Eating at parks

[Angelia'sthree]

I have been losing weight for a few months now. We will be in Disney in February. I still have more I want and need to lose. I am worried about eating in the parks all week. I have no ADRs. I was horribly addicted to carbs, so burgers, fries, pizza is a huge NO~NO for me.

Where and what have you been eating while visiting parks?

Angelia

 

[donac]

YOu can order a kids meal and get them with carrots and other things. TMy dh and I ordered them when we were in AK and loved it.

 

[Tiger Lily 03]

Smaller portions helps. DH and I will often split things. Or, I have been known to eat what I consider the portion and let the rest go in the garbage.

Some of the parks have fruit you can eat.

I overheard a conversation this last visit that there are vegetarian options you can ask about in some of the restaurants that are not listed on the menu. However, the calories will still count and we all know most of the foods are prepared with lots of those.

You will be walking a lot. Depending where you are staying there are also walking paths that you will find many early morning joggers using. You could do that if you enjoy that.

When you return, get right back into the routine of healthy choices and exercise and you should be fine.

Try to not worry too much. Enjoy your vacation!

 

[Nparrotte]

Smaller portions helps. DH and I will often split things. Or, I have been known to eat what I consider the portion and let the rest go in the garbage.

Some of the parks have fruit you can eat.

I overheard a conversation this last visit that there are vegetarian options you can ask about in some of the restaurants that are not listed on the menu. However, the calories will still count and we all know most of the foods are prepared with lots of those.

You will be walking a lot. Depending where you are staying there are also walking paths that you will find many early morning joggers using. You could do that if you enjoy that.

When you return, get right back into the routine of healthy choices and exercise and you should be fine.

Try to not worry too much. Enjoy your vacation!

Splitting meals is a great way to get to have park food w/o feeling to guilty. DW and I take advantage of the walking paths in the morning before we go to the parks and sometimes at night after dinner. Remember you are on vacation be health conscious but don't forget to have a good time. When you return home just get back to your routine.

 

[NeverlandClub23]

Also if you've been cutting out carbs completely or have been very strict with no cheating and eating healthy you may not like how you feel after eating something with a lot of sugar or carbs at WDW. That's how I felt when I went to WDW. I had planned to eat whatever I wanted (within moderation) but I felt so dumpy and sluggish after that I really ended up eating pretty healthy anyways. And there's lots of healthy options at WDW, which isn't typical of most amusement parks. Fruit stands, veggie burgers, sugar free options, apples and carrots instead of fries. And most CS places have a "meal sized" salad. My Dad had the BLT salad at Columbia Harbor House and he said it was really good (and he is SO not a salad person). Good luck! It wasn't as bad as I thought it was going to be once I was there. Everyone I went with ate tons of junk food but I really didn't want it as much as I thought I would (and I'm a reformed carboholic - every meal I ate before I changed for the better was junk food).

 

[FireDancer]

I think if you set your mind to it you can eat quite healthy in the parks. I am pretty good (well, most of the time) about not eating junk even when I’m at Disney.

My recommendations are to eat a lot of small snacks throughout the day instead of just three big meals. That is a recipe for overeating, especially at a buffet.

A plain bagel and fruit are available pretty much anywhere and make a better breakfast than pastry and donuts. If you are looking at doing a character breakfast look at Cape May or Boma where you can get granola, fruit, and yogurt instead of just pancakes and waffles smothered with syrup.

I have to admit I am a fan of the buffets but even here there are great options. The two with the most healthy choices I found to be Tusker House and Boma. Both have a lot of vegetable dishes and both had salmon as one of the choices for the main dish. The good news is that both also had regular buffet food so if you have picky eaters with you they should be able to find something without a problem. But remember that eating 2,000 calories of couscous isn’t all that much better than 2,000 calories of steak, so try to take just a little of everything.

And lastly the sit down restaurants. Again, Disney is very good about having something that is either healthy or can be make healthy at each restaurant. Something can often be made healthier by getting it without gravy or sauce. Luckily I am a plain food kind of person so getting my meals without the fat laden sauces is my taste preference anyway but even if you like rich food asking for the sauce on the side and using it sparingly is a better alternative then getting a meal drenched in something that makes an other wise healthy dish not so…butter sauce on a fish dish for example. This is especially true of salad dressing. A salad can end up being the least healthy dish on the menu if it comes with 2 cups of some dressings on top of it.

These are strategies I have used each time I go and when combined with all the walking you do while you are down there you may even get home from WDW a little healthier than when you went. Of course this may only be physical and not mental if you are going with a lot of kids

Good luck!

 

[Mary Anne]

I started WW in May and right now I am at Disney for the 3rd time since then. I've lost 60 lbs. There are a lot of good choices to be made. This morning we were at Boatrights. I had the fruit plate that came with 1/2 blueberry muffin. The muffin was a treat that I haven't had it months. The fruit was great. A much better choice then the cheese omlett, with potatoes and bacon. Lunch I had a plain salad and tonight I had a pulled pork sandwich in Peco Bill's with apple slices, not french fries. I had fixins of tomatoes on the side.

Staying on program can be done. You just have to decide what is worth eating and what isn't.

Good luck

 

[TammyNC]

While there right after Thanksgiving for two weeks, DH & I shared lots of our meals, the portions are always so big. We would try to eat a healthy breakfast in the room and plan a late lunch if it was going to be a larger meal so that we could try to walk it off before hitting the bed.

We didn't deprive ourselves, enjoyed our meals and although I didn't lose anything while there, I didn't gain so that was a first.

You can do it and still have a great time!!! It was nice to see them providing other options besides the normal high calorie side items.

 

[jam217]

I'm another one who orders the kids meals at counter service restaurants. Last year before the half, I ordered the kids size pasta meal at the POFQ food court and it was the perfect size. In addition to the pasta and meatball, I also got a bag of carrots, bag of grapes and a small container of milk.

I also bring breakfast foods from home -- bananas, oatmeal and Kashi cereal. It's in part to control what I'm eating for breakfast and also because I'm cheap and don't want to pay Disney prices.

 

[snarlingcoyote]

I'm a piscatarian (I eat fish.) maintaining lifetimer. Make wise choices and try to decide what you'll eat before you go somewhere. Then when your food arrives - child sized or adult - cut the plate into sections. For an adult meal, maybe into 3rds or 4ths, for a child's meal into halves. Eat that section, enjoy Disney a while, drink your drink, chat. Still hungry? Think you need more to fuel you for the next few hours? Size up your hunger and mentally decide how much you'll eat. Eat that portion. Stop. Enjoy Disney and your family. Still hungry? Eat some more. . .

You get the idea.

If you polish the food off, great, if not, great. But that way you don't over eat or eat mindlessly.

If I'm eating an adult portion at a restaurant, I nearly always look at the amount of food on my plate and divide it in half with my mind's eye. I eat my half by eating one quarter and then one quarter and usually at that point I don't want anymore. I'll leave the rest (if I'm traveling) or ask for a box (If I don't eat it, the dogs will)

And NO you do not have to finish every meal. It costs more, long-term to do so, in the cost to your health and happiness.