So, right now I'm about 136, and I really, really want to get under 130. I've been plateaued for awhile now. That being said, I'm training for my second half marathon, and while I know that doesn't mean I can eat everything I want, I know I need to keep my body fueled. The thing is - I'm so hungry! So far this week:

Saturday - 3 mile run (according to hr monitor, 310 calories burned)

Sunday - Ten mile run (according to hr monitor, 1,050 calories burned); Calorie intake: 2,100

Monday - High intensity cardio/weights workout for one hour; not sure how many calories burned; daily calorie intake: 1,650

Today - i'm going for a 45 minute tempo run (a run at my ideal "race pace" - so very intense), about 5 miles, should be about 500 calories burned.

The rest of the weeks schedule looks pretty much the same - tmrw is a 3 mile run and 1 hr of XT, thursday is another 5 mile run. Friday is my rest day, then my schedule starts back up again Saturday.

Unfortunately, i was so hungry this afternoon I slipped and in addition to my lunchtime salad, I had one small piece of rye bread topped with about 3 tablespoons beef bbq, and a smallish brownie (leftovers from an office lunch). I'm so disappointed with myself! The calories from the bread, bbq, and brownie about make up what I was going to have for dinner, so should I skip dinner?? I so desperately want to get under 135 this week but already i'm feeling a bit better after having that "splurge." And if i'm not eating enough - why am i plateauing?! I've been running for awhile now - could my body be burning more calories even when during the day, even when I'm not hungry? Could it have raised my metabolism?

Thank you all!!

From what i've learned in spin class, sounds like you are not eating enough with the amount of calories you are burning. You will go into starvation mode where your body won't let go of the weight thinking it won't get fed.

Congrats on your 1/2 marathon! That's incentive right there!

Sounds entirely possible that you are so hungry because you are not eating enough. I have no opinion on the starvation mode thing, but I have read many, many accounts here of people who have lost weight at the same rate with more calories as when they were going really low with them. Maybe post a sample day of what you eat and see if you get some feedback. I do think if you go too low with the calories, especially when working out so intensely, you are GOING to be hungry. I think the question is, is it necessary to severely restrict calories/be really hungry in order to lose?

I think you need to refocus on what's going on with your body. You said you wanted to be under 135, but is that really feasible for your body? Is there a reason why you have to be under 135 this week?

I think as you get closer and closer to the low-end of what is a normal weight for your height, it's going to be harder to get to those pounds off. This is the time to focus less on what the scale says and more on the inches that are coming off your body with all the exercise or the time you're improving on your running or the amounts of weights you're lifting. The scale is going to move slower.

Have you taken your measurements? Do you have certain goals in terms of waist or hip size?

I think you needed the extra and you should eat dinner. You are doing a lot of running and you probably need more than you are taking in. Be mindful that the burn meters aren't always accurate, but they can be darn close for some people. Upping your calories with all the exercise you are getting might be a good thing. I mean, look at athletes. They eat more than we do and are lean and mean.

You must have 1200 calories per day to prevent your body from going into starvation mode. If you exercise, then it needs to be more than 1200 calories. I have been doing 1400-1450 calories and have no had a problem with being hungry. When I exercise, I add calories so I still have that 1400-1450.

Can you post a sample day? Maybe you can make changes to what you are eating, and not how much.

If I was training for a big race like that, I'd probably keep the focus on my fitness and training schedule rather than worrying about a couple of extra pounds dropping off on the scale.

Have you calculated your BMR or done anything else to figure out a daily target for calorie intake? If you're feeling so hungry, I'd re-evaluate and try eating more calories each day in OP foods. It's when we're really hungry that we're more likely to splurge on the not-so-good foods for us.

What are you eating? I see what you called your splurge, but of what do your normal meals consist?

When I was losing weight, I ran at least 25 miles a week and lifted weights for at least six to eight hours a week. I typically did not eat back my calories, but if I was truly hungry I would eat something healthy and high in protein. I never stalled as a result of feeding a truly hungry body. That said, though, make sure you are eating the kinds of things you need to to stay full and energized before you start adding more calories.

That doesn't sound good at all. You sound like you are pushing yourself too hard. If you are hungry then eat. If you starve your body, your body will react in ways that will harm you like fainting. When people train hard, they last thing they want to do is starve themselves. No food=no energy. Choose the right foods for your active lifestyle. Never starve yourself. Have a good dinner and take it easy on yourself.

Hi everyone, thank you so much for your responses! Some of you asked what a sample on plan day was for me, and so here goes:

Breakfast:
nonfat greek yogurt with banana and blueberries
coffee with 1 T. 1/2 and 1/2

Snack:
protein bar (with 0 grams sugar) ~ 200 calories

Lunch:
Salad with 2 cups spinach, 1/2 avocado, 1/2 can tuna, 1 T. evoo and vinegar, low fat feta cheese, red onion and tomato

Snack:
Apple with 1 T peanut butter

Dinner:
2 egg omelette with a little bit of skim milk, low fat cheese, some veggies, all cooked in 1 teaspoon evoo

Dessert: apple with cinnamon

That's it for during the week - on the wknds when I do my long run i'll eat more, but I always try to make in OP foods, perhaps some more carbs to fuel my runs. I suppose what can be the cause of my stalled weight might be the times when I maybe eat too many calories on the wknds - sometimes I feel i just restrict and restrict so much during the week that I can go overboard on the wknds.

And I have noticed that while my weight has pretty much been the same since my lowest in July (thats one looooong plateau, ugh), I have noticed some of my clothes are a bit looser, mainly around my thighs and waist so I guess running has been doing some toning! woohoo!

I really don't think you are eating enough and if you eat the same thing every day your body will stall BIG TIME. You need variety and you need more if you are running so much. You may also just be at your ideal weight and you aren't taking your muscle mass into account, just the number on the scale. I know I get obsessed with the number even when my pants are falling down to my ankles. You need to get past the number on the scale, eat a bit more, and take some measurements. I would guess you're pretty toned at this point and that 5 pounds may just be there for good.

I've also read on here that too much exercise will cause you to stall when trying to lose. That could also be what's happening.

Yes you are way under eating for your exercise.

Additionally, I found it nearly impossible to lose weight while training for my half at about 148. Once I stopped training and cut my milage to 20-25 miles/wk I dropped 10 lbs to 138 in about 6 weeks. I then got a little complacent with my food and have crept back to my 140-145 range. But now that I'm tightening up my food again I'm losing eating around 1800-2000 a day, still running 20-25 per week.

I know there is a lot of evidence that fat loss and large amounts of exercise really are two different things and can be difficult to do together, and not eating enough while you're training can result in injury. I'm not sure how you have the energy to run on that menu, but I require more food than most so it's hard for me to judge.

Thanks again everyone!

Ncuneo - it's great to hear about your calorie intake v. your weekly mileage. I'm at about 25 miles per week now, so I think i'm gonig to sit down this wknd before going grocery shopping and plan out some new meals of OP foods but increase my calorie intake to about 1800 at the same time. I've been feeling a bit run down lately (not sick, just a bit lethargic) so i think i need some more fuel.

www.fat2fitradio.com/tools/bmr/

I guessed at your age, but plugging your stats into a BMR calculator (including your goal weight as listed in your profile) shows that your BMR is 1439 calories. That's how much fuel your body would burn each day if you were just laying in a coma (as an example).

From that same calculator, if you are moderately active (moderate exercise 3-5 days per week) you should be consuming 2178 calories per day.