Piling on the pounds !

[Guest]

We love food and I have been reading a lot about it in relation to Disney.

We have the Dining Plan. Looking at the food reports etc. it seems like there is a HUGE amount of food. I don't know how I will resist most of it as it looks great.

But how on earth do people not put on very large amounts of weight in say a 2 week trip? Are there healthier / lower calorie options available?
I mean if you had 2 snacks and a dessert with dinner ( included) you could be having 3 desserts a day! And there is also the teeth issue ( with kids especially ).

We love to walk but it seems like you have to take buses to the parks, even if walking to them were an option the damage might not be SO bad.

Any tips/ advice? Obviously I don't have to eat everything but apart from that lol!

Or do I need to shed a stone in advance and enjoy putting it back on.

[Gill H]

To be honest we ate like kings and actually lost a few pounds. You do so much walking round the parks.

It really doesn't have to be all that much food. We often had a CS breakfast and then nothing till dinner.

[Guest]

Oh that sounds good, thanks ! I suppose you are on the go all day.

[Shani]

You will walk miles. Miles and miles. Even on chill days we'd still rack up 5+ miles. Full park days are easily 10+ miles. Disney World is huge, you couldn't possibly walk there (even if there were pavements). It's the size of Greater Manchester. What resort are you staying at? There are options to walk from some resorts.

Food is varied. You can eat as healthily or unhealthily as you want! I tend to not give calories a second thought when on holiday (although my youngest son is T1 diabetic, so am aware of how unhealthy some food is as I carb count everything he eats) and my clothes fit the same when I come home. I eat when I'm hungry and choose whatever I fancy. Two weeks isn't going to kill anyone, nor destroy teeth

[Posiesmum]

We find that in the really hot weather our appetite goes. We tend to have either a cooked breakfast or lunch, then just snack in the evening. Plus when we do have an evening meal it tends to be in a signature type restaurant where portions are much smaller. I must admit that some of the ‘beige’ piled plates I see in photographs don’t really appeal! I suspect our intake of calories is probably lower in the US than the UK.

[Ridersmom]

Eat only when you are hungry, only until you are full. I have a small appetite so would never do a dining plan. I also try to keep my meals similar to those I eat at home-lots of fruit and veggies, no meat, low sugar.

My concern with dining plans is people feel they "have to" eat what is offered. You do not. If you don't want a full meal share, get just a starter or leave what you don't want. Better to feel wasteful than feel sluggish.

Like the poster above, I feel the heat zaps your appetite and I feel better if I concentrate on hydration (water). Use your snack credits for fruit, water or maybe a small salad. You do not have to get the best value. YOu have to eat for energy but feel comfortable after you eat.

[Guest]

Thanks for all the advice. I think my issue would be 'wasting' snacks on the DP - as in not having them!
So I think I will lose that mindset for a start!

Staying in Port Orleans, FQ. Don't think they have a gym as would try to put in an hour a day there. I exercise a lot anyway so hopefully over there I will do even more!

I am just amazed at some of the Food Reports , it seems so much! I must check out what healthy options might be there.

I was looking at the menu for Bubba GUmp ( I know it's not in Disney ) but was astounded at the calorie counts on the menus. Many entrees heading for 2000 calories.

Do Disney put calorie counts on the menus? I wouldn't obsess or anything but just would be good to have a rough idea.

[HelenJNT]

We find we lose weight as walk an average of 120 miles during a two week break. Plus as others have said, it’s so hot that you’re not always ravenous. Our issue is probably not eating enough as we get so excited by being there that we’d rather be in a park than in a restaurant. However, the weight loss *may* change now you can get a beer with a meal on the dining plan.

Most of the resorts have jogging trails. We often saw people going for an early morning run when we stayed at POFQ. However, I honestly think the walking around (and sweating) will burn more than you realise.

Re snacks, we used most of ours on things like iced teas from Starbucks. Still sugary but probably better than a donut. We also never think about best value or having the most expensive thing on the menu, we just choose what we fancy. Food is varied and there are often sensible choices, you don’t have to have fries forced upon you. In fact, on our last trip we only ate one burger. Some might say we did it all wrong, haha.

[DisneyDaffodil]

I am a plus size and do not exercise very much or try too hard to lose weight. However, I am keen to not pile on more weight as I feel this would affect my health obviously.

So I have a good appetite but I only eat 2 meals a day at Disney and sometimes this is a meal and a snack. Due to the heat, I find I just don't need huge meals. On saying this, I do eat whatever I want on holiday, including lots of ice creams and Starbucks drinks 😀. But I walk on average of 20000+ steps each day around the parks so when I come home and weigh I am always really pleased to find I have rarely put any weight on at all 😀. So you can happily eat all you like without too much worry 😀.

I don't know about gyms onsite, but I do know many resorts have a running path so you could maybe go for a run if you feel the need to exercise (Far too energetic for me after walking around the parks but it is there for more energetic guests 😀 )

[Excited6910]

I always gain a huge amount regardless of how much walking we do but I lose it within 2-3weeks as it’s mostly water retention. We use snack credits on coffee and if I want 2 desserts I have them. I’m on holiday after all. I eat salads if I fancy them but I don’t go out of my way to pick the healthiest thing on the menu.