Weight Watchers and Disney?

[TEminnie]

Does anyone have tips to stay within points while at Disney? Or any links as to what the points might be. I hate to gain it back--and we have a lot of table service restaurants:
Trails End
CHef MIckeys
San Angel
Mama Melrose
Chefs De France (lunch)
Biergarten (oh no!)
Raglan Road

Any help would be appreciated--leaving Saturday!

 

[mla1977]

I would recommend using the flex plan while at Disney. I find I do better with that plan in general. I'll try to look at the menus and give my opinions to you later tonight

 

[Bob P]

Hi,

If you do a search on this board for "weight watchers" you'll find lots of threads. Here is one:

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1001645&referrerid=&highlight="weight+watchers"

Good luck!

 

[DaisyD]

My advice is to lose as much weight as you can before your trip. When you go on vacation just eat what you want and enjoy yourself. You don't have to eat everything on your plate or every dessert. You shouldn't not get the foods you like as it will just make you feel like you are missing out. I have never gained weight on a Disney trip and believe me, I eat everything! The walking takes care of that. We are going back in June. I will be finished with my weight loss by then and plan on enjoying anything I want.

 

[tpask8r]

Some tips:

1) Everything in moderation

2) In between meals, if you are hungry, drink a full glass of water and wait 30 minutes. If you are still hungry, then get fruit for a snack. You can also bring those 100 Calorie snacks from home and keep them in your purse. Buy a bag of apples at the grocery store and bring them with you to keep in the room.

3) Exercise, exercise, exercise. You will get plenty of it. Remember the less calories you put in, the less you have to burn.

4) Eat big for breakfast, lighter for lunch, and even lighter for dinner. Then you will burn off the calories from your biggest meals throughout the day. Have chicken or fish for dinner. Also, you can ask the waiter not to put creams, sauces on your meat. I believe the nicer restaurants in the parks and resorts have health conscious meals on their menus. Stay away from fried.

5) Stop eating when you are full.

6) Drink a whole glass of water before you eat while you are waiting on your food. Then you will get fuller sooner.

7) Stop worrying about your weight and make your family memories. The only important thing in life is your family/loved ones, and the memories you make with them. If God is going to take you, he will do so whether you ate the steak or not. Make the most of your days and find happiness. The rest will fall into place. There is no doubt in my mind you will look just as great after the trip as you do now!!!

Keep Smiling!
Brian

 

[mcco5543]

Dear PP,

I hope that by "one meal a day" you mean an actual" sitdown meal and that you eat small things throughout the day. Otherwise whoever else might read this might get the idea that eating once and ONLY once a day is safe and healthy and a good way to lose and keep weight off without any kind of Dr. supervison. Which could be dangerous for others...so you meant you only eat one "regular" meal per day? (just trying not to steer any other posters wrong here)

 

[Danna]

Good tips. I figure if I made it through our cruise last year I can make it through Disney! Plus you do so much walking which is great!

 

[Amy&Dan]

You might also post this on the WISH board, there are always lots of good tips over there! I have done two WDW trips, one DL trip and one DCL trip while on WW and have managed to hold my own on all of them (down 35 pounds but still aways to go). I have learned to pick my treats wisely. I would rather eat a really good dessert and enjoy it all then eat something like a Mickey Bar (and I love Mickey Bars) which is basically an eskimo pie I can have at home. I drank tons of water! And when I did the DDP I used my snack credits for water bottles. Ate as many salads as I could. At Chef Mickey's and some of the other buffets, I did the best. I filled up on salads and meat and then shared bites of desserts with my dh. I avoided bread and potatoes as much as possible. I also tried my best to avoid any drinks with calories. At San Angel they have a filet and some other steak type entrees, those are better than cheese laden enchiladas. Now at home when I do Mexican I chew gum during the chips and salsa course and it really works! I should have done that at San Angel because as I recall I really chowed on those chips (which aren't even that good go figure).

I also agree with others, just do your best, drink water, the walking you do helps a lot and above all: Enjoy your vacation! If you gain a bit, it will come off when you come home and resume your normal habits.

 

[TEminnie]

Wow, thanks for the great tips and encouragement! Yes, I will do a lot of walking--I plan to wake the crew up early each morning! I like the tip about planning well for the desserts (which I love)--I will pick the things I couldn't get at home!
Great tip too about chips at San Angel (or any Mexican restaurant)--last time I kept count with my fingers, but I would really rather save the calories for the good meal there!
I need to remember to pack lots of sugar-free gum--last time I couldn't find any there and it does keep my mouth busy!

 

[Amy&Dan]

Wow, thanks for the great tips and encouragement! Yes, I will do a lot of walking--I plan to wake the crew up early each morning! I like the tip about planning well for the desserts (which I love)--I will pick the things I couldn't get at home!
Great tip too about chips at San Angel (or any Mexican restaurant)--last time I kept count with my fingers, but I would really rather save the calories for the good meal there!
I need to remember to pack lots of sugar-free gum--last time I couldn't find any there and it does keep my mouth busy!

Good idea, there is no place at any Disney park, hotel or gift shop that sells gum. They don't want to contribute to the problem of people sticking their "ABC" gum under tables etc! But I am telling you that tip is saving me a lot of calories at Mexican places!

 

[calypso*a*go-go]

My advice would be to cancel the three buffets you have ADR's for and switch to restaurants that have plated meals. For me, Weight Watchers and buffets *do not* go together. I'm not trying to be mean -- I'm speaking from experience as one of the reasons I'm overweight is because of self-control issues. If there is food openly available...I will eat it!!!

 

[Chrisypoo]

In all honesty, you might be fine not even worrying about points. We went in November on the dining plan and I was going to count it as a "free" week (bad, I know but I've been known not to follow rules a time or two ) I had all the appys, deserts, snacks...everything...and I ended up loosing 4lbs. We were at the parks at least 6 hours a day and then visited the pool, so I got more than my fair share of AP's!

 

[kribit]

I was going to say the same thing as Chrisypoo. You do so much walking that you would probably lose weight even though you aren't counting points. You're on vacation...enjoy.

 

[mabenoab]

and understand! I have a plan for myself when I'm down there, because I don't want to gain back what I plan to lose before I go (is that confusing?). Maybe you'll find something here of some value to you?

Moderation. I don't need dessert at every meal, even if I am on vacation. If I have an appetizer, I'll skip dessert. I don't need a cocktail every night (though I'd really like one!). Don't do mindless snacking: when eating, be aware that I'm eating. Make choices, and don't throw caution to the wind...hmm, two scrambled eggs and a slice of bacon OR Tonga Toast? If I must have Tonga Toast, have it once, not every morning.

I also agree with the posters who wrote about drinking water...lots of it! and staying away from buffets. Yeah, thats all I need: a license to eat as much as possible at a bottomless buffet of food!!

But most important I promise not to beat myself up if I slip, or don't stick to the plan. Its all about changing my mindset, and developing new habits, not about surviving a diet. Good luck to you, and I applaud that you're thinking ahead!!

 

[Danna]

I was told there's a Curves in Disney, is that true??? Anyone know?

 

[Bob P]

I was told there's a Curves in Disney, is that true??? Anyone know?

There are quite a few in Orlando but none on Disney property. However, many of the WDW resorts have gyms and/or walking/jogging paths.

 

[Katiebell]

Tip for buffets (this works for potlucks and holiday dinners too): look at everything first, and decide what you really want. Try tiny little tastes of things first, then only go back for the things you absolutely love Skip anything that you can have just anywhere -- rice, mashed potatoes, bread, corn, mac and cheese (unless it's really fantastic, amazing mac and cheese ). Notice that buffets have all those cheap, super-filling carbs at the beginning? Dish up a big green salad first, put your dressing on the side and just dip your fork in between bites (you'll be amazed how little dressing you use that way) while you think about what you really want to get. Then maybe have a bowl of soup, if they have that. By the time you take your plate up, you should be ready to eat nice, reasonable portions If you can't make up your mind which dessert you want -- pick three and see if your family members would be willing to split them with you. Or just cut each one in half, put them all on one plate, set the rest aside, and savor every bite (if you have teenage boys in your group, I guarantee the rest of the desserts will vanish off the table!)

With all the walking, you'll get probably way more exercise than you realize -- I wore a pedometer at DL, and one day we walked 17 miles Drink lots of water, focus on light breakfasts like fruit and cereal if you know you have a big meal planned later in the day. Be sensible, but allow yourself some treats -- I'm sure you'll do fine!

Oh...and for anyone who is interested: Dole Whip is only 80 cal for a 1/2 cup serving, 0 cal from fat. Whoo hoo!

 

[BunBun]

If you plan on not letting loose and enjoying your vacation.. Retake your points quiz and include your activity level for the week. It'll go waaaay up, and add a few points to for activity points.

Relax, know your portion sizes, make good choices (with a select number of goodies when you need to).

 

[cncDisney4]

am on the LA Weight Loss plan. I have lost 60 lbs so far and have been to WDW two times during that. Every time I came back and weighed in I had lost weight. I just watched what I ate - counted my proteins, starches, vegetables and fruits (that was the hard one). I didn't have any problem finding something good to eat at the restaurants that kept me on my plan. I did allow myself some wiggle room (like a pretzel at DTD (1) - love those - and my traditional 'Ohana's dinner each time). You do an incredible amount of walking during these vacations and that helps so much - also drink alot of water. I just relaxed and enjoyed myself but put what I had learned to good use and followed the plan I knew would work. Good luck to you and have a wonderful time!

 

[TEminnie]

Thanks for all the great tips--I am happy to say I weighed in this morning and had lost 0.6 pounds after the trip. Yes, I believe all the walking helped a lot, and I took the advice to try the Dole whip, avoid the chips at san Angel and wait for the good stuff, and most important--relax and have a great trip (which I did!)
All the WW members clapped today and two of them took notes of your tips for their upcoming trips!