Dieting Sucks

I just have serious problems doing it. I can easily limit my calories to 1600 without an issue, but going lower is nearly impossible...and then I cave. I may simply have to go on a serious crash diet OR simply rely on exercise to lose weight, which will take longer. Surprisingly, I can easily do 1100 calorie diets for 7-14 days and then go back to normal levels...its just this in between stage that is tough.

I *think* my body fat is around 26% now, so I'm close to my goal. But, I simply don't see it being close. I know I'm jaded when thinking about my own weight, and I know it will take time and that the last pounds are always the hardest...but darn it! I want it now!

If I don't think about weight as the goal, my goal is to lose another 2" on my waist, hips, buttocks, chest and on each thigh (I have seriously fat inner knee/thighs, so I can definitely lose half of my weight here, if the diet gods were smiling on me!).

But, I have noticed an increase in strength, so I do know that I've gained muscle...not enough to offset the amount of weight that I should have lost by now (last 6 weeks or so), but I know I've gained good stuff, so I'm not going to stress over it too much. At least if I've even gained 2 pounds of muscle, I know that my metabolism will increase simply as a result of this.

So, whats the plan...I'm going to stick to relatively decent eating habits. I'll never go over 1800-1900 calories, so worst case, I will plateau. But I'll continue to ensure that 80-90% of those calories are excellent choices and the other 10-20% can be crap :) But, I'm still going to continue the serious exercise for at least another 4 weeks and then re-evaluate. That should get me past the "Slim in 6" program, and it should get me to the point where I am running more during lunch with my fabulous "Lunch Bunch" :)

If I feel I still have a ways to go, I will go on an ultra strict diet for a few weeks and then re-evaluate again. I just really want to be in near-excellent shape before starting my half marathon training! I want to be able to start strong and focus on strength of running rather than weight loss. Iknow a lot of people actually gain weight when training for a marathon, so I know the tendency could be there when training for a half marathon....all that exercise does make one famished!