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It’s been a month since I ended my Whole30, so I thought I’d look back at the last 30 days of life after Whole30.

All in all, I think it’s gone well. I’ve continued making healthy choices, although I have strayed here and there–most notably when we took my mom out for burgers for a belated Mother’s Day treat. We went to our favorite old-fashioned burger stand and I had a burger with everything (no cheese, though!) and a large serving of onion rings. WORTH EVERY BITE. For the most part, though, the majority of my meals have been in line with my dietary & health goals.

I find I’m “cheating” a lot less than I did back when I scheduled intentional cheat days, and when I do go off-diet to splurge it’s an intentional, thought-out decision based on whether or not the splurge in question is truly worth the potential consequences, and not an impulsive failure to exert self-control. I’m also finding that it often takes just a few bites of something to satisfy my craving and make me feel like I’ve had a real treat.

I haven’t been exercising as consistently, mainly because it was such a busy month. I’ve done better this week, though, and I aim to keep doing better, but that always seems to ebb and flow no matter what I do.

I weighed myself this morning, because I felt like I’d lost some weight, but according to the scales I didn’t–but I didn’t gain any either. That said, my clothes feel a bit looser — most tellingly, my denim capris that gave me a a slight muffin-top before W30 and fit just right by the end now need a belt to stay up. So I’m guessing I’ve lost somewhere around half an inch. Which just goes to show that scales are not the most reliable indicator of progress, so I can go on happily not weighing myself.

As far as “non-scale victories” go, though, I still have a lot more energy and stamina. Looking back over the last month I’m kind of amazed at how much I’ve gotten done. I’m starting to feel a little burned out, though, mainly because I slipped back into hustle mode, and my mind and soul are just not made for hustle, no matter how much energy my body has. So I’m trying to slow things back down to make more time for the things that are good for my mind and spirit and not just my body. I sat down this morning to look at my calendar, and I’m thinking I should be able to take a good, long break week after next, which will include a break from the blog.

At any rate, I’m pretty happy with the continued aftereffects of my Whole30. I can easily see myself continuing my good habits through the summer and into fall. Once the holidays roll around, though, things are bound to get interesting.

Interested in trying your own Whole30? Here are some links to get you started:

Have you ever done Whole30? I’d love to hear about your experience in the comments!