Long distance running, not seeing any weight loss

So I'm about 200lbs at the moment and Ideally I want to be about 180 -190lbs. I started running 10k and now even further once a week with a few shorter runs in between so about 3 runs a week. I am seeing fitness improvements and I do seem to be gaining muscle, but the scale is not budging(I know that isn't important) and more importantly this belly of mine is still sitting all smug atop my abdomen! I do eat pretty badly at the moment and I don't log on here, but I run out of energy all the time if I don't eat regularly and I certainly wouldn't be able to maintain this level of endurance exercise without it. The amounts mfp suggests for me to eat are just not maintainable, I feel sluggish and tired and cold by late afternoon if I stick to that restriction.

This last bit of weight is becoming a frustrating nuisance now and I'd really appreciate your guys feedback on whether I'm training enough or should I cut down my food or eat more of some particular foods? Thanks.

Read. Reread. Read. And reread again this: http://www.acaloriecounter.com/blog/why-am-i-not-losing-weight/

So I'm about 200lbs at the moment and Ideally I want to be about 180 -190lbs. I started running 10k and now even further once a week with a few shorter runs in between so about 3 runs a week. I am seeing fitness improvements and I do seem to be gaining muscle, but the scale is not budging(I know that isn't important) and more importantly this belly of mine is still sitting all smug atop my abdomen! I do eat pretty badly at the moment and I don't log on here, but I run out of energy all the time if I don't eat regularly and I certainly wouldn't be able to maintain this level of endurance exercise without it. The amounts mfp suggests for me to eat are just not maintainable, I feel sluggish and tired and cold by late afternoon if I stick to that restriction.

This last bit of weight is becoming a frustrating nuisance now and I'd really appreciate your guys feedback on whether I'm training enough or should I cut down my food or eat more of some particular foods? Thanks.

How much are you eating, and what did MFP suggest for you?

Weight loss has everything to do with how much food you cram into your pie hole and nothing to do with how many miles your run. Run for your health and your mind. Maintain a calorie deficit to lose weight

This right here ^^^

I think enough has been said on the eating bit - remains king in terms of weight loss.

As for your running .... just make sure you mix in interval training and hill repeats to give yourself that extra boost!

Ok i will touch a bit on you saying you cant eat within your calorie limit as you feel hungry and sluggish. As you well know you will need the deficit to lose weight no way around it, but here is the trick you need to deal with your hunger pains while still within your calorie limit.
Eat lots of protien low on calorievand very filling. Drink heavy soups like linten, eat a big breakfast with beans and tuna onions tomatos whole grain bread, its satusfying and low on calories. Learn to use spices, mustard to not make your food blant. Eat two grilled fish for lunch couple hundred calories and you wont be able to finish them. Chicken breasts lean meat.
What im trying to say you can indeed stay within your caloric deficit without feeling hungry or sluggish.

I have bookmarked that link and I will try to log my cals from now on, I feel like a total idiot for posting on here now

You've made my day. A poster who asks a question. Listens to the sensible answers and acts. Fantastic!!! Good luck on your loss and your running. Eating correctly and you'll find your running will improve

I have bookmarked that link and I will try to log my cals from now on, I feel like a total idiot for posting on here now

You have no reason to feel like an "idiot". In fact, you asked great questions pointing to the opposite - that you were smart enough to seek advice/help to figure things out with regard to what you are experiencing.

Make sure you follow up with your progress for all of us.

All the best.

Agreed!
And ditto the pp's advice on staying within calorie goals while getting full. I try to follow the 80%/20% rule of thumb with 80% of my food being nutritionally dense foods (veggies, eggs, chicken, fish, etc.) and the other 20% being whatever I want. If that gets too far out of balance I definitely struggle more with feeling hungry and sluggish.

I have bookmarked that link and I will try to log my cals from now on, I feel like a total idiot for posting on here now

Nah, don't feel like an idiot. It's a very common misconception that all you have to do is exercise and the weight will fall off.

I have bookmarked that link and I will try to log my cals from now on, I feel like a total idiot for posting on here now

That's the purpose of forums and asking questions bud, don't feel like an idiot!!

Exactly! Running is great for you if you enjoy it, but can sometimes lead to a "well i just ran 6 miles so of course I can eat _____!". I'd suggest logging your food for a few days without any changes to what you normally eat, to get an idea of what/how much you're consuming now. You may learn that you're overeating, under-eating, eating an ok amount but of food lacking in any nutritional value.

You said you weren't eating that great, I find that when I start slipping away from healthier foods on a regular basis I feel sluggish and tired - depending on your settings on MFP, also don't forget to eat back at least some if not all of your exercise calories. If you're running 3 times a week with a long run in there, you need to replenish your body (with good nutritional food!) or you could be setting yourself at too low of a deficit.

EX: I'm I'm running 3-4 miles, I'm typically burning around 400 calories (I use a heart rate monitor.) My diary is set to 1510 calories a day. On a running day, I'm now netting 1100 calories if I don't eat back my exercise - which is too low. Everyone is different - take some time to read the forums and find what exercise and eating plan works best for you and good luck!

Possibly change what you are eating vs calories too. I found that my body was holding weight while running because of my carb intake. It took about 3 weeks to my body to adjust to lower carb ratios, but since that time I'm stronger than ever. My training run on Saturday was 14 miles and I didn't use anything but water and my time was better than my best PR w/o even feeling it.

Weight loss has everything to do with how much food you cram into your pie hole and nothing to do with how many miles your run. Run for your health and your mind. Maintain a calorie deficit to lose weight

This is true! I run long distance but don't always monitor my food and as I result I get what I put in.

While long-distance running is of course beneficial for your body, as you know considering the results that you've already seen, you could also try mixing in some HIIT (High Intensity Interval Training) to increase fat burn - and the best part is that you continue to burn calories for the rest of the day!

Try mixing up your exercise routine too - maybe have a go at some boxing, rowing or cycling, and introduce some strength training to replace your fat loss with lean muscle gain. It's easy to get into a rut with exercise and your weight loss will plateau as a result - what doesn't challenge you, doesn't change you.

In the kitchen, make sure to eat plenty of lean protein to supplement that muscle gain, and vegetables for those all-important nutrients. Logging your calories is a good idea to make sure your balance of carbs/protein/fat is right.

Here's a really good article on HIIT: http://www.shape.com/fitness/workouts/8-benefits-high-intensity-interval-training-hiit
and here are some excellent high-protein recipe ideas http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/collection/high-protein

The amounts mfp suggests for me to eat are just not maintainable, I feel sluggish and tired and cold by late afternoon if I stick to that restriction.

I think thisis fairly fundamental here, as it may be that you're aiming for a loss rte that's too aggressive. I had a similar situation about a year ago when my MFP goal ended up about 1600 calories, which was unpleasantly low. As a result of moderating my loss rate objectives it reset to a more manageable level, although I now find it very difficult to eat back my calories when I have a long run.

What I'd also say is that the experience pushed me to think about objectives, and that turned out to be more about improving my running performance than my weight loss per se. My weight loss hasn't been rapid, aout 3lbs per month, but my bodyft percentage is significantly reduced as a result of lots of running, with some resistance training.

I'd support the idea of bodyweight work, while your upper body strenght may not be much, it's not going to improve unless you do something about it. I'd suggest You Are Your Own Gym as a solid programme, others will come up with different suggestions. notwithstanding anything else it will help your running as youre core strength will improve, which helps your stability and efficiency.