Holiday weekends can be tough with food and social events. How are you planning to handle things this weekend? Are you staying on track, giving yourself some flexibility, or a little of both?

Just checking back in since it’s already Labor Day afternoon.

I didn’t totally stick to the plan, but didn’t go crazy either. Let myself have a couple of things and moved on. Honestly, it feels like progress compared to how I used to handle long weekends.

Curious if anyone else surprised themselves. Did things go better or worse than expected?

Great topic. I think I am lucky that everyone knows I can’t handle the heat so it’s just the hubby and I at home and he eats relatively healthy all the time (as in he actually prefers the taste of the healthy stuff over tho the stuff with taste. I swear he should be studied). Anyways, it’s kind of relaxing to have a whole day just hanging out and I have a lot less temptation at home for sure.

So we started the day off right with skinny omelettes. It’s just two egg whites and one whole egg since the yolk color makes it taste better somehow 😂, Cabot half fat cheese and our favorite veggies. Lunch was chef salad with avocado and a little 5 ingredient yogurt ranch.

The plan for dinner is surf and turf with baked potato and cucumber salad. Off plan will be the butter on the potato and for dipping the seafood plus whatever lite Italian actually soaked into the cucumber salad because I strain it anyways so I don’t get my food mixed (yes I’m one of those people who can’t have their food touching).

Leftovers will be added to salads this week because we couldn’t decide between snow crab and lobster so we basically have three main courses planned for two people. Desert will be a fruit and yogurt smoothie later on. Probably strawberry, mango and pineapple with almond milk and Greek yogurt of course to keep me full through the night 😋

I don’t count any fruit or veggies as off plan anymore regardless of calories or carbs. Those carbs don’t make me crave more carbs and I have reached my goal so I am technically in maintenance although I confess I wouldn’t mind losing a bit more. I’m at the point that if it happens great and if not that’s okay too. I just try to avoid added sugars and heavy fats without much nutritional value and I’m working hard to get back to my pre chemo activity level but I’m still on immunotherapy and in PT to regain my strength and full range of motion in my arms so that’s just going to take some time.

For now I’m just trying to eat well. Not really for “weight loss” but I am still trying to choose foods that are as clean and nutritious as I can. That plan seems to be working to maintain my 100 pound loss and I figure when my activity picks back up I will lose a bit more and have some wiggle room if I choose to splurge a little here and there. I guess I will reassess if something changes.

I am feeling quite comfortable in my skin at this size I am now, though, I am still managing to stay the course fairly well even with alot of other stuff going on so I already consider the surgery to be a success. I mean if this all happened pre surgery I would have started eating at the first sign of upset and used it as an excuse to never let up. I am prioritizing my nutrition and activity now in spite of other stress and that’s 100% a win in my book. Everything else is just bonus.

I love holiday weekends because I love barbecue and I eat all the barbecue protein that I want and I make my own side. It's a win-win with this journey is really not deprivation or depriving yourself. It's find a new ways to eat the things that you love in a different way.