Scaling Back

The first time I had to take 8 weeks off of running for a stress fracture I lost ten pounds.

I admit that I was worried because I knew I would not be running, or cycling, and I had not yet discovered swimming. Basically I was not going to be doing very much of anything for two months. That is a pretty dramatic drop after the marathon training I had been doing.

I figured I would have to carefully watch the scale and watch what I ate to make sure I didn't gain a pile of weight.

That's why it was so crazy when the pounds started falling off, without any effort on my part. I never lost a pound in the years I ran and, suddenly, it's dropping off and I'm buying new jeans.

I chocked it up to:
- starting to swim which was a different kind of exercise and
- decreasing my calories since I wasn't eating to fuel my running and fend off post-run lows

When I went back to running I then wondered if the weight would come back on again. It didn't. I stayed stable at my new weight for a year and a half with no effort on my part.

The second time I had to take 8 weeks off of running for a stress fracture I gained four pounds.

Yikes!

I actually thought I might lose weight again because I replaced my running with three days of cycling which is not a typical activity for me. Also, cycling doesn't typically cause lows so I don't eat any more than I normally do in the mornings despite working out for an hour. I have the same breakfast I always do, go to work, and eat the same amount of food throughout the day. Increased exercise and no increase in calories should equal weight loss non?

I figured I'd either stay in my steady state or drop a pound or two.

Imagine my surprise when, in the last few weeks, the scale has started creeping back up.

Four pounds isn't horrible by any means but it's enough to notice that my clothes feel a little tighter.

I don't like it.

I don't understand it.

I'm not sure how to fix it.

Here's hoping that being back running again is enough to knock it back down. If not, I'll have to take a close look at what I've been eating to see if portion sizes have crept up or snacking has increased. I don't think I've changed my diet and my insulin usage is pretty stable, if a bit lower than it was when I ran.

I don't know yet what needs to happen but I do know that it's a hell of a lot easier to deal with a four pound weight gain than a ten pound one. So I'm on it.