It’s been a long and successful one, tomorrow I will have poutine for lunch to celebrate and after that I am off work for vacation for a week. The question is how to transition into what is essentially just adding another meal to the day without going overboard, throwing off my keto and allowing the cravings to come back? I think the best way is to understand that I can take the vacation week not as an unlimited pig out session but as a less strict same foods with some starches week until I get back into my routine. It’s just happen-stance that this vacation is at the very end of my 50lb loss and the exact time I had planned to reintroduce some dairy and starch. My stats right now including the picture are something like 224lbs @ 19%fat (down 50lbs and 7% fat) and although I would like to get my fat % down a little further maybe 4% I am very happy  with where I am. If I can stay around this same composition until October and then, just like last year, try to add some strength back and hopefully some lean mass I will be very happy. My goal is not to get that 15% before the end of the year, but to maintain where I am, stay at or below 225lbs and redevelop my habits at my new weight.
Which brings me to a philosophical question.
My lean mass hasn’t changed much. That being said my BMR should not have changed much either. This means that the difference in the TDEE that I was before and the TDEE I am working with now is actually a reflection of how much energy I spent carrying that 50lbs of fat around with me. So in truth my eating pattern before and after for maintenance should really not be that different. However, I am not sure that I can go on eating 50 wings a week on top of my other intake and not gain weight so the testing will have to go slowly.
What have I missed? What will my treats be in the coming weeks? Well, costco poutine once should suffice. I am not sure I will go back to drinking glasses of milk for supper. Wings for sure, but at 1000 calories a serving I will have to watch that. Nuts I have missed a bit but I have snacked once or twice on 4 or 5 cashews just to keep me sane. I am looking forward to a Tom Yum soup from the Thai place at work, that is some tasty stuff.
I think the mistake most people make after meeting a goal or ending their cut cycle / diet is that they go off the deep end. For me I think it’s going to be really important to gradually reintroduce some items and pay attention to keeping my activity level up which during a vacation should be fairly easy. Wish me luck, or at least good plan execution.