Well yesterday was a blast, though not the best diet day. Courtesy of my husband's work all of us packed up and drove a ways north to spend the afternoon at the Alaska State Fair. We didn't get a ton of stuff in, as the girls are so little and they get overwhelmed/exhausted quickly, but we did see some fun exhibits, eat yummy food, and spend good time with a friend we hardly ever get to see, who drove down from her home to attend.

Food-wise, I enjoyed myself thoroughly and resisted a ton of junk (I think). I did indeed go over my preferred calorie target once dinner at home had been factored in, but it was definitely not a terrible day. Furthermore, while the food was pretty good I found myself LONGING for fresh fruits, veggies, and water. In fact, I kept looking for non-junk for and had a hard time finding it.

I got a smoked turkey leg, since I didn't want much fried food. I gave part to my friend, ate maybe 1/3 of it, and threw the rest away (too much fat and gristle). I also got a snickerdoodle and milk for my toddler, and ate about half of that, too. I had a wonderful order of stewed green beans that my younger daughter was too tired to eat, half an elephant ear (shared the rest with my friend and toddler), a snow cone and a diet coke.

Now, being a long-time overeater, I may be misjudging what is normal indulgent eating at a fair, but I think I did pretty darn good! I estimated on the high side for servings/calories of each item and was still barely over my target calorie quantities once the four miles of walking I did was factored in.

Interestingly enough, I felt terrible after the fair - too much caffeine and sugar, not enough water. At home water is literally all I drink, except a glass of milk or coffee once a week or less. So the diet coke and snow cone did a number on my blood sugar and body chemistry and I felt quite ill (the lack of water exacerbated that). If I could choose I'd definitely take a night out to a nice, healthier restaurant over gorging on unhealthy fair food anyday, and I consider that a victory!

I ate some Mexican Rice and Black Beans before we left, for breakfast, and that was great fuel for most of the day. Despite my caloric intake I was still hungry in the evening when we got home, so I had a serving of Six Spice Chicken Bites with some ranch that needed to be eaten and felt quite a bit better.

On today's menu? A TON of fresh food, back to normal! The fair was fun, but my body needs and deserves better fuel that junk for me to look and feel my best, and I consider that a worthy tradeoff.