(Almost 1/3 of the way there. 4 free-diet days!)

264lbs

Free days are wonderful and I can punch every pleasure button I want. 35 pounds in, though, and even the care free days are tinged with regret. A successful dieter I knew said he hated taking diet-free days because "I worked so hard to get here and I'm damned well not giving it back!"

A rule of thumb I've developed is that I'll have to live like a monk and work out like a fiend two days for every one day I go diet-free. When I return from this 4 day trip, I'll wait 8 days before I weigh, working on my weight ferociously.