Side effect of overtraining is weight-gain?

[Maylic]

Hi all,

Just wanted to make another post and see if anyone else has had this experience/side effect after practicing Chi Kung.

Shortly before I attended my first intensive, I put on a bit of weight due to a knee injury. I figured after my knee healed, I'd get active again and the weight would fall right back off. It's now about two years since that injury and my weight is now just starting to come back down into normal ranges. Maybe hindsight is 20/20 but Chi Kung being the cause of this seems very clear right now.

In the first year, I was practicing Chi Kung super consistently (twice a day for 15 mins so 30 mins daily). To get my weight down, I started training for a half-marathon and experimented with intermittent fasting to see if that would help. Despite completing an entire half-marathon after that first year, my weight hadn't moved a bit. One of the strange symptoms I noticed that year was that if I didn't eat enough, I would be absolutely wiped the next day (not wanting to get out of bed in the morning after 9-10hrs and needing a 2 hour nap in the afternoon).

I know, I know...classic over-training symptoms, but when I was going through it, it felt pretty normal. I looked up over-training symptoms on this forum and my experiences didn't really seem to match up. I even tried stopping Chi Kung training a few times throughout the year to see if that would help and I didn't really notice much of a difference. I also had lots of other lifestyle changes that year to blame the fatigue on (training for a half-marathon, eating one meal a day, a terrible bed frame, and so on...) Some days it would happen and some not. But everyday, no matter what, I always needed to eat a certain amount of food to avoid this fatigue. It made it impossible to cut down on eating and lose weight.

It took all of this year taking a break from Chi Kung to realize that I was most likely over-training. This year I've been only practicing once a day (every other day) and I haven't had any fatigue symptoms at all. I'm pretty certain that I was just a bit too over-zealous the first year in my training. But part of me is still unsure so I'm posting here to get some feedback.

Anyone else experience something like this? If so, how did you finally nail down that Chi Kung was to blame?

[Andrew]

It is quite common to put on weight at the start of Chi Kung training. Why? Because Chi Kung at this level will optimise all of your systems, but not all at once. My experience has shown that normally the digestion efficiency often increase before the excretion efficiency and the body, as a result, increases weight.

There are other options for your case, too. For example, you know that practicing Chi Kung will help you to achieve an "ideal" body. But this ideal is the energetic ideal and not always in line with your personal preferences. There are other options too, but the ones I mentioned are very common.

[Damian Kissey]

Before starting chi kung , i was not sick but relatively underweight and lack vitality .

After practising chi kung , increase in energy level was noted within weeks then followed by weight gain and improvement in physiological efficiencies ( digestion , excretion , sleep requirement , wound repair , nail-hair growth etc ) gradually over years .

The weight gain ( personaly desirable , because a scrawny doctor does not inspire confidence in patients ) has naturally plateaued since few years ago : only fluctuations within 5 kg depending on quantity and type of eaten food.

Weight gain in those practising chi kung correctly is not necessarily proportionate to body shape and total body fat , because it may be due to better quality denser bones and other non-fat tissues .

Practising genuine high level chi kung , generally speaking , leads to a weight optimal for the individual's health developmental stage .

Using chi kung terminology : weight changes ( gain , loss or maintain ) subsequent to chi kung practise depends on jing ( physical constitution , genetics ) , chi ( chi kung practise ) and shen ( mental clarity , desires , etc )

I don't think chi kung over training directly causes weight gain : the most common causes of weight gain in the general modern population is overeating ( ie more then body's need ) and underactivity ( ie sedentary life ) .

[Steve Clarke]

Hi Maylic,

I have experienced over training several times. At first I was not aware of it, looking back now it was very clear!
It can be subtle, like having a foggy head, or feeling a little tired after practise, this can be confused with feeling very relaxed after practise in the early days of your training. Or you might feel you need to take a rest or miss a day or 2 of practise. But because you are a dedicated student, you push on! Cant miss a day! This is a trap for new students.

Learn to listen to your body, a good thing to always remember is, if you feel better after missing a day or 2 of practise, then more then likely you have been overtraining. Less if often more.

I have not experienced weight gain from over training, I would expect the opposite. Here are some clues you might be over training;
- Foggy head
-Feeling tired after training
-Lack of energy through the day
-Feeling of dis connection and lack of interest in the people around you or in life in general. Fatigue.

Your practise should make you feel, refreshed, energised, motivated, clear and focused and an inspiration to others around you.