I came upon this article a few months ago and contacted Dr. Rick Kattouf, asking permission to use his article in my blog post. I felt this topic is all to common with endurance athletes – and it needed to be shared. If you are struggling with your weight, not becoming more lean, having afternoon and evening cravings despite long training hours each week, take a few minutes to read this article.

Weight Gain During High-Volume Training? How To Avoid the “Endurance 15”

By Dr. Rick Kattouf

Here is a common question that has come my way many times over the years:

“Rick, I recently trained for an Ironman/marathon/ultra-marathon/ultra-distance cycling event. I trained more than I ever have before and I tried to eat healthy. I am so frustrated because after all of this training, I actually gained 15 pounds during this time. How can I actually gain weight when I was training more than ever?”

I call this all-too-common scenario the “endurance 15”. I am sure you’ve heard of the “freshman 15”: a young man/woman goes off to college and gains 15 pounds during their freshman year of college. The “endurance 15” is the scenario in which an endurance athlete is training many hours a week and actually increases body weight and fat; gaining five, 10, or 15 pounds during their training.

There are a multitude of factors that contribute to the endurance 15. Let’s discuss why this may be happening. [Read more…]