Disney on a diet.... sort of

[John Byers]

Ok, I am looking for real world experience from those that have visited WDW while in the midst of a life changing diet. I started Jan 26th at 265# and I came off the scales this past Tuesday on weigh in day at 217#. I have been on a pretty rigorous diet (1890 calories) with lots of walking (5-7 miles/day) and have cut out all sugar and most processed foods.

Facts: DW, DS14, DS12 and I are on the QSDDP and are planning on doing breakfast in the hotels as I can get my normal breakfast of plain fat free greek yogurt, fresh fruit and granola. Water, no problems there. QS desserts, no thanks give me that bottle of water as a snack or some other item that is better besides premade cupcakes.

Problem: I think I need to remember I am on vacation and enjoy myself some but one meal per day seems like the most I would like have as a cheat meal and enjoy the Disney dining experience. That lunch meal in each park is going to be the tough one trying to eat pseudo healthy...am I over thinking this? What has been your experiences?

Magic Kingdom?

Epcot?

Hollywood Studios?

Animal Kingdom?

 

[goofy4prez]

I certainly think you can do this. I can relate to where you are at, I have been there myself. There are plenty of nice options other than the typical burgers, French fries, hot dogs, pizza and chicken nuggets. Being that you are on the QSDP some nice options are the salmon at Columbia Harbour House in the MK; Epcot has some real nice QS options at Sunshine Seasons and Tangierine Café. In the AK the BBQ chicken at Flame Tree is pretty good. At HS... Well that park is a tough one. There are healthy options but the food is just not that good. Based off of menu's your best bet may be ABC Commissary.

With all of that said, one thing I learned in my journey of losing weight and now keeping it off 4 years is that every once in awhile I have to allow my self to enjoy some of the things I have enjoyed in the past whether it's an ice cream cone or a slice of pie. This has helped me from going on binges. But with that there are still some things I just won't do anymore in my diet such as fried foods. Good luck and I'm sure you will be a success in this journey.

 

[_auroraborealis_]

And the good news is that the 5 miles a day of walking will be easily achieved at Disney!

 

[jrmasm]

I always try to get someone to split meals with me so I'm not tempted to over do it.

 

[WhoDat09]

I forget my diet for the 1 week each year that I am in Disney. I eat under 2000 calories pretty much every other day of the year, but let go for the 5 or 6 days I'm on vacation. I pretty much just forget everything in the real world and live in the Disney bubble where I don't worry about anything, including my diet. The only part of my diet that I maintain is refraining from drinking soda. Since drinks are included in the DDP, I drink unsweetened tea generally.

 

[Jgeauxmo]

I think you will be perfectly fine! Disney is trying to add healthy at most places. I rarely eat fried food pizza etc and I was able to always find something I liked. At animal kingdom we got edamame from one of the carts for our son for a snack. (He loves this!) we also had fruit and cheese snacks at a few carts in animal kingdom. try to get be our guest for lunch. They have a tuna niscoise salad as well as a quinoa salad that would work well. Also cosmic rays has grilled items on their menu like a chicken breast. You will have no problem at Epcot. Sunshine seasons has a grilled salmon option and other healthier options. i can't comment on HS. We've never eaten anything there other than a pretzel.

 

[John Byers]

Thanks everyone for the replies! DW says I need to live a little and enjoy the Disney bubble while on vacation but this journey has transformed me so much I actually want to try and eat healthy for the most part

I guess me, my laptop and some restaurant menu's are going to become familiar this weekend while I make a plan!

 

[Darkside]

Definitely try Starring Rolls Cafe' at Hollywood Studios. They offer ham, turkey and roasted vegetable sandwiches on multi grain bread. a couple of great salads, one with chicken and of course fresh fruit.

 

[mickeygirl78]

I wore a pedometer on one trip and I ranged from 10-14 miles per day. Since you will be walking more than you normally do at home, you can have a little flexibility in your calorie intake.

 

[Cynister]

I think as long as you are walking more than you normally are & don't engorge then it doesn't much matter what you eat. At least that's been my experience. I've lost 45lbs & still going but have been concerned about your example too. The fact is for me, eating a Mickey pretzel or a cupcake hasn't mattered because I'm walking about 2-3x my normal which is about 5-7 miles a day. However I also don't use that as the excuse to eat burgers at every meal. If you aren't as active when you go on vacation. Then maybe watching food closer is a good option. Epcot's restaurants have great healthy choices. Most others will have a wrap or salad option. If you go outside of the parks, Roaring Fork's salad is the best I've had there, hands down.

 

[loves to dive]

You shouldn't have any problems, I eat mostly healthy when I'm there. One word of caution, a number of people have mentioned you will be walking more. While it is true you do put some miles on the old Fitbit, those miles are not all at once and generally aren't at a very fast pace so you won't really be burning that many more calories with that. I'm a walker/jogger at home (used to jog but burnt out both my knees) and continue to get up early in the morning while on vacation and do a nice 1/2 hour fast paced walk every day. In order to get 5 miles in you are going to have to go a number of laps around whatever resort you are staying at but most, if not all, have jogging trails.

 

[tobikaye]

Something to help, remember you can take your own food into WDW with you. So, take some extra fruits, veggies, and/or proteins with you. This way, you can always off-set some of your meals or the need for a snack.

I actually do better, mood wise, at WDW by just eating a little bit every 2-3 hours so I take snacks with me. I usually have protein based snacks.

 

[MommaBerd]

I want to encourage you in your choice to eat healthy while you are there. TWICE DH and I were on Weight Watchers when we went to a Disney park. We lived in the moment and ate what we wanted. The problem for us was once we fell off the wagon, it took a looooong time to get back on! I know everyone is different, but if you WANT to eat healthy while you are there - good for you! You'll come home not only refreshed from your vacation, but also with a sense of accomplishment knowing you made healthy choices in a place where that's not always easy to do.

 

[pa. dad]

If you overdo it at one meal, maybe you make up for it by not eating a lot or skipping the next meal. Or skip lunch if you know a big meal is coming for dinner.

 

[ahutton]

We were there in March, and I managed to lose 5 more pounds in the 8 days were were there. We walked and swam a bunch, I didn't drink calories (water, unsweetened tea and coffee) and made conscious choices about splurges (baklava in Morocco) but otherwise looked over the menu and made the best choices I could. Almost every quick service place has some type of grilled sandwich - chicken, salmon or a salad with protein. My favorite places were Tangierine Cafe, Sunshine Seasons, Hurricaine Hannahs (Beach Club), Columbia Harbor House, Cosmic Rays, and Backlot Express. We didn't get over to AK but Flame Tree would have been my first choice there! The biggest thing to keep in mind is if you totally go off the rails - get right back on. You will feel the impact of not eating the way you have been, and it really won't be worth it.

 

[Stacey Krull]

My husband and I actually split all of our lunch meals. The portions are so large and we were so full of excitement that we weren't very hungry. We did have a few snacks throughout the day like protein bars or almonds. Our favorite place to stop for snacks at Animal Kingdom was the Harambe Fruit Market. They have fruit, cheese and crackers, veggies, etc. Are you on the dining plan? I feel that led us to feeling like we "had" to overeat so that we wouldn't waste. The food coming with even a quick meal is large and includes the dessert. This may make it harder to stay on track. I think splitting is the best way to go because you are eliminating any possible cravings and still getting to taste all the delicious foods without much guilt (you will just walk off that tiny bit of guilt off in no time at all anyway!) Maybe just beware of any buffets... The Pinocchio restaurant at Magic Kingdom had lots of healthy options as well.

 

[goofy4prez]

I want to encourage you in your choice to eat healthy while you are there. TWICE DH and I were on Weight Watchers when we went to a Disney park. We lived in the moment and ate what we wanted. The problem for us was once we fell off the wagon, it took a looooong time to get back on! I know everyone is different, but if you WANT to eat healthy while you are there - good for you! You'll come home not only refreshed from your vacation, but also with a sense of accomplishment knowing you made healthy choices in a place where that's not always easy to do.

I agree with this and would give the same advice to the OP. Telling someone who has had problems with food (like I did) to jump off the bandwagon, eat and be merry for the week because it's a vacation is like telling an alcoholic to go ahead and drink away for the week. I know everyone is different, but most people such as myself who have overcome these obstacles can't just eat away for a week and return to normal.

 

[hsmamato2]

OP I think I feel your anxiety, it's the big change and how to manage it on vacation that makes you wonder....I've done this (for different reasons related to health) but the first trip to WDW while switching my eating lifestyle caused me anxiety,I had a whole suitcase full of my own food to bring with me everywhere! Turns out I used a lot of that food, but was actually easily able to choose what I needed while touring... (I always kept my snack in my handbag just in case) What I'm trying to say is you can keep to your own diet plan, yes there will be a lot of junk you won't want, but sticking with your overall diet,and maybe splurging on some fun food each night at dinner as a treat will keep you on track. FWIW, I average about 800-1400 calories per day at home for my normal diet-(I eat a LOT, just lower cal. foods mostly) at Disney I do (much) more, but every place makes it easy to choose wisely- salads are everywhere, lighter choices like a piece of fruit,etc.I don't like dining plans for that reason, I need to pick and choose my foods,not base my eating on value and expenses.

 

[squeezle]

First of all, congrats on your accomplishment!!

We have also changed the way we eat since our last visit and are trying to figure out how this new way of eating is going to fit into out Disney vacations. I was talking to my health care provider about how it's seem so hard to me to get out of the mindset that vacation is for indulging and decadence, and she told me to look at it in terms of joy. She said vacation is a limited time and the joy that I get out of a little (or even a lot of) indulgence on vacation brings me a sense of joy that is beneficial to my overall wellbeing. In my case, because I am much healthier that I used to be, and maintain a healthy lifestyle at home, that I am not doing long term harm and shouldn't be so hard on myself.

So, think about what bring you more joy. Will maintaining your rigorous diet give you a sense of pride and accomplishment? Or will a a Mickey Bar make your heart sing with the knowledge that you can get back to normal when you get home? Know that this is a long term journey and find the joy where you can.

 

[rhiansmom]

If you order a salad ask for the dressing on the side or you will find it drenched in dressing. All the calories you thought you saved are wrapped up in dressing.