Starting running and now I am STARVING!!

Since I started getting fit and losing weight in March I have stuck to roughly 1200-1500 calories per day along with 60 minutes cardio and have been doing fine.

Two weeks ago I starting running and found that I really enjoy it so I do that 3 times per week in place of the cardio (as well as strength training on the days I run) and not only has my weight loss stalled but I am now starving all the time on the same calorie amount!  What gives????

Granted I am in a healthy range now for my height (5'2" and 127 pounds) but I really want to lose more and am concernced about why things might be changing for me.

i don't think you're eating enough calories, from what i've learned on this site. some other people who are smarter about this stuff will probably reply soon!

..for you bump up the calorie intake...you need it because your burning it off.

Consider eating more stable foods that stay with you.

..many of the grains and cereals...like rolled oats...will stay with you longer.  You can also have a 1/2 bowl of bran, with some grains or berries when hungry, with out the worry of to many calories.  With high fibre and nutrients you will fill that gap.

Well I'm guessing at your age and stuff, but I plugged your numbers into CC's calculator and it came up that during sedentary days, you probably burn around 1500 calories.  Now, adding running to that, you might be burning upwards of 300-500 extra calories.  This would give you a burn of around 1800 - 2000 a day.  On the days that you are only eating 1200 calories, that gives you a deficite of 700 calories.  Since you are not overweight, this might be too much of a deficite for your body to be happy with.

Try raising your calories just a tad.  You don't have to go overboard.  Just try adding an extra 100 or 200 every day.  Try doing this for about a week and see how your body reacts to it.  Sometimes when we eat less than our body is happy with, it can halt weight loss, which results in a plateau.

There could be other reasons for your plateau, but I'd start with this.  If you are feeling starved, something is definitely not right.

This happened to me too before calorie count. I find lots of helpful info in the fitness forum. Check it out. I have a real difficult time losing weight  and have not really been over weight in a long time. Weight loss is very slow,if you are 'normal in bmi', have only a few pounds to lose and  especially if you are hungry and can't go as low as some do to restrict. For ex-I cannot eat 1200 or 1300 cals unless I am sick!

If you are managing to stay low then I would look at finding things that satisfy you longer or really fill you up. ( I need a good amount of protein and fibre for this) Plus I would try eating like 1700-1800 cals for a week and see what happens. Everyone is different. You may need to eat more than you are eating. You may need more water.

Also, if the srenghth training is also new that could be it-see alot more on that in the fitness forum-plus, for me, running is alot more strenuous then other types of cardio-thus causing your body to need more repair time which I imagine makes you burn more and need more to eat.

I'm sorry I'm about to give you information that may only worry or complicate matters for you even more, but take note of the fact that I am, by all means, no expert, and despite the fact that I don't just randomly pull things out of my arse for everyone to observe, I don't just make anything up either.

I've read studies that have been giving excessive/extensive cardio a bad rap and have been recommending variations that mimic survival techniques. The reasons, if memory serves me correctly, is as follows:

1. The human body, although perfectly capable of adapting to forced strain/stress put on system functions, isn't used to naturally having to perform long stretches of intense cardio as it sees no reason for the body to have to need to run for so long without purpose.

2. As a response to long/intense cardio (i.e. long cycling and marathon running), the body finds that it needs to replenish its source of energy and starts to send signals to the brain that it is craving energy from the easiest to digest source: sugar.

3. Long periods of running, and the sort, will cause you to crave sugar.

I can't account for the accuracy of any of the information I've just given you, but I'm pretty sure I read most of these out of the blogs/web articles of people who tout the paleo-diet and/or primal lifestyle.

If you're looking to read more about this, or ask people who obviously know more about the subject than I do, I suggest doing a search for your particular concerns over on the website with the best information about going caveman: Mark's Daily Apple

Additionally, the forums should be immense help. The people who are nuts enough to follow this lifestyle fully are complete health advocates. It almost makes me kind of ashamed, but then I eat a slice of cheesecake and that makes me feel better.

Hope that helps. And, hope I didn't make you hungry for some cheesecake.

Mmmmm, cheesecake...

When I start doing any excercise at all I am hungry right after. If I can get a small snack in before (something more protein based, like cheese) sometimes it helps, other times if I ride out the cravings and drink some more water they go away.

I always crave meat too. I say if nothing else, eat some low-cal vegetables

If you are hungry--eat!  Don't let the desire to lose more weight interfere with the pursuit of healthy activity, especially one you enjoy so much.  Exercise, in the long run (pun intended sorry) is going to serve you much better than the need to conform to our society's artificial and unhealthy standards of thinness and beauty.