The Mysteries of Weight Loss and Gain

I know that 3500 calories equals a pound. So they say. But how is it that I can eat 1600 to 1800 calories a day, and burn off at least a thousand calories in exercise most days, and yet not lose weight? How can my weight still be up 4-5 pounds since Thanksgiving, if that means that I would have consumed 17,500 calories more than I needed over that weekend, despite eating fairly sensibly and running nine miles on Friday and ten miles on Sunday, plus moderate workouts on Thursday and Saturday? WHY WHY WHY?

(Even if I am consuming more calories than I estimate, there should still be a significant deficit.)

Clearly my body needs far fewer calories to survive than most people, and can exercise for hours without really burning off any calories at all. That is the only explanation, dammit!

And the 480 calorie Starbucks eggnog scone I ate yesterday? (This is the first Starbucks scone I have eaten in three years, so sue me!) Is that why I weighed two pounds more this morning than yesterday morning (after I finished a 7.8 mile run, yet—of course I did not sweat at all during this run, since it was so cold and wet outside)?

Life sucks!

(Luckily I am not depressed enough to go eat a box of cookies. I am, however, waiting for my sister to arrive with my second nonfat latte of the day. Suck down the caffeine to pump up my metabolism, I say!)