Ketogenic Diet and Disney

[adisneymama]

My DD might be placed on a Ketongenic Diet to control her seizures. Has anyone ever dined at Disney while on this diet? I have dealt with the folks at the special foods department before due to some of her food allergies and they have been great. Was just wondering how you did with this diet at Disney?? thanks!

 

[SueM in MN]

Since it is a very complicated diet, it’s hard to make sure that people understand what is meant by just saying ketogenic diet.
What people have found works better is to look at the menu and see if there are things that fit whatever diet they are on. If something needs to be done to make it fit - tell the server or chef what needs to be removed or added (hamburger without the bun.... 1/2 portion green beans with 2 Tablespoons butter).

Some people make a card with a list of allowed foods and foods that are not allowed on their particular diet. They print up a number of cards and then hand one to the server or chef (Vistaprint.com is a good source of inexpensive business cards and may be able to print cards for you).

 

[snarlingcoyote]

I did Disney in September on a ketogenic diet. (Mostly. When I cheat, I don't get seizures, I just get severe facial pain that is partially controlled with drugs, so I did cheat 3 days. . .and paid for it, but it was worth it for me.)

Okay, the QS restaurants mostly suck except for breakfast. For lunch, I got double burger with bacon specials and ate the meat out of them then tossed everything else. For breakfast though, they're pretty good. We were at Jambo house, and I got eggs and a meat as my breakfast every morning.

For ADR places. . .

The Sci Fi Dine In at HS actually had something on their menu that I could order with NO changes! They have a blue cheese salad that's just a wedge of iceburg lettuce and it comes with steak and NOTHING else! (Okay, I think I did ask for no tomatoes, but that was the extent of it!) W00T!

At any of the buffets it would be v. easy to stick with all protein/fat in the right combo and stay under carb limits. We did Jiko and I had no problems both stuffing myself and staying under my limit for the day.

We did the Marrakesh and I believe I got a kabob with nothing else on the plate and mussels as an appetizer. Stuffed myself quite handily! (ETA: DH thinks I got veggies with my kabob and just picked through them and ate what I could, and he might be right. I remember mussels and the kabob. . .)

Based on that, you should be able to manage, although at the QS places, I think you'll be tossing a LOT of food away.

We ate at the Cracker Barrel off property twice though, because I can get a 5 carb meal there very easily. I'm an adult though, and so long as I stay under about 20 carbs a day, I can stay in ketosis pretty easily, so I have a teensy bit of wiggle room but can still keep the stick all reddish

ETA: I never even thought about calling the special foods department - might do that next time. I did check all the menus out on this website just to have a sort of game plan, and DH and I both have nutrition facts websites bookmarked on our phones so we can count carbs on the fly.

ETA2: I forgot to mention - we went to the Target as soon as we got to Disney and I bought a bunch of cheese sticks and pre-cooked meats and such for snacks that I could stick in my pockets for noshing purposes and for bedtime snacks.

 

[clanmcculloch]

I haven't done it myself, but with my understanding of a ketogenic diet, here's what I think. CS won't be easy but you should be able to order a la carte entrees rather than full meals so that you're not throwing out the starchy sides. Just ordering half chicken, double burgers, etc without sides is definitely possible even if this isn't listed on menus. At resorts you can get things like hard boiled eggs and salads from the cooler as well. Desserts though will be difficult. If it was my child I think I'd probably skip desserts myself so that my child wouldn't have to sit and watch me eat desserts while she had to do without (I do this a lot with my kids so no I'm not suggesting something I wouldn't do myself).

At TS restaurants, chefs will definitely be able to help. Desserts will still be difficult if not impossible. Depending on just how low you need to keep her carbs, you may be able to get some berries at some restaurants (berries I believe are a carb that you can occasionally indulge in if I remember correctly) but really there's not much a chef can do about sweets that are low carb. Sugar free as you know does NOT mean low carb.

If you're using a dining plan then you should be able to get cheese instead of dessert (served at dessert time) where they serve cheese platters. Chefs may be willing to do things like an order of bacon or something else savory. Chefs will do everything in their power to create something special for your DD if they have ingredients on hand to do so. At CS there really aren't options though so I would recommend you get creative with your use of credits and maybe share meals in your family with your DD eating more entree portions and the rest of you eating more than your share of side portions and dessert options (note that you can get salad or fruit as your dessert option at most CS locations which will stretch your real food types of portions to the meals). In general, dining plans are not well suited to dietary needs like ketogenic diets.

I believe that there are some low carb threads on the restaurant board. I doubt that most of the guests following low carb need to be as low as a ketogenic diet so there are likely suggestions that are inappropriate for your needs but there should be some suggestions on those threads.

 

[buffettgirl]

As an aside: just in case you don't know (and many don't) there are blood ketone meters that you can use instead of urine ketone sticks (pee-tones lol as the kids call them). Most non-diabetes doctors don't even know they exist. It's just the basic precision xtra blood glucose meter with special 'ketone' strips. SOOOOOOOOOOO much easier in kids. Mostly, they're used by people with diabetes (we don't want to see ketones) but I have one friend who's son is using it for his ketogenic diet and it's working remarkably well to be so quickly able to see the level of ketones.
http://www.abbottdiabetescare.com/precision-xtra-blood-glucose-and-ketone-monitoring-system.html

 

[snarlingcoyote]

As an aside: just in case you don't know (and many don't) there are blood ketone meters that you can use instead of urine ketone sticks (pee-tones lol as the kids call them). Most non-diabetes doctors don't even know they exist. It's just the basic precision xtra blood glucose meter with special 'ketone' strips. SOOOOOOOOOOO much easier in kids. Mostly, they're used by people with diabetes (we don't want to see ketones) but I have one friend who's son is using it for his ketogenic diet and it's working remarkably well to be so quickly able to see the level of ketones.
http://www.abbottdiabetescare.com/precision-xtra-blood-glucose-and-ketone-monitoring-system.html

Interesting. But, I don't get how it's easier. You have to carry the meter around, you have to stick your hand with an itsy teensy needle. Pee sticks, you pull one out, you pee on it, you look at the color, you throw it away. Not that complicated. And they're so cheap I have bottles of the sticks in both bathrooms and in my purse.

If you want an exact number to come up, the meter would be the way to go, I think and be easier. But if you just need a good range, it's pretty easy to learn the colors and what color you do best at. (Light red for me!)

 

[buffettgirl]

Interesting. But, I don't get how it's easier. You have to carry the meter around, you have to stick your hand with an itsy teensy needle. Pee sticks, you pull one out, you pee on it, you look at the color, you throw it away. Not that complicated. And they're so cheap I have bottles of the sticks in both bathrooms and in my purse.

If you want an exact number to come up, the meter would be the way to go, I think and be easier. But if you just need a good range, it's pretty easy to learn the colors and what color you do best at. (Light red for me!)

I said it was easier for kids, I can't speak for adults...have you ever tried to make a child pee when they don't want to pee??? Plus, they can be used anywhere, at anytime. You don't have to be in the bathroom stall WITH the child especially for a child who might not be used to bathroom 'help'.
Again, that's different for an adult who is doing this for herself/himself . Yes, they are more expensive, and yes you have to do a finger prick. The meter is free from the manufacture (never ever ever ever ever EVER pay for any diabetes related meter) and ketone sticks can usually be covered by insurance. Yes, you have to carry the meter, but you also have to carry the sticks. So, you're carrying something.

 

[adisneymama]

Thanks for the info. I'm going to spend some time reading thru it all again. Thanks a bunch.

 

[snarlingcoyote]

I said it was easier for kids, I can't speak for adults...have you ever tried to make a child pee when they don't want to pee??? Plus, they can be used anywhere, at anytime. You don't have to be in the bathroom stall WITH the child especially for a child who might not be used to bathroom 'help'.
Again, that's different for an adult who is doing this for herself/himself . Yes, they are more expensive, and yes you have to do a finger prick. The meter is free from the manufacture (never ever ever ever ever EVER pay for any diabetes related meter) and ketone sticks can usually be covered by insurance. Yes, you have to carry the meter, but you also have to carry the sticks. So, you're carrying something.

Uhm yeah. I was that kid. For completely different reasons I had to pee on a stick twice a day from the time I was 4. If you can pee on your own, you can pee on a stick on your own. Get a stick, go pee, tidy up, hand Mom the stick. Not that complex an operations. By the time I was out of kindergarten I could actually read the stick. "It's not the icky color, Mama!" Or "It's the wrong color, I need medicine!" I never had help with the peeing part.

 

[buffettgirl]

Uhm yeah. I was that kid. For completely different reasons I had to pee on a stick twice a day from the time I was 4. If you can pee on your own, you can pee on a stick on your own. Get a stick, go pee, tidy up, hand Mom the stick. Not that complex an operations. By the time I was out of kindergarten I could actually read the stick. "It's not the icky color, Mama!" Or "It's the wrong color, I need medicine!" I never had help with the peeing part.

and I'm happy for you. I'm not sure why you're so unwilling to allow that there might be something easier/better/more convenient/more private than peeing on a stick. if it works for you, GREAT. I'm just offering a different alternative.

I just know that it's often difficult to get a child to pee on command when they don't want to pee. And some people (adults as well as kids) are ick about peeing on sticks or handling a stick after it's been pee'd upon. We did 'pee-sticks' and we've done the meter. My child 100% prefers the meter. Of course, he also is getting his finger pricked 10 other times a day so that part doesn't phase him at all, but like I said earlier, I have a friend who's son does not have diabetes and uses the ketone meter strictly to monitor his ketogenic diet and she finds that the meter is vastly more convenient when out in public. She uses urine strips at home but always keeps the meter on hand for travelling.

And for what it's worth, urine ketones lag 2 hours behind blood ketones. So there's that.

 

[melissa924]

My 5 year old daughter has on the ketogenic diet for almost 2 years now. We went to disney last year and did fine.... As with anywhere we have dined out. We usually bring her fat source with us (usually canola oil) and just look for something on the menu she can eat. I find most places usually carry grilled chicken, a hot dog or a hamburger and a salad, fruit or veggie for the side dish. You can also purchase a pocket sized scale to use instead of the standard size scale for measuring the foods. Another option is to bring foods with you to the park that are pre meassured and do not need to be heated. There is also something called ketocal we use a lot it's a drink that to me taste similar to a vanilla milkshake. You can get it in powder form to mix with water or get pre-mixed (kind of like a juice box) we use it a lot. Exspecially places where she is to excited to sit still and eat a full meal. (we just give her a free food with it such as lettuce or olives) We have never had problems finding things to feed her in restaraunts, although it was a little overwheelming at first. I would suggest going to a few restaraunts before you go to Disney to get the hang of it. After a few times you'll be a pro!!!

 

[mrsfascinating]

We tried the ketogenic diet for my daughters seizures and unfortunatly it didn't work. As strick as you have to be in the diet to maintain ketones I could not imagine doing it in disney. I spent an entire day weighing and configuring meals and stocking my fridge to make it easier when meal time came. Looking back on some of the meals I made I couldn't have made them in disney. I can't remember if you can live off the ketocal drink alone, but if your child likes that it would make meal time easier. Good Luck maybe someone who has done it can pm you a give you more specific places they ate.