Going to Disney world in two weeks-how to stay on track!
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I think "Eat reasonable portions of reasonable food." is not as easy as it seems.
My advice is to go on Pinterest and search for "healthy Disney (land/world) eating options" as there are a number of bloggers that have comprehensive lists of what are the best dishes to order, per restaurant, per park.
Also, pack your own snacks, drink lots of water rather than sodas.
You can have water, snacks etc...delivered to your resort and all the rooms where I've stayed have a mini-fridge (in each room)
We go to Disney about twice a year and I have found that all the walking doesn't put a dent on the calories consumed.
The breakfasts offered at the Disney Resorts are super, duper sugar and fat ladden -- enough to make mosts people's caloric allowance go out the window (and that's just breakfast!)
I've also found that a lot of the seeming "go to" meals for restaurant goers: salad and protein, often have MORE calories than other options due to dressings and salad toppings, in addition to the calories and cooking methods of the protein.
And FWIW, the mixed drinks at the Grand Floridian are enormous!! (and of course filled with sugary mixes, so there all the calories)
The food (& wine!) at the Contemporary restaurant was amazing. I don't know whether the choices were less caloric, (probably not) but the portions were reasonable and soooo good.
I'm not saying restrict yourself -- bc I always indulge when I go to Disney. But I go there with the understanding that I will gain a couple of pounds even if I am mindful of what I eat.
Enjoy, the weather should be a lot more tolerable this time of the year. I ♥ Disney0 -
We are big Disney fanatics too. City hall at Disneyland had nutritional info, disneyworld should be the same. Clock your walking, like a previous person said you will walk no less than 10 miles. Disney restaurants are not unlike any other restaurant. We usually split plates since you can't do anything with left overs anyway. They will always do substitutions for you as well to make it lower cal. Last time we went (don't bash me please) I had slim fast for breakfast. We've gone so many times this is what I found worked for me because I could grab it and drink it on the way. You know getting kids ready for Disneyland for the day is quite busy. Also you know they allow you to bring in your own snacks, so just bring healthy snacks. Last time we went we indulged a bit and I still lost weight. Have fun!0
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We are big Disney fanatics too. City hall at Disneyland had nutritional info, disneyworld should be the same. Clock your walking, like a previous person said you will walk no less than 10 miles. Disney restaurants are not unlike any other restaurant. We usually split plates since you can't do anything with left overs anyway. They will always do substitutions for you as well to make it lower cal. Last time we went (don't bash me please) I had slim fast for breakfast. We've gone so many times this is what I found worked for me because I could grab it and drink it on the way. You know getting kids ready for Disneyland for the day is quite busy. Also you know they allow you to bring in your own snacks, so just bring healthy snacks. Last time we went we indulged a bit and I still lost weight. Have fun!
No bashing here, it's not a bad move, considering how high calorie the breakfasts in resorts are. I had no idea that there was nutrition information available though.
I managed to maintain when I went there but I was still 25 pounds overweight. I was having whatever I wanted for breakfast (probably 1000 calories worth sometimes), whatever good option I could find for lunch, maybe a Quest bar as snack (I had one French pastry in Epcott), and dinner was relatively healthy too, except the time we ordered that horrible delivery pizza that my husband wanted, and the time I was starving and had pasta and meatballs at the resort, but the quantity wasn't too bad. So yeah, cutting out the high calorie breakfast would probably make it much more manageable, but I need big breakfasts personally, so it's a tough call, but they do have oatmeal, eggs, toast and yogurts available too. The fridge in the room didn't do me much good considering that we had no car.
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I just got back from Orlando. We went to Universal Studios though as we'd gone to Disney back in March. According to my Fitbit, I walked over 13 miles, 30500k steps, and burned back 2000 calories. I just enjoyed myself and ate what I wanted. I logged everything, including the 1080 calorie cinnabon pecanbon I had LOL. I still ended up in a deficit by nights end and I didn't hold back on the junk and alcohol. It was amusing. I imagine our 16 hour day at the Magic Kingdom back in March couldn't have been much different step wise, but I wasn't paying attention to my weight then.
That being said, as a Floridian who goes to both parks A LOT, you can bring your own food into Disney. In March we packed lunches and snacks as I refuse to pay their food prices for mediocre food, save for things like the mickey head ice cream as that's just tradition in my family. It was incredibly convenient, especially with small kids. If you don't want to go that route, almost all the restaurant places in the park have healthy alternatives and I believe you can find nutrition information on the website. I stay with family, so I can't really offer any opinions on onsite hotels and their restaurants. I also do not eat breakfast so I can't comment on the options there.
I second indulging at Epcot (It's my personal favorite). The World Showcase has excellent places to eat. I do think the walking will mitigate some of the damage from over indulgence if you do that. I didn't gain anything on my trip weekend before last or the one in March. Of course everyone is different, so don't take my experience as one size fits all.
Weather is super nice right now in my neck of Florida. This is always my favorite time to visit Orlando as the summer crowds have left and it's not super hot (still hot though LOL). I hope you guys have a great time!
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I always lose weight at Disney due to the increased activity, even when I go for Food and Wine. The festival is AMAZING and the food options are so good, but they are tasting size so on the small side. My plan (when I have another person with me though sometimes I go solo) is to split each item with someone else. Then I get to try even more stuff!
And honestly... it's vacation. I don't get to go on vacation or to Disney very often so I enjoy myself. I don't limit my food or my treats and I have no issues getting back to things afterwards.0 -
Work on eating in moderation. If you feel full, don't eat. I know that seems like common sense, but I can tell you from experience that it's very easy to just eat a little more or try some new food you want to even if you are full! *coughStateFaircough* But I wouldn't spend time worrying about it. Chances are, you'll be walking around enough to burn off any excess you eat, and as long as you come home and haven't gained, you'll be ahead of the game. So you don't have to stress out over food and you can enjoy your vacation!0
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Walk, walk ,walk and more walking. Watch your portions sizes. ENJOY!!!!!!!!!!0
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I'm going in a week and I plan on bringing my own food in. I hope all my steps will let me have a little treat while I'm there.0
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Disney, at least the last time we went, will let you bring in a small cooler with food and plastic bottled drinks. Enjoy some of the park food, but pack a sensible (and much, much cheaper) lunch.
We brought a 12 x 16(?)cooler with snacks, lunch and drinks and rented a locker to put it in at the front of the park. Even with the locker rental, we figured it saved us around $60-75 for six people each day. If you are bringing a stroller, pack one that will fit it the stroller for even more $$ and calorie savings.0 -
Disney will let you bring a cooler in, but not a cooler with wheels. I have seen people with wheeled ones, but when we tried, they wouldn't let us do it.
The water parks do NOT allow any glass. Not Disney's or Wet n Wild or Aquatica. I've seen people fight with water park staff and none of them budge on that. I don't know about Disney's regular parks and glass. Never tried that.
Sea World won't let you bring food in. None. They see a candy bar in your purse, they may make you throw it out. If you want to take food in there, you better hide it on your person!
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amandalyn26 wrote: »T
Robert Wilkins this is true about water but I hate Florida water (no offense to any floridians!!) we actually used garden grocer and bought a case of water as well as some "healthier" filling snacks like granola bars, fruit, etc.
I'm a Floridian, and most of us hate the water!
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How to stay on track while at Disney :
Easy, give yourself a $20 food budget for the day.0 -
If it was me - I would simply enjoy disneyland and forget about tracking for the time I'm there. It's not as though you get to go to Disneyland and enjoy what it has to offer every day of the week! Be aware and use your learned knowledge of when to tell that you are full and just ENJOY! Get back on track after :]0
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PinkPixiexox wrote: »If it was me - I would simply enjoy disneyland and forget about tracking for the time I'm there. It's not as though you get to go to Disneyland and enjoy what it has to offer every day of the week! Be aware and use your learned knowledge of when to tell that you are full and just ENJOY! Get back on track after :]
That's a good way to approach it. Honestly, i think the worst i ever did on a 2 week trip was that i gained around 5-7 pounds (figure over by 1750-ish calories per day), and to be honest, Over the last 2 weeks i've lost close to 5 pounds so it might take about that much time to undo the damage. So, enjoy vacation while on vacation, work on undoing damage when you get back.
Still, it is a good idea to listen to your body (as someone said?) and if it says "I feel full" don't just cram more food in because it's there. I'll see if i can follow that myself. One of the advantages of a longer trip is that you don't feel as pressured to do (or eat?) everything in one day because of fear that it won't be there tomorrow and you'll miss out.
-Rob0 -
I lost weight at Disney...no joke...
Do you realize how much walking you do...for the first two days my feet were swollen we walked so much...0 -
That's the thing that makes me wonder: I think Disneyworld will actually mean fewer steps for me unless I get out and move before the rest of the family wakes up.I lost weight at Disney...no joke...
Do you realize how much walking you do...for the first two days my feet were swollen we walked so much...0 -
PinkPixiexox wrote: »If it was me - I would simply enjoy disneyland and forget about tracking for the time I'm there. It's not as though you get to go to Disneyland and enjoy what it has to offer every day of the week! Be aware and use your learned knowledge of when to tell that you are full and just ENJOY! Get back on track after :]
Eh. Slippery slope. I didn't track when I went to Disney World either but I was still mindful of what I ate. If I really ate everything the place had to offer when I go on vacations, I'd come back 6 pounds heavier, not 2. The problem isn't the quantity of food, so listening to your body isn't really going to help... portions are not huge at Disney, it's just a lot of high calorie foods. I'm guessing that the food festival is going to be even worse, as it will be small portions of everything.DeguelloTex wrote: »
That's the thing that makes me wonder: I think Disneyworld will actually mean fewer steps for me unless I get out and move before the rest of the family wakes up.I lost weight at Disney...no joke...
Do you realize how much walking you do...for the first two days my feet were swollen we walked so much...
Well I walked 10-15000 steps before going to Disney, and we walked so much there that my feet hurt horribly after two days (seriously, it was so bad that I couldn't even touch my feet without pain). But it depends a lot on how many people there are too, if you spend most of your time standing in line, you're just not going to walk much.
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PinkPixiexox wrote: »If it was me - I would simply enjoy disneyland and forget about tracking for the time I'm there. It's not as though you get to go to Disneyland and enjoy what it has to offer every day of the week! Be aware and use your learned knowledge of when to tell that you are full and just ENJOY! Get back on track after :]
Eh. Slippery slope. I didn't track when I went to Disney World either but I was still mindful of what I ate. If I really ate everything the place had to offer when I go on vacations, I'd come back 6 pounds heavier, not 2. The problem isn't the quantity of food, so listening to your body isn't really going to help... portions are not huge at Disney, it's just a lot of high calorie foods. I'm guessing that the food festival is going to be even worse, as it will be small portions of everything.DeguelloTex wrote: »
That's the thing that makes me wonder: I think Disneyworld will actually mean fewer steps for me unless I get out and move before the rest of the family wakes up.I lost weight at Disney...no joke...
Do you realize how much walking you do...for the first two days my feet were swollen we walked so much...
Well I walked 10-15000 steps before going to Disney, and we walked so much there that my feet hurt horribly after two days (seriously, it was so bad that I couldn't even touch my feet without pain). But it depends a lot on how many people there are too, if you spend most of your time standing in line, you're just not going to walk much.
I think it depends on the type of person you are. For me, it would 100% not be a slippery slope. I can very easily get right back on track. For others that lack motivation and focus, it may not be the best idea.0 -
eat to hunger. its like your built in mfp0
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I live in Orlando and go to Disney world all the time. You'll likely walk between 15000 and 20,000 steps in a day. Especially if you don't take the tram in from the parking lot. A lot of people have put in calorie content for Disney on mfp too.
I suggest going to the grocery store and bringing in a small bag of healthy snacks. They do have healthy food options for purchase but the food and wine festival items are pretty crazy in the calories department. The portions are almost the size of an appetizer so when we go we usually get one thing to share at each place. And it cuts down somewhat on the calories. Good luck! Message me if you have any questions I'd be happy to help.
Ps bring sunscreen too!0
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