Lenten Season

First, a quick update: I have officially pulled myself out of my pity party and hit the gym 3 times last week. Hoping to get in a quick workout tonight to start the week off right.

OK, on to the matter at hand. If you aren't aware, next week marks the beginning of Lent. Although Lent is actually a rather profound religious undertaking in Christianity, read more here, I generally use it as a way to put a kick in my weight loss. This likely also has something to do with my current ambivalent feelings toward organized religion, but that's neither here nor there and definitely a more involved post for another time. With that said, I am looking forward to the opportunity to get all the junk I've been eating out of my system and lose a couple pounds in the process.

So what am I giving up?? Glad you asked! The list is as follows:

• All sweets (candy, cookies, cake, cupcakes, pie, ice cream, etc.)
• Fried food, especially my beloved french fries
  
• The vending machine in my building
• The 7/11 next door (except for buying water)
• Chips
• Alcohol
• Having food delivered
• Clothes shopping (not at all related to weight loss, but important nonetheless if I want to cultivate skills that will help me not have to work until I'm 67 like Suze Orman last night said we should all set as our goal retirement age)

People really think I'm crazy when I tell them what I'm giving up for lent, but it's generally not as hard as it may seem, especially since I have super supportive friends who try not to tempt me with the forbidden. Plus, I've given up numbers 1-5, and 7 for the past two years of so, so I'm kind of used to it by now. However, I will admit that this year is going to be more difficult than usual for a couple of reasons-- 1. Law school has turned me into a very slight wino, and 2. Somehow Easter managed to fall after my birthday this year. Which is crazy late and means that I'll have no cake, ice cream, or wine to help me ring in my 25th year of existence. That kinda sucks. Man, no french fries either. I'm preemptively sad. :(

Anywho, I'm sure it'll be fine and I'll just have to put off my celebrating for two weeks until I've finished school. Forever. Let the church say Amen.

I also plan to be very diligent with working out at least 4 times a week during lent, so the hope is to lose somewhere around 6-8 lbs during the 40 or so days. A pound a week is realistic, yes?

What are you giving up for lent? Food related or not, I need to know I'm not going to be alone in the struggle...

S.