Weight Watchers at Disney World

Eating healthfully isn’t easy at home, and it can be even harder when you’re on vacation. So here’s the good, the bad, and the ugly of trying to stick to Weight Watchers at Disney World.

The Good:

The good news is that you’ll be walking and swimming pretty much all day long that you’re out and about, and that means you’ll be earning way more activity points than you’re used to having at home. If (like me) you’re a person who struggles getting excited about exercise, then that probably sounds as awesome to you.

The Bad:

The bad news is that you wont find any nutritional information for Disney restaurants, which makes tracking your points much harder, especially if you’re new to Weight Watchers and don’t yet have an intuitive feel for how many points are in the food you’re eating. In that case, you’d be better off simply concentrating on getting as many fruits, veggies, and whole grains as possible during your trip, and just do the best you can without actually counting the points you eat.

The Ugly:

The food at Disney World is pretty tempting, and it makes eating well more of a challenge. The Disney Dining Plan is usually a good deal financially, and is very popular with guests, but it also provides a special challenge to people with a sweet tooth. Most people are allotted one counter service meal and one table service meal each day which tend to be used for lunch and dinner. Sounds great but the Disney Dining Plan includes a dessert for bothcounter service and table service meals. Two desserts a day will make a serious dent in those weekly and activity points. In addition,  the snacks available in the park are often desserts that smell amazing (I’m looking at you, funnel cake kiosk), so you’ll need to to muster all your self-control.

How to Stay On-Points, Painlessly:

• Counter service restaurants tend to have very limited menus with only one or two healthy sounding options. BUT…you can look up menus ahead of time to find restaurants that have dishes that’ll work for everyone in your group and work those places into your Disney itinerary. http://allears.net/menu/menus.htm
• Table service restaurants tend to have a greater proportion of dishes that appeal to adults trying to avoid the worst of the counter service dishes (burgers, pizza, fried foods). The table service restaurants and buffets are pretty much the only place you’ll find vegetables, though fruit is a little easier to come by in the snack kiosks and CS restaurants. I had excellent meals all week long at TS restaurants, including several thoughtful salads. Try to pick restaurants with cuisines that are naturally lower in points; seafood and Japanese cuisine in particular tends to be leaner meats and smaller portions.
• If you’re on the Disney Dining Plan, the price is the same whether or not you eat dessert, so skip it, and just steal a taste from a friend or family member. Don’t just take a dessert because its available and free, save it for when it is truly something worth the points and savor it slowly.
• If you just can’t pass by the churros (or one of the other delicious oversized snacks) one more time without getting one, get one and split it several ways with the people in your group. The last bites aren’t nearly as satisfying as the first ones anyway.
• Lastly and depressingly, people-watching at Disney will be motivational in itself. Sadly, morbidly obese adults and obese children will be everywhere you look, and you’ll get an in-person reality check of just how obese we Americans have become. It is no mystery, especially when you see what we like to eat and just how much of it we do. I came home even more dedicated to changing how I eat, and committed to sticking with Weight Watchers to help me get to my health and fitness goals.

Check out my other Disney articles at my blog - http://txquebec.com