Sticking to weight loss at WDW

[Fizban]

My suggestion is fairly simple. Eat the fish! Fish is really good for you including the fats that are in it. High in protein/no carbs/ good fats. Salmon, tuna, cod are fantastic, quite tasty, and very filling.

 

[kwdw]

If you don't normally drink alcohol at home - just SKIP it this trip..... why waste the calories? I like alcoholic drinks, but it's one of the first things I cut when my weight starts to go up.

Here's my advice - ONE table service meal per day. Have those planned in advance. I don't care which meal - and it could be a buffet. But plan the rest of your calories around that approach. For example, I LOVE gigantic breakfasts. So - I tend to eat a ton of calories at Disney in the morning. But - I often consider lunch to be not much more than a snack - fruit, yogurt, small popcorn, or maybe even a Dole Whip. And then I probably would do a quick service salad or kids meal for dinner. I also like early lunches - then I eat a small breakfast on those days, and again, dinner can vary but its not usually alot of calories. I plan that my TS meal for the day needs to be nutritionally balanced - including protein - and the other stuff I eat is a mix between whim and healthy choices. Other days - "lunch" is ice cream or that giant muffin - but dinner is fish and veggies. Now - this approach requires that your traveling companion is on the same approach - or you'll disagree about when to eat how much!!!

For the Food and Wine festival - I go to allears.net to looks at the cart menus in advance - and I plan out my day so I can plan out my calories. Sure, it's hard to be that accurate because you can't judge the size that well in advance, but I if I didn't plan - I'd be stuffed all day and spend a ton of money. And for me, this is the worst time for my to opt for alcohol - mainly because I'm out in the sun between carts and it's hard to judge the real amount of alcohol I'm getting and I tend to drink too fast. And it's a wide variety of different foods. So - I end up sick.... (drunk and nauseated from what I've eaten) made that same mistake twice. Now - I leave my alcohol consumption to the occasional splurge of a drink with a table service dinner. But really - I pick the cart things I really MUST try in advance - and I carry a print out of the menus with me. That way, if I decide against something I had planned - I can decide it that's simply a skip because I'm not hungry yet - or if I am going to add a different choice I hadn't planned.

Disney food is FUN - so yes - you want to try everything. You can't. It's too much to eat. Try to make decisions you won't regret.

 

[Micca]

My biggest contribution here is to remind you to have a plan for when you get home. Have some tasty stuff in the freezer that you can eat for that first day back before you're able to go shopping. From experience, have a variety because tastebuds get a little funny when you've been dining out a lot, and what we normally eat might not feel "fun" when we get home.

And don't stress over a temporary increase on the scale. It takes longer than a week of going seriously overboard with calories to even gain a pound of fat, so any increase is just the bulk of food (anyone else have their innards go on the fritz after about a week of dining out?) and water weight DH once "gained" 9 lbs in a weekend in Vancouver lol. Lost it by the next week's weighin.

So don't freak out if that happens. Gains happen, and the Disney related ones are almost always temporary. Just keep going with your plan to keep any gain temporary.

I like what Bumbershoot has to say here. You've worked hard to lose weight, and it's commendable that you don't want to gain during your vacation. But realistically, how many days will you be at WDW? And how much walking will you do? I'd say the days before & after your trip matter a lot more than your days at WDW because there are a LOT more of them. Please don't go crazy eating everything in sight, but don't beat yourself up if you have a full meal or an ice cream treat here & there. Cut a caloric corner where you can, and have a good time.

 

[loves to dive]

I have no problems eating healthy at WDW, I don't count the walking around the parks as any calories burned since as others have said the foods there tend to be high in calories so I always get up in the mornings and do some sort of exercise, I used to jog around the resorts but I've blown both knees out so jogging is out, now I do a fast walk instead. I almost always go to the resort gym at least 3 times during a trip in order to lift weights (I don't do heavy ones, 4 or 5 lbs are plenty) and hop on the elliptical. I drink loads of water, not for weight purposes but to avoid dehydration. Unlike everyone else has suggested, I'm going to tell you to eat a good breakfast. I usually get a child's breakfast platter of scrambled eggs, some sort of meat (usually limp bacon) and a biscuit. I don't always eat the biscuit but I do eat the eggs and meat, protein is your friend. Bonus they come with a drink and I get a bottle of water. I was on Nutrisytem so I go with their rules of 5 small meals a day, smart carbs like fruits, plenty of protein and veggies. I usually get a child's meal at QS for lunch, they come with fruit instead of fries and a grilled chicken sandwich is usually my choice. For the in between snacks I go with fruit or nuts. For supper I will eat TS but their are always plenty of choices, fish, baked chicken even steak. I'm not a huge dessert fan but I'm an ice cream freak so I do treat myself to a couple of ice cream cones while I'm there. It is doable and you don't really have to sacrifice anything.

 

[BLAZEY]

Think moderation is the key to enjoying food on your holiday and maintaining your healthy eating. I plan on bringing breakfast foods for in the room, only one day are we eating breakfast in the park or at a restaurant. Cereal, fruit and muffins in the room. We share treats. Mickey Bars and pretzels are shared. Drinks and fries are also shared (one person orders the meal, the rest get just the main. In addition to the walking, swimming is done almost daily. We also carry water with us so that if we feel hungry we drink water first, then if still hungry. I plan on carrying a few snacks so when the kid is hungry, she can have something but, we don't get something just for the sake of having something because she is.

 

[kirstenb1]

Down there, I eat a simple breakfast in the room---a yogurt or a piece of fruit, or a breakfast bar. Then at either lunch or dinner, I try to do vegeterian without any dairy. That means something like pasta and red sauce or a salad. Then the other meal is a semi-splurge. Not overboard, but if I want something slightly indulgent, I enjoy it.

 

[akayek31]

One thing is I never eat fish. I don't like any type of seafood. I know I am weird but just don't. I was thinking of taking my scale in my suitcase and then after reading the updates I think I will leave it at home. After all it is a reward trip and I do have my Fitbit to remind me that I am losing calories. I was thinking of getting up earlier than usual and go swimming for my exercise of the day. I am down 43 pounds now!

 

[godders]

Well done on the weight loss! I've lost 75lbs in the last year and a good 12 of those were on my last trip to Disney. I did it by having a healthy breakfast (yoghurt from the resort) and then one table service meal at day with the occasional snack if I got hungry in between (dole whip one evening, La Frou's brew for example). I have special dietary requirements which means I can't eat bread, pasta, leafy greens etc so I looked extensively at the restaurant menus to know where I could eat and what I'd be ordering. If you can stay away from most carbs you'll be golden. I even ordered a burger as a treat skipped the bun and had a handful of fries and I was sorted. It's really difficult somewhere like Disney where you pay so much for things to not feel like you should clear your plate but it really does help to not eat everything. Plus who wants to walk around a theme park feeling stuffed in the heat. I had a problem finding things to eat from QS places so I nearly had a meltdown a couple of times from needing to eat. This year I've looked really hard at the QS/food carts so I have a list of places I can get a healthy snack at whatever park. As PPs have said drinking lots of water is good. Theory goes that you can't lose weight if you're dehydrated so while you may be a bit bloated while you're away, as soon as you come home you are likely to drop that weight quickly

Keep up the good work!

 

[pumba]

its amazing what happens in Disney. I have diabetes and ate pretty much what everyone did..except sweets, I dont care for them anyways.. I lost three lbs...walked so much that it didnt matter what went into me...My dil and daughter were both following ww diet and they also lost...I think I walked the bottom of my soles off my sneakers...seriously...drink plenty of water and eat within reason...our most favorite meals were at the buffets..I can pick and choose what I wanted and how much. Ohana and Crystal Palace Biergareten were our favorites...oh forgot MM...didnt have pasta but had a great steak...hope you enjoy yourself

 

[linzbear]

My one tip is that if you are full, finishing your plate to prevent wasted food isn't doing that. It will be just as wasted going through your body but you're the one who has to work it off, rather than the server putting it in the trash. Just think that you are paying for a meal, not for the specific food in front of you.

 

[OKW Lover]

This trip I am going on in October is a reward for my losing weight. I was at 307 pounds in March and decided it had to change. I have at this point lost 40 pounds. My question is what can I eat and still have fun while rewarding myself for doing something that needed to be done. I know I will walk a lot each day so it will burn the calories off. Don't want to come home and worry about gaining. TIA.

The easiest thing to do is just keep doing what you've already been successful with. Don't change your eating/exercise habits just because you are at WDW. Count the extra calories burned off walking as a bonus towards getting to your goal.