First timer, first world problem? How do I not eat too much and get sick?

[WishingStar78]

I don't really care if I gain any weight, I'm usually very responsible with my eating habits and expect I will loose whatever I could possibly gain, but... because of my usual habits I don't often eat a lot of heavy/rich foods.

The problem is that almost every meal has multiple special things that I would love to try, and because of our financial situation, we won't be in a position to go on more cruises for a while (we won this trip). I am a die hard foodie and I have a history of loving Disney food. but I don't want to ruin the rest of the trip just eating and feeling awful.

 

[lizabu]

The struggle is real. After a day of eating too much I knew I needed to do something. We started going to the MDR for breakfast and only nibbling at lunch. That buffet is a killer and there are so many temptations.

 

[wilkeliza]

Eat what you want and ask for half portions if you want multiple dishes. Don't eat it fully simply because it is front of you. Any food waste ends up getting ground up and being used as fish food so much better then what happens with food waste on land so I feel less guilty about it on ships.

 

[Rabb it]

On our last cruise the first thing the cruise director said was that you will gain an average of 5 pounds or something, told us not to be alarmed, you can worry about losing it later haha!

I would just make it a point to not snack too much inbetween meals. Just eating at the normal times, it's tough but it can be done!

 

[gary in florida]

I don't really care if I gain any weight, I'm usually very responsible with my eating habits and expect I will loose whatever I could possibly gain, but... because of my usual habits I don't often eat a lot of heavy/rich foods.

The problem is that almost every meal has multiple special things that I would love to try, and because of our financial situation, we won't be in a position to go on more cruises for a while (we won this trip). I am a die hard foodie and I have a history of loving Disney food. but I don't want to ruin the rest of the trip just eating and feeling awful.

Try to slow down at meals, but use all facilities like the gym and walk a lot on the deck. Get off the ship, esp at cc an walk around the island and enjoy. Enjoy and don't worry, you WILL have a good time and will feel good

 

[CamColt]

I look at a cruise as a chance to leave the diet behind and enjoy. With that said I usually gain about 1 lb per day on vacation and I have had a few nights when I've gone to bed feeling as though I have eaten too much. The only thing I can suggest is try everything you want, but in limited portions and if something you try isn't as good as you had thought, don't finish it. I find I do that often with desserts, just 1 bite is enough. Good luck and enjoy!

 

[WishingStar78]

LOL, OK, it will be hard to undo the "clean your plate" mindset, but I guess that's the only way to have "everything." now I'll just need to figure out what to do when multiple things are as good as they look

 

[jujubiee4]

Midway through our 11 night cruise i was getting sick of food. The last 4 nights I asked for a plain
salad no dressing and small chicken breast...and had trouble finishing that. The big thing for me was
the 3 meals a day thing. I don't eat that at home. Usually no breakfast ..light lunch and normal
dinner. On the cruise I actually tried to eat full 3 meals and regretted it big time.

Pace yourself and get a dab of this or that you want to try. Take a walk right after meals.
As far as buffets whatever you didn't get to try one day will probably reappear another day.

Most importantly HAVE FUN!! The weight WILL come off.

 

[sdjen]

I really enjoy the salads and fruit options on deck. That is usually enough for me for lunch if we have a big breakfast. One nice thing I like in the MDR is the portions are not super big. But, we would usually order an extra entrée or two to try out (share with the whole table) and that didn't help!

 

[PrincessShmoo]

Typically we only eat breakfast & dinner. Occasionally a snack from the poolside quick serve (my favorites - chicken tenders and the turkey/cranberry sandwich).

And use the stairs as much as possible.

I usually come back from a cruise 2-3 pounds lighter.

 

[FigmentSpark]

I found the problem wasn't eating on the ship. It was when I got back home and was still in the habit of 'treating' myself. I had to remember that I didn't usually have dessert and ice cream between meals is not a usual way of life for me. It took a few days to get back to my old routine.

As for the over-eating on the ship... bring lots of Tums/Rolaids. Also, I find that going for a walk, even just walking around the ship a couple of times, after dinner really settled my stomach and started the digestion process. Also, I didn't finish what I wasn't enjoying. Why waste the calories?

You will find, as you move around the ship, that you're getting more exercise than you think. Add in a few flights of stairs and you might not even gain weight. Definitely, enjoy yourself.

 

[Shanti]

I don't really care if I gain any weight, I'm usually very responsible with my eating habits and expect I will loose whatever I could possibly gain, but... because of my usual habits I don't often eat a lot of heavy/rich foods.

The problem is that almost every meal has multiple special things that I would love to try, and because of our financial situation, we won't be in a position to go on more cruises for a while (we won this trip). I am a die hard foodie and I have a history of loving Disney food. but I don't want to ruin the rest of the trip just eating and feeling awful.

• Light, protein-packed breakfast at the MDR.
• Light pool deck lunch or snack only mid-day.
• MDR dinner: Skip appetizer and soup. Only eat one piece of bread. Save the rest of the room for the entree and dessert.
• On your Palo or Remy brunch day, have brunch replace both breakfast and lunch.
• On your Palo or Remy dinner day, skip lunch.

 

[Bearybear]

On our last cruise, we didn't use the elevator, only the stairs. And we walked the track around the ship at least once per day. I found I didn't gain any weight even though I ate what I wanted.

 

[cadien]

It definitely helps to all agree on things to try and then share each other's orders.

Learned my lesson on having a rich entree and a rich dessert in the same meal.

 

[Cackyschmackers]

I hear ya! My only advice is to remember the breakfast buffet is all you can eat, not all you can carry. Lol. I love that saying. Ha ha Seriously, we do a TON of walking / swimming /snorkeling and by day 4, i am filled to the brim. Ugh. Try to schedule any adult dining early on, otherwise you may not be able to enjoy it (I was sad when that happened our first cruise, so I learned). Bring any and all tummy meds you can think of, honestly. We go through them all.

 

[NZMUM]

Have small amounts of food. I'm not a big eater. I eat at the buffet for breakfast & most lunches. I find that is the best way for me to not feel overfull. I eat a small amount of the things I like. At lunch I like the salad bar with a little of other things. I also don't usually snack in-between meals. I still have 3 courses at dinner, but I don't eat everything on the plate. We use the stairs most of the time too, which helps. And a walk around deck 4 is great as well.

 

[PrincessShmoo]

remember the breakfast buffet is all you can eat, not all you can carry. Lol.

Not so funny. This is a table AFTER everyone had finished eating in the buffet for lunch (note the still full plate of shrimp and two full plates of food):

 

[cruiser21]

I don't really care if I gain any weight, I'm usually very responsible with my eating habits and expect I will loose whatever I could possibly gain, but... because of my usual habits I don't often eat a lot of heavy/rich foods.

The problem is that almost every meal has multiple special things that I would love to try, and because of our financial situation, we won't be in a position to go on more cruises for a while (we won this trip). I am a die hard foodie and I have a history of loving Disney food. but I don't want to ruin the rest of the trip just eating and feeling awful.

It may not be a problem if your a real foodie. The food is good, but not great. It's nothing like the signature restaurants at WDW. I've never gained weight on a cruise.

 

[Disneyteachers]

I don't really care if I gain any weight, I'm usually very responsible with my eating habits and expect I will loose whatever I could possibly gain, but... because of my usual habits I don't often eat a lot of heavy/rich foods.

The problem is that almost every meal has multiple special things that I would love to try, and because of our financial situation, we won't be in a position to go on more cruises for a while (we won this trip). I am a die hard foodie and I have a history of loving Disney food. but I don't want to ruin the rest of the trip just eating and feeling awful.

Couple of lessons learned/strategies adopted after our first cruise last summer.

1. We had late dinner seating and went to bed stuffed every night. Not something I'm used to.

2. There are things I wanted to treat myself to, so I did but tried not to gorge on them.

3. With the exception of Palo (we were on the wonder so no Remy) I wasn't overly impressed with the food. Decent but not amazing so I really didn't tend to eat everything for each course. If I didn't like it a lot, I stopped eating it.

4. If you're a foodie, most of the "must try" items will possibly disappoint.

 

[WishingStar78]

It may not be a problem if your a real foodie. The food is good, but not great.

4. If you're a foodie, most of the "must try" items will possibly disappoint.

I fear that you are right but still hope that you are wrong... Sometimes I wish I liked more things than I do (aka almost any local restaurants) but it would be a lot harder to stay in shape if I did....