Can over training cause weight gain?

I just recently signed up for my first triathlon (it's rather short--only a sprint tri) and I've been paying more attention to my exercise routine as a result. I've been doing a LOT of exercise since the beginning of this year, biking about 2 hours per day and walking/jogging for about 1 hour per day on top of weight training every other day, yoga every other day, and working at my active job a few days each week. I also stay on my feet all day and tidy up the house. At one point, I was severely stressed (late winter) and I resorted to biking on my stationary bike as a coping mechanism...leading me to bike up to SIX HOURS in one day. Thankfully I got a grip around March, realising that this type of coping was NOT okay...not in excess, anyway. A friend of mine recently suggested that I am overdoing it now with the 2 hours of biking, hour of walking, weight training, yoga, and active work. I have been having major insomnia issues, fatigue, depression, excessive hunger and thirst, bloating, easy bruising, and excessive hair growth...I'm also beginning to feel drained and I don't enjoy exercise as much as I used to. On top of this all, I've gained about 20 pounds since May and my weight is STILL increasing. I thought for a while that the hormone/BC pills that I took in an attempt to restart my period after years of amenorrhea caused the weight increase, but now I'm wondering if perhaps my exercise regimen has something to do with it. I never had weight gain issues before I began exercising for over an hour or two per day. 

I held a weight of 120-130 pounds for almost 2 years before suddenly blowing up like a balloon for no apparent reason. I'm almost 17, and I know that I'm growing and such, but I gained most of the 20 pounds in a mere few weeks! I feel AWFUL, too...I feel heavy and tired--like I lugging around a cinder block in my stomach.I don't think that my body is happy like this. I am at the very end of the healthy BMI range now...some days I fall into the overweight category depending on weight fluctuations. I'm trying hard to figure out what is going on because I cannot seem to rid myself of this extra weight despite diet and continued exercise!

Any info would be great...my main question is whether or not over training can cause weight gain, but more insight into my situation and suggestion would be lovely! My doctor was rather unhelpful when I asked him.

Well, Olympic athletes train for 4-6 hours (or more) everyday and most of them have great bodies. However, they're also eating a TON to compensate for their exercise. How much are you eating a day? Since you do 2+ hours of exercise everyday, you need at least 3000 calories a day, probably more.

I trained for a sprint tri in May, and I ate like a horse and still lost weight. My advice to you is to eat more. Make sure you eat before and after you workout, getting lots of protein and healthy fats.

Good luck!

I think the term 'over training' is tossed around way too lightly.  World class athletes rarely even get there.  However if you truly believe you are at that point the only real solution would be to rest.  Take 1-2 weeks where you do NO extra exercise and make sure you are eating and sleeping enough.

I eat around 3000-3500 calories per day (the kid's calculator said that I need 3000 per day with over 1 hour of exercise, so I figured that that was about right), though it is difficult and I must eat often. I WAS eating only 2500 or so calories for quite a few months earlier this year, and the weight gain started right around when I decreased the exercise and increased my caloric intake when I came to the realisation that I was losing far too much weight (I'd gotten down to about 110lbs--borderline underweight for 5'4.5-and my family voiced concern). In total that means that I've really gained 40 lbs since about February...which is insane. Even IF I were overeating by 500 calories a day, I shouldn't have gained that much. And I was that hungry--particularly for fatty foods like nuts and seeds.

I don't think that I'm over training, Verm,  and I agree that it's rather silly for people to think such when so many athletes do a ton of exercise. I got very sick about a month ago and went impatient for a week and a half where I got maybe 30 minutes of exercise each day, sat on my tush otherwise, and got maybe 1500 calories per day to eat. I was 130 pounds when I got home, down from 140ish. I wonder if my body wants -less- exercise in my regimen....like, 12 hours of cardio a week instead of 16 hours...and a full rest day with nothing more than a half hour walk. I went out for two days last week as well and lost 5 lbs eating under 2000 calories again.

I don't know what to do with myself. If I eat under 2000 calories, I drop weight liek a fly, but otherwise I can't lose for beans. My body is so insane. I'm going to ask my OBG/YN about PCOS...that is a possibility, I think, as I have all of the symptoms.

i think you're eating too much. i think 2800 was my maintainence intake when tri training. i used to run about 40miles a week swimming about 6-8 miles a week and not biking that much - maybe 100-130.

most olympic distance triathletes eat about 3000-4000 but they are professionals and train all day everyday.

I can certainly try reverting to an intake of 2500ish calories...though I'm also a teen, so I think that that means that I need, like, 300 more cals for growth and development? :/

Thank you guys so much for your help...if you have more suggestions, I'm open to them! It's not like I can't try different things!

Have you tried maybe decreasing your calorie expenditure to where you only need to eat 2000-2500 calories? If that is the amount of calories that you lose weight eating at, then maybe you should just decrease your activity level and your intake? I dunno, it's worth a shot. What you've got going on is similar to what I am experiencing and it's such a mystery to me. I am trying to figure it out as well.

My theory is that maybe bodies get used to doing a certain amount of work and find ways to not burn as many calories that they should doing that work. Maybe our muscles learn how to cut corners? So even though we should be burnign 3000cal/day, if we do it every day then our bodies find ways to only burn 2000. Then we end up overeating...

Actually, I retract my former statement and agree with fidget84. I've only recently started religiously counting my calories, and I've been grossly overestimating the amount I've been eating. It felt to me like I was eating 3000-3500 calories a day, but it's far less. So far today I've eaten 2000 calories, swam 2 miles, and ran 6 miles. I've already eaten dinner, but I'll need to force myself to eat another 500 calories because I don't want to create too large of a deficit (my burn meter says I'll burn about 3000 calories today).

So yeah, if you want to lose a few pounds, try to create a 500 calorie deficit. You are a teen and possibly still growing, but my best guess is that you burn about 3000 calories a day. So eat 2500 to lose 1lb a week. Try that for about a month, and if things are moving too slowly or not at all, then readjust your calories again. All the online calculators are estimates, so it does take some playing around with.

Anyway, good luck!! I'm sure you'll get this all straight soon :)

Jeez, if I've been accidentally overeating all of this time, that really sucks, because I've had to force food down on many occasions! Only recently have I been hungry for it all. Thanks for you help, guys.

Oh, and Jessie, that is what I was originally going to do, but then I decided to sign up for the sprint triathlon and I don't want my training to suffer due to decreased exercise. I do hope that that method helps you, though!:)

One last thing-I did throw all of my activity (including sleeping and standing) into the active log here one day, and it gave me 3300ish calories as a result. On that said day I did my average amount of exercise...so that's also what caused me to think that I needed 3000-3500 calories. Eh...mistakes happen? I'm in FANTASTIC health according to my doctor, though....my blood pressure and heart rate are beyond ideal, my lungs and heart are fabulous, my bloodwork is crystal clean...etc. I just feelawful. I hope that i've not brutally harmed myself. Ugh, I feel like an idiot if I've wasted a lot of effort eating what I didn't need to...

Maybe the safest method for awhile would be to eat exactly what you are hungry for when you are hungry for it. While making healthy choices of course. Sounds funny but maybe we just ,lol, listen to our bodies for once and stop messing with them. Somtiemes I think we make things more difficult than they need to be when it comes to food...don't know about anyone else but I sure do.

Original Post by jessie7676:

Maybe the safest method for awhile would be to eat exactly what you are hungry for when you are hungry for it. While making healthy choices of course. Sounds funny but maybe we just ,lol, listen to our bodies for once and stop messing with them. Somtiemes I think we make things more difficult than they need to be when it comes to food...don't know about anyone else but I sure do.

I don't ever care to eat (it makes my stomach hurt...I have severe IBS and other GI issues), but I can tell when I'm hungry...it's rather odd. I don't really trust my hunger right now, though, as I was hungry for what I was eating, and according to Fidget and Jcl, it's too much and was likely causing my weight gain. I had 2500 calories yesterday and that worked out okay, but I went to bed feeling pretty hungry. I'd like to eat when I'm hungry, but I don't want to become an unhealthy blimp either.

Thanks for your advice...it does make sense...I just don't know. My body has been rebelling against me lately, it seems

Did your doctor check your thyroid? This sounds like a classic case of hypothyroidism to me, and she may not have checked it because you are so young. 

Original Post by fatsally:

Did your doctor check your thyroid? This sounds like a classic case of hypothyroidism to me, and she may not have checked it because you are so young. 

 I had my thyroid checked back in May and it was slightly to one side (though they didn't say which one--hypo or hyper). I was thinking of asking my doctor about that again, because this is ridiculous. For now, I've dropped my caloric intake by 1000 calories. I really thought that 3500 cals was around what I needed to eat, but I guess that I'm just an idiot. 

Thanks for your suggestion. :)

you're not an idiot. but if you are really having to force food down then i think you are overeating. your body is a better calculator than calorie count. no matter what calorie count says - if you are putting in more than you burn you will gain weight. the calorie tool is just a guess-o-meter.

your body is real and i would think you could afford to cut the calories down to   2500 ish.

sprints arent big calorie burners. you can way overestimate

I don't understand why I was hungry for at least 3000--half of the time even the 3500--if my body doesn't need that much. I suppose that I overdramatized the "force feeding myself" comment. When I was forcing food down, it was only about 200-300 calories worth. I don't remember the last night that I didn't wake up hungry, either (I've been waking up at least one a night ravonously hungry)...it's insane how starved I'd feel. I feel like a pig.

I've gone to bed hungry 3 times now on 2500...but I guess that that's the consequence for overestimating my caloric needs. I really cannot feel my best at this high of a weight...If I need even less than 2500 despite exercising 3 hours per day and having an overall active lifestyle, then I'm terrified of how little I'll need once I pass 21 and stop growing. I don't eat a scrap of sugar or refined food, so it's not like I'm eating things aren't filling or nutritious. I'm also hypoglycimic, so I have to eat balanced meals and snacks every three hours or so. 

Anyway, thank you, Fidget...I'm following your advice and hoping that it will help. I am still going to visit my doctor and look into PCOS and Hypothyroidism, as I'm exiting many of the symptoms of those ailments and I've now had friends (adult ones) and family pointing them out to me as possibilities.

missmagill_x - I'm not sure if you're still having your weight gain issues, but I can tell you that you are definitely overtraining. Below are all overtraining symptoms; most people have never had severe overtraining like you do so they do not know what the symptoms are.

1. IBS (especially severe IBS)

2. Cravings for fatty foods, very sweet foods, or caffiene-containing foods (i.e. chocolate).

3. Lack of appetite for most foods

4. Insomnia or lack of sleep quality (i.e. frequent waking during the evening).

5. Bloating (related to hormonal imbalance caused by elevated cortisol levels)

It seems you have all of the above symptoms. You may also notice the following symptoms while working out:

1. Ammonia-like body odor.

2. Impaired ability to sweat properly.

3. Sore/stiff joints (and joint pain)

What you need to do is the following:

1. Take at least one week off. You may need to take several weeks off.

2. Make sure you are eating a wide variety of fresh foods. This not only includes fresh fruits and vegetables, but also includes baked items like fresh bread.

3. Stay away from the computer, TV, and other devices that emit alot of light in the evening.

4. Get as much sunlight as you can during the day.

5. Make sure you ventilate your bedroom properly. Your oxygen consumption is probably relatively high at night and if you are breathing in re-circulated air that contains too much CO2, you're body's ability to repair will be impaired.

Steps 3 and 4 above will help establish a better sleeping time and improve your hormone balance.

One important thing to note is that overtraining is part of a viscious cycle in which your stress levels are constantly increasing, which further impair your body's ability to repair, which results in even higher stress hormone levels when you exercise.

These high stress hormone levels result in cravings for food (although these cravings might be geared toward sweets or fatty foods). This, in effect, results in weight gain. Keep in mind that high cortisol (stress hormone) levels equate to low estrogen levels; this may impair your body's ability to create glycogen and may increase storage of calories in the form of fat tissue instead.

Original Post by tbal1234:

missmagill_x - I'm not sure if you're still having your weight gain issues, but I can tell you that you are definitely overtraining. Below are all overtraining symptoms; most people have never had severe overtraining like you do so they do not know what the symptoms are.

1. IBS (especially severe IBS)

2. Cravings for fatty foods, very sweet foods, or caffiene-containing foods (i.e. chocolate).

3. Lack of appetite for most foods

4. Insomnia or lack of sleep quality (i.e. frequent waking during the evening).

5. Bloating (related to hormonal imbalance caused by elevated cortisol levels)

It seems you have all of the above symptoms. You may also notice the following symptoms while working out:

1. Ammonia-like body odor.

2. Impaired ability to sweat properly.

3. Sore/stiff joints (and joint pain)

What you need to do is the following:

1. Take at least one week off. You may need to take several weeks off.

2. Make sure you are eating a wide variety of fresh foods. This not only includes fresh fruits and vegetables, but also includes baked items like fresh bread.

3. Stay away from the computer, TV, and other devices that emit alot of light in the evening.

4. Get as much sunlight as you can during the day.

5. Make sure you ventilate your bedroom properly. Your oxygen consumption is probably relatively high at night and if you are breathing in re-circulated air that contains too much CO2, you're body's ability to repair will be impaired.

Steps 3 and 4 above will help establish a better sleeping time and improve your hormone balance.

One important thing to note is that overtraining is part of a viscious cycle in which your stress levels are constantly increasing, which further impair your body's ability to repair, which results in even higher stress hormone levels when you exercise.

These high stress hormone levels result in cravings for food (although these cravings might be geared toward sweets or fatty foods). This, in effect, results in weight gain. Keep in mind that high cortisol (stress hormone) levels equate to low estrogen levels; this may impair your body's ability to create glycogen and may increase storage of calories in the form of fat tissue instead.

 I do have all of the above symptoms...and I tend to do the opposite of everything that you suggested I do to heal. What you said made a lot of sense, and I really appreciate you taking the time to explain things and try to help me out. Thank you so much! I will try doing what you suggested (it can't hurt--especially since I managed to pull my hamstring recently and now *should* be staying off of it). I weigh about 144 lbs now...so I've been maintaining. I've eaten an average of 2500 calories per day since making this thread, and it seems to be keeping my weight stable (though the kid's calculator suggests that I should be easily able to lose on this amount). I'll take a break and let me body rest for a week or two...I'll likely still end up walking for an hour or two per day for transportation and leisure. I guess that I should eat less as well (2000ish?).  I'll see if it helps! I already tried changing things as you suggested yesterday, and I slept for 12 hours last night after going nearly one year on 4-6 hours at best! WOW!

I'm very happy to hear that my advice is working for you. I'm especially glad to hear that you had some good sleep - sleep is the fountain of youth and is often a distinguishing factor in determining how healthy you will be down the road. Here are a few more tips:

1. Walking (as you mention you are doing) is a good recovery exercise. But don't overdo it; if you feel ankle or knee pain, this is an indication that you should stop (joint pain is an appetite trigger). The best time to walk is immediately after a meal.

2. You know when you are rested when the following conditions are met:

i. You're appetite isn't out of control

ii. You feel relaxed and can think clearly.

iii. You can sleep well at night.

3. Keep in mind you are young; you have a long life ahead of you and you want to stay fit throughout that life. You'd rather be on your feet and not in a wheelchair when you are 80+ years old. Keep those joints (and cortisol levels) healthy.

Also keep this in mind: if your body is rested when you start out again, your first workout is going to feel fantastic, and you're going to look and feel better than ever when you get back into it. Keep us updated with your progress -

Original Post by tbal1234:

I'm very happy to hear that my advice is working for you. Here are a few more tips:

1. Walking (as you mention you are doing) is a good recovery exercise. However, don't overdue it; if you feel ankle or knee pain, this is an indication that you should stop (joint pain is an appetite trigger).

2. You know when you are rested when the following conditions are met:

i. You're appetite isn't out of control

ii. You feel relaxed and can think clearly.

iii. You can sleep well at night.

3. Keep in mind you are young; you have a long life ahead of you and you want to stay fit throughout that life. You'd rather be on your feet and not in a wheelchair when you are 80+ years old. Keep those joints (and cortisol levels) healthy.

Also keep this in mind: if your body is rested when you start out again, your first workout is going to feel fantastic, and you're going to look and feel better than ever when you get back into it. Keep us updated with your progress -

Huh! I have felt ankle and knee pain quite often when walking...I was wondering what that was! The amount that I did yesterday (about 5 miles) didn't hurt, however...:) I shall keep you updated...thanks again!