Running Everyday, Eating Right... not losing :(

Starieyes30

What Gives? I am so frustrated, I am running 3-5 miles everyday and counting calories religiously and seem stuck above the 150lb mark. I am getting so frustrated. I feel like I see an obvious difference and so do my friends but when I measured myself yesterday I seem to no have lost inches. I am so upset about it... any ideas on what I could do differently? BOOHOO

Commander_Keen

there is a few things you can do.
Start to run hills
change your calorie intake to less then what you are eating now.
Do Instanity.

Andreaviolet89

Try new foods too. If you eat eggs every morning why not try eating oatmeal one day of the week instead? Also try a new work out. If you run everyday maybe try a work out class instead or swimming laps.

Starieyes30

Commander. I am doing crossfit. All of my runs are hillwork. I am practically starving at 1200 cals as it is

Starieyes30

Ok, I will try to switch up on the food.. that seems like a good idea.

workout_ninja

Type your info into this: http://iifym.com/iifym-calculator/

Figure out what your TDEE -20% is and start eating more. You said yourself you are starving. Eat more, keep running and you will lose weight. Give it 4 weeks, if it doesnt work, try something else.

krmullig

Possibly try upping your calories for a bit and see if that helps. I've seen a lot of success stories when people hit a plateau and actually add a 100 calories or so to their daily allowance and start losing again .

smattillion

Reevaluate your acttivity level and eat more ! You need fuel for yor workouts and fuel to burn the fat! Sounds counter intuitive, but it shoukd help. Try the iifym.com and look up the atricles on the forums for the road map approach. One of my mfp friends on here swears by it and posts about it to others on forums looking for help:)

ladynocturne

Please make sure you are logging your workouts and eating those calories as well. Otherwise your calorie deficit will be very high and it can raise your stress hormone levels, which can cause you to stall.

The other problem with not eating your exercise calories is netting too low of an amount of energy. Your body needs a certain amount to run(heart pumping blood, digestions, brain usage), and if you aren't feeding it enough, it will start using muscle instead of fat because the brain cannot convert fat stores into energy.

TavistockToad

Commander. I am doing crossfit. All of my runs are hillwork. I am practically starving at 1200 cals as it is

if you use MFP settings you should be eating back exercise calories

runfatmanrun

Commander. I am doing crossfit. All of my runs are hillwork. I am practically starving at 1200 cals as it is

if you use MFP settings you should be eating back exercise calories

This. Doing crossfit and running is a good amount of exercise. If you want to maintain that activity level, you'll likely need to eat more.

cebiginalaska

You need to eat more calories or stop exercising so much. Read In place of a road map and figure out how much calories you should be eating. http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/912920-in-place-of-a-road-map-3-2013

"If the body does not get enough energy from calories in, it will seek ways to slow itself down.
Leptin levels drop, cortisol levels rise.
Anabolism stops and catabolism begins.
The body switches gears hormonally and tries to maintain fat, a non active tissue that stores energy, by burning lean mass, an active tissue that uses calories.
So in essence fat mass starts to stay the same while lean mass drops.
You can see how this can extend your dietary lifestyle right?
I've even heard that leaptin drops up to 50% within the first week of cutting calories.
Leptin tells the body its not starving and its okay to release fat. "

thehappyfitmusician

Commander. I am doing crossfit. All of my runs are hillwork. I am practically starving at 1200 cals as it is

if you use MFP settings you should be eating back exercise calories

YES. I was on a plateau for 2 months because I didn't eat back exercise calories. As soon as I started eating them back the pounds started coming off again. It seems counterproductive, but it works and your body needs the fuel!

sophayz

EAT FFS! your body is starving

brandynot

You say you are eating 1200 calories a day...and you are running and doing crossfit??? There you go. You need MORE food. I am no expert. But I was in this same position earlier this year. I read a post named In Place of a Road Map and it changed my life. Once I started eating....the weight started melting off. You have to feed your body...plain and simple. Invest in a food scale and eat. Just my 2 cents...

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/912920-in-place-of-a-road-map-3-2013

EdTheGinge

Maybe you need to mix it up a little, your body is probably comfortable with the same old routine now and most of us need a rest day but it's personal choice.

If hungry play with your calories a little, but maybe keep an eye on the fat. Just experiment until you find something that works for you.

brandipoo

If you're running and doing crossfit I would DEFINITELY recommend adding calories.

joakool

That's not a lot of calories for how much running you're doing. I run 5 days a week (4 to 8 miles) and eat about 2,000 calories a day and I am losing weight. You need more fuel.

LuLuChick78

1200 cals and high intensity exercise......sigh

Let's wait for the wolves to devour you....

Starieyes30

So eat back my exercise calories and according to "IIFYM calculator" I should be having a base of 1500-1600 calories? Oh, if going up in the amount I eat works I will be SOOO pleased. Thank you everyone Love this site! Hope this works.

smithed812

How long has it been? Sometimes patience is all you need.


I would agree about upping your cals some though. With all that exercise your body can handle more than 1200 calories.

A_Warrior_Princess

I do the same and I eat more than 1200 - 1500 calories, I eat closer to 1800-2100 most of the time. Maybe try eating more, especially protein and carbs and see if that helps you?

Lizzy622

You may also need a some rest. You may be overtraining.

jeffrodgers1

You should be eating enough calories to balance the amount you burn thru exercise. Muscles need that protein, vitamins, minerals and carbs to repair themselves.

When you don't consume enough, your metabolism will slow down and weight loss will slow as well (may not completely stop... but will get harder).

I would re-evaluate your 1200 calories... eat back your exercise calories in terms of lean proteins and vegetables.

A couple of notable examples for you: We all know who Hugh Jackman is right? When Hugh Jackman prepares for his role as the Wolverine, he ramps up his workout, consumes 4 meals a day plus snacks and eats an astonishing 5000 calories per day. He is also working out 11 hours per week doing intensive weights and intensive cardio.

Similarly I have a friend who was a fighter in UFC... he triples his calorie intake when he is training for a match. He does 1 hour cardio, 1 hour weights and 1 hour sparring per day. While training he is consuming almost 6,000 calories per day.

These are people who have the best trainers in the world training them... how do you suppose we get their physiques if we aren't willing to train like they do?

Eating back your exercise calories isn't a bad thing. You need to fuel the weight loss engine.

gelendestrasse

Change what you're eating somehow. Cut carbs down, cut out something that might be borderline "healthy", switch to fish and chicken (if you eat meat). Could cut out meat completely for a while, that might jolt your system. And no, I'm not a closet vegetarian, I've just found that if I shift what I'm eating my body takes time to figure it out and I lose weight. Don't ask me why either, but it works for me. Maybe it will for you.

Holly_Roman_Empire

1200 cals and high intensity exercise......sigh

Let's wait for the wolves to devour you....

Yup. OP, add something in that isn't cardio. Like...weight training. And take a rest day every once in a while.

ETA: If you don't have much to lose, there's going to be plateaus. Measure something different besides the scale, like your fitness goals. That way, you still feel like you're achieving something when you haven't lost weight.

running_free_1984

I was eating very little calories and exercising about as much. I stopped losing and was totally disheartened. But I upped my daily intake to no less than 1800. Usually it's a little more. I felt stronger and was able to cope with all the running and intense strength training better. Best of all I lost a kg after 2 weeks of eating more. I guess I'm doing tdee -20% ATM and it's better for me.

foodfastfit

Another thing you can try is 30 minutes of light cardio upon waking before any meals. This small addition to my daily routine seems to melt the fat off.

bridgew24

Type your info into this: http://iifym.com/iifym-calculator/

Figure out what your TDEE -20% is and start eating more. You said yourself you are starving. Eat more, keep running and you will lose weight. Give it 4 weeks, if it doesnt work, try something else.

Wowww thanks for the share! Interesting when it's 'aggressive 25%' fat loss still recommends more calories than MFP does...

taschulz

I have to agree with many that you need to increase calories...and that is hard because it will take your body a bit to get used to it, and you may go up a little on the scale. But be patient. I am having the same issue, I have been running for 6 weeks and I am not seeing results on the scale. I do feel stronger and my endurance is definitely better. I was reading some articles and you may be interested in this one. Know that you are not alone!
http://beta.active.com/running/Articles/How-to-Burn-More-Calories-on-Your-Run?page=1

joyofskiing

Take a rest! Even when i've done marathon training, I rested a day--or modified my activity - a bike ride, walk, yoga or weight training. I've also found that too little calorie intake when you are running a lot puts the body into "starvation mode"- I was doing 20 mile runs before a marathon and could not lose weight.