Disney World - How do you stay on track on vacation?

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tuffytuffy1
tuffytuffy1 Posts: 920 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I went away this past weekend with my 6 year old son, just the two of us, to a Maryland resort. I had a grilled chicken caesar salad for dinner Saturday night, and hummus with grilled pita for lunch on Sunday, so I did very well.

But on Saturday we are leaving for Disney for 5 days. I think I will bring my Laughing Cow and my crackers for my snacks, and try to find salads with protein for lunches and dinner. I suppose I could also do seafood and fish. But I think it is going to be hard to find that when we are on the go in the parks.

Any tricks you guys have for staying on track during a fast-paced-no-time-to-eat-healthy vacation?

Replies

  • ChitownFoodie
    ChitownFoodie Posts: 1,562 Member
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    LMAO! The first time I was "bad" was when I went to Disneyland....it's hard!
  • FitMama2013
    FitMama2013 Posts: 919 Member
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    My biggest tip is to workout in the morning when everyone is still asleep! If you can get in a workout, that combined with the extra walking while at Disney will certainly help you stay on track while gone. You'll do great!
  • wolfchild59
    wolfchild59 Posts: 2,608 Member
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    Being west coast it's Disneyland for me. But being that I see this all as an overall life choice, to me that involves indulgences while on vacation, especially when I'm at someplace like Disneyland. I do sometimes bring healthy snacks, or will opt for fresh fruit as a side in place of fries or even bacon with breakfast. But that fruit is next to my Mickey waffle or my grilled chicken sandwich (which isn't nearly as healthy as the name implies as it has loads of cheese, caramelized onions and is on garlic toast ;) )

    And I may skip all the sweets counters, but never leave a trip to DL without a chocolate dipped frozen banana and never leave a single day at DL without a churro. If I don't eat like that while at home, but to me, that's part of the fun of a vacation.

    That said, all of WDW's restaurant menus are available online and many places offer healthy dining options. Even if they aren't on the menu, just ask. Like you can pretty much any side swapped for fruit, any burger wrapped in lettuce, etc. :)
  • jbucci1186
    jbucci1186 Posts: 440 Member
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    you'd be surprised how much walking you get in when you go to theme parks, you won't even really need to worry about exercising if you go all around
  • abahzee
    abahzee Posts: 11
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    Seems I remember lots of healthy options at most of the Disney resorts and restaurants. I never struggled to find salads, fish, or chicken. They have some really good seafood options throughout. And don't worry about exercise - you will end up walking miles and miles in the high heat! Just be sure to drink lots of fluids :happy:
  • Hillary_Love
    Hillary_Love Posts: 14
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    It is going to be much harder to eat healthy in Disney World. I have only ever been to Disney Land and CA Adventures, and in CA Adventures they have a really good sandwich shop so I least always tried to eat there to stay somewhat healthy but just the most important thing to remember is moderation. It is going to be hard to stick to the exact diet you were sticking to at home but you are also going to be out a lot more and moving around a lot so it won't be as bad when you break it. If you don't do perfect, it's okay, it's vacation Just stay happy and enjoy yourself. And have fun!! =)
  • dmpizza
    dmpizza Posts: 3,321 Member
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    At Disney its easy. If you haven't made resrvation yet, then all the restaurants will be full and you won't have anything to eat. Its not a joke, we actually made that mistake a few years ago.

    Since your at Disney, pretend that you have to fit into a princess dress with a 20" waist.
  • BJPCraig
    BJPCraig Posts: 417 Member
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    I'm w/emswanson. Eat as healthy as you can, but get in some working out. If you're @ Disney, you'll be getting in a lot of slow walking, but that burns calories, so make sure you track and log that.

    Also, if you're at a resort, hit the pool at some point. When my wife & I were away last month, we spent about an hour & a half in the pool, and were pleasantly surprised at how many calories it burned (it's TONS).

    You also might want to do some research online @ the restaurants in Disney. See if there are menus online and try to get a plan for what and when you're going to eat ahead of time (so you don't have to stress about it).

    Good luck, and have fun!
  • wolfchild59
    wolfchild59 Posts: 2,608 Member
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    Oh yeah, and don't discredit your walking. My last trip to DL I had a Mickey waffle with bacon for breakfast, 1/2 an order of countdown chicken fusilli (large fusilli pasta w/Alfredo pesto sauce and chicken) and a breadstick for lunch, and a trio sampler of soups, blackened fish with pontalbo potatoes and bananas foster for dinner/dessert. With a corn dog, chips, part of a pretzel, a chocolate dipped frozen banana and a churro as snacks and I came in even on calories for what I burned just walking around all day. (I have a BodyMedia Fit). :D
  • Maria_Cutie
    Maria_Cutie Posts: 136 Member
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    Wnt to Disney last year with my school band! YES, I was ona diet, but it wasnt a calorie counting one :) it was something totally different. XD;;

    but I digress, I went off of it compleatly. Because well... I was in the park for 14 hours straight. Yep. Band director wanted us to get the most of our money so I was pretty much walking...the whole time! bad move health wise, but I pretty much burned off the calories. :P

    Anyway the prices for the food if anything is such a deturent! 5 bucks for a scoop of icecream, dear lord. If anything, keep your money as a reason not to buy that stuff ;) use it to buy cute things like stuffed animals and shirts later on! (Lasts longer and you can look back on it like "yay I went to disney and bought this instead of icecream!")

    And I know disney has a list of food places on their sight, my band director had printed them out and showed us before we went to the park, so you might want to check that out as well!

    (I ranted a bit, hope what I said was atleast a little helpful though...!)
  • tuffytuffy1
    tuffytuffy1 Posts: 920 Member
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    Crap. I have not made reservations anywhere. I have been too busy at work. Ugh.

    Thanks for the encouragement, you know, I hadn't even considered that I'll probably be walking several hours a day so it won't kill me if I go off my normal eating for a couple of days :D
  • iSteakers
    iSteakers Posts: 45
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    Unfortunately, Disney does not release nutritional information for their items. You can always try asking (I have not been there yet while on this diet so I have not tired asking). You can view ALL menus online at www.allears.net. They are always updating the menus with changes.

    I have a couple trips coming up there and I have decided I'm going to not track it because there is no way to know for sure what the counts are. I will just do my best and try to stay somewhat healthy. We also tend to walk the parks from open to close so I imagine I will burn a fair amount of the calories then. I'm also trying to decide if maybe I will just not weigh myself until after I have been home and back on track for a week or so.
  • btmadison
    btmadison Posts: 38 Member
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    There are healthy options at most of the restaurants. Regardless, keep in mind you are going to be out in the heat doing a ton of walking most likely, so not be afraid of getting extra calories in while enjoying the parks!
  • Flyntiggr
    Flyntiggr Posts: 898 Member
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    You know what is healthy and what isn't. Disney offers some better choices, but they are still calorie laden. You are going to walk you azz off while there, so frankly, eat, enjoy, and don't fret. This is about living your life, dealing with the choices at hand, and handling them better than you did in the past.
  • verisweet
    verisweet Posts: 10 Member
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    I always pack trail mix and protein bars and carry them in a backpack for my family. The price of everything is so high that we even pack in water. We always skip the normal dinner time and then when we exit the park we eat at quiznos or subway or somewhere like that. That leaves breakfast, which for me is oatmeal. However, this year I am going to try the overnight oatmeal in a jar idea I just read about on another post. They called it Bircher Muesli, google it for ideas. This plus all the walking usually washes out the treats that we eat too once a day. Hope that helps and have a great time!
  • JessicaHRN
    JessicaHRN Posts: 6
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    We just went to Disney World a couple of months ago! They have lots of healthy options: salads, fruits, grilled chicken, etc. I ate pretty much whatever I wanted though and didn't gain a single pound. It's true that you walk a TON! That combined with the heat and the amount of sweating you do, I am sure you'll do great! Have a blast!
  • wolfchild59
    wolfchild59 Posts: 2,608 Member
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    Phoo! Don't pack water! Packing enough water for the day would either weigh to much to carry or you'd have to buy a locker just for your water. Bring a water bottle with you and fill up as you finish it. Soda fountain has a litle special lever to make one of the spouts serve up ice cold water. Also, any sit down restaurant will fill up your bottle and counter spots will as well. Also, check around the parks for filling fountains. I know DL has one by Tomorrowland Terrace and one by the French Market that are tall faucets that you can fill a water bottle at without worrying about the angle of the fountain. And if WDW is anything like DL then the First Aid stations also have fountains that tend to be colder than the normal park fountains and they're more than happy to let you fill up water bottles there. :)

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