Poll and study: Do those of us who use DDP consider ourselves overweight?

[durangojim]

IF YOU DON'T USE THE DDP PLEASE DON'T VOTE
OK, I'm opening a can of worms here but I am absolutely not trying to hurt anyone's feelings, make people feel bad about themselves or anything else. I'm a family doc and after being overweight myself for quite a while, along with my wife, we both lost 50-60 pounds each, and have kept it off for a little over a year. I did it by decreasing portion size and exercising every day, she did it by exercise and joining a weight loss program which included a great deal of education. When I counsel patients on weight loss I try to give them tips and my own experiences on eating and believe me this has been a constant battle. My patients all know I'm a Disney nut (I wear a Mickey Mouse pin on my lab coat, rotating different ones throughout the year) and many of them ask me advice about Disney. Going to Disney is something that we have always loved doing but our eating habits there for the past year or two are much different from before -- we often share a meal, have smaller meals, exercise while there (that's something we'd never do before:lol. So this brings me back to the question -- if you use the DDP, are you overweight? My gut instinct would be to tell patients who are overweight to avoid the DDP because it might encourage them to overeat or order things they might not otherwise. I don't want to know names, but am looking for honest answers from members whether they think the DDP can contribute to their increase in weight, or if I'm just completely off base here. I hope this thread doesn't get locked:shrug: and again, I hope I haven't offended anyone.

IF YOU DON'T USE THE DDP PLEASE DON'T VOTE

 

[Sans Souci]

I am not overweight and we never use the DDP. For starters, I am a vegetarian, so I would never be able to "get my money's worth" on the DDP. Also, I think I would feel compelled to eat foods I typically would not eat, such as dessert with every meal. I do think eating the way the DDPis laid out could possibly lead to weight gain *for me* and me alone.

 

[Lucky]

Two problems with your survey:

1. The "No" votes will be some unknown mix of people who are not overweight and use the DDP, and who are not underweight and don't use the DDP. So it's not clear what's being compared. Maybe you should have had 3 or 4 response categories.

2. Even if overweight people tend to use the DDP - which may or may not be the case - that doesn't mean the DDP caused them to gain weight.

In any case I've had the free DDP my last several trips, am not overweight, and don't gain weight during the week I'm on the DDP at WDW.

If I had the deluxe DDP, I'm sure I would gain several pounds.

 

[durangojim]

Two problems with your survey:

1. The "No" votes will be some unknown mix of people who are not overweight and use the DDP, and who are not underweight and don't use the DDP. So it's not clear what's being compared. Maybe you should have had 3 or 4 response categories.

2. Even if overweight people tend to use the DDP - which may or may not be the case - that doesn't mean the DDP caused them to gain weight.

In any case I've had the free DDP my last several trips, am not overweight, and don't gain weight during the week I'm on the DDP at WDW.

If I had the deluxe DDP, I'm sure I would gain several pounds.

Thanks, you're right. I need to make it clear that I'm only interested in people using the DDP, and I'm not looking for a causal relationship.

 

[Weather_Lady]

I think your advice is good, to the extent that you are advising patients who already have portion control problems to avoid the temptation of over-eating pre-paid food. I know that for many of us, being on the dining plan means trying to "get the most" out of it by ordering everything you're "entitled" to, even if you don't plan to eat it. At the same time, I think we can all agree that eating the 2-desserts-per-day to which you are entitled on the standard plan is not good for the health of any person, overweight or not.

That being said, WDW is doing more and more to provide healthy alternatives. For your patients who really like the dining plan, be sure to arm them with information about how to make the best choices possible (e.g., choosing healthy entrees, avoiding empty calories from alcohol and soft drinks, ordering fresh fruit from the children's dessert menu for dessert, etc.).

On a side note, congratulations on your weight loss!

 

[SyracuseOrange]

I'm fairly slender and I've only used the DDP twice, and everyone I was traveling with was also not overweight - and we ate our weight in Disney food those trips. Good memories

 

[Sans Souci]

FWIW, I did not vote your survey, since I have never used DDP. I merely commented.

 

[ScoutN]

ive used it on one trip and it was this past december. I was 21/now 22 at 5'9.5 and 150 pounds. Its all on planning your meals properly.

 

[Mawg]

Hmm …this is an interesting poll. I’ll start by saying I was 50lbs over weight at the beginning of this year and I’ve now lost 25. I cut out all sodas, fast food and started to run 3 days a week. I cook all of our food making low calorie substitutions and cooking from scratch whenever possible. When I use to go out to eat I made bad choices, I always wanted to find the meal with the biggest portion size (The biggest steak or bowl of pasta). My thinking was that I’m paying for this meal so I want to get the most out of it. I’ve had to change that way of thinking and now look for smaller portion sizes with more vegetables even if they are a little more costly. So, I can see why someone on the DDP would want to try and get their money’s worth and order something even if they really did not need it.

That being said, I don’t think the DDP is a major cause for concern with obesity. It’s important to educate that going out to eat is not about getting your money’s worth. It’s about the experience. Also, in the past I’ve noticed even with the amount I ate at WDW, I did not gain weight while on vacation. I’m so much more active with the brisk walks around the park to try and get everything in, the swimming back at the resort. If anything even with the increased calorie consumption, I lose weight. Until I get back home and continue to think I can eat the way I did on vacation. I find that the vacations where I gain weight are the winter vacations with family over the holidays. We just sit around, snack all day and eat big meals.

So, since you are a Doctor, I would advise you to use DDP as an example to your patients not necessarily discourage it. That making good decisions is not about getting your money’s worth when you eat out. Sometimes the better choices are more expensive ones. The grilled fish with steamed vegetables is often more than the bowl of pasta and if desert is included, you don’t have to eat it, maybe just taste it. That character buffet is about seeing your kids interact with the characters not trying to eat as much on the buffet as possible because you paid for it. You, can order water or Ice Tea and not have all you can drink soda or worse yet diet soda.

 

[DrummerAlly]

My husband and I are both barely "underweight" according to BMI calculators, but we consider ourselves to be of a healthy weight. We do use the DDP when we travel because we enjoy splurging with dessert and and having the stress free decisions of ordering whatever we want on the menu. We almost never use all of our snack credits and never purchase anything extra food wise.

We usually use a snack credit for yogurt or fruit in the morning for breakfast, and then have a counter service lunch, and a table service dinner. It's always more food than we normally eat, but we enjoy it on vacation.

You can eat healthy on the DDP plan if you choose your meals, drinks, and desserts carefully despite the volume of food that you're being served.

 

[bethymouse]

I use DDP and am considered OBESE!

Well, I can't eat a whole lot. I had gastric bypass surgery 9 yrs ago and lost 200 lbs, but had twin boys and gained all of it back!
I have to choose my meals carefully and I really don't think DDP would make any difference if I used it or not, I would still eat!:ROFLOL:

 

[disneygirl76]

This is interesting poll/survey. I have never considered how much I eat or anything like that when I get DDP. Its financial based. Either free dining or I like having it all paid for before I get to WDW.

 

[worldfanatic]

DDP or not, Walt Disney World has got to be the ultimate place on earth to view "obese people".
I'm not being mean, it's simply the truth.
Everybody I know has commented on it after visiting for the 1st time.

It's actually kinda sad.
Most of these people could spend an extra decade or two enjoying Walt Disney World if they could just lose weight and get healthy.

 

[DisneyDude10]

Not overweight just out of shape. LoL

 

[sweetpee_1993]

I'm 37, soon to be 38. Hubby will hit his big 4-0 in less than 2 weeks. I wouldnt say either of us are significantly obese but keeping the BMI in the "healthy" range takes effort more & more as we get older. Yes, youngsters of the world, we don't all say this for no reason. We paid for the DDP in December 2007 (4 1/2 years ago) when appetizer/entre/dessert/tip were all inclusive. Over a 9-night stay we each gained a minimum of 10 lbs. In November 2010 we stayed 10 nights with free dining. We vowed not to go nutty ordering & eating since the dining plan was "free". Yeah. We each still gained a little over 10 lbs. In our younger years getting those 10 lbs back off was nothing but a thing. Notsomuch nowadays.

I didn't vote in your poll because we aren't regular DDP peeps. I did, however, feel that our 2 experiences were worth mentioning. :wave:

 

[Mawg]

DDP or not, Walt Disney World has got to be the ultimate place on earth to view "obese people".
I'm not being mean, it's simply the truth.
Everybody I know has commented on it after visiting for the 1st time.

It's actually kinda sad.
Most of these people could spend an extra decade or two enjoying Walt Disney World if they could just lose weight and get healthy.

It's not that WDW attracts obese people, its that it attracts the average american. 2/3's of all Americans are over weight or obese. 1/4 of all americans are obese. It's becomming "normal" to be over weight, or it is normal in America to be overweight. We do have the majority.

 

[JamieLee18]

I voted "no" I'm not overweight and I do use DDP, although not necessarily by choice. We're in the process of trip planning now and I'm the only person in single-digit sizes (womens) in my family and the only person to vote no for the DDP for the group.

 

[JIMINYCR]

When I turned the "Big 50" I noticed that I had packed on a few pounds and had ignored the gain. Typically, as I aged I had gotten into a more sedentary routine and not adjusted the amount of food I ate. Fortunately I used my upcoming Disney trip as an incentive to get more active and drop the extra pounds, which helped the shorts to fit better . I normally wouldn't eat desserts or as many snacks that come with the DDP, but even with all those, with the amount of walking and standing we did, I didn't gain weight. I continue to go with the DDP when we vacation at WDW.

 

[brifraz]

We almost always use the DDP when visiting. As DVC members, that would be generally once a year and we do have to pay for the DDP when we use it.

I am not overweight - in fact, usually right in the center of the target BMI range.

However, when we are at DW, we generally only eat two meals a day. Our typical DDP day is large (often buffet) table service breakfast at 9am or so, after a couple hours or touring (AKA exercise). Tour the rest of the morning and early afternoon. Short break, then our counter service dinner around 4pm. If we are touring late, we might use snack credits at night, otherwise we use them for things that are not perishable and we can take home!

So, we really don't end up eating more than we would on a usual day - we just have two larger meals instead of three on a regular day. It keeps us from overeating and gaining weight, saves us $$ by not making us buy any food out of pocket, and helps us avoid crowds because we eat at off times.