How to eat healthy at Disney

[baymenxpac]

healthy and Disney shouldn't be in same sentence. one does not simply go there to reduce caloric intake.

that's...not helpful. and no, you generally don't go on vacation to diet, but the OP is saying she NEEDS to make disney fit into her diet.

here are some very simple keys that should help you:

drink water. all the time. more often than not, our bodies confuse dehydration for hunger. water should help you curb your cravings AND keep your body hydrated. also, it should help flush the extra sodium out of your body that you're bound to take in from dining at any kind of restaurant: counter or table service.

don't snack too much between meals. don't get me wrong, you SHOULD eat between meals usually, but if you're eating table service meals, i wouldn't go for anything but some fruit, only if you have to. if you consider the caloric content of table service meals, there's enough there for sustenance.

avoid dessert. i don't know about you, but dessert gets to be a habit with me. if i ever find myself looking at a dessert menu going "eh", just skip it.

eat breakfast. especially when dealing with the hot august sun, don't try to trudge through your day without giving your body fuel in the morning. i could quote every single study on eating breakfast i could, but i'm sure you've heard it all before. try and pick up a low calorie, high protein meal bar, if you're a person on the go who doesn't like breakfast. if you're staying some place where you can prepare your own, try some oatmeal. it should help get you through that pre-lunch hump.

i could go on. but maybe this will help as encouragement. my freshman year in college, i got up to 240 pounds. at 6' and being an athlete in HS, it was just too much. i knew i had to change. in january, i pledged to lose weight. by october, i was 165 pounds. i survived two disney trips in the midst of that weight loss. the key is really to re-train yourself, and then apply what you learned to your trip. and yes, i've kept the weight off. that was 9 years ago when i initially lost the weight. since, i've been strength training for 8 years, put on some good lean muscle weight and i just recently kicked my last dietary vice (diet soda).

good luck!

 

[durangojim]

Back in Feb 2010 I decided to loose some weight. I was about 50-60 lbs overweight with a strong family history of cardiac disease, so one day I decided to exercise and change my diet. It took me about 9 months to loose all the weight and I've kept it off. When we go to Disney I limit myself to one large meal a day, and for the rest of the day, I'll keep my calorie intake fairly low. I'll have a yogurt for breakfast, and then a small lunch, maybe a hot dog or burger without toppings and no sides. I also make sure that if we're staying at a deluxe I'll exercise for 30-45 minutes every day. In May will be my 5th Disney trip since loosing the weight, and I've been able to keep it off. Fortunately my wife decided to make a change as well and lost 60 pounds and now we can support each other when we go. At most I'll gain 2-3 pounds on a 10 day trip. Stay hydrated, cut your portions, and stay active for 30 continuous minutes per day (Disney is an awesome place to briskly walk to get your exercise) and you should do well. Good luck!:wave:

Not to turn this into a "before and after" gallery but here's some encouragement.