American Calories

[Sweetie Babes]

Yes, all that buttermilk they have this love affair with - it's in everything: mash, fried chicken, ranch dressing ... you can't get away from it. Plus they use modified corn syrup for sweetening most things - partly why their cakes and desserts taste 'odd' to some of us - and that is higher in calories than 'normal' sugar.

I would like to bet that there are less calories in a standard portion of fries than in a portion of their sloppy buttermilk-rich mash (with or without the almost compulsory garlic)!

Only once have I watched my weight in Florida, and that year I came home having lost 2lbs (10-day trip). Now I'm not very mobile and have to hire a mobility scooter to get around I'm aware that I'm not burning off the calories as much as I was, but that said, I never put on more than 1-2lbs after a 10-day holiday eating whatever I like. As soon as I'm home again eating normally it just 'falls off'.

You also have to take into consideration what you eat on a normal day-to-day basis at home. If you're a good eater (as we are in our family ) going to WDW and eating there isn't a huge increase so that extra exercise you're getting actually has a very beneficial effect. If you're the kind of people who eat very well or have very small appetites (my inlaws, for example) then you will tend to pile on the lbs as you're eating differently.