Dieting and the dining plan

[artemis908]

It's a new year which means lots of people are making new years revolutions to lose weight. But when you go on to WDW do you stick to your diet? What if you're on the dining plan?

 

[robinb]

It's a new year which means lots of people are making new years revolutions to lose weight. But when you go on to WDW do you stick to your diet? What if you're on the dining plan?

Sadly, I don't. I always come home a few pounds heavier. I do try to eat something GREEN every day. It seems a silly thing to say but so much of the food at WDW is brown that I find that I need to make a special effort to find and eat green vegetables.

 

[t_daniels]

We take a break, give ourselves a little slack in WDW.

 

[goofyintoronto]

I always take a break while at WDW. Anything goes!!!

 

[christianweecare]

As one who has lost over 70 lbs. this past year on my own using the online Weight Watchers site, I recently visited WDW this past December for a week. I gave myself a break while on vacation. I did not go "hog wild" so to speak. I ate what I wanted but I have learned to stop eating whenever I feel myself starting to get full. I did come back a few lbs. up but I got right back on my plan of living and those lbs. came right back off within a week after our trip.

 

[married2mm]

I lost weight on dining plan,it's at home I struggle!

 

[TeresaWen]

It is too easy to fall back into old habits so I do maintain a healthy lifestyle while on vacation. It is very possible to eat and enjoy - a few tips:

1) make use of the fitness centers - an hour of cardo each morning can burn between 600 - 1000 calories. That makes A LOT of room and what a treat to work out without having to rush back to the office.

2) Don't indulge on food that you can get anywhere - for me that means breakfast. I can get pancakes back home and breakfast for me is just not worth the calories so we buy wheat bread and peanut butter and have that in the room. Saves time and money too and is a very healthy alternative to what Disney offers for breakfast (I cannot eat eggs or I would get egg whites - so that is not an option for me)

3) Skip the sugary drinks and if you want to drink stick to wine! My preference anyway but in the past I would get one or two of those frozen drinks by the pool. Way too many calories to drink!

4) Make sure you REALLY want that desert. If you do, go for it but remember the first few bites are the best. The rest is all downhill.

5) Don't fool yourself that you are walking it off - in all likely hood you are not walking fast enough to make enough of an impact to make up for a lot of over eating.

6) don't try to loose weight - just maintain - that gives you back about 500 calories a day if you are trying to loose a pound a week.

It is all about choices and if you want to keep to a healthy eating style it is possible to do it in Disney and not gain weight. I was in WDW for 10 days of food and wine - had a blast - ate well - and did not gain an ounce.

 

[chttyangel]

This is the main reason I am not doing the dining plan. When on vacation I treat myself and with all that walking/swimming a few treats won't hurt. That said; I don't have dessert with every meal, i usually order water and many times DD and I share large portioned items. With the dining plan I'm afraid I would eat more just to get my money's worth.

 

[Colleen27]

I don't think about it while I'm there and I've yet to come home heavier, but I know that my biggest diet issue is mindless/boredom snacking and that's not an issue when I'm keeping busy the way we do when we travel. My tastes tend to run to "better" (less bad) choices even in restaurants because I prefer veggies and fish over red meat or anything particularly rich and I'm more active at Disney than at home, so even on the deluxe dining plan I've always managed to maintain or even lose a little while at WDW.

 

[CraigInPA]

I'm always on the DxDP, and have learned to stop eating when I'm full, only eat what I like, and to make healthier choices on the menu for the appetizers and entrees. Even if I order the full cheese plate for the appetizer, I may have just a bite of each variety. Even though I may order the almond crusted cheesecake for dessert, if I feel full, I'll only have a few bites and stop.

Wasteful? Only if you believe in the "clean the plate" mentality pushed on us by our parents. Consider this-when you were a kid, your parents fed you normal amounts of food. When you go to a Disney restaurant, there may be an entire days worth of calories just in the entree, an entire days worth of fat in that fried appetizer, and there are multiple meals in a day. No wonder people come back from Disney gaining weight! My last three trips? I actually lost a pound or two, despite 10 days of 2 table service meals with appetizer, entree, and dessert every day on each trip.

Too often people talk of "dieting" and not often do they talk about "lifestyle". Often, you don't have to diet to lose weight. All you need to do is to think about what you're eating and how much of it. If you're sitting in Narcoossee's and have that whole lobster there in front of you, do you really need "extra" butter? Have you eaten lobster without the butter, or with only the tiniest amount of butter? Try it next time. Your first bite WITHOUT butter. If you really feel you need the butter, try just a tiny amount on the next piece. You'll be surprised how a tiny amount of butter will go a long way, especially if you like the taste of lobster. Not using butter will save you 20g+ of fat. It takes the whole lobster from a artery clogging indulgence to one of the healthiest things on the menu. Likewise, wouldn't the rice pilaf be a better choice to accompany your steak instead of the mac and cheese? Three slices of the bread service slathered with that fabulous sea salted butter, or just one? Two beers or a single beer and a glass of water? Three glasses of soda, or ice water with lemon? When you're at home, you don't drink 3 glasses of soda at dinner. Why should you do it on vacation? It's a vacation to a place with things to see and do, not a vacation from a healthy lifestyle.