Michigan Runner

[eahenes]

Greetings!

I hope that this will serve as both an introduction as well as a question for the experienced runners. My name is Everett and I am 33 years old. I am 5' 11" and 175#, medium build. I started running at 30 when I realized that I was way overweight (225 at the time) and living a sedentary lifestyle that would probably lead to heart disease. My weight has fluctuated, usually with my running schedule. I typically run 28+ miles per week.

My question is about weight/fat loss. I run 4 or 6 miles each day, six days a week and I do 20 minutes of upper body resistance training three times a week. I try to vary my routine every six weeks or so - sometimes straight jogging, sometimes intervals with running and other times running as fast as I can. I feel strong and my heart feels healthy. But I can't seem to lose anymore weight. I tend to get stuck at 172 or so, unable to get to 165 or lower. When I get stuck, I get discouraged and run less which leads to weight gain and the cycle goes all over again. Of course, since I always run some I never get back to my biggest weight. My goal was to get my waist down to a size 32 but I can never get past it being a really snug 34.

My diet is typically good - mostly organic, all natural food. Maybe one or two nights a week I will have a drink before bed but rarely beer. I normally consume 2200 calories a day or less. Which brings me to my question - am I not eating enough? Is my body going into "starvation mode" and burning the muscle I work to build rather than the fat that is around my mid-section?

Well, there it is - I hope the experts and others out there can give me some advice.

[Bennuendo]

Greetings!

I hope that this will serve as both an introduction as well as a question for the experienced runners. My name is Everett and I am 33 years old. I am 5' 11" and 175#, medium build. I started running at 30 when I realized that I was way overweight (225 at the time) and living a sedentary lifestyle that would probably lead to heart disease. My weight has fluctuated, usually with my running schedule. I typically run 28+ miles per week.

My question is about weight/fat loss. I run 4 or 6 miles each day, six days a week and I do 20 minutes of upper body resistance training three times a week. I try to vary my routine every six weeks or so - sometimes straight jogging, sometimes intervals with running and other times running as fast as I can. I feel strong and my heart feels healthy. But I can't seem to lose anymore weight. I tend to get stuck at 172 or so, unable to get to 165 or lower. When I get stuck, I get discouraged and run less which leads to weight gain and the cycle goes all over again. Of course, since I always run some I never get back to my biggest weight. My goal was to get my waist down to a size 32 but I can never get past it being a really snug 34.

My diet is typically good - mostly organic, all natural food. Maybe one or two nights a week I will have a drink before bed but rarely beer. I normally consume 2200 calories a day or less. Which brings me to my question - am I not eating enough? Is my body going into "starvation mode" and burning the muscle I work to build rather than the fat that is around my mid-section?

Well, there it is - I hope the experts and others out there can give me some advice.

With the distances you run you're not going to pack on much muscle.. you're targeting your slow twitch/endurance muscles which are a lot smaller. So some muscle was probably burnt off in the beginning whenever you started these distances, so that your body would be more effecient for your long distance runs..

You are very active from what I'm seeing compared to most.. So if I were you I'd take a look at your diet.. Aim to consume 2000 calories a day for a week or two and see if that makes any changes.. If so then you know you're on the right track.. You may need to slowly bump your daily calories down as you lose weight in order to get down to your goal.

Another thing you could do is switch one of those days to some intervals.. For a mile or two have walking/jogging/running/sprinting intervals.. these work your body a lot harder than running at one pace the whole time and intervals are great for fat loss.

[Mayberry03]

try eating eggs for breakfast:) this little tip helped me shed 3 extra pounds a week while putting on muscle because i lift as well. 1-2 eggs a day is said to help provide 65% calorie burn throughout the day and boy did i notice it!
also make sure your eating 6-10 times a day.
another great tip is the more musclee you have the better. more calories are burnt throughout the day with more muscle than with fat.
hope this helps:)