I was up in Toronto visiting my daughter for her birthday this past weekend, and I decided to go ahead and just eat and drink whatever came across the table. I ate, and ate, and ate. I also drank. A lot. The net result is that I had an amazing and great time with my wife and my daughter, but on the scale, I saw the scariest thing in years: a weight I haven’t been in over two years.

Ugh.

It’s all my fault, but I’m not going to wallow in misery. I’m not going to over-analyze what happened, how I got there, or what bad decisions I made because nearly every single meal was a bad decision (yet tasted incredible). Memories were made, laughs were had, and in the end, every morsel and every drop was worth the pain I am now going to endure.

This morning, I was back to IF, and my lunch was strictly Paleo. Tonight’s dinner will also be strictly Paleo. No going off-plan for me with the exception of perhaps a dinner on Christmas Day with friends, or New Year’s Eve. The rest of the time, I’m back to my Paleo diet, and I’m back to exercising five days a week.

I am taking this one day at a time. I’m not looking at how much progress I can make every day, nor have I set a target date by which I have to lose all the weight I’ve gained over the past year (and the past four days!). I’ve decided that I will make steady and slow progress without the stress. I have a goal/target, but that’s just in weight and size, not in time. That doesn’t mean I will allow myself to take forever to get to my goal. To the contrary, I want to make steady progress, but I will do so without stressing out if it’s just a pound a week or so. If I can make 3-5 lbs a week, well then great. If not? That’s okay too. I’m going to make sure I eat right, exercise, and get enough sleep.

I’m sticking with the IF/Paleo combo. On January 2nd, I’ll likely be back to another round of Whole30. But for now? It’s just being strict and doing what needs to be done. I wouldn’t trade the experiences of the past four days for anything. I’m not happy with how I look, feel, or weigh right now, but these will all pass as I get back to where I need and want to be. It’ll be okay. And I’m fine with that.