[futureskinnygirl10]

I am doing the WW program and have begun running. I plan to run a half marathon in the future but have heard that once you "up" your mileage your weight loss stalls. My theory is it is because you arent eating enough to lose weight. So my question is... how many of your activity points should you eat to help with continued weight loss WHILE training for a half marathon?

[pointspluspioneer]

Do you go to the meetings, i would ask the leader or the girls that do the weigh in. They probably have alot of experience with the AP and WP. Just a thought as so many people come through each week. I would think you should eat all your points if your working that hard to keep going! Good for you! Good luck on your half marathon, i'm envious

[stellarosa27]

Your weight loss doesn't stall once you up you're mileage - you just have to be careful with how many of those AP's you eat back. I think that's where the issue comes in.

If I do a 12 mile run, that's 30 AP's. If I eat all of those back (and trust me, I could) my weight loss would most likely stall.

[futureskinnygirl10]

Well, typically I dont eat my earned activity points but while earning so many and creating a larger calorie decifit I believe my body is going into starvation mode.

[DrivenByAmbition]

Stella, do you eat back half?

[tikanique]

the highest amount of activity points I've eaten back in a day is 10 because I earned 14 that day. I also made sure I didn't use any of the 49 extras. With the running, when you eat back the activity points make sure you are consuming them with good foods - not junk. You will need to feed those muscles. Good luck on the half marathon. That's my goal as well - half marathon in October.

[stellarosa27]

I have it set up so I take from my WP first, not my AP. And I listen to my body - if I'm hungry, I eat - I don't have a set equation - When my run is in the morning, I just eat a "normal" breakfast and then have a slightly larger lunch and dinner afterwards.

It also depends on making sure that you're properly fueled and hydrated before and after your run. Tikanique is right - it's not so much how many points you are using, but what you're using those points for. Before/After a long run I make sure I have protein and carbs - usually in the form of egg whites and a bagel - and during I have one of my little electrolyte packets (Gu, if you've heard of it - it's gross, but it will be your friend). Also, you need lots and lots of water. Once your body gets used to running, you won't feel so famished afterwards.

And don't worry about starvation mode - it's kind of a myth. There's a really interesting article posted somewhere on here (I think WL and Current Events) that discusses how there really isn't a starvation mode - its more about your BMR adjusting to the calories you consume, etc.

[QuilterInVA]

If you are on Facebook, friend Weight Watcher Leader Tonya. She does tons of races all over the country and she'll be able to answer your question.

[KimberlyP]

I started running a year and a half ago, I noticed a stall if I didn't eat my activity points. I am currently training for my first full marathon which I'll be running in November!