want to lose 25 lbs by july

I see that you are also a runner. What are your daily NET CALORIES looking like? If you are running a ton, you need to EAT HEALTHY and make sure that your NET CALORIES are AT LEAST 1200. If not, your body will start to HOLD ONTO FAT.

This very thing happened to me during my last marathon training season. I went to Weight Watchers to lose weight while training. I followed their plan religiously and GAINED 4lbs in the first month (while running over 200mi that month). I was devastated! I took my month-long food and exercise journal to the leader, and she said I was overeating @ 1200 calories a day! They didn't take in the fact that I was burning a TON of calories through my runs. Essentially, I was starving and malnutritioned.

You need to make sure that your body has the fuel it needs. Remember that MFP ALREADY HAS YOU AT A 500 CAL/DAY DEFICIT. If you aren't getting AT LEAST 1200 NET CALORIES A DAY, you are telling your body to hoard food/calories for your upcoming runs/exercise. I know it sounds crazy, but you need to eat in order to lose.

There are days when you will be eating 1800 or more calories, but your NET CALORIES will be 1200. That's ok. Just make sure that you are filling up on: whole grains, fruits/veggies, lean protein (ie reduced fat peanut butter, nuts, chicken, fish, etc.), beans, etc. Get plenty of water. Get your 8 hours of sleep. YOU CAN DO THIS!

Feel free to friend me. You are going to KICK *kitten* in that marathon!
Shan

Buy the South Beach Diet. Healthiest way to eat. Doesn't just tell you how to eat, it explains why you eat certain foods and not others. Makes you a smarter eater.

It also burns off pounds in the first two phases (first especially), so if you need to drop fast, it is a good way.

Are you weighing & measuring your food? Most people underestimate what they are eating. Are you using a heart rate monitor to get a better idea of the calories you are burning? "working out like a beast" is totally subjective & based on your current fitness level.

Example: At lunch time I went on a 30 minute walk with some ladies at work. Some of them were sweating & refused to walk back up the stairs; had to take the elevator because they were so tired. My heart rate didn't elevate too much and it wasn't much of a calorie burn for me.

Try and get as much cardio exercise as possible. It'll help get you fit and tone your body too. My target is July too.

When I worked out at the gym I found that I was very hungry. It was almost like- all my blood would get going and send a signal to my brain that in order to keep up this level of energy it wanted to be fed. I switched over to deep water aerobics and I don't recall being so hungry. You are not immagining things. The best weight loss I ever accomplished was when I left the gym except for one day a week &stayed under my calories. I lost 30 lbs. at the rate of a pound per week. After several years I stopped counting calories....so here I am again to loose the 20 pounds I put back on.