Weight question

Over the course of the past year I made some pretty big changes to lifestyle to lose weight for racing. It worked and I got down to about 170-175 for the season.
Now that the seasons ended and I’m not exercising I’m still dropping weight a and down to 167.8 this am.
It’s been a while since I have been “fit”. I am assuming the subsequent weight loss is due to losing muscle mass after the season? I’m guessing a thin guy like TJ might have some experience with this .

I’m starting to look physically like an f1 driver and that’s not a good thing imho.

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Keep exercising! I got a reasonably priced smart scale (like less than $50) and the Renpho app which can track things like body composition (fat %, muscle mass, bone mass, water % etc) which may give you more insight into exactly what’s happening.

You’re probably right on though, your body is always trying to maintain homeostasis and if you’ve got muscle it doesn’t feel you need — BYE BYE!

Then there’s always diet… how much do you like hard boiled egg whites :joy:

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Confession time.

I almost never work out to stay fit in the winter. Until about a month before the season starts, then I really start doing some actual targeted workouts just to make sure my muscles still work. So in February/March I start doing some neck exercise, mild weight lifting, eating slightly better.

If I don’t do that, I know that the first race is going to be a little tougher physically than I would like.

I don’t have a ton of experience losing muscle mass in the off-season, mostly because I don’t have any weight to lose. I’ll probably be 135-140 by the start of next season and that’ll be the heaviest I’ve ever been. :grimacing:

@JCostanza’s advice is pretty good. If you’re really worried about it, I would try and get some more insight into what your body is actually doing and what the weight you’re losing is.

Also keep in mind that if you’re losing weight, that’s also less weight you have to huck around in the kart out there too.

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Thanks Joseph. Is the egg whites a way of saying “eat protein”?

I never got into chugging muscle milk and the like because I was actively trying to avoid getting big muscles to get wiry and quick. My assumption was that it gives you the fat you need to build muscle.

Now that I am struggling to get food into my body (eating sort of is nauseating), maybe those protein shakes could fatten me up now?

I’ve also never met an egg white that couldn’t be fixed with Tabasco.

Thanks TJ. So you have never noticed a change as you go into winter mode? You don’t either get fatter or thinner?

Yep the whites for protein if you struggle with getting high quality protein with little calories (muscle milk is great, it just also has a lot of calories and sugar in it). I was into diet and fitness for a long time, and I also choose not to eat meat, so getting protein was and is always a struggle for me.

Everyone’s body is different, so finding balance with what your body wants and what you’re trying to achieve is always a moving target (at least seems to be with me)

I have never been able to gain weight, I’ve been the same weight for the past 8 years probably. But that’s me, obviously most people don’t have that issue/luxury.

Thanks guys. Useful feedback. I’ll give protein a try.

Getting old sucks.

Cottage Cheese + fruit, plain greek yogurt, eggs, nuts, lentils, chicken, seafood and tons of vegetables (that aren’t potatoes) - that’s my general rubric for lean eating

Tracking your food intake is the easiest way to gauge if you’re meeting your nutritional needs or exceeding them and adding excess weight.

Simple sugars are probably the biggest contributor to unwanted weight gain. High-intensity interval training (HIIT) has also proven invaluable in shedding unwanted fat. Even 15-30min a day helped a ton.

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I typically find that working out over the winter helps to keep me warm, when the temp drops. What most people saying about diet and targeted workouts are spot on. I feel like @Trey_Shannon would be the master knowledge base about this though.

I just try to make my workout the way that I start my day, so that I’m less likely to blow it off by being lazy in the evening.

Another thing that I’ve added was that I started to wear a Fitbit and track my steps as a general measure of my level of activity during the day. Just that metric alone helps to trigger my competitive streak.

Haha. I wish I had TJ’s problem. My weight can range as much as 15lbs during the winter, depending on how active I am (or not.)

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Thanks davin and Matt.

I’m sort of going on the other direction where I’m getting so skinny (for a 49 year old man) I’m wondering if it’s normal to somehow lose weight without trying. The last time I remember being like this is when I was a teen and I was having family problems one summer and I’d leave the house before breakfast and stay out till dinner. So I never ate. I remember sitting at breakfast starting at an English muffin figuring out how I was going to eat it and it seemed like a mountain I had to climb.
That’s sort of where I am now, and I’m pretty sure I’m out of equilibrium.

As you age your body composition shifts and your bone density and muscle mass declines; it’s actually pretty normal (barring things like diabeties or an abnormally poor diet)

Me at 29 can’t keep the weight off; like Davin my weight will shift 15lbs in the winter still eating a 1400 calorie or less diet with moderate cardio 3-4 days a week. Trying to get to 175 for the racing season, I get within a few and my body finds 6lbs in the oxygen I breathe…

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Also, you may be experiencing some depression (makes me think since you linked it to when you were young and family problems) along with the changing of seasons — seasonal affective disorder is real, and those can definitely change how your body processes food. Mental health is my jam (bread and butter too), and never ever underestimate the mind body connection

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+1 on this. Season Affective Disorder runs strongly on my dad’s side of the family. I actually work out more during the winter, just to distract me from the weather.

Largely, my aim isn’t even to lose weight. Outside of the kart, I like what I look like at about 200lbs. But what I am working on is my cardio, strength and endurance, so I can drive longer more easily.

Most of the club races that I do are more endurance anyway. Even if I’m not the fastest person, most racers don’t work out and so start to make more mistakes during the last few laps.

Hmm SAD is worth considering but not likely me. Not depressed, actually pretty happy though I am constantly stressed. But aren’t we all.

I suspect it’s more an age thing. The anecdote about my youth was more about “when you get used to calorie restriction, it seems hard to break out of it.” It was forced calorie restriction because I was a kid without $ so I couldn’t eat other than family meals which I avoided. Also I was super duper active surfing from dawn to dusk. I came out the other side just fine at 16 (with abs no less) but I’m sort of concerned about what weight loss like this does to later middle aged guy.

The recent weight loss just surprised me because I assumed the scale would go up in the winter as I stopped being active karting or training for next race.

Anyways, I’m ok being thin now. I was just wondering if anyone else had experienced minus weight change after a stint of prolonged fitness/training which ended.

Either I’m sick or there’s something like muscle mass and/or other changes etc.

@tjkoyen don’t worry, the weight will come…I talk from experience.

Not worried… I think this is my last year of being a lazy bum. I gained like 12 pounds in the past few months so I think the ol’ metabolism is finally slowing down. It was a good run while it lasted!

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The before and after pictures of ‘Fat TJ Koyen’ in ten years will be hilarious. :wink: jk jk

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I’m 11 years TJ will be in masters and fat and slower. Maybe the other old farts will have a chance.

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