Running as a weight loss stall?

[swall22 2]

I'm about 14 months post surgery and I've been running a lot lately. In the past couple weeks I've been running every day and for at least 2-3 miles, sometimes 4-6 miles. Of course I've been hungrier since the exercise picked up, but because of the wls I've been able to control it and not eat much. But I'm seeing a stall on my weight loss. I have about 10 more pounds until my goal weight. Could the running be stalling the loss? If so, how can I combat it??

Thanks in advance!!!

[Introversion 1,876]

2 hours ago, swall22 said:

Could the running be stalling the loss? If so, how can I combat it??

I'll preface my comment by mentioning that I'm a runner, too. I run an average of 5 miles per day, 6 days a week, either on the treadmill or outdoors.

Running will stall your weight loss only if you are not eating enough to support this form of exercise. When I started my running program, I gradually boosted my intake to 1700-1800 kcals daily. By 14 months out I was consistently eating 1800 calories a day.

I now run and lift weights, so I consume in the 2000 to 2200 calorie-per-day range. I weigh 118 pounds and my weight has remained stable by giving my body what it needs.

So if you're undereating, gradually boost those calories. Activities such as running need plenty of fuel. Without this fuel, your body will slow its metabolic processes the hell down (read: stalls).

Good luck to you!

[jess9395 5,450]

I am a runner too, about 20 miles a week.

My suggestion is to track because I didn't have that under eating problem that introversion did.

For me the "rungries" made me eat more and my weight did stall. Most people I know who haven't had WLS and run (I'm very active in a running community and know a lot of runners) even say their weight goes UP when they marathon train.

So if you aren't tracking, maybe start again. See what works for you. If your calories are up for a week, see what happens that week. Then try a week going up (as introversion suggests) and see what happens. Then if that doesn't work, try going back down.

For me I was able to run that mileage and still be around 700-900 calories per day and lose. If I went up to 1500 or so I stalled.

Now on maintenance and I'm around 2000 when I run a lot. That's where I maintain.

[Introversion 1,876]

17 minutes ago, jess9395 said:

My suggestion is to track because I didn't have that under eating problem that introversion did.

I never said I had an issue with undereating. I merely suggested to the original poster that, if (s)he is not eating enough, perhaps increasing the caloric intake might make the difference.

To be fair, the original post doesn't contain enough information, so I simply conjectured that the OP might not be eating enough to fuel his/her physical activity.

Too much cardio exercise (read: lots of running) combined with too low of a caloric intake can lead to notorious stalls in some people that are difficult to bust.

It might be the opposite problem of what I was thinking: maybe the OP is engaging in overcompensatory eating, which is common in many runners. So your idea of tracking is a good one.

Edited June 23, 2017 by Introversion

[jess9395 5,450]

I never said I had an issue with undereating. I merely suggested to the original poster that, if (s)he is not eating enough, perhaps increasing the caloric intake might make the difference.
To be fair, the original post doesn't contain enough information, so I simply conjectured that the OP might not be eating enough to fuel his/her physical activity.
Too much cardio exercise (read: lots of running) combined with too low of a caloric intake can lead to notorious stalls in some people that are difficult to bust.
It might be the opposite problem of what I was thinking: maybe the OP is engaging in overcompensatory eating, which is common in many runners. So your idea of tracking is a good one.

To clarify... eating too little would never stall me. Only eating too much. There were times I was doing 4-5 hours a week of power yoga and running 20-30 miles a week and was taking in 500-700 calories per day. Never stalled me.

So yeah could be either end of the spectrum, but tracking needs to happen to determine which... or if it's the wrong type of calories (carbs versus fats versus protein).