Are many of you worried about your weight and eating too much on your trip?

[patsal]

It really is all about wise choices and self control 340 days out of the year, but for my vacation I just enjoy--life is short I will not be one of those people who says "if I knew I was going to die tomorrow I would eat a hot fudge sundae"--The pants will still zip if I have a sundae (not after 10 or 12 but yup after one). My point is that to try different things and enjoy yourself with out deprivation or the other extreme gluttony. We are big on sharing for everybad thing I eat I have several more nutricious choices liek fruits and veggies. Many of hte appetizers can be salads, many of the desserts can be fruit. I can also just have abite or two and not care if somethign gets finished. Kids want smoothies everyday on vacation for a drink go for it we don't do that at home so any weight gain will quickly disappear. It really is more about going back your normal routine once you get back home than it is depriving yourself of things while on vacation.

 

[DavidandDenise]

DH and I have gone to WDW 6 times in the last 4 years with the longest trip being over 2 weeks long--we have not gained an ounce. You walk so much that's it's not a worry. We definitely don't eat like that the rest of the year, (in fact, I'm usually a little ill after the first day b/c my body isn't used to that kind of food) but we enjoy every bite while we're there. I'm not saying be gluttonous, but enjoy your meals and snacks/desserts/treats, and if you're hungry, eat! We always eat more snacks in EPCOT than anywhere else b/c we have our favorites in many countries. On the trip when I wore my pedometer, (out of curiosity) we avearged OVER 22 miles a day at Disney! This may be on the high end of the spectrum b/c we are always on the go, but you get the idea--eat what you want/what feels right b/c you'll be walking a TON! =)

 

[Naisy68]

I agree with the majority here - We are going in August and even though I just went back on WW a couple weeks ago, I am going to work really hard before our trip and let myself have that week off. I know I will be doing way more walking than normal while I am there and will be walking off some of the extra calories anyway.
One thing I will be doing though, is paying attention to what my stomach tells me. If it says, I am full, I will not worry about being a clean plater. There will be none of this, "Ah c'mon there's only 3 bites left, I need to finish it." Hopefully by the time the trip comes around I will have less of an appetite.
Bottom line is, I intend to enjoy my vacation so no stress allowed. I will give in to some of the delicious temptations that there is to offer there. If I gain some weight back, I will just have to deal with that fact AFTER my trip.

 

[LuluLovesDisney]

What a great thread!

I have been both anorexic and quite overweight and right now I'm pretty healthy (size 14, some 16's on the bottom) I have lost 23.5 lbs. and I want to lose about 20 more before my vacation and another 10- 15 after that to be at my goal.

Here is what I am doing to make sure that I can enjoy my WDW vacation without gaining a ton of weight or sacrificing my enjoyment.They're "rules" with lots of exceptions, lol.

1. Drink lots of water and 4c iced tea light 2 go packs. No liquid calories (except a shake at 50's Prime Time and a few cocktails). While I'm not going to deny myself the fiesta margarita, glass of wine or shake, I'm not going to "waste" calories on soda, punch, juice, sweetened iced tea or chocolate milk. 75% of my drinks will be water.

2. Eat a salad or raw veggies every day. At least once. It will keep things moving and fill me up.

3. I will choose healthier options whenever they appeal to me- like fresh fruit at buffets or breakfast, stir fried veggies, fish, etc. but if I want the cantonese sticky fried lobster, I'm getting it!

4. During my meals, I will eat whatever I want, how much I want, but I will eat slowly and stop when I'm full, not when I feel sick.

5. I will have desserts and snacks at a restaurant or in the parks, etc. I will not eat snacks in my room (jellybeans, chips, etc.) That would just encourage me to overdo it.

6. I will order something that appeals to me, not *everything* that appeals to me. I would often order way too much and leave some, and still end up eating too much. I'll save $ and calories by ordering reasonably, not two apps and entree and a dessert, KWIM?

7. I will focus on being with my boyfriend, visiting friends and family, enjoying the rides, seeing the sights, enjoying the shows, etc. not "when's my next meal?"

8. I will save my calories for something special I can't get at home. I will get Tonga Toast, but won't waste calories on french fries. I will get a Mickey bar or a Tollhouse sandwich, but not an ice cream sundae or cone. I will have Breakfast Lasagna, but not 1/2 lb. bacon.

9. I will walk and swim and exercise every day so I'll burn a lot off.

10. Even if I do gain a pound or two or five, I will eat normally back home and have it off in a week or two and be back on track.

Good luck to all!

 

[zuzu310]

Well, I am trying to lose 14 lbs. before we go. I feel much better when I am eating healthier. However, while at Disney I am going to eat whatever I want. My mom and I went last year and we just kept in mind that you never have to clean your plate. (Well maybe if you are at Primetime Cafe )Besides I always keep in mind to save room for dessert.

 

[michygoomy]

I was concerned, because I just started back to weight watchers and didn't want to go backward too much. But it's my vacation, and we only take a "big" one every three years, so I was determined to enjoy myself AND my food.

I came back Thursday and went to my weigh-in today and lost TWO POUNDS! Boy, I'd like to eat like that and lose weight every week.

 

[schoen]

I too am very concerned about this. I know I shouldn't be, because I never seem to gain weight on vacation, even when I am eating a ton. I don't usually vacation for seven days at a time though. I am worried about eating too much early in the day so that I am not hungry by the time dinner rolls around. I am also worried that with the snack option I will be eating a lot more junk in between meals than I normally would.
Ultimatly though, I plan to eat what I want in Disney world. I will then just get right back into the swing of things when I get home. I will be grateful that what I eat will be offset by walking, swimming, playing shuffleboard, etc. I may even hit the fitness center while I am there. I hate the idea of going a whole week without working out. I also worry though that in the August heat I will not want to go for my daily three mile run!

We'll see. Good luck to all of you who are concerned!

 

[Purrrrfecta]

So funny that I am finding this post as I am diving into my white chocolate orange cake from Spoodles I got last night.

I my honest opinion, it is too much food. I am just not hungry for it the way I thought I would be. When I get back home I am going to write a report about this. I think there are many things with the dining plan that make me feel restricted. I think for our family next year we will be doing the DDE instead of the dining plan.

Tonight for example, I ate at 1900 Park Fare, and I had two small plates of food. I refused to stuff it on. My son plays tennis, and he realized he was eating too much, and he cut back. P.S. he is only 9!

So I think you just have to think about what you are eating and pick items on the menus that are healthy and not just expensive, which I find a lot of people do.

 

[bobbiwoz]

Wow, so many of you eat healthy all of the time.

We tried eating table service meals for lunch and a lighter meal in the room for dinner. This was last week, and it didn't work, I came back 4 lb. heavier, on top of 3-4 that have creeped up since January. I didn't even have a Mickey Bar I do only drink water at meals.

Bobbi

 

[Angela&Kayla]

Although I have battled with weight now for the past several years, and have again started to watch what I eat, I am not at all worried about eatting at Disney. First of all, you'll be walking all day at the parks, and probably guzzling lots and lots of water, so food will probably not be on your mind. That being said, if you don't buy any food but rather just eat what you are allowed on your dining plan, your meals over the course of the day will probably only equal a little more than the average person eats at home anyway (breakfast, lunch, dinner, a couple of snacks).

Another reason I am not worried is because I know that I will return to eatting healthy once I return home, and so even if I gain a couple of pounds (which I doubt I will), I can quickly lose it once I get home. Being too obsessed about food can be just as dangerous as not obsessing at all.

I do agree with you that I am a little worried about the selection of food available for kids...I do not want my very healthy daughter to eat nothing but nuggets and hot dogs for an entire week, so I carefully studied the menus and chose several sit down meals that are either buffets or have a healthy choice for children (chicken breast, etc).

Good luck, and have fun!

 

[YetanotherMouseFan]

To the OP: Not all snacks on the DDP have to be fatty, wasted calories. Also considered snacks are bottled water and whole fresh fruit. It's all in how you choose to use it. We normally eat our "big", ie: TS, meal at lunch which allows us to walk most of it off. BTW, it's not just kids who can get carrots or grapes instead of fries with CS meals!

Also, everyone who has posted so far seems to have forgotten the Cardinal Rule of Dining at Disney: Mickey runs all food through his Magical De-Calorizer : There are NO calories in Disney food!

 

[hockeymomoftwo]

I am personally working out and watching what I eat currently as I have struggled with weight most of my adult life. I do plan to enjoy what I am eating and let myself have what I desire otherwise it may back fire as I eat around to satisfy something I wanted earlier.

As far as kids go the obesity/diabetes epidemic in our country is really sad. I work in public health and see a huge amount of kids with weight problems at really young ages. I don't know if food choices are as big a culprit as inactivity. My kids are rather finicky and will sneak food when I'm not looking. Not that I have too much junk food around but I do have some chips, cookies and some left over holiday candy (which really never gets eaten much). My boys are incredibly active. We are always involved in at least one if not 2 sports and I make them get outside to play as much as possible. They have some sort of treat most nights usually a bowl of ice cream and they are thin as rails.

I know for me I eat pretty healthy most of the time ( I follow ww core diet and eat lots of f/v and whole grains) but I struggle with doing exercise. I know that I can maintain my weight with healthy diet but I cannot loose much more than a few pounds without really increasing the activity.

 

[Allensfan]

First of all, I have enjoyed reading all of these posts. I think all of you are wonderful

I always watch what I eat because if I don't I gain but hearing about all the walking and the fact that some people actually loose weight made me feel better.

When my husband and I were looking at some of the Disney pictures posted on another site the one that he found the most upsetting was seeing clearly overweight kids with big smiles as they hold up the biggest ice cream desert I have ever seen. With the caption under it saying something to the effect of, he finsihed every bite. Then the next picture of this young man was eating a giant rice krispie treat dipped in choc that was as big as the child's head. Again another caption saying how wonderful it was and how not a bite was spared. My husband and I talked about how all these temptations had to be hard on parents of over weight kids. How do you say no to a kid in Disney...even if the right thing to do is say no?

 

[kkevcamsmom]

I have the same worries. I am NOT average weight right now. 5 yrs ago I lost 65 lbs(in just 10 months ) on Weight Watchers and have just started back up. I gained back most of the weight I lost (had a baby, some other issues and foot surgery) and am looking forward to being way down when we go in January.

I LOVE to try new things. DH and I already have a plan of sharing a majority of our meals either with each other or with our DS's 6/4 (at trip time). I am afraid of the "What the heck we are on vacation" voice creeping into my head though.

I have made a list of 'junk' foods I do want to get, like Dole Whips, Mickey Bar, and I am a popcorn junkie.

I do have to be careful of the fats and such since I have IBD. I have used allearnet.com to check out menus and do some planning ahead. I have noted which places have lots of fruit or veggies. I am a Dt. Pepsi lover and can't do Coke so drinks will be water or Coffee (java, java, java!!! ) .

Good luck to all those trying to handle the same issue!!

Lori

 

[Tam1067]

When my husband and I were looking at some of the Disney pictures posted on another site the one that he found the most upsetting was seeing clearly overweight kids with big smiles as they hold up the biggest ice cream desert I have ever seen. With the caption under it saying something to the effect of, he finsihed every bite. Then the next picture of this young man was eating a giant rice krispie treat dipped in choc that was as big as the child's head. Again another caption saying how wonderful it was and how not a bite was spared. My husband and I talked about how all these temptations had to be hard on parents of over weight kids. How do you say no to a kid in Disney...even if the right thing to do is say no?

I think the encouragement some parents pile on their kids is really unfair. My SIL is obese, and all of her kids are overweight, too, and it aggravates me when my MIL (who's also overweight) repeatedly tells my kids to finish their food or tells them they're "good" when they eat a lot, or when she took my oldest DS to McDonald's and bought him TWO Happy Meals (he was about 6 at the time). I about had a heart attack, because I think this type of attitude about encouraging the kids to eat and talking about how much he eats or whatever is just setting these kids up for problems. Most kids will stop when they're full, but if they're repeatedly exposed to junk and encouraged to eat more, they'll eventually overeat and lose perspective on what a reasonable amount is. We limit how much our kids can eat--we do not do sodas at my house, and juice is strictly limited--but then they're bombarded often from family members with the encouragement to eat more.

My boys both play sports, and it bugs me that after each soccer or baseball game, they get this treat, usually junk food, that the parents supply. Why do kids who have just been active have to follow up that exercise with chips, Kool-Aid, or cookies? I don't think they do, but I'm apparently in the minority, because every team we've ever been on has had this treat thing set up.

That said, my kids do eat snacks, generally once a day, maybe a cookie or ice cream or something, but really not that much. So at WDW, they'll get their desserts, but I intend to also use those snack credits for fruit and to have them save their CS desserts so they can eat them as a midafternoon snack which I'm hoping will stop them from begging me for a Mickey bar everyday.

 

[BamaFan121s]

I can honestly say that this is the one time I don't worry about watching what I eat. I just don't care, I just want to enjoy myself even if that means brownies and milkshakes morning, noon and night. I just lie to myself and say, with all that walking I'll be doing, it'll even out.
I can't speak for everyone, but for me, dang it, I'm going to enjoy it when I go and worry about it when I get back!

 

[ExPirateShopGirl]

Before our first trip I really worried about weight gain. I run at home each day and my kids are involved in several dance and tennis classes each week, as well as walking to and from school. Yes, I am a proud member of the group of unpopular moms who thinks a 2 mile walk in the afternoon is perfectly ok for a 17 year old.

That being said, I was worried before our first vacation at WDW. Any time we eat out it's a huge jump in calories from our normal daily intake. We did snack a bit too much, but found healthful choices plentiful, like salmon and chicken dishes, salads, etc. We did eat desserts, but only a bite or two, save for the Ohana dessert... I could have eat that until they rolled me out!

Good luck!

 

[Allensfan]

I always tell my husband that I am lucky to have a skinny child because I love to cook and love to feed people and if I had to watch everything that went into my child's mouth I would have a tough time with that. Now that being said, just because he is thin does not mean I allow him to eat what he wants. We are the parents afterall. But at Disney I am certain I will let him have treats, but not in the place of a healthy meal. I feel bad for your SIL in law for being obese, that must be so hard...but most of all, I feel for her kids that never had a shot at great eating habits because they learned from a poor example.

I am not sure if you have seen the show, "Honey we are killing the kids" It is a real life show about how some parents are feeding their kids so much junk, it is hurting their weight and health.

That is why I would think it has to be so difficult at Disney because all the treats are fun shapes and of their fav. characters...how do you keep your wits about what is best when you are on vacation and want to leave the worries behind? But I think that people that make sensible choices at home, will also make good choices on vacation too. You don't ever take a holiday from good health.

By the way..this is so cute. I love these little guys!!!!

 

[wic0721]

My family spent 8 days/7 nights at WDW in May. We ate what we wanted and when we wanted it.

When we got home my DH and I both nervously stepped on the scale...the DH gains a whopping 2 lbs and I lost 4 lbs. With all the walking around you do at the parks, you're pretty much going to burn off most if not all of the calories you've eaten for the day.

Enjoy your vacation!!!!