WDW Dining: My thighs need your help

[ExPirateShopGirl]

Under 2 months out and the paranoia is setting in. I come home from work everyday to read review after review of WDW dining, and every review makes me want to eat at (insert name of restaurant here.)

At home I'm so disciplined. I run everyday, I watch what I eat pretty carefully and when I feel the flab I get out the food scale. There's a word for it, but it probably won't make it past the DIS censors! Of course all that will go right out the window at WDW.

For those of you who have vacationed and eaten your way through WDW for a week, how much weight did you gain? Were you using a dining plan (therefore eating more than you might have otherwise) or were you a cash patron? How active were you when you weren't dining??

Help!

 

[Harambe]

You should check out the WISH board here at the DIS. It is all diet/health related.

Personally, I'm a Weight Watcher, and I don't worry about Disney. You walk so bloody much! One year I came back two pounds lighter and I ate like a pig!

At Disney, I try to stick with my program for two meals, splurge on the third, and have only one dessert a day.

That's my plan anyway . . . LOL!

 

[gonga]

We never do the dining plan, It just never interested us.

With that said, I also watch my weight, exercise every day, and eat healthy. When on vacation, I eat what I like, but that does not mean I am doing swan dives into a big bowl of ice cream. I just can't eat that kind of food anymore, it does not taste good to me any longer. I never gain any weight on vacation, with the exception of a Celebrity cruise, and that was due to very salty food...water weight-lol.

We eat a good breakfast which is either at the CL at the GF. I fill up on fruit. yogurt and cereal. If we go to the Kona at the Poly it is a fruit and granola plate and half a bran muffin. Lunch is usually a salad, no cheeses, just protein veggies and dressing on the side, and a cocktail or two. Dinner is my splurge meal. I have appetizer, salad, entree and share dessert with DH...oh yeah and more cocktails a martini and wine. I drink tons of water throughout the day and steer away from over salted food like popcorn or hot dogs. I might have 1 cheese burger one day as a treat....I do not limit myself in any way...I learned to be satisfied on smaller portion of treat foods. But I just can't eat heavy in the heat, it makes me feel sick. That's why I eat what I want at dinner and walk it off the next day.

There are just some things I would never ever eat...I am sure they are wonderful, but just cannot bring myself to eat them: Tonga Toast, Fettucinni Alfredo. Cheese soup...well you get the picture. I personally do not feel good eating that kind of food...maybe you will not either.

It is very important to eat something every 3 hours and drink lots of water...espically in the heat. Do this and you will not feel starved.

You are on vacation, don't limit, just portion control...you will be fine!

 

[babybunrab]

I agree with Gonga. If you run and watch what you eat generally, you probably won't be able to or want to stuff yourself to the point where you will gain a bunch of weight in a week. As someone said, the walking really helps, too. I usually don't run like I do at home, but I will take a couple of quick spins around the lake at CSR in the morning before we head out, too. It doesn't take very long, and then I feel that I've excercised (even though I suppose walking all day is excercise, too).

Other than a quick run, I'll eat what I feel like next week, though, like Gonga, there are things that just don't appeal because I know I'll feel too stuffed, or things I can't digest (no gallbladder and I've never been able to digest a donut nicely since). If the food is interesting and something I can't/won't eat at home, I'll eat it!

 

[goodferry]

I am a little worried about this myself. We are on the dining plan and we leave on Saturday, so I will let you know. I am planning on bringing my running shoes so I can get a few early am workouts in. Here is what I am worried about. I am really used to eating six small meals a day and I just don't think I would be able to stuff that much food into me, even if I wanted to!

 

[honeymo78]

While I have always struggled with my weight, WDW is not a place where I had a problem. Last May we were on the gold plan (now premium) with 3 TS meals a day and yes I ate the full course at all of them. We also did an insane amount of walking around the World (as do most people). After 6 days of eating like a pig and loving it I only gained a lb or 2 which I probably wouldn't have even gained if I had increased my water intake to make up for all the walking and weather. Eating more while you are on a short vacation is not going to make you gain much weight in the long run unless you continue eating like that at home and don't walk the several miles each day like most people do at WDW. Personally, I can't wait to have steak and dessert everday - it's a treat for all the hard work and few desserts I have when I am at home.

 

[Kaycee]

I exercise every day and eat healthy at home. At WDW, I don't do cardio because I'm walking so much, but I do go to the health club at the resort to lift weights a couple of times during the week.

I don't do the dining plan because I don't eat any more at WDW than I do at home, so it would be a waste of money. I do eat a few things that I normally wouldn't, but I honestly don't stray far from my normal eating habits. I'm just not that tempted by high-fat, high-calorie foods any more. The last two trips, I found myself craving fruit and actively searching for it after a couple of days because I hadn't had as much as I usually do at home.

I don't feel at all deprived in my dining choices because I eat some great food at WDW. There are so many choices there, and many of them are healthy. In fact, I have better luck finding healthy dining choices at WDW than I do when dining out at home or on other vacations.

 

[Leota]

I eat whatever I want at WDW & never gain a pound. Like Kaycee said, I don't crave high fat/high calorie food anymore tho either. Even tho we eat at least one TS & one CS meal a day, I usually make healthy choices. I am not a cheeseburger/chicken finger/ff kind of gal anymore. Last trip, I had Kona Chowder & Crab Cakes for lunch one day. It was too rich for what my body is used to & I paid for it all day. You can bet I didn't do that again!

I usually am good about walk/running at home, but that goes out the window at WDW, no matter how good my intentions are. I do walk alot in the normal course of a day there, so it seems to balance out. I have a small yoga/strength workout that I do in my hotel room in the morning before going out to just keep in the habit.

We are going on the dining plan in a couple weeks & I have been very ill for the last 6 weeks, so I won't be as active as I usually am. Fortunatley, my appetite has lowered since my body isn't burning as many calories & I lost too much weight during my illness. If I gain anything, it'll be a good thing this time.

Just use common sense for portion control & don't eat too much junk & I'm sure you'll be fine. There are plenty of healthy choices for you which is what you will probably crave anyways. Enjoy!

 

[shoots]

If you're on the dining plan as we were last week, try to only use 1 credit each on the required TS places like buffets.

We made the mistake of trying to eat 4 CS meals ( 2 adults, an 11 yr old and an 8 yr old) and it was way too much food in one sitting for us - we're Canadian and I must say we're not used to the big American size portions at all the restaurants!

After that we shared 2 or maybe 3 CS credits and then had credits for breakfast in the hotel if we wanted or whatever - even breakfast you can get eg. A whole platter of eggs & bacon etc. with a side dessert like a huge cinnamon bun - wow, that fed 2 of us for sure with 1 credit.

We got our monies worth, but we did end up taking several drinks with us to our Universal Hard Rock Hotel for the last 3 days to use up our snack credits.

Be sure to eat at the great restaurants like Teppanyaki and you'll get great food and save lots of $$$. If you order something like steak and lobster there you'll more than pay your $35 daily plan in one meal!

Bon Appetit!

 

[erikthewise]

I can't say no to a request like that!

I think you'll be fine. It sounds like you have excellent health habits the rest of the year, so even if you completely blimp out at Disney you would return to normal faster than you think. And I think it very unlikely that you will blimp out. You will get plenty of exercise in the parks, and if that's not enough, I suggest an early morning walk/jog from WL to FW and back, about a mile each way.

It would help to not be on a dining plan. Being "forced" to have an appetizer and dessert at every TS meal is not conducive to sensible eating. Even still, I think it's entirely possible you won't gain an ounce.

 

[missypie]

It would be interesting to hear from anyone who has worn a pedometer on a Disney trip...I wonder how many miles the average person walks a day.

I have always been thin but in the past few years, my metabolism has started to slow down. About a month before our trip I stepped on the scale and was unpleasantly surprised. So for the next three weeks I ate very little and lost 8 lbs - down to my wedding day weight.

We were not on the dining plan, but we had $1005 in Disney Visa rewards that I earmarked for food. Our family (including me) ate whatever we wanted, whenever we wanted, for 10 days. I gained a grand total of 1.5 lbs, while stuffing myself with Mickey Bars, Dole Whips, cheddar cheese soup, etc. for 10 days. Not too bad.

Seriously, unless you commit bona fide gluttony, you're going to walk so much that you won't have to worry about what you eat.

One more thing: Don't be afraid to split meals with someone. Several times I split a burger combo with my DD12. It's nice not to feel stufed to the brim on hot days, plus you have a bit of room for ice cream or a churro later on!

 

[disneyvoice]

I think how much you gain depends on what your typical diet is at home. When I was doing Weight Watchers a few years back I only gained a half a pound. And I really didn't pay any attention to what I was eating - I basically ate everything I could sink my teeth into.

Last year I had been doing Atkins and I gained about 7 pounds. But, again, I didn't pay any attention to what I ate so I had a LOT of carbs. If you know anything about Atkins you know that suddenly eating a lot of carbs will pack on MAJOR pounds.

In general I think that all that walking makes up for the extra calories. We also bring breakfast bars with us so we don't have to spend a bunch of money on breakfast and so we can splurge on other foods. I doubt most people eat the big breakfasts that are so tempting at WDW, so if you can bring something low cal for breakfast you'll already be off to good start. Another good strategy is to eat a big lunch so you won't be hungry for a big dinner. We will often schedule a big lunch for around 11:00 and then get just a snack or very small meal around dinner time since we're still pretty full.

 

[CheshireVal]

I completely let myself go while at WDW. While I try to stick to a healthy, low-fat diet at home (and exercise regularly), I don't want to worry about counting calories while I'm on vacation. I've actually found that I end up walking so much at Disney that I hardly ever gain anything!

Last Christmas, we were there for 11 nights, and ate huge PS meals (many buffets) twice a day. (That's a lot of food!) I gained exactly one pound that trip. Makes me wonder how much I'd lose if I tried to diet there along with the walking!

 

[DisFlan]

We've gone with a dining plan and without. Personally, I prefer without. But if you're on the dining plan, DON'T let it push you into eating more than you are comfortable with. Eat what you want, not what you feel you have to eat to use up your credits. If you just want a salad and dessert, get a salad and dessert. If you don't want the snack, don't get it.

I don't eat huge meals, but I also don't limit myself much at Disney because I get a lot of exercise. I'm a sucker for creme brulee - if they have it, I eat it. Then I walk it off.

New Orleans, however, is a different story. BIG potential for poundage when we visit there.

DisFlan

 

[DisFlan]

We've gone with a dining plan and without. Personally, I prefer without. But if you're on the dining plan, DON'T let it push you into eating more than you are comfortable with. Eat what you want, not what you feel you have to eat to use up your credits. If you just want a salad and dessert, get a salad and dessert. If you don't want the snack, don't get it.

I don't eat huge meals, but I also don't limit myself much at Disney because I get a lot of exercise. I'm a sucker for creme brulee - if they have it, I eat it. Then I walk it off.

New Orleans, however, is a different story. BIG potential for poundage when we visit there.

DisFlan

 

[TiggrFan]

My daughters and I were at WDW in July. We were not on the dining plan. We ate breakfast in the room for the most part, except for two character breakfasts, a big meal in the afternoon and a sandwich in the evening (and a snack here and there, of course, who can resist???) and a we drank a ton of water. My oldest daughter wore a pedometer and by the end of the eight days we were there, she had walked sixty miles! My other daughter and I had actually walked farther, as we could also not resist EMH in the evenings
(we're riding Buzz Lightyear at three in the morning!!! woohooo!) but we didn't wear pedometers. I was actually surprised at the grand total of miles we walked. I mean, I knew we were walking a lot, but wow!! None of us gained any weight, even though we ate at Le Chefs de France three times! I miss the creme brulee sooo much!!! Ohhh...and the cheese plate....

 

[msblrobs]

ExPirateShopGirl, I feel like I could have written your post. We'll be on the meal plan 10/1-10/10 and I am getting very anxious about it also. I am currently training for the WDW marathon and normally run 5-10 miles a day. I normally am very conscious about eating healthy to supplement my training. That being said, WDW is another story entirely. I love, love, love good food and have no willpower against the treats to be found at the Happiest Place on Earth. I don't feel like the walking would even compensate for the excess calories since I run so much at home. I am trying to lose weight prior to the trip so I can feel a little better about indulging in the gluttony of the dining plan.

Sara
WDW 10/1-10/11 Pop Century
DL 10/21-10/23 Anniversary trip without kids!!
WDW MARATHON 1/6-1/9/2006 Swan & BWV
WDW 4/14-4/23/2006 Spring Break
WDW 11/23-12/3/2006 Thanksgiving

 

[ExPirateShopGirl]

ExPirateShopGirl, I feel like I could have written your post. We'll be on the meal plan 10/1-10/10 and I am getting very anxious about it also. I am currently training for the WDW marathon and normally run 5-10 miles a day. I normally am very conscious about eating healthy to supplement my training. That being said, WDW is another story entirely. I love, love, love good food and have no willpower against the treats to be found at the Happiest Place on Earth. I don't feel like the walking would even compensate for the excess calories since I run so much at home. I am trying to lose weight prior to the trip so I can feel a little better about indulging in the gluttony of the dining plan.

We could be twins!!! I plan to run the half-marathon in 2007, but I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE good food and unfortunately, I seem to have the stomach capacity of a bottomless pit! I have no problem maintaining a regimented diet at home that includes oatmeal, flax, spinach and blueberries daily, but WDW is going to tax my discipline. I can already hear the Tonga Toast calling my name!!!

You'll have to come join me at the WL health club one day so we can work off our excess calories!

 

[westcliffemom]

I plan on making good food choices at all our restaurants (choices including vegetarian or ones with veggies), I've printed out menus for each restaurant and am having fun making choices now to eat smart, a few splurges, and exercising daily to keep it under control!
Good post!

 

[chobie]

Whatever you do don't get on the scale the first day back. With the heat, tha change in eating habits and the saltiness of many of the foods, your likely to be packing some excess water weight.