Day 22: The Travel Bug

Last night Adam and I took a little trip to Chicago. We were transporting my brother and his girlfriend to a concert, so we just decided to make the most out of the trip and have a little fun.

We started out at Navy Pier and took advantage of Ben & Jerry's customer appreciation day. We got a free (small) ice cream cone to enjoy. We were going to spend some time at Navy Pier, but it was virtually empty. I guess things don't start to liven up around there until sometime in April. It was a ghost town.

So we decided to leave Navy Pier and head toward Michigan Avenue to walk to our dinner destination. From Navy Pier to Giordano's it was a good 1.5 mile walk each way, so we got in some good exercise.

It was pretty cold out, so I think we were moving a little faster than we might have otherwise.

We arrived at Giordano's Pizza, which I had never had the pleasure of enjoying before. It. Was. Delicious. I could not believe how tasty this pizza was. From the gooey cheese, to the savory sausage, to the crust which had an uncanny flavor resemblance to chicken pot pie...I was in heaven. I ate my one slice and that was plenty (more on that later). The best part about the pizza was that I didn't feel a single ounce of guilt or shame as I enjoyed my slice. I knew we were going there, and I planned accordingly with my points. I used a few of my weekly points allowance, but that's okay. It was a special trip, and I'm not going to do that every day. I was happy that I was able to enjoy the slice I had prepared for, and then stop. I felt like I could have eaten more, but I was satisfied.

I'm trying really hard to learn the difference between being full and being satisfied. It's a difficult one to learn if you've spent your whole life thinking that those two terms are synonymous. I consider it a small achievement to have recognized that signal that I had enough and to stop.

After dinner, we completed our walk and returned to the car to pick up the kids at the concert.

Overall, it was a wonderful evening. The pizza gave me some serious stomach cramps on the drive home, though. For some reason I've been having issues with bread products lately. I don't know if my body is not used to it anymore, so it explodes in my stomach, or if, like my mother, insists, I have a gluten allergy like she does. Only time will tell, I guess. I'm not ready to completely give up on gluten yet, but I may have to give it a try for a while and see if it helps with the bloating I experience when I eat breads and pasta.

I would consider our trip last night a food success! I planned ahead, knew what I was going to get, and then we got in a nice, long walk on top of everything else.

I'm a little nervous, though, because Adam and I are leaving for a week-long trip to Tennessee next week and I am afraid I might not be able to stay on plan.

I would love to open up the discussion today for everyone to share their troubles and triumphs with traveling.

What slip-ups do you find you commit while you're on a vacation?
What do you do to help maintain your goals and stay on mission?

Please share in the comments below! I need some advice and a reality check!