losing weight is a b*tch

so, it turns out that everything about losing weight sucks. i was really hoping that not changing my diet one iota (i LIKE cheese! and carbs!! and WINE!!!) and doing ~3 relatively easy work outs each week would melt the pounds off. but it was not to be. i tried that for a few weeks and made absolutely no progress...

did you know that ONE POUND EQUALS 3500 CALORIES??? so to lose just 1 lb/week (which is the max amount deemed safe by the medical community), you either have to reduce your food intake by 3500 calories/week (IMPOSSIBLE), burn an extra 3500 calories/week (IMPOSSIBLE), or somehow combine the two strategies so that the end result is 3500 calories not eaten/burned (possible, but not fun). obviously, i'm doing the latter. here's how:

1. 4 hour-long cardio workouts at the gym/week (600+ calories burned per workout) = minimum of 2400 calories burned per week through exercise

2. this leaves me with 1100 calories per week (or approximately 150 calories per day) that i need to NOT consume

the workout part of this plan is not so bad. for my 4 hour-long cardio sessions, i go to the gym every saturday and sunday, once during the week at lunch (approved by my superawesome boss), and once after work. if i'm feeling super-motivated (rare), i'll tack on a weight lifting session after cardio or i'll go another day of the week to get one in. i don't know if this makes me weird, but once i'm at the gym i actually really like working out. it's the getting my butt up and going to the gym that's a challenge for me. also, last week i went to the gym on friday, saturday, AND sunday, and became so exhausted that i could barely function. i need to not do that again...

the food part is less fun. even having to reduce my intake by less than 200 calories/day gets annoying. what i've done so far is eliminate alcohol (it's been a loooooong 3 weeks... SIIIGGGHHH...), avoid eating anything when i'm not actually hungry (but snacks are so delicious... SIIIGGGHHH...), and eating less of dinner. i've been doing this strategy for 3 weeks now (although i have allowed myself a few treats here and there). last time i weighed myself (March 1), i had lost 2 lbs. i'm planning on weighing myself again this thursday, and i desperately hope that all this is paying off. keep your fingers crossed for me.