I'm a Disney veteran of both DLR and WDW, but was recently diagnosed with diabetes. I've never had to pay attention (or rather probably should have been) to low carbohydrate selections or restaurants that serve meals that lean away from carbs. One of the reasons we bought into
DVC was to have more control over eating by having a real kitchen, but you want to have fun too! Does anyone have any pointers on how to have an enjoyable WDW trip without worrying about diabetes and blood sugar?
Sorry to hear about your diagnosis. I am a Type II diabetic and have known & lived with it for nearly 15 years, now.
In some ways, the diagnosis is a blessing. If you accept that diabetes will require a change in lifestyle and do the things recommended by your health professionals, you can have a long and active life.
You can definitely have an enjoyable trip at WDW, but you do have to take care of yourself - you will need to continue to test your blood sugar levels, take your meds and make good choices.
Some things that have worked for me include:
1. A good breakfast in the room. Easier to make the right choices there than at the parks. Those pastries don't look so good when you are full, LOL
2. Stay away from the buffets - those are just too tempting for me. I have learned that I cannot overload my system with a lot of food all at once. If you have kids who want to see the characters, try to go to the places that do the "pre-plated" thing rather than the serve yourself line.
3. Carry some appropriate snacks with you. Nuts (almonds, walnuts, peanuts) are one of my favorites. I drink a lot of water and unsweetened ice tea. Even the diet sodas make me want to eat things I shouldn't, so I drink those rarely or as a treat. If whole fruit is on your eating plan, that can work as well. If you just can't stay away from those Mickey bars, etc. try to have just one bit of someone else's and then fill up on tea, soda or water.
4. Don't eat the "no sugar" options for dessert without knowing the carb count or type of sweetener used. There can be a lot of carbs in those. Sugar alcohols can cause diarrhea in some. Best sweeteners are sucralose (Splenda) and even better stevia (Truvia). Better to use up your carb allowance on vegetables or whole fruit. More nutrients & more filling.
5. Choose lean cuts of meat or fish and vegetables for the main entrees. Most table service places are easy to make good choices. Avoid potatoes and rice - you can ask that they leave it off the plate. I am usually satisfied with that, but occasionally need something sweet to finish. My DH is usually OK if I take one or two tastes of his desert. Most times I am full and don't even need that, though. After a while, most everything will taste way too sweet and one taste will more than do it for you.
6. Avoid alcohol until you know how it affects your blood sugar level. Then use it very moderately.
7. Focus on the fun and your companions, not what you "can't have or do".
8. Exercise is your friend, but that shouldn't be a problem at WDW, LOL
9. Living with diabetes can be a challenge and no one is perfect! Don't beat yourself up if you occasionally mess up. We all do. But really, if you make the lifestyle changes diabetes calls for, you will end up more healthy than you were before you developed the disease.
Good luck!
The first thing I did was call Disney Dining and note it on all of our reservations. The service we received was OUTSTANDING! At each and every table service restuarant, the chef came out and expained each ingredient in each menu item and how it was prepared, the even walked the buffet lines with him. The sugar free and no sugar added were a bit tricky as we found out that splenda was ok but others weren't. Also, my DH could eat berries but most other fruits were not ok for him. He tested his blood sugar many times throughout the day also to get a better grip on how different foods affected him. He found that he could tolerate some beer but that wine and harder liquor were off limits. Good Luck with your trip!
