Staycation and Leftovers

TL; DR - I didn’t spiral after seeing a 3.5 lb weight gain at the end of a great staycation. I put myself back on track, and today my weight is .8 lbs higher than at the beginning of the staycation. I also threw out restaurant leftovers instead of eating them all.

My friends and I took a five-day staycation. During that time, I didn’t track calories or protein and fiber. We had a lot of terrific Mexican food, Thai, seafood, Vietnamese, Korean BBQ, brunches, etc. I had desserts and lots of carbs. I tried to pay attention to my satiety signals (still a challenge sometimes) and probably still ate a little too much. I never finished a meal — I ate half or less of each meal. I probably could have forced myself to finish the food but I packed everything up for leftovers. Basically I had enough leftovers for 6-7 meals.

At the end of the staycation, I had a 3.5 lb weight gain. My first thoughts: Oh crap! I ruined it all. What if I can’t lose the 3.5 lbs?

I didn’t cry or give up or console myself with comfort food. Instead I tried to revert to my anti-inflammatory/healthy gut microbiome eating habits. It’s an imperfect eating strategy — or rather I’m imperfect following it.

Then there were two birthday parties and a meal with my little nieces — they love In-n-Out. I almost cancelled but it’s family and I wanted to see them.

It’s been a week since the trip has ended and a couple of days since that double-double with cheese. Today’s weight was .8 lbs higher was higher than before the staycation. I think i still have a lot of salt in my system and some dehydration/inflammation.

As for the leftovers, I grew up poor so I have a difficult time throwing out food. I ate some of it (picking out the tasty and healthier components) and I composted the rest. It was so freeing to get them out of my fridge and restocking it with fruit and veggies.

As of yesterday, I’m back to tracking protein, fiber, and water and making food at home.