I'm a moderate runner (15miles a week). I'm trying to lose weight by running but I seem to have hit a brick wall. It just seems no matter how much I run I can't get passed the 210lb marker. I'm 6' and I do liftweights a bit. I wouldn't say I'm fat but would definitly like to shed 20 more lbs. I'm pretty solid but would like to lose the flab. I'm not sure if my metabolism has adapted to the running. Somebody told me I probably need to change my running routine. I usually run 3-4 miles picking up speed gradually. This guy told me I should do a warm up mile than run faster the 2nd mile, slow down for the 3rd and pick speed up for the 4th. I told him I somewhat do that except I continue to increase speed instead of slowing.
Hopefully somebody can give me some good advice regarding this matter. To summarize I run but can't seem to get passed the 210 marker.

I know I can definitly do a better job with my diet. I'll be the first person to say I don't eat the way I probably should, at the same time I don't gorge myself either. I do drink alcoholic beverages occassionally. I'm not an alcoholic by any means but I do like a cocktail once in a while.

Does anyone know what kind of foods besides fruits are good for running? - I know fruit is very good. I do eat alot of fruit.

Ok, first of all I think you need to work really hard with your diet if you want to break the 210 marker - the best training routine in the world can't compensate for poor diet, so if you don't fix this then it'll never happen.

I'm not a diet expert, but I think these tips will be useful if you want to lose weight:

1) Eat 6 smaller meals instead of the typical 3: eating more regularly stimulates your metabolism and can reduce fat storage.
2) Avoid fast food style products; anything with too much saturated fat, and too much sugar.
3) Try and increase your protein intake - meat, fish, peanut butter, cottage cheese all are reasonably good sources of protein.
4) Most importantly of all, try and be aware of how many calories (roughly) you consume each day, and work to gradually reduce this amount. Even if the food you eat is healthy, too much of it will still result in excess calories which = fat.

Regarding your exercise, I think your friends advice is a good idea - it sounds like a HIIT style approach, which basically means doing high intensity cardio for short periods, then slowing right down, and repeat several times. This can burn just as many calories as doing a longer run at a steadier pace.

e.g. you could do a 2.5 mile run something like this:
500m steady (warm up)
500m very hard
500m steady (rest but keep running)
500m very hard
500m steady (rest to finish)

This sort of thing can be as effective as doing, say, a 4 mile run at a steady pace - it's certainly worth doing this every so often anyway. (variety is the key to good exercise).

I would also recommend doing more weight training - increasing your muscle mass will also increase your metabolism, so your body will burn more calories even when you aren't actually exercising. Don't worry about getting 'too big', as it's very difficult to get huge muscles without putting a LOT of effort into it.

Hope that helps.

Im willing to bet that your diet is your problem at this point. You could try sprints to increase the intensity of your exercise, but unless you address your diet, that may do nothing for you at all.
Fruit is good, but a *lot* of fruit is not. It's a lot of sugar and while it may give you some energy for your run, if you're giving your body all the energy it needs in sugars, it uses less body fat. Also you should try to limit drinking to once a week, at least for a little while so you can bust the plateau.
Watching portions is important, but content is equally important. I'm not suggesting you totally deprive yourself, but you need to make sure that you're getting enough of the good stuff as well as minimizing the bad. What does your diet look like now? And when you say you lift weights "a bit", how often? How heavy?

KRB613- I am totally with you!! I run approximately 12-15 miles a week as well but I do it along with walking so I run/walk on intervals and have been doing so for almost 6 weeks. I have only lost a few pounds but I am really noticing a difference in how I feel. I have had a few people telling me how skinny my legs are getting. Yeah! I get discouraged too when i don't see the scale moving but I am still feeling great about my exercise. I know for me, it's my diet. I have a bad habit of snacking at night if I am home. Take one thing at a time. Right now, for me, it is sticking to my exercise. The calorie thing will come but I think it takes time. Keep us posted on how you are doing.

Judging progress by using scales is a BAD idea. If you're exercising regularly for the first time in a while, your muscle mass is going to increase whilst your fat will decrease, but as muscle is heavier than fat, you might not see a drop in actual weight for some time.

Best way to measure progress is using a mirror, and by taking other people's positive comments on board. If you feel you look slimmer/more toned, then that is what counts. :)

Thanks for all graat advice everyone. I'm really going to try and monitor what I consume. My diet could definitly use some serious fine tuning. I don't necessarily eat poor but I'm far from a heath food nut. On a scale of 1-10,
1 Poor Eater and 10 Healthy Eater. I'd say I'm around a 5. I'm definitly gonna try and monitor my food and beverage intake.
It gets really frustrating when I run my butt off but still weigh the same.

I'm currently doing the intervals and I've noticed I'm less tired than I was just running a consistant pace of 4 miles. I really like running this way much better and I'm usually done quicker.

KRB613- I am totally with you!! I run approximately 12-15 miles a week as well but I do it along with walking so I run/walk on intervals and have been doing so for almost 6 weeks. I have only lost a few pounds but I am really noticing a difference in how I feel. I have had a few people telling me how skinny my legs are getting. Yeah! I get discouraged too when i don't see the scale moving but I am still feeling great about my exercise. I know for me, it's my diet. I have a bad habit of snacking at night if I am home. Take one thing at a time. Right now, for me, it is sticking to my exercise. The calorie thing will come but I think it takes time. Keep us posted on how you are doing.

Yes I feel great too. I notice a difference when looking in the mirror but when my family and I went on vacation we took pictures at the beach. I was so frustrated looking at them. I told my wife "I don't even look like I've been running for over a year now. It has to be my diet. I really have to change that.
Good luck to you!

Yep, you need to get both in order to see real gains.

It can be quite frustrating, because there ARE people who can eat junk and stay slim on exercise alone, but this isn't the norm so most people do need to watch their calorie intake, in addition to exercise, to see continued weight loss. Doing exercise alone you will usually hit a plateau where you can't seem to shift any more weight - this is the time to make those diet change (if not before).