Hi fellow sufferers, I’m following the road plan currently and just about sticking to it 95% of the time. I’ve done 2.5 months of torturing my legs and really like it, anyway power numbers are all well on the up which is great. Unfortunately so is weight. I think I’ve put on 2-3kg. Has anyone experienced this sort of thing. I didn’t go crazy at Christmas, maybe a bit too much booze but I’ve knocked that on the head now. I’m aiming for 70kg but getting nearer 75kg
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I gained about 3-4kg over 3 weeks of Xmas/New year, but I didn’t really try to keep my weight low. I made sure I didn’t go mad, but I did let myself have more than usual, especially alcohol. I don’t think it’s unusual and once you get back to your normal routine you’ll probably find your weight settles again. I’m aiming for 80kg, but currently nearer 85!
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Maybe throw in a couple of days of weight training for about 1/2 hour or so. Just some basics. Maybe that would help.
— The FOBS (Fat, Old, Bald, and Slow)
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Some of that extra weight could be additional muscle, which is denser than body fat. I think if you’re eating right, and sticking to the plan, don’t stress too much about weight, especially if you notice that you’re dropping body fat. If your power is going up, and your power/weight ratio also, then you’re going to be faster on the bike.
Also, your hydration level can account a non-trivial amount of weight. I often notice a ~1 kg variation between morning and evening. I’ve also noticed that it can take a week or two before a change in eating and/or exercise level translates into a noticeable weight change.
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I guess it’s easy for things to creep up on you, I’m normally swimming hard 2-3 times a week and that’s gone. I think the suggestion of a bit of strength training wouldn’t go a miss. Putting on weight is a bummer even if power is on the up, I’m really wanting power up and weight down (aren’t we all). Would it be worth adding in some zone 2 spinning on top of my usual stuff program to burn off some extra lard? I feel I’m up to it.
Also put on 2 kg over the holidays despite trying to limit the damage. Hoping they will disappear quite quickly now that the normal routine settles. Aiming for sub 80 in 6 months, but currently closer to 90 kg.
As @way9e0 mentions, there are a lot of variables when it comes to weight, and to ensure more or less comparable numbers I make sure to only step on the scale just after the morning batroom break.
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I have been experiencing this also! I thought it was just me. Prior to starting the intermediate road plan I was doing alot more unstructured riding. So it was really good for weight loss but not so good for increasing my power numbers.
I have put on about 4kg since starting my plan and I am beginning to wonder if this is the right plan for me. I can see that my Training stress (I use Golden Chettah) is reducing from where I was prior to doing the plan. I was maintaining a critical stress level (CTL) of 55-60. Now my level is working towards 40.
I have toyed with doing the advanced version of the plan but this was a little bit too much volume for my legs.
I am going to start using Myfitness pal so that I can eat in accordance to this reduced volume of cycling/calaries burnt. What are you thinking of doing?
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If you suffer hard most of the year a few weeks of extra cal’s and rest over the holiday period can be good for the body and soul. I find it’s more bloat and extra water retention after holiday periods and drops fast as soon as I’m back on track. And with TOS pending I’m definitely back on track 
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Glad I’m not the only one!
Goal-wise I’m training for some big swims next year, no swimming now obviously, but as soon as it’s warm enough I’ll be back out there. Standard triathlons on the cards too and even half iron if all goes well by august. Etape Caledonia too, maybe some other sportives. Just want that weight down, thought I’d been putting the effort in but things must have slipped a little, plenty of time though. Too much working from home in the kitchen.
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