Why havnt I lost weight running ??

Ive been running 4 years, averaging 1000 miles per year, marathons etc. I weigh exactly the same as I did 4 years ago. However my body shape has totally changed, back then I was a size 12 and now I'm a 6-8, much leaner all over with visible abs and muscle tone. I also feel much better. Really the scales don't say it all.

"very muscly or very pear shaped."

I meant hourglass rather than pear shaped.

I think you sound slim too.
I'm 5 feet nothing and weigh 8, 6 and feel ok. Still a size 8 or 10.
I've been gyming and walking loads, runni g a bit and not lost any weight either.

"I’m 5’4” and 10stone and I’m a size 10. "

Everyone is different. I'm 5'3" and when I was 10 stone I was nearly at the overweight mark and a size 12. But a size 12 then was a size or two bigger than a size 12 in my youth and there were some shops where I would have still gotten into a size 10 even at my nearly overweight weight.

From reading MN, it seems that the women who are smaller sizes at bigger weights tend to either be very muscly or very pear shaped.

"You don't need to lose weight, and it's just silly to talk as if you do. "

OP never said she needed to lose weight. It sounds like she wants to, which is her prerogative (although I would not want to at that height and weight).

3 x 10km runs a week suggests that your training isn't as effective as it could be. Generally to lose weight or make big gains people need to vary their training, e.g. a longer slower run of 15km+, then a 5km speed session, intervals, etc

I wouldn't have thought you'd be losing much, if any, weight just running at your current size, probably because you don't have lots of extra to lose.

If you're looking to lose weight then diet is where to look. I read somewhere that 1 biscuit a day can be a 10lbs gained in a year. It's surprising how little changes have an impact.

At 5'2 and 9st I'm slim, despite being a muscular pear shape where much of my weight is carried between the mum tum to the knees.
At 5'3 and 8st 4, you are very slim and will have very little body fat to lose. You need some body fat to support the essential functions of your body.

To run 3x 10k at sub 1hr per week, you are fit. You are slim. Your body is working well for you. It needs acceptance not fat loss.

You dont need to lose any weight.

Plus exercise doesnt tend to make you lose weight. Exercise makes people tone up and get fitter and feel better.

Your BMI is 20.5. What do you want it to be, OP?

You haven't lost weight, because exercise is something that is good in and of itself.

It's somewhere between pretty crap and utterly useless for weight loss.

Log your food, exercise and weight with a fitness tracker. It gives you a starting point from which you can tweak things. More/different exercise or less/different food.

You may not have lost any weight if you’re eating more to compensate, but I bet that other indicators of health are improved so keep it up! Things like waist measurement and resting heart rate will be getting better I’m sure.

A size 8-10 and you weight 8st?

Anyway I’d measure your waist and thighs etc and check progress that way

8st 4 sounds very slim to me for that height?? What clothes size are you?

I’m 5’4” and 10stone and I’m a size 10. Heaviest I’ve ever been! When I was 8stone I was about a size 6.

I’d judge by your inches not your weight

Definitely a good reason to keep going! Running is about so much more than just physical health.

You don't need to lose weight, and it's just silly to talk as if you do.

I exercise a lot, I'm 5ft4 & weigh slightly more than you (about 8st7) & I'm slim, v low body fat. I'm muscular too as I do lots of resistance/weight training as well as cardio, so maybe that's what you want, to be more toned.

It sounds like you are enjoying running, that's what matters really.

I've been running 15k a week for 5 months from not running at all before and i have put on 2lbs. I really hope i am getting fitter because the weight loss is non existent

My legs got chunkier when I can as well. It was like my fat just solidified!

Exactly the same here. I run loads, do lots of exercise, eat a reasonably healthy diet. Absolutely no weight loss whatsoever.

Only way I've lost weight is the 5:2 diet and I can't go back to fasting - found it messed with my mind too much.

Only option is diet sadly. And I'm crap at dieting. Now trying to get to grips with the idea that I'm stuck with this lumpy body of mine, and there's no sleek tigress within

What do you mean by you run 30k a week? Does every session count?

So for example - you do four short runs, each of 6-7k, each week at 10-min mile pace. You're not going to lose any weight or tone up, as you're not pushing yourself.

Or instead, perhaps that 30k is made up of speed sessions, hill sessions, a 10k tempo...etc etc. Hard, hard stuff that leaves you on the floor afterwards. You'll notice a difference then. If you're doing hilly stuff, as you mention in the OP, chances are you've gained muscle.

You're not doing much long stuff, so you're probably not overeating to make up for the "runger", but that really is a thing too. Whenever I'm marathon training, I gain a few pounds as the long runs leave me so depleted that I wolf everything in sight

Tsk tsk No more wine and no more chocolate :P

8 stone 3 sounds fine for your height though. Maybe some weights ect for toning up rather than diet/running. You gotta do the weight lifting ect... to tone things unfortunately. Cardio isn't much use.

When I started training in earnest for a marathon I thought I’d shed shit loads of weight but, no. I actually put on a couple of pounds despite running 30-40 miles a week, Pilates, yoga and swimming 4 times a week and 5 gym/weights sessions. I ate like a horse because I was constantly hungry but it was all healthy nutritious food.

However my entire body shape changed. I think I lost inches from all over but because I was really tubby before I had a layer of loose skin and fat covering it all. But I definitely looked better clothed