Confessions of a whiner

I hit a wall with my diet.  I don't know the reasons for my slowed (read: currently non-existent) fat loss, but here are my hypotheses/postulations:

• Too much diet soda.  Tim said no more than 16 oz per day, as more than that can stimulate weight gain, and for anyone that really knows me, I have no self control in the soda department.
• Not enough consistency with water intake.  Well, when you're already drinking too much soda, how does one have room for water?
• Not enough protein.  I noticed a big difference in weight loss the day after Valentines when I know for sure that I ate a ton of protein.  I'm fairly certain I've been doing fine in the legumes department, so I'm really leaning toward the protein here.
• Not binging "properly."  So, the binge day seems pretty straight forward, but for me it kinda just became a Dr Pepper free-for-all day...I'm not leaning heavily on this excuse, but it is out there.
• Visceral fat vs. subcutaneous fat...does it matter in burning it?  Ever notice a big fat guy with a belly that's just tight as a drum?  How can that be?  I read in the book that this is most likely from visceral fat: fat that sticks around your organs and pushes your abdomen outward.  My hypothesis here is that I've burned off mostly subcutaneous fat (the shrinking waistline, neck and shoulder fat, back fat), but according to my Bod Pod scan, I've still got a good 55+ lbs of fat available to burn.  My money is on visceral, though I don't know for certain if that kind of fat is harder to burn.
• Not participating in PAGG.  PAGG is a collection of...I'll call them "drugs" to keep the explanation short (because Tim says that anything you put in your body that isn't food is a "drug."), drugs that have fat-killing properties.  Tim came up with this cocktail as an alternative to a favorite in the body building world which leaves your body a wreck (no, besides the steroids...).  There's three reasons I didn't participate in PAGG from the start:

1. I have A.D.D. and didn't get that far in the book before I started the experiment
2. Once I did get there, I had already lost 15 lbs, so I thought I don't need it
3. I didn't want to spend money on the ingredients

Well, I've now thoroughly covered that chapter, as well as re-read the other weight loss chapters, and I figure it's okay if I go ahead with this experiment using PAGG now.

Moving forward, I'm making the following adjustments, and will still be keeping track on my spreadsheet (alert, this means more underwear pics are coming in March):

1. PAGG - I'm taking the plunge.
2. I'm switching out breakfast for a protein shake (merely for cost-effectiveness)
3. I'm re-committing to only water during the week, and not dedicating my binge day to the Dr Pepper gods, merely inviting them to the party.
4. Back to basics: Tres has been great in providing me with a bunch of variety so I don't get bored, but really all I want are the basics: Protein, Legumes, Vegetables.  This diet wasn't meant to be fun, it's meant to be effective.  I'm not looking for punishment, I just want to easily rule out problematics.

It's discouraging getting stuck like this, and I'm trying to be honest with myself because I absolutely hate relying on drugs for anything.  Those of you who are shouting at the computer that I haven't incorporated exercise into the equation need to chillax...I'll get there.  It's just not my goal right now.

On that note, I've decided to not participate in the 5K-50K experiment at this juncture.  I'll be using the methods in the book to build up a good 10K base, but I don't think I can spare the brain power to commit just now.  At least it should add to my weight loss, right?