I can make it under 260, though, which puts me a few good weeks away from 240. This is the time for outright discipline. That isn't exactly a recent revelation, but it is something I need to enact in my daily life. I think I took some steps toward that discipline last week, despite avoiding the gym entirely.

First, I beat cake. Yep, there was birthday cake at work on Thursday, and a coworker was trying her hardest to get me to enjoy some. Around 8 p.m., she actually brought plates of cake into our newsroom and gave some to everyone. I swore at her and told her to get out (in a nice, joking way I should add), but there was cake to be had, and I didn't have it.

So that's a little victory.

My thought process also matured a little bit last week. In my mind were visions of 240, but they were balanced by the current reality of 265. I had to connect the two somehow, right?

I tried to figure a way to get to the gym six times a week. The answer: start getting up at 10 a.m. instead of 11 a.m. Go to the gym for an hour and then come home and go about my daily routine. That's important, because I am big on routines. I don't like to have them disrupted if I can help it.

I'm also starting to take the current menu for granted. I wasn't looking forward to off days nearly as much last week. As we sit now, I am not particularly sure when I'll feel the need for an off day again. I'm sure it will happen, but honestly, I just don't get the gratification I expect.

I think I order pizza because pizza sounds good to me. I have a good image of pizza in my head, but most of the time, the pizza doesn't live up to that image. It's the same thing with most fast food (In-N-Out Burger excluded). I've got good memories of the double Whopper, or sitting down to five McDonald's double cheeseburgers. So I turn to them when I want instant gratification, but they are never really worth the consequences.

When an off-day meal doesn't live up to the hype I've previously assigned it, I feel guilty and frustrated, and hungry for more. I'd say that happens about 70 percent of the time.

Thing is, when I have an off day meal that is truly delicious, I don't feel guilty at all. I feel a little bit of pride for making that meal count. I can think of maybe four times over the last three months when an off day meal has truly been worth it.