Hey everyone—I got into pickleball about eight months back and I’ve been hooked ever since. Before this, I had a solid routine going with four days of lifting, several hour-long walks each week, and a high-protein, balanced diet. I was seeing great results and my body was really changing. However, pickleball has totally disrupted that. I’m playing four or five times a week now, and I’m so wiped out afterward that I’ve basically stopped lifting. Plus, I’m constantly starving. I’m eating much more because my appetite is through the roof, which has led to weight gain and muscle loss. I really don’t want to quit because I love the game, and I’m worried that if I play less, I’ll lose my edge or stop improving. Has anyone dealt with this? Any tips for balancing the sport with gym time and a healthy diet? Thanks! Note: My sessions are typically two hours of open play.
The issue is that your eating habits have taken a major hit. That is the root of the problem. At the very least, you should start monitoring your calorie intake.
I’ve seen some muscle loss myself, though my strength and endurance feel the same as they used to. I stopped drinking alcohol, and now I’m finding it tough to maintain a steady weight. I recommend an app called “Lose It” for tracking calories. It syncs with Apple Health and some smart scales, but you don’t have to use those features.
Don’t worry, you’ll figure it out! Welcome to the obsession—the “pickleball bug” is definitely a real thing! My advice is to pick one to focus on for a while and let the other take a backseat. They can actually work well together if you’re intentional about it, and you can adjust based on the time of year. During the winter, I hit the weights five days a week with some light cardio, walk once, and play pickleball twice for two hours each. I try to schedule my push days when I’m not playing. In the summer, I switch to four pickleball sessions and three lifting days, plus some walking and biking. I always keep one day mid-week completely free for recovery. Every eight weeks, I take a break from lifting and reduce my pickleball time by half. You already know from your previous success that tracking macros is key, regardless of how you balance the gym and the court. Good luck, you’re doing awesome!
When I started, I didn’t realize how much it was messing with my diet. I’d often grab fast food on the way home because I was famished and figured I’d burned off enough calories to justify it. Even though I was tracking my food, I was making the mistake of eating back the calories my watch claimed I burned, which usually wasn’t even right. I fixed it by being more disciplined with my tracking and sticking to a set daily goal no matter how much I moved. Try calculating your TDEE based on your steps and lifting, and use that as your baseline.