Anyway, on Saturday night I was thinking about the best way to bring this thing in for a landing, and I that got me to thinking about the off days a little bit. To date, I’ve generally taken an off day once a week, usually on Sundays. That’s not something I am particularly happy about, just something I’ve done in order to make this a little more bearable.

But how long can I go without an off day?

That was the question I asked myself as I drove home from work. So I figured I would find out. As I thought about it more, it seemed to make sense. To be successful within a reasonable time frame, I need one more big push towards 240. If I can get within the realm of that number, it will be much easier to make that final push to the goal.

So here’s the plan I came up with. For the rest of April, I am going to try to be perfect. Sunday, the first day of that plan, was April 6. That means 25 days of eating 1,500 calories (with the occasional jump up to the 1,700-2,000 range to change it up), and that means at least 18 trips to the gym in that time.

The next off day, which will be looked at as solid and immovable, will be Thursday, May 1.

The weight loss goal over that time will be to get under 250 pounds. That will leave me with less than 10 pounds to lose in May, which is something I can do.

If I might compare this to the Iraq war, which doesn’t really seem apt outside of this particular metaphor, this plan would be the troop surge. And after I find success here, I will start working on my exit strategy, so to speak.

It seems like a big task ahead of me, 24 more days of eating perfectly. But I understand that there needs to be a sense of urgency, and I realize that delaying my gratification is the most important thing I can do right now.