[guestpost]This is not a health & fitness blog, but when I saw the #Write31Days Challenge, I knew I wanted to pick a topic that I struggled with. In order to lead a Brilliant Life, the stress-eating has to stop. Welcome to the 31 Days to Stop Binge-Eating collection. Glad you’re here! #LiveBrilliant[/guestpost]We went to the zoo yesterday and it was awesome-sauce. Thankfully the park wasn’t crowded enough to have all of the vendors selling their delicious wares and I was able to easily bypass the Dip-n-Dots. Because, well, they weren’t being sold. Eating on an outing is difficult…I would have inhaled those lovely round dry-iced cream dots in a heartbeat.

Making Better Choices: Lunch

Probably the best idea for eating on an outing is to actually eat ahead of time. We considered this option but wanted to get on the road and didn’t want to stop at McDonalds. Also, we wanted to indulge the kids in a special memory and eating lunch at the zoo does the trick.

When we arrived, we headed into the cafe and were faced with a variety of choices. Thankfully, the menu ranged from gourmet loaded hot dogs to subs with bean sprouts. I opted for the grilled chicken sandwich, although I discard the sad tomato and wilted lettuce. All-in-all, the sandwich was really good and the protein helped stave off cravings. I didn’t eat all of the Chick-Fil-A inspired waffle fries, which was a win.

The kids ate hot dogs, cheeseburgers, and fries, and we all indulged in soda. Yes, they had Diet Pepsi and I was in heaven.  I know I need to cut out soda. I’m not there yet.

Filling up before walking around the zoo was a great idea. We made it almost three hours before the tiredness took over and it was time for a snack.

Snack Time

On our way towards the exit, we came across a little tiki hut inspired cafe with snacks. I checked out the pictures of the jumbo nachos with all the fixings and zoomed in on what I knew my kids (and I) really wanted.

An ICEE.

I didn’t exactly binge, but I did get a medium cherry and Pepsi mixed. It. was. good. Especially after the fifth or sixth sip of warm zoo water fountain H2O.

My mom bought a soft pretzel, sweetly sharing it with the boys, but I declined, contentedly sipping the sweet nectar of frozen soda. Win.

Again, I think this #Write31Days challenge is helping with my accountability. I didn’t eat much dinner tonight but I am sucking down a few Twizzlers and caramel cremes while I stay up late checking stuff off my to-do list. All-in-all, a super good day.

Catch Up!

Past posts in this series:
Day 4: No Midnight Snack
Day 3: Road Trip Temptations
Day 2: Two Green Rings
Start here: Day 1

[reminder]What’s your favorite snack food at a tourist attraction?[/reminder]