I have to start all overrrrrrr?!!!!!!!

Yes… that's what I said. I got to day 22 and went to New Orleans for a race weekend. Knowing full well that it would require a total restart, I did the best I could in NOLA to enjoy the flavor and culture of the city and not fall completely off the wagon. But there was alcohol. 🙊 Sure enough that club soda tastes totally different with vodka in it… and not in a bad way. LOL I made a deal with myself though that I wouldn't give in to every whim and ruin all the progress I had already made. (I weighed myself the morning I left. I was down 8 lbs! 😁 Keep in mind, I lost 10.4 during my last whole30.)  

Here's what I did to be ok with my weekend… 

One meal a day needed to be as close to compliant as possible while eating out.  This usually ended up being breakfast. I found it easy to skip the toast and oatmeal.  

I skipped dairy as much as possible. I had one cafe au lait all weekend. The rest of the time my coffee was black and pretty tasty! No cheese on salads or omelettes. I did have a cauliflower soup that probably had cream in it but it was too delicious to pass up. 

I bartered with myself for the things that would be worth it to indulge in. For me, that's one order of Drago's oysters (there's the cheese sneaking in!), alcohol but still no pop, dessert at Emeril's, and a cup of gumbo. All of these were absolutely worth it. Quintessential NOLA things that I just couldn't pass up. 

So I enjoyed my weekend with no regrets and came home to an empty fridge and whole30 knocking on the door for the next day. The next day, I got up early for work and hit the SuperTarget on my way in. First stop? Starbucks. Gotta have 'bucks for a quick shopping trip in Target. I loaded up with enough for a few days that could be easily supplemented if I were able to get out. 

It's the first time I've eaten the Applegate hotdogs and I didn't mind them at all. Pretty good, actually. My favorite find are those Love Beets! So much better than a can and full of healthy vitamins!

I always laugh when people freak out about having to start over. I think if you're that worried about the restart, you probably need to think about what you're really trying to get out of the whole30 program. I can't wait to get to Tiger Blood again. So many amazing things happen on the inside while you progress thru whole30, why would you want to rob yourself of those?  

As I go thru IG, I keep seeing everyone's "I'm done" posts and I'm sitting here all… I'm back on day 5. 😳

But then I remember the awesome weekend I had getting this… 

… and I think yep, #wholeFebruary sounds good to me!!  Remembering why I'm doing whole30 in the first place and what I'm trying to get out of it is a great way to keep my positive attitude in place and moving forward. Who's with me for for whole February?!! 😜