Vacation and Whole30

So I was on vacation for quite some time. About 16 days! It was so amazing. I saw family I hadn't seen in 12 years! We laughed and had so much fun! Tried new things and remembered old times too! 

Here are a few pictures! 

We did Miami (where my family is), Key West for our anniversary, also Cocoa Beach, Daytona Beach, St. Augustine, and Savannah, GA as we traveled home. 

Coconut water from the front yard!

Airboat ride in the Everglades!

Key West sunset!

South Beach

Southernmost point!

Southernmost beach

St. Augustine

On top of the fort in St. Augustine

Segway tour in Savannah GA. Super fun

Paula Deen's restaurant in Savannah!

So I didn't stick to 100% whole30 compliant eating while gone. I had many childhood favorites like my favorite Cuban restaurant Pollo Tropical. I ate a lot of seafood which isn't bad at all. Yellow rice was a downfall. Also doughnuts. I had them twice! One from a gourmet donut shop. See picture! 

The other doughnuts were Krispy Kreme. They were hot and somehow hijacked my cousin's car and got in the house. Haha. 

I had bread at a few restaurants as a treat and a few breaded foods like Aligator Tail with a jalapeño sauce! 

So good!  Past that most everything was decent choices. More cheese than usual. I did turn down sweets a few times (like ice cream once) which is actually a big deal for me but at that moment I just simply didn't want any. I find this to be a success for me in my change of habits with whole30. 

However.... On the way home I told my husband I felt as though I had been torturing myself. I would know some thing wouldn't feel great (maybe bread) and eat it anyhow. I felt unable to be totally compliant on the trip but actually wished at times I was totally compliant so that my energy level wouldn't be down so much. I took workout clothes and never worked out. I believe this was due to my decreased energy from non compliant food. 

So as I got home I was not regretful at all of my decisions. I had had improvements in my habits and decisions and had truly enjoyed some of my Florida favorites. However I was curious to weigh, measure, and get back to compliant food. 

So in 3 weeks I gained exactly 3 lbs even and gained 1.5 inches in my waist and 1.5 inches in my belly but no where else. This makes sense as that is where the inflammation is going first in my opinion. 

I was quite thrilled with these numbers. I've had people say. "I don't want to do whole30 for 30 days then gain back all the weight when I go back to my usual eating". Well. Guess what? You won't go back if you do whole30 correctly. Your habits truly change along with your mindset and cravings. 

I didn't "go back" to eating the way I did before but simply enjoyed my vacation while making decent decisions based on what I learned about how I feel when I eat terribly.

Now I've been back for 1 week. I thought if be about 6 days into another whole30 but I taught a camp this week for high school drum majors and we've had a few other things going on but tomorrow we plan to start on Day 1 again. Who's with me on this 30 day cycle? 

I'm not sure what comes after that next 30 days?

Some people say they do 80/20 but I heard someone say (maybe it was Chris Powell but I'm not sure) that that means you're eating junk 20% of the time. That's a lot. If you eat 3 meals and 2 snacks a day that means once a day your eating non compliant. This works for some people but my body demands more from me. My body wants way more. 

Some people do a cheat day but I don't like how I feel if I were to eat non compliant for a day. 

So I'm leaning toward a number of non comoliant food items to allow myself per week. Maybe 2 per week? I'd love input here. Have you tried something like this to maintain whole30 as a lifestyle? I need to read those chapters in the "It Starts with Food" book. 

I can't wait to see how I do!