Holiday weight gain? No worries!

If you are like me, Jan Ulrich, and most people, you put on some extra pounds during the holidays. Ulrich was for several years Lance Armstromg’s biggest competitor. Literally. He had a reputation for starting spring training carrying more than a few extra pounds due to exuberant enjoyment of German holiday food. To be fair, these guys are away from home for much of the year, so who wouldn’t want to relax and party hearty during the winter?

We are not professional cyclists, but if you are reading this you are more than likely serious about triathlon, or perhaps you are just getting started on that path. In either case you should be careful about what you eat. The holidays are a great time to take a break from your training routine and, like the pros, spend more time with friends and family. Undoubtedly this will include many offers of cookies, cake, candy, and plenty of beer and wine. Not the stuff of a good diet. Forget about the old cliche that athletes can eat anything. Maybe when we were sixteen. The older we get, the more careful we need to be about what and when we eat. Yes, timing matters.

This graph from the Withings app (my scale updates TrainingPeaks automatically!) and shows my weight loss starting last summer. It isn’t easy to lose weight while training, and I am very proud of the progress I have made. But look closely at the right end of the chart and you will see a sudden upturn. Those are my happy holiday pounds.

If you are like me, you stepped on the scales this morning and said “oops,” quietly to yourself so as not to alarm the neighbors. That, followed by something like “I’m not going to eat anything today!”

Wrong answer!

Your body is a marvelously complex organism that tries its best to keep you alive and healthy. It does not like sudden changes. The best example of this is how you feel after pulling an all-nighter, or when you fly to a different time zone. Your body responds to the change in your sleep routine by making you feel terrible. If you travel by train or by ship, the change in time zones has less impact, because your body has a chance to adapt. The best way to lose weight is to make small changes that you sustain over time. The way to make those changes is by improving the quality of your diet, not by cutting out meals.

There are two reasons we athletes gain weight over the holidays. We eat more calorie rich foods, and we take a break from training. Ideally we would cut back on both, but we live in the real world, with family and friends we enjoy socializing with. I for one do not want to go to a party and eat only celery and drink San Pellegrino.

All you need to do now is return to your old routine. No crash diets. No cleanses. Nothing drastic. Just get back to eating wholesome, healthy meals that emphasize fruits, vegetables, protein, and just enough starchy carbs to fuel your training. You will begin your winter training soon, and that will increase the demand for calories. 

Your marvelous body will welcome the return to normal by gradually shedding those extra pounds. Be patient – weight shed too quickly will come right back.

Listed below are some books with helpful information on nutrition for triathletes. The last one is especially helpful for women. I also recommend the nutrition section of the FastTalk Labs website. Full access requires joining but you can explore for free.