Almost Disney Time - Can I avoid regression???

chasidieason

Good morning lovely MFPers! As some of you know, when I started out 3 weeks ago, one of my mini goals has been to shed as many pounds as possible before we hit the road for our belated honeymoon. We are now at 5 days out from our trip and I've lost about 16 lbs. I'm really looking forward to the trip - but that is also accompanied with some anxiety now about counteracting all of the hard work that I have done. We booked our trip with the Disney Deluxe Dining plan, with the main reason being that we plan to go to some of the signature restaurants and character experiences (I get to have dinner in Cinderella's castle!) and those places require 2 dining credits. The way it's set up, we each get three meal credits and two snacks each day. I know that there are healthy options for snacks and at sit-down restaurants, but I'm pretty sure that, for convenience during the daytime, we'll be doing a lot of "quick service" which is basically food stands with burgers, fries, ribs, etc...

I'm just very worried about either overdoing it with junk or on the opposite end of the spectrum, being so obsessed that I'll sell myself short of enjoying some good food and possibly dampening my husband's good time on our honeymoon. I know we'll be active throughout the entire trip, but I don't know how to guess how many cals I will be burning?

I actually couldn't sleep for thinking about this last night. Please give me some advice you dear sweet people! :ohwell:

wickedcricket

for me, the prices at Disney were an appetite depressant
but it's your honeymoon! have fun & don't worry about a few extra calories

kriots

enjoy your self. but try to get some cardio each morning before you go out. Let your husband know, your not going to be all stressed out about food, but you will be heading the treadmill in the morning...

Dandersonjr32

It's vacation, and it's Disney. You'll walk, on average, 6 miles a day.

Don't sweat the extra weight. Go, eat, enjoy! I suggest the Trail's End Restaurant in Fort Wilderness. They serve all the food from the Hoo Dee Do for a fraction of the price, and it's delicious. Also, Cat Cora's place at the Boardwalk (just off the back gate of EPCOT) is really great.

Deal with it when you get back. Who much do you think you'll put on in a week or so? Not that much. Don't stress. We work out SO we can eat on vacation.

tallen3687

Go and have a fun time! This is your honeymoon. However, when possible eat healthy. That along with the walking you will be doing will help counteract the bad food you might partake in. And don't over eat the bad stuff. I don't know about you, but before embarking on a healthier lifestyle (and still sometimes) it wasn't necessarily the food I ate but how much of it I ate! Everything in moderation and you will be fine. Just enjoy!

MagicandCastles

Just don't worry about it and have fun! I'm not tracking this week as its the first week off work I've had in ages. I've only had one day of really crap eating though because MFP has trained me to eat sensibly most of the time anyway. Think of all the walking around you'll be doing anyway, you'll be getting plenty of exercise!

zaiikaa

1. definitely switch to maintenance calories so you have extra wiggle room. don't try for a deficit on your honeymoon.
2. ENJOY IT! have that burger, but have it with a salad. Or split a burger and fries. Drink water instead of soda. Don't go overboard in either direction - just try making "healthy choices" while not depriving yourself. i still have fast food pretty often, but i'll split a meal w/ my fiance' rather than having the whole meal myself.

angela828

omg have so much fun! i'm going to disney for my honeymoon too

i just went there in August (2 friends moved to orlando) so i was all about healthy choices. my advice is to just watch what goes into your mouth! PORTION CONTROL! If there is an option to get fries or apple slices, GET APPLE SLICES!! stay HYDRATED! eat a good breakfast every morning (a lot of the hotels offer healthy breakfast choices - fruit, eggs, etc). Don't be afraid to ask your waiter or waitress or someone at the hotel if you can have something else.

i mean you are going to DISNEY so have fun and try not to worry about it. I'm anal about it so i logged my calories in disney as much as i could. we literally walked around for 10-12 hours the 2 days we were there and sweated our butts off so i logged it as 7 or 8 hours of leisurely walking.

we went to the smorgasboard in germany in epcot and it was awesome - but i just took small portions of what i wanted and drank water, i still really really enjoyed it!

just control your portions, make healthy choices, and drink LOTS of water and you should be ok. I maintained while there and that was fine with me. DON'T obsess, just find downtime to log your food (like when youre on your way back to the hotel or something).

have fun! (ps. for a treat, get a frozen banana.. it's in the mfp food log!!!!!!!!)

GoldenGirl1979

i'm going to disney world tomorrow for a week!! it's my daughter's 5th bday!! & we will definitely be having dinner at cinderella's royal table :-)

i definitely plan to enjoy myself, but i also plan to wake up & get a really good workout session daily!!! also, i think w/all the walking around we'll be doing, that'll be extra cals burned

is there a gym at your hotel? if so, just burn a BUNCH of cals in the a.m. & enjoy yourself for the rest of the day!!!! have fun!!!!!

jennajava

just make smart choices at the food stands. download the mfp app. before you order, look up a food. ribs aren't that bad if you just eat the ribs with no sides. lots of protein too. a plain hot dog is never a bad choice either. just avoid chips, fries, etc. take some good snacks with you and pack them in a small backpack to carry with you. granola, etc.

nlowry09

Have a great honeymoon. Enjoy yourself but it may help to write down the the foods you really enjoy (some people love the Mickey ice crea, some love the turkey legs). It will stop you from overeating on foods that aren't as important to you.

mikefromdot

Have fun and relax! It's your honeymoon, you'll get loads of exercise before you even leave the hotel! Just work a little harder when you get back. No way are you going to put the 16 pounds back on in a week. maybe half that. That's 2 weeks worth of exercise for you! Also, skip the bread. Just throw it away and eat with a fork when you can. You'll be surprised how many cal's you save.

Deadpool9

I just got back from Disney 2 weeks ago. I took the entire week off from my diet, and ate whatever I wanted for the entire week. I had fun with my wife and kids, and didnt worry about calorie amounts. I gained a bit of water weight, but within a week most of it was gone. Keep in mind that you have to eat appox 3500 calories over maintenance to gain 1lb of fat. Plus you have the rest of the year to worry about cutting it back off. This is the ONLY honeymoon you will have with this guy, so go have fun, eat what you want, and worry about the weight later.

dlaplume2

If you are going to do a lot of walking around, which I imagine you will, then just plan to eat light and carry around some healthy snacks. Disney is good about letting you carry around your own stuff. Then when you do your big nights out you can splurge. Drink plenty of water. Lots and lots of water. It can be done. I did it a few years ago when I was trying to lose weight and we went to disney.

We ate one meal out each day and the rest of the time we ate our own food. I used the coffee pot in out room to eat oatmeal for breakfast. (except the day we went to Cinderellas Royal Table for breakfast.) I carried a water bottle with a wide mouth. I would ask the vendors to fill it with ice and as the ice melted I had cold water. They all gave me cups of ice at no charge. I never ran out of water.

tuffytuffy1

I was in Disney the last week of August, and I did not gain any weight In the Magic Kingdom, I got a grilled chicken salad with some fresh mozzarella and other yummy stuff in it instead of a burger, and it was delicious. At my resort (Beach Club), the pool bar had a delicious grilled chicken salad with white balsamic dressing, craisins, shredded white cheddar cheese. Yum! So it can be done. Of course I had nachos and things like that here and there, but mainly I stuck with grilled chicken salads and did fine. You can do it!

tararocks

Have a great time first of all! Part of Disney is the all the yummy food. Are you staying on the property? If so they all have work-out rooms associated with them for early morning work-outs or mid-day when you need a break from the park. I went to disney for 7 days in June which was about 3 months into me being serious about this, I actually came home with a loss. Granted we stayed in a resort that had a full kitchen so we cooked many of our meals at the room, but even so you can still do this. Yes enjoy it...its worth it, but yes also do it in moderation. Maybe you want that giant cinnamon roll for breakfast or that delicious stack of mickey waffles, have it, but dont have it everyday. Have it twice and have fruit, yogurt, an egg, etc for the other days. Same thing with dinners and lunches. Disney is an expert at being efficient, even many of the "sit down" restaurants inside the park can turn your order around pretty quickly. They all have fruit options with kids meals so ask for fruit instead of fries, or get the grilled chicken instead of the double cheeseburger, again, not everytime, but do it on the days that you had the mickey waffles:) you will be surprised how much walking you actually do! I didnt log during my week there but i did keep in my mind about where I was each day and like I said, i came home with a loss, i ate some delicious food, and i had a fantastic time. it is possible.

liz11599

We were there a year ago this month and I was worried about the same thing. However, you'll be doing SO MUCH walking that it probably won't matter what you eat. You'll also be consuming A LOT of water too, so that will help. I decided I wasn't going to worry about what I ate, though I didn't go over board. I broke even (didn't gain, didn't lose), but boy did I have fun and didn't stress. This is your honeymoon and a trip you will remember forever. Promise yourself you won't stress about anything, allow yourself a treat everyday and HAVE FUN!!!!!!!!:bigsmile:

Oh, and congratulations!!!!

theresamommyof4

We go to Disney a lot. Go and have fun. You're on your honeymoon, so don't spoil it by being uptight about every bite you put in your mouth! Lol!

We went last in March and I maintained my weight by just eating half of what I ordered. The Dining Plan is a rip off... nothing you can do about it now, but in order for it to be a good deal, you have to order the most expensive thing on the menu and you have to order an appetizer, entree & dessert, which most people just don't order that much food.

My advice is to order what you want and just pay close attention to when you're satisfied. Don't eat until you're full, just eat until you're no longer hungry. If you're getting to that point during that meal, stop and save room for dessert.

You'll walk more than 7 miles a day, so if you're careful about not pigging out every meal, you'll be just fine!

Do you have all of your dining reservations set? I have to say, I'm a little bit jealous! I LOVE Disney World! You're going to have so much fun!

dsak

As others have said... have fun on your honeymoon and don't stress. A honeymoon is a very special time and you should enjoy yourself.

Best thing to do is watch portion control, and... just make as many healthy choices as possible. Avoid the fries, chips and fried foods. Drink LOTS of water. Bring some of your own healthy snacks each day. Limit alcohol.

I also found this web site with Disney World restaurant menus. Check it out. If you know of some of the restaurants you will be eating at, check out their menu ahead of time. Don't obsess about it, but... at least if you know some good restaurants that offer healthy choices, you'll be armed with that info ahead of time. Maybe just make note of those restaurants and bring it with you. Just a thought.

http://allears.net/menu/menus.htm

chasidieason

Wow! You guys are the absolute best - I didn't expect so many responses! And you all have such good advice too!

I actually do feel better now, especially knowing that several of you have done the Disney thing and come out relatively unscathed. Plus, your suggestions really do make sense, and I'm happy to compromise and not have to feel like I'm missing out on the yummy stuff. LOL:happy:

chasidieason

It's vacation, and it's Disney. You'll walk, on average, 6 miles a day.

Don't sweat the extra weight. Go, eat, enjoy! I suggest the Trail's End Restaurant in Fort Wilderness. They serve all the food from the Hoo Dee Do for a fraction of the price, and it's delicious. Also, Cat Cora's place at the Boardwalk (just off the back gate of EPCOT) is really great.

Deal with it when you get back. Who much do you think you'll put on in a week or so? Not that much. Don't stress. We work out SO we can eat on vacation.

I will add those to my list! We're actually going to the Hoop de Doo one night (that was one of our 2 meal credit things!) but I hadn't heard of Cat Cora's yet.

ninerbuff

Good morning lovely MFPers! As some of you know, when I started out 3 weeks ago, one of my mini goals has been to shed as many pounds as possible before we hit the road for our belated honeymoon. We are now at 5 days out from our trip and I've lost about 16 lbs. I'm really looking forward to the trip - but that is also accompanied with some anxiety now about counteracting all of the hard work that I have done. We booked our trip with the Disney Deluxe Dining plan, with the main reason being that we plan to go to some of the signature restaurants and character experiences (I get to have dinner in Cinderella's castle!) and those places require 2 dining credits. The way it's set up, we each get three meal credits and two snacks each day. I know that there are healthy options for snacks and at sit-down restaurants, but I'm pretty sure that, for convenience during the daytime, we'll be doing a lot of "quick service" which is basically food stands with burgers, fries, ribs, etc...

I'm just very worried about either overdoing it with junk or on the opposite end of the spectrum, being so obsessed that I'll sell myself short of enjoying some good food and possibly dampening my husband's good time on our honeymoon. I know we'll be active throughout the entire trip, but I don't know how to guess how many cals I will be burning?

I actually couldn't sleep for thinking about this last night. Please give me some advice you dear sweet people! :ohwell:

I go to Disney a lot. The one consistent thing I do on every trip is EARLY MORNING EXERCISE. I will not forego fun for a few pounds. You can lose the pounds later, but the memory lasts forever. The morning exercise is to help offset any eating. Have fun, enjoy and don't do mental jumping jacks.

chasidieason

omg have so much fun! i'm going to disney for my honeymoon too

i just went there in August (2 friends moved to orlando) so i was all about healthy choices. my advice is to just watch what goes into your mouth! PORTION CONTROL! If there is an option to get fries or apple slices, GET APPLE SLICES!! stay HYDRATED! eat a good breakfast every morning (a lot of the hotels offer healthy breakfast choices - fruit, eggs, etc). Don't be afraid to ask your waiter or waitress or someone at the hotel if you can have something else.

i mean you are going to DISNEY so have fun and try not to worry about it. I'm anal about it so i logged my calories in disney as much as i could. we literally walked around for 10-12 hours the 2 days we were there and sweated our butts off so i logged it as 7 or 8 hours of leisurely walking.

we went to the smorgasboard in germany in epcot and it was awesome - but i just took small portions of what i wanted and drank water, i still really really enjoyed it!

just control your portions, make healthy choices, and drink LOTS of water and you should be ok. I maintained while there and that was fine with me. DON'T obsess, just find downtime to log your food (like when youre on your way back to the hotel or something).

have fun! (ps. for a treat, get a frozen banana.. it's in the mfp food log!!!!!!!!)

Yum! A frozen banana sounds awesome! I appreciate these tips - very much! I wondered how I would be able to log things while I was away (didn't want to sacrifice my streak, haha) but it hadn't occurred to me to log things on the bus rides and stuff. Very helpful!

chasidieason

Good morning lovely MFPers! As some of you know, when I started out 3 weeks ago, one of my mini goals has been to shed as many pounds as possible before we hit the road for our belated honeymoon. We are now at 5 days out from our trip and I've lost about 16 lbs. I'm really looking forward to the trip - but that is also accompanied with some anxiety now about counteracting all of the hard work that I have done. We booked our trip with the Disney Deluxe Dining plan, with the main reason being that we plan to go to some of the signature restaurants and character experiences (I get to have dinner in Cinderella's castle!) and those places require 2 dining credits. The way it's set up, we each get three meal credits and two snacks each day. I know that there are healthy options for snacks and at sit-down restaurants, but I'm pretty sure that, for convenience during the daytime, we'll be doing a lot of "quick service" which is basically food stands with burgers, fries, ribs, etc...

I'm just very worried about either overdoing it with junk or on the opposite end of the spectrum, being so obsessed that I'll sell myself short of enjoying some good food and possibly dampening my husband's good time on our honeymoon. I know we'll be active throughout the entire trip, but I don't know how to guess how many cals I will be burning?

I actually couldn't sleep for thinking about this last night. Please give me some advice you dear sweet people! :ohwell:

I go to Disney a lot. The one consistent thing I do on every trip is EARLY MORNING EXERCISE. I will not forego fun for a few pounds. You can lose the pounds later, but the memory lasts forever. The morning exercise is to help offset any eating. Have fun, enjoy and don't do mental jumping jacks.

LOL, "mental jumping jacks" I thought you meant not to just think of the exercises and be sure to do them...then I realized what you meant.

I don't know why I hadn't thought about it in terms of the memories yet, you are very right. Thanks for pointing it out!

walkdmc

I've been on the Deluxe Dining Plan and the fact is, if you use the plan, you will eat a lot of food. The good news is, you will be active, (we walked about 5-7 miles/day at Disney) and you will enjoy your experiences, esp. the castle meal with Cinderella!

I would focus on the experience and fun, it is your honeymoon afterall. If something sounds good, try it. Just because you ordered something doesn't mean you have to finish it...that's the beauty of the DDP, you forget you paid for it, LOL. Don't stuff yourself but other than that, order what sounds good to you. Do not obsess over calories or you will be depressed after breakfast (which may or may not be cupcakes....just sayin').

Before you go, commit to getting back on plan upon your return. Enjoy your vacation!

FitForeverAgain

"being so obsessed that I'll sell myself short of enjoying some good food and possibly dampening my husband's good time on our honeymoon."

Couple things here...you're still equating enjoying life with eating 'some good food'. The food you've been eating is 'good', the food you're talking about is an indulgence. You need to separate the idea of food = fun. Don't get me wrong, I'm a hard-core eater...love the like of Tru, Trotter's, Alinea...but know there's a price to pay BEFORE I go. Best of luck breaking that psychological connection. Best bet is to remember how you feel when the weight is lower on the scale, or the dress size goes down. Does that trump the ice cream cone? Until it does, you WILL NOT keep your weight off. Secondly, if your husband's good time depends on your eating calorically dense, nutritient free foods...something isn't making sense. Don't use him as an excuse.

Secondly, from you post it sounds like you've dropped 15 or so pounds in 10 days? If so, you cannot expect to keep that weight off. Unfortunately, unless you have burnt yourself into an average of a 5250 calorie deficit per day, much of that weight is water weight. That's good, because your body is getting used to eating healthier. BUT, it's bad when you go back to the 'old way', because your body will retain a large portion of that water again, and you'll see the scale jump quickly. Just be sure to understand this dynamic, and don't get into a frenzy of excitement / disappointment based just on fluid changes.

That's my thoughts...for what they're worth.

summertime_girl

Honestly, every time we have gone to Disney, despite eating like a pig, I lose weight. There's soooo much walking. Last time I brought a pedometer, and our shortest mileage day was 9 miles, longest 15. Enjoy all the food (and drinks!! make sure to "Drink around the World" in Epcot), and you'll be fine.

nicoleat1049

We did Disney World for the 1st time this April, and I agree with a lot of the other posters. Take a water bottle, you'll need it. Who wants to waste $ and calories on soda, ect. Also, bring whatever food you want into the parks. My husband and I packed lots of Luna bars and lean beef jerky, that way we weren't tempted to grap chips or whatever. Also, take another look at sit down meals. You mentioned you'd probably use the quick serve places for conveince, and I thought we would do that too, but when we went it was so nice to sit in an air conditioned resturant with waiters bringing your food and drinks, and not having to fight for a picnic table or bench to eat on. We ended up ONLY eating at sit down resturants. Most of all have a blast!

chasidieason

"being so obsessed that I'll sell myself short of enjoying some good food and possibly dampening my husband's good time on our honeymoon."

Couple things here...you're still equating enjoying life with eating 'some good food'. The food you've been eating is 'good', the food you're talking about is an indulgence. You need to separate the idea of food = fun. Don't get me wrong, I'm a hard-core eater...love the like of Tru, Trotter's, Alinea...but know there's a price to pay BEFORE I go. Best of luck breaking that psychological connection. Best bet is to remember how you feel when the weight is lower on the scale, or the dress size goes down. Does that trump the ice cream cone? Until it does, you WILL NOT keep your weight off. Secondly, if your husband's good time depends on your eating calorically dense, nutritient free foods...something isn't making sense. Don't use him as an excuse.

Secondly, from you post it sounds like you've dropped 15 or so pounds in 10 days? If so, you cannot expect to keep that weight off. Unfortunately, unless you have burnt yourself into an average of a 5250 calorie deficit per day, much of that weight is water weight. That's good, because your body is getting used to eating healthier. BUT, it's bad when you go back to the 'old way', because your body will retain a large portion of that water again, and you'll see the scale jump quickly. Just be sure to understand this dynamic, and don't get into a frenzy of excitement / disappointment based just on fluid changes.

That's my thoughts...for what they're worth.

Thanks for the thoughts. I do understand the difference between the indulgent food and eating good food. I simply meant that I didn't want to miss out on enjoying some yummy stuff that isn't a part of my everyday life. Obviously, I do value a healthy lifestyle and seeing myself fitting into a smaller size or I wouldn't have hesitated to just eat however I wanted on the trip. At least I'm trying to have foresight and plan ahead. Which goes hand-in-hand with what I was saying about dampening my husband's good time, I just mean if I have a plan going into the trip then I won't have to take time at every meal to get out my phone and look up nutritional info and and we can get our meals then get on with having fun in the parks. It's not an excuse, I just want to be courteous to my husband, who - as Charlie Sheen would say - has one speed, one gear "GO" when it comes to Disney trips.

The weight I've lost has been over the course of 3 weeks, 21 days. I went from a very sedentary lifestyle with a high-calorie diet to a 1200 calorie a day, working out 4-5 times a week lifestyle. Yes, that number on the scale is going down drastically, along with my measurements, but I've made drastic changes. If I don't have that excitement and pride to keep me motivated, then this journey just got a lot longer.

I know that the number won't always be down on the scale, but I think that I've worked very hard to accomplish the loss that I have achieved, and I'm committed to this lifestyle because I value my health - and that isn't going away just because I want to figure out how to loosen up on my honeymoon without counteracting the work I've done.

FitForeverAgain

Great way to look at it, and it sounds like you've thought through the level of commitment you want to make to being healthy. Some will go to more extremes, some won't.

My point about the water weight wasn't to dampen your enthusiasm - it was to insulate the momentum you've built up. It was a warning that when you go back to your bad habits, even temporarily on a trip - be ready for some bad weight gain as much of what you've lost is water weight. Which, by the way, is good. That's your body responding to a new balance in your body. Remember, much of the gain will again be water weight...just your body's response.

Maybe you have been a workout freak...if you have been burning in excess of 3700 calories daily to stay at a net -2500 caloric intake, you may have lost all of that in something besides water weight. And if you have, I want to be your workout buddy about three times a week!

Have fun, stay fit.

"being so obsessed that I'll sell myself short of enjoying some good food and possibly dampening my husband's good time on our honeymoon."

Couple things here...you're still equating enjoying life with eating 'some good food'. The food you've been eating is 'good', the food you're talking about is an indulgence. You need to separate the idea of food = fun. Don't get me wrong, I'm a hard-core eater...love the like of Tru, Trotter's, Alinea...but know there's a price to pay BEFORE I go. Best of luck breaking that psychological connection. Best bet is to remember how you feel when the weight is lower on the scale, or the dress size goes down. Does that trump the ice cream cone? Until it does, you WILL NOT keep your weight off. Secondly, if your husband's good time depends on your eating calorically dense, nutritient free foods...something isn't making sense. Don't use him as an excuse.

Secondly, from you post it sounds like you've dropped 15 or so pounds in 10 days? If so, you cannot expect to keep that weight off. Unfortunately, unless you have burnt yourself into an average of a 5250 calorie deficit per day, much of that weight is water weight. That's good, because your body is getting used to eating healthier. BUT, it's bad when you go back to the 'old way', because your body will retain a large portion of that water again, and you'll see the scale jump quickly. Just be sure to understand this dynamic, and don't get into a frenzy of excitement / disappointment based just on fluid changes.

That's my thoughts...for what they're worth.

Thanks for the thoughts. I do understand the difference between the indulgent food and eating good food. I simply meant that I didn't want to miss out on enjoying some yummy stuff that isn't a part of my everyday life. Obviously, I do value a healthy lifestyle and seeing myself fitting into a smaller size or I wouldn't have hesitated to just eat however I wanted on the trip. At least I'm trying to have foresight and plan ahead. Which goes hand-in-hand with what I was saying about dampening my husband's good time, I just mean if I have a plan going into the trip then I won't have to take time at every meal to get out my phone and look up nutritional info and and we can get our meals then get on with having fun in the parks. It's not an excuse, I just want to be courteous to my husband, who - as Charlie Sheen would say - has one speed, one gear "GO" when it comes to Disney trips.

The weight I've lost has been over the course of 3 weeks, 21 days. I went from a very sedentary lifestyle with a high-calorie diet to a 1200 calorie a day, working out 4-5 times a week lifestyle. Yes, that number on the scale is going down drastically, along with my measurements, but I've made drastic changes. If I don't have that excitement and pride to keep me motivated, then this journey just got a lot longer.

I know that the number won't always be down on the scale, but I think that I've worked very hard to accomplish the loss that I have achieved, and I'm committed to this lifestyle because I value my health - and that isn't going away just because I want to figure out how to loosen up on my honeymoon without counteracting the work I've done.

maillemaker

I love Disney! It's a great vacation.

My advice: Screw the diet. Eat what you want.

You are going to be walking your *kitten* off. At least 5 miles a day.

I advise getting a meal plan. They are cost effective.

My favorite place to eat is Ohana's. It's an all-you-can-eat meat and shrimp shish-ka-bob bonanza!

Most of the places we had dinner were buffets. Most of them have plenty of fruits and veggies if you insist on being healthy.