Re: running, running, running and can't lose???

Hi there!

"I'm not eating any differently except that for several months I had cut out the one regular Coke I had every day and I've not lost a single pound NOR do my clothes feel any looser at all."

Sounds like you're halfway there in that you've changed your exercise habits, but not your eating habits aside from the Coke (great you gave it up though).

I actually gained weight when I ran. I'm not overweight, but I gained because my body craved carbs so I could store glucose in my muscles to burn on my long distance training sessions and races. Like 71059 posted, I think you may need to eat less carbs and make sure the carbs you do get are good complex ones like wild rice or oatmeal rather than a slice of white bread (a slice of sugar). If your body doesn't have excess glycogen stores, then it will burn fat instead because that's the body's preferred fuel. However, it you've trained your body over a long period to burn carbs, then it will be difficult for your body to burn fat instead, hence the carb cravings and lack of energy.

I also greatly reduced my Sugar intake. I wasn't drinking soft drinks, but I was consuming a considerable amount of raisins, prunes, bananas and whatnot and I'm sure that contributed to the weight gain.

There's a book called "The Paleo diet for athletes" which I found to be a good starting point to understand all of this. Also Dr. Mercola's site has some great information:
http://www.mercola.com/2001/jul/14/insulin4.htm

He explains how Sugar from carbs or soft drinks can create an insulin resistance in the body which leads to weight gain. Insulin prevents fat burn and needs to be secreted in much larger quantities once insulin resistance has occurred due to eating lots of sugar.

Happy training!

:)