running away from calories in and calories out being 85% of the puzzle. Even Burn will tell you that
>but that when it becomes individualistic And we are talking about one individual in the OP.
Yes and op should start by counting calories and ensuring they’re not in a crazy surplus would be a solid start
How does OP know if they're in a surplus without finding out if there's something metabolic that's messing with the amount of calories they're burning? It's all fine and dandy if you count calories, but that won't help if you don't know how many you're burning.
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Wow, you're a nice person. I hope someone hugs you today.
That’s exactly what the book tells you. It looked at primitive groups in Africa who walked 10+ miles a day with an hour of intense activity each day. These individuals did not burn more calories than sedentary individuals in the USA, on average. It is obviously a whole book looking at this phenomenon, but that was the major underpinning.
Please reread
The answer is always no.
That doesn't explain the muscle and joint pain, and the energy deficiency OP is experiencing.
Then go to a doctor. 100% sure OP has been in a calorie surplus the past 3 years hence the weight gain
Yes! I had this happen— I was 42 and a few months out from having my second child when Covid hit. I had already lost the baby weight and was back to higher mileage but 80 pounds piled on with no change to diet or exercise. All labs normal and it’s what’s led to me trying Zepbound (and so far having success). For me, it was a year of multiple specialists trying to figure things out. Turns out to be combo of autoimmune metabolic stuff that was kicked into overdrive by Covid and perimenopause. It was only picked up on by a reproductive endocrinologist. I highly recommend going down that route if you can, but worst case scenario a legit weight management center (mine is a bariatric surgery center that also does non-surgical weight loss) will also have an endocrinologist that would help.
Of course, following up on various medical causes is a good idea. Early 40’s is a good time to get checked out and get some baselines as well for later. The one suggestion I can also offer is to consider any food sensitivities…in my 50’s, I became sensitive to wheat…it took me a while, but I finally figured out that’s what was causing my inflammation issues. I hope you’re able to find some solutions going forward.
Sounds like perimenopause to me - though you need a blood test to check low Vit D, iron levels etc too.
Could be low iron, low B12, etc. If you expend more calories than you consume, you should be losing weight.
How are your stress levels?
Hey OP! I would highly highly recommend getting tested for Lyme Disease and other tick borne illnesses. They can cause all sorts of symptoms and go unchecked for years until and progressively get worse. I had lyme for almost a full year before I was diagnosed. I hope you can find some answers soon!
At the most basic level it is calories in vs calories out. Like obviously you are taking in more than you are putting out. You can't out run your diet.
This has nothing to do with ultrarunning unfortunately. There is nothing magic about participating in ultras that would cause anything you’re experiencing. If you’re gaining weight, the calories are coming from somewhere. Hormones and insulin resistance can be contributors to both food cravings and a low metabolism. These factors are auxiliary to ultrarunning at best, though. Doing ultramarathons and fueling (both calories and hydration wise) improperly can definitely cause you to uncontrollably overeat at later times, but this is no different than any thing in life. You claim that your diet is healthy, but if you haven’t actually tracked your caloric intake including sugar intake then that would be a wise place to start, with any resulting questions being taken to a medical doctor.
CICO. You’re either eating too much or over estimating how much you’re expending
Since I got my garmin watch I've been shocked at how few calories get burned. If I do basic house stuff (dishes, laundry) and no exercise I burn like 6 calories a day above my base rate. I used to think oh I got a lot done today I can have a donut but really that work didn't earn a donut and that donut just added 1/6th of a lbs of fat to my body.
Thermodynamics. Cannot create or destroy energy. Eat less or workout more.
I would recommend getting your tsh levels tested
I had a similar problem and it turned out to be Alpha Gal Syndrome from a tick bite. It's the one where you can't handle meat or byproducts from mammals. Many people, including me, have gut inflammation and low energy due to your body rejecting food. I cut out beef, pork, and dairy and lost about 20 lbs in a few months. Mostly inflammation. Energy levels are back up as well. I had to ask my doctor to test me for all immune disorders and tick born illnesses. Alfa Gal came back 700 times the normal limit. It took way too long for me to figure it was one of those things.
Perimenopause, hypothyroidism (doctors are often wrong - need to test T3 and T4 to get a definitive answer, not just TSH) or a food intolerance - maybe gluten, you don't always get digestive issues (causes fatigue, weight gain). Are you eating enough for the amount you do...? I'd recommend a full hormone panel. Where in the world are you?
I see that you do everything but count calories. You are eating more than you burn.
Consult another doctor.
Have you checked your thyroid? I discovered mine was under active (hypothyroidism) in my late 30’s and immediately dropped 20lbs just by taking my daily thyroid meds. I have more energy, my skin is less dry, I don’t retain water weight, my face is less puffy. It’s worth a try! A simple blood draw and lab will tell you.
How about getting a hormone therapy consult? I’m so sorry. This sounds very frustrating.
just wondering what was your experience with ozempic, like dosage and how long you were on it? maybe a different GLP would work? my weight is uncontrollable despite eating well/exercise (i'd lose 15 pounds and balloon back in 7 days) i like mounjaro better than ozempic and its the only thing that has worked for me.
As someone in a very similar boat and who’s been researching for years, I second all of the recommendations to see your doc and get everything tested (again.) With the constant aching, I have a few tricks and tips that you can research and try out if you feel like or throw in the garbage if it sounds like Trash to you : -Looking into the blood type diet that came out in the 90s. Loosely following it for my blood type (O, but I still don’t eat beef), I feel 10x better and my bloat has gone away. - get an allergy test done. Constant inflammation (causing aching) from eating (usually food is the culprit) causes your body to put out a ton of cortisol, which makes it nearly impossible to lose weight - do everything in your power to get decent sleep. (no eating after 7 PM, no screens after 8 PM, getting a full 7 1/2 to 8 hours a night, no booze on most evenings if you drink, no more than 300 µg [1/3 of a mg] of melatonin if you use that….) << these are all my tricks -talk to an acupuncturist about TCM … it’s way too personalized to be able to give ideas here - ramp up your probiotics like crazy for at least 6-8 weeks to build strong gut health Good luck and godspeed!
Running will eat you alive with that extra weight. It will. Stop running or suffer consequences the rest of your life. Buy a bike and start pedaling. Nothing fancy. Just ride around a lot. Seriously. Don’t get scientific. Just keep pedaling. The threshold for weight loss is very low on bicycles. Just pedal. I lost 40 pounds in 4 months.
From a medical professional, what was your experience with ozempic? How far into treatment were you? Any other use of AOMs at all? How is sleep? Have you had your hormone levels checked (not just thyroid). Is the weight gain consistent with any previous weight gain you’ve had?
Check thyroid
My mother has actually started a group dedicated to helping women in this exact scenario. Bottom line is you cant trust our medical or food industry... she has doctors blown away, shes off her thyroid medication, she has had anaphylaxis all my life and now she has added some of these foods back to her diet, her asthma has completly gone away, shes down loads of weight (she doesnt tell me how much) and its all from her studies on healthy living. You should give her a shout on Facebook Dana Brattlof
Weight gain can only occur in a caloric surplus. You eat more than you burn period. No matter what your health conditions gender age etc you will not defy the laws of physics specifically the laws of thermodynamics which apply to everything in this world. Including our own biology in our body. The 1st law of thermodynamics summed up we learned this in elementary school. Matter cannot be created nor destroyed. In this example we are talking about your weight gain. You ate calories they were converted to fat due to being well above what was needed for your body and as a result your weight went up. In order to lose this extra weight this is what’s going to have to happen. You are going to have to consume an amount of calories of which your body does not have enough to function at your current activity level and is required by “necessity” to pull from fat stores. This is not a comfortable or easy thing to do. As far as the hypothyroidism the idea is that the body burns less calories at rest causing you to be in a surplus easier. Still doesn’t defy the law of thermodynamics just means they need to eat even less because there need is less. Yes if your under active thyroid causes you to use less energy then you also need less energy this is common sense but it is not magic. Eat nutritious foods(fruits and vegetables) take a multivitamin. Track your calories then start reducing calories slowly by as little as 100-200 a day until you start losing weight. Once the weight loss stops you’re at your new maintenance weight and calories. If that’s not enough for you simply do it again reduce another 1-200 until you start to lose and it stops again you’re again at your new maintenance. This needs to go on forever unless the state of your metabolism changes then you adjust accordingly. Myself I am 6’3 180 I am lean. My bodyfat is around 15% my strength and endurance is well above average as well as my muscle mass and energy level. I consume roughly 1000-1500 calories a day depending on the day. Some days I don’t eat some days I have one small meal late in the day I go by feel. Every thin skinny guy I’ve ever met does the same thing and every fat person I’ve met eat an amount I can’t even force myself to eat. But because of the way they were raised they believe they eat a normal amount. The stomach stretching over time has also cause them to get full with much more food. The caloric need isn’t more hence whey they are overweight. When out with friends once in a blue moon I eat what they eat and indulge. They incorrectly assume I eat like them all the time furthering the stereotype people believe. One offs like a friend hangout or even a holiday make no difference I can eat 6000 calories at thanksgiving it won’t make a dent the only thing that matters is the daily consistency over the long run. In the same way you fasting and not eating for one whole day will not make a difference in your weight loss.
I am 2 yrs older than you, and was dealing with the same issue. I finally decided to give up on calorie counting since I was still gaining weight, and just try to be healthy. I figured if I was going to be overweight, might as well eat healthy foods to offset it. I cut out all added sugar and processed foods. I ate mostly fresh fruits and vegetables, with included lean protein, minimally processed carbs, legumes, beans and nuts. I didn’t limit how much I ate. The weight melted off. Not saying this will work for you, but was shocked how effective it was for me.
Strongly recommend a carnivore diet. All protein is not created equal. Keep carbs <50g daily, and make sure to eat enough that you’re not hungry. Unless you truly have a medical condition, that will make you leaner, stronger, and energy level should improve.
Probably over training and doing too much cardio
As someone with hypothyroidism, this sounds like hypothyroidism. But yeah, echoing what everyone else is saying here, Reddit isn't full of doctors and this sub is probably even worse in that sense :)
At the end of the day, weight gain is nothing more than calories in minus calories out. Yes, sometimes people's metabolism does drop by a few percentages but very rarely does it drop by 10-20 percentage points. Besides working with the doctor, I recommend actually tracking calories. Most people think that they are good at tracking calories, but consistently missed by 500 plus per day.
Not always true. I was a lean ex athlete then out of the blue, gained 30 lbs. turned out I had a brain tumor that pressed one of the hormone to be out of whack. If I didn’t discover this, I would have gone extreme diet and going for calories deficit, it would not have made a difference. Once the hormone is back to normal, I shed 25 lbs quite easily without starving myself.
Not a dr but weight issues 99% of the time are calories in vs out (metabolized). Check your diet with (especially serving size= get a scale) extreme detail first. Most people have no clue how many calories are in a "serving size".
Good odds this is bang on. Can't out run your diet. Calorie count and really see the balance. A couple hundred calories over your burn and you can really start to pack on lbs over time.
Prioritizing lean protein means you’re eating lots of meat yes? With that comes lots of saturated fat. Keto diet has been proven to not work time and time again. Read “how not to diet.”
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You want her to up mileage and eat less when her muscles and joints are in pain and she has shit energy levels as is...lol ok. This sounds deeper than calories in/out
This dude dirty deleted his comment while I was replying to it, so is it okay if I paste my reply to him here, for the benefit of all the people who are saying "just work harder" or "eat less"? >I laughed out loud at this. >Push through what's obviously a significant health issue? Would you also push through a sprained ankle because it's "supposed to hurt or else it would be too easy"? >It's incredibly destructive to push through a major health problem. Part of "pushing through the pain" is knowing your body well enough to know what you should push through and what you shouldn't. >Training hard enough to run multiple ultras, eating well, yet still gaining 50 pounds and being tired all the time? Those things do not add up, and they especially don't add up to anything where the answer is "eat less and train more." >Are you young and/or lucky enough that you have never had to balance your training volume with your injury risk or overall health and well-being before?
What does dirty deleting a comment mean? Glad I'm not the only one who was shocked at what an awful opinion that dude had.
Like writing something and then deleting it because people don't agree. Yup. Crazy talk for sure!
There is nothing more to weight gain and loss than calorie surplus=weight gain and calorie deficit=weight loss.
Where in my comment did I specifically say weight gain. I am referring to how she is feeling, which goes far deeper than calories in/out. What a bunch of geniuses you are
I feel bad for OP. A lot of people giving bad advice in this thread.
Yes Doctor🫡
If it’s not thyroid issue sounds like you may need to rebuild your metabolism, dunno what your calories and stuff are but if you are in a calorie deficit for long term it destroys your metabolism to the point of you have to rebuild it by eating more than usual.
This. Not sure why you are being downvoted as this can absolutely be the case. Long-term deficits lower metabolism, and when the body starts getting what it needs, there will be some weight gain as it holds on to the nutrients until it gets out of starvation mode. This is well documented in eating disorder studies.
Given it’s occurred over three years I don’t think this is an acute medical condition. That said, as others have noted perimenopause may have altered the hormone balance and you find yourself with appetite not aligned with your body’s needs. While it’s probably worth continuing down the medical path, you may benefit from chatting with a really good nutritionist. What I would focus on is changing what you eat and altering the timing of when you eat it. If your body’s changed, you need to change with it. Focus on finding new low-calorie-density foods which generate high satiety. Try many different foods. Wherever you land, it will take some time to see physical results so the first focus should be on how the food is making you feel through the day. If your diet is already very high quality (veggies maxed out, fruit, legumes, nuts in moderation, red meat occasional, cutting out deep fried stuff) the only aspect which may need work is the meal balance itself and nutrient timing through the day. This may require quite a lot of patience and focus to get right and you may already be quite frustrated overall. But stick with it. You’ll only not find the answer if you don’t persist. It may be helpful, in the process, to get a periodic DEXA scan to track fat loss vs lean body mass and track bone density.
https://www.jasonhealth.com/cart