This week started out great. I was on a high from my earlier fitness achievements, content to eat at home each day and do Yoga Burn DVDs each night. And for the first few days since I last posted, I did this, averaging about 1500 calories a day, feeling wonderful.

Then disaster struck. Tuesday brought a very tight, impossible work deadline. Wednesday brought another. Thursday meant a little bit of a break, but with news of a snowstorm enveloping the Washington area, I needed to get all of my...