M&Ms and Oreos

As I get ready for the Sky Rise Chicago race, I'm going to try and drop 5 lbs while keeping muscle mass. I have just under 4 weeks to complete my goal, but it is going to be a real challenge. I've been trying to drop weight for months, but the scale *still* hasn't moved below 175. These last few lbs are going to be a real bitch.

The hardest part will be cutting out junk food. I have a pretty good diet throughout the day, but when I get home from work I CRAVE junk food. Recently, my nemesis has been oreo cookies and M&Ms. For example, here is what I ate on Wednesday, which I felt was a pretty good example of my regular eating habits.

• Breakfast: 1 cup Chobani Yogurt, 1 blueberry bagel (plain), 1 english muffin (plain), 1 apple

• Lunch: 1 large salad (w/fruits & vegetables), 6-8 oz. of grilled chicken, a table spoon or so of salad dressing, 1 dinner roll (plain), 1 dinner roll w/margarine, 2 small cookies.

• Post-workout Snack: 4 oz of grapes, large glass of milk mixed with some protein powder, 1 large banana, 1 plum

• At Home Snack: 4 oz of cherry tomatoes, 1 yoplait yogurt, 1/2 an apple, 1 granola bar

• Dinner: 9 oz of salmon, 1 medium sweet potato, small glass of milk, 2 oreos, 20 peanut butter M&Ms

Granted, it seems like I eat a lot of food througout the day, but to be honest, I'm pretty much always hungry. I estimate that I need at least 3000 calories per day on the days that I exercise. The problem is, even with a few cookies and M&Ms, it turns out I'm consuming about 300 calories of "junk" food, which is about 10% of my daily caloric intake.

It looks like I'm going to have to start counting calories in addition to cutting back on sweets. It is going to be a difficult road from here on out since Oreos and M&Ms have such a drain on my willpower. Any suggestions you have would be greatly appreciated. My future six pack abs thank you in advance!