A Runner Eating at WDW

[keahgirl8]

Hello everyone! For those of you who don't know me, I have been on a healthy living journey for almost 2 years now and have lost over 120 pounds. I started running last spring and will be completing the Glass Slipper Challenge next month. I have been to WDW before, but I've never really done it healthy. For the first half of my trip, I will be trying to be as careful with my eating as possible. I will either be preparing, running or recovering (or all 3 simultaneously) for 5 days. For the second half of my trip, I will have some treats, but I just don't eat the way I used to. I will probably be doing 80/20 with the healthy eating. Does anyone have suggestions for me on places to eat, especially while in the running portion of my trip? Thanks!

 

[flatlandcycle]

I usually bring a fold-up cooler on trips to the mouse house. Healthy items can be purchased at local groceries at better than half price. You can bring food into the parks. No glass containers no alcohol. I tend bring my own nuts, carrots, apples, olives..When I order a sit-down meal I split the entree because the portions are too big for me. You can purchase healthy items at counter service and in gift shops, but you will pay the price for one banana, that you would pay for a bunch on the outside.

 

[buckeyecinderella]

I usually bring a fold-up cooler on trips to the mouse house. Healthy items can be purchased at local groceries at better than half price. You can bring food into the parks. No glass containers no alcohol. I tend bring my own nuts, carrots, apples, olives..When I order a sit-down meal I split the entree because the portions are too big for me. You can purchase healthy items at counter service and in gift shops, but you will pay the price for one banana, that you would pay for a bunch on the outside.

Is Disney ok with splitting entrees then? Do they charge an extra plate fee? They are always, always too much for me and usually my husband both. I often just get appetizers. Even quick service is too much and we often split those!

 

[bumbershoot]

Keah the biggest thing I've focused on is honoring my stomach. Like yours probably is, mine is so much smaller than it used to be. But it's so easy to be tempted. If you are tempted, that's ok, but try to keep that meal in mind when it comes time for the next one.

For running purposes, stay whatever food course that has worked for you. Too many temptations and then there's no room for the fuel-type food, and there goes your run. Marathon weekend I was hit hard by illness. I lost all appetite and tastebuds. The only thing I could deal with was ice cream. This kept me alive but wasn't good fuel. I had a junky race weekend because of it. And because I was sick, of course. But through the whole half my stomach was in an uproar and kept scaring me, and I know it's because I hadn't eaten normally.

 

[keahgirl8]

I will be flying and will not have a car. I am thinking I may want to order groceries. The money I would save in fruit alone would probably be worth it! I will also be solo, so sharing is not an option. I guess I can bring Ziploc bags and a fold up cooler with me!

I'm not worried about temptation. I am pretty focused on most vacations, especially since I will be running. The concern is that I will not have control over the food. There are so many food options, it is just a little overwhelming to find the healthy ones. I am used to knowing exactly what I am eating, so that is what worries me.

 

[Figment1990]

My three best pieces of advice:

1) look over menus ahead of time on websites like this and all ears.
2) Disney will not stop you from ordering a kids quick service meals. (Unless u are using dining plan). I get the kids turkey sandwich a lot when there.
3) plan your "treats". For me, that's Main Street fudge and a chocolate breakfast croissant. That way, if u know you are going to want a Mickey ice cream bar, you might be less tempted by the French toast.

Just thought of this:
4) for runners, don't hesitate to ask for a modification to your meal at a restaurant. If you want plain pasta without say, the chicken that's on the menu, just ask. Or if you want no butter on your filet, ask. Disney can have some very simple dishes at the non signature places on the regular menu too. And I bet they would even give you a kids meal at an up charge and they have less spices etc.

 

[BuckeyeBama]

Most of the counter service places now have some pretty tasty salads on the menu. On our trip for this year's WDW marathon, my wife and I ate a salad for a meal at least once/day. Examples included the salads at Pecos Bills (not the taco salad) and the one at the Backlot Express (by Star Tours) in Hollywood Studios. Filling meals that are also pretty healthy.

My wife and I eat protein bars for breakfast, share a lunch, then have a full salad each for dinner. On the dining plan for the last trip - 7 nights, 8 full park days - we had 6 unused table service credits left at the end of the trip. We didn't eat many desserts. In other words, we ate like we eat at home - we did not let the dining plan or large meals which included desserts change our eating habits. When we were full, we stopped eating and threw the remaining food on our plates in the garbage. Wasteful, but we grew tired of asking for smaller portions when lines for food were long and no one around us had much patience (including some of the CMs).

You can do it, just plan ahead and DECIDE to make healthy choices.

 

[appleorchard]

Hello everyone! For those of you who don't know me, I have been on a healthy living journey for almost 2 years now and have lost over 120 pounds. I started running last spring and will be completing the Glass Slipper Challenge next month. I have been to WDW before, but I've never really done it healthy. For the first half of my trip, I will be trying to be as careful with my eating as possible. I will either be preparing, running or recovering (or all 3 simultaneously) for 5 days. For the second half of my trip, I will have some treats, but I just don't eat the way I used to. I will probably be doing 80/20 with the healthy eating. Does anyone have suggestions for me on places to eat, especially while in the running portion of my trip? Thanks!

Congrats on your weight loss! I've lost around 50 pounds over the last 1 1/2 years and am also running all three races -- also solo! I've sort of planned out where I'm going to eat and have a rough idea of what I want to eat each day, because we've been so many times I practically have the menus memorized lol.

I'm staying away from anything I think will upset my stomach, obviously, which for me means anything with a lot of oil or butter or too much sugar. too much chocolate can also bother my stomach, so I'll stay out of the German candy shop! I made a reservation for BoG the day of the 5k and pre-ordered a quinoa salad, for example. That night I'll probably hit Columbia House for a chicken or tuna sandwich. Not too much fiber. Not too much alcohol either! Really looking forward to a solo trip and doing whatever I want, including eating here I want, even if I have to tailor my choices for the races.

 

[PrincessV]

For running purposes, stay whatever food course that has worked for you.

My three best pieces of advice:

1) look over menus ahead of time on websites like this and all ears.
2) Disney will not stop you from ordering a kids quick service meals. (Unless u are using dining plan). I get the kids turkey sandwich a lot when there.

Totally agree with all of the above! ^^

A lot depends on what your body needs and your dietary requirements, so my biggest suggestion is to look over menus ahead of time and have a good idea of what you can get where that fits well with what you normally eat at home. I broke the rule and had a big helping of curried chicken pasta salad the night before the half last weekend... I was fine, but, um, well - the taste lingered. Throughout the race. Thankfully I happen to have a cast-iron stomach, so no damage occurred.

 

[keahgirl8]

Congrats on your weight loss! I've lost around 50 pounds over the last 1 1/2 years and am also running all three races -- also solo! I've sort of planned out where I'm going to eat and have a rough idea of what I want to eat each day, because we've been so many times I practically have the menus memorized lol. I'm staying away from anything I think will upset my stomach, obviously, which for me means anything with a lot of oil or butter or too much sugar. too much chocolate can also bother my stomach, so I'll stay out of the German candy shop! I made a reservation for BoG the day of the 5k and pre-ordered a quinoa salad, for example. That night I'll probably hit Columbia House for a chicken or tuna sandwich. Not too much fiber. Not too much alcohol either! Really looking forward to a solo trip and doing whatever I want, including eating here I want, even if I have to tailor my choices for the races.

Congrats to you too!

I didn't think about BOG! I will try to get a Fastpass for that! I have a feeling I will be eating at Columbia a lot. I am really loving their menu. I have done DL healthy a lot, but never WDW!

 

[glaserjm]

Congrats on your progress in your journey and to being close to completing your running challenge!

I think the key at a place like Disney is to speak up; they're honestly pretty good at making modifications upon request.

Allears is a gem for menu perusing and I think you'll find that there are options at just about every quick service and table service place that can be made into a healthy option.

What I like to do before I go is make a list of my "must haves" as far as treats go and keep it on my phone. Then when at WDW and faced with all of the bad choices, I look at all the wonderful treats I'm going to have and it makes it a lot easier to stick w/ just the "musts".

I also agree that utilizing one of the grocery delivery services is a great economical option. You can get fruit, veggies, nuts, Greek yogurt, lean proteins, etc. and you can purchase things that you KNOW you like rather than depending on a Disney healthy option that might just be "meh" to you.

Good luck!

 

[cherrybomb11]

As far as snacks go, I agree with other suggestions to bring some from home or Amazon ship them to your room.

Another thing is that I actually prefer counter service meals because I can order from the kids' menu without any issue. I don't know if it's the same with sit-down service. Some kids meals have the Mickey Check symbol, which indicates that the food is minimally processed and a complete meal comes in at under 600 calories, less than 10% of which is fat, and less than 740mg sodium. As you can see, for a woman watching her weight, it's an appropriate amount of food. I love knowing that a meal meets the Mickey Check guidelines. Too bad it's only for kids' meals. I'm sure you've seen that even salads and chicken entrees can be loaded with calories and fat. Link to complete info.

Another thing I like to do at QS locations is to pick the ones with the awesome toppings bars and seriously load up on the lettuce and veggie toppings.

I wrote about what I ate during Marathon Weekend here. With the amount of walking you'll be doing, I wouldn't be too worried about calories as long as you stick to your new normal way of eating. Just watch out for dairy and other heavy things that would aggravate your stomach before the running.