30 things about WDW Vacation - November wish lifestyle/weight loss challenge

[Oneanne]

I'm in for this month as well!

I am also finding that spreading out housework throughout the week is keeping me better about my meals as weird as that is. I guess it's keeping my mind free of the clutter of organizing when I am going to do what. The time spent doing housework isn't all dedicated to the weekends, so I have time on the weekends to go through recipes, plan, shop, and prep my food for the week.

I'm working on this as well! I've been thinking about this approach for a while but this past weekend kind of a forced me into to it... breaking chores down in to little chunks as time allowed, instead of thinking I was going to dedicate most of the weekend cleaning up. The house is actually in really good shape right now, I just need to pick a few specific things to do each day, so I keep it up. It'll be fabulous going into the weekend thinking about all the free time I have instead of thinking about all the chores that need to be done and feeling guilty when they don't get completed.

 

[HappyGrape]

I love WDW planning. My husband are both kind of nuts when it comes to the planning. So here is how our planning goes.


5. We always do 1 table service a day with the dining plan. We always try some new restaurants and go to a few that are our favorites. I try to eat some new things too. This last trip I did try a lot of new things. Mostly sauces that they put on things. I would get it on the side though. I still do not like them but I tried. I try to only eat a little bit of the dessert but I don't stress if I don't eat it. I am up a 6 am (I think that is the time) and have all of the ADR's book right at the opening time. We do make some changes as time goes by as we find others that look good.

6. We get the photo package now. We didn't on the first 2 trips. I love getting the pictures. The family hates me for this. If I see one of the photographers I have to stop and get a picture. Even if they are out side of the park trying to fix their camera. Yes I did this as we left AK. I saw him and asked for pictures. I didn't realize at first that it was not a normal spot. We got a good picture of us in front of the park with the AK sign in the back ground.


So our next trip will be over the summer. We are going on a Disney Cruise. My husband really wanted to go on a cruise again and we wanted to broaden the horizons for the kids. This trip is killing me though. There is no planning to do. I keep looking at stuff because I feel like I need to do something. I already know what excursions we are going to do and other then that there is nothing else to plan.

I always book as soon as I can and I will be booking on Christmas day this year! I will have to hide for e a minute or two!

I am exactly the same with photos, they are usually ok the first day but after that really don't want to!

I love planning but if we have a big holiday I love having weekend away or week somewhere where I don't need to plan for. Mixture of both. Cruise sounds lovely

 

[HappyGrape]

2nd of November. WDW Vacation thing two!

YAS, It is the dole whip!

So, Question 1: Dole whip or float? Is it a must do on Disney trip or nice to do, or you just aren't a fan?

I tried a float in MK summer 2013. We were first timers, it was really hot and we decided to sit near by. We didn't realize we are in the smokers area until we sat, and we were hit by cloud of smoke. I was coughing like crazy and I did not enjoy it. I felt too weak to move from the heat and smoke, and didn't manage to eat it at all. Second attempt was this year in DisneyLand I loved it. I got a standard Dole whip, not the float and there wasn't the extra smoke effect I had to deal with the first time. They are apparently also only 90 calories! I am a fan

Trying same thing and expecting different result multiple times is insanity. But some things deserve second chance.

Question 2: Is there something that did not work very well in the past but you are willing to try again in terms of diet or exercise? Or are you guilty of doing the same thing and expecting different result or are you doing some adjustment to the plan to make it more sustainable and achievable for you? When do you decide, right - this is not working. I need something different? Or right, I need to do some small changes to suit me better




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[piglet1979]

1. I have never had one and have no desire to get one. I am not a fan of pineapple and suspect i might be slightly allergic to it. When I worked in a restaurant and we had pineapple and i had to cut it up I would get a rash up both of my arms.

2. I am horrible at change. Any type of change. So I am the person who will keep doing the same thing over and over even if it is not working. I am getting a little bit better with change as I have accepted a few changes lately at work and I haven't gotten upset over them. I am really worried about the big change at work though that is coming up in the next year or so. They are still working out the details but it looks like my job may change a lot. The whole unknown is the worst part I think.

 

[Oneanne]

QOTD:

1. I love pineapple, its one of my favorite fruits. I have a Dole Whip each trip and lately it's been the rum infused version... there's just something about the rum that deepens and intensifies the flavor. One of my favorite WDW meals ever was at F&W when they were offering the spicy hot dog with pineapple salsa, and I had a Rum Dole Whip with it... divine, I can taste it just thinking about it. This upcoming trip one treat I am going to try is the new Pineapple Upside-down Cake now being offered at Sunshine Terrace. Pineapple Upside-down Cake is something my Mom used to make, so its comfort food, plus its pineapple!

2. Do I keep doing the same thing over and over even tho it's not working, why yes I do... I keep falling in to the instant gratification trap. "Squirrel!" Or actually make that "Starbucks!" As for dieting things I keep trying that don't really work, its the all-or-nothing mentality, and going in to a state of depredation instead of making small incremental changes... elimination diet I'm looking at you. Part of it is having to eliminate the things I have problems with, so I'm sure I'll be doing it again it just isn't sustainable long term.

 

[dolewhipdreams]

1. Yeah I don’t really like Dole Whips.....

JK! They are an absolute must do for each trip. I prefer a float but I recently had my first vanilla swirl and I have to say that it might be my new favorite.

2. Before I started paying attention to my diet I tried just using exercise to slim down. That didn’t work and I quickly realized that “you can’t out exercise a poor diet” is very much true for me. Now that I’m back on track with healthy eating I’m building more weight training into my exercise plan and I’m actually seeing results!

 

[Lady Marie]

Yesssss, I love Dole Whip! I prefer the floats (I like a little bitterness to balance out the sweet), but will take it with rum any day of the week. Yum!!!

Question 2: Is there something that did not work very well in the past but you are willing to try again in terms of diet or exercise? Or are you guilty of doing the same thing and expecting different result or are you doing some adjustment to the plan to make it more sustainable and achievable for you? When do you decide, right - this is not working. I need something different? Or right, I need to do some small changes to suit me better

I'm trying to get myself out of a trap right now with WW. I was trying to keep exercising and not changing my diet enough to loose more weight. Funny enough, I did try WW 2 years ago, but thought it was worth it to give it another try. I think my mindset is better now to actually make it work. I have also realized it takes me about 2 months of something not working to give something else a try. That's about how long I am willing to plateau until I am ready to see results with something else.

I think the biggest difference between then and now with WW is I was trying to make my old diet "work" on WW by just adjusting portions and exchanging one bad food for one a little less bad. But now, I am completely trying to overhaul my diet and really boost my fruits and veggies. I guess that was the piece of the puzzle that needed to shift for me to see progress

 

[fromscratchmom]

I've actually never had a dolewhip, though I suppose hearing that it's only 90 calories adds a little possibility that I may look into its ingredient list to see if it's a possibility for me.

I have definitely done a lot of wrong things for loooong periods of time sometimes, going to medical doctors, cutting fat and animal products for years upon years....nearly 20 before I realized I was as a result over 100lbs overweight and had almost no quality of life or health and that doctor's and popular diet ideals and agendas held no help or compassion for me, only harm. It was a hard road breaking the vicious downward spiral I was on at that time. But I've been doing the work to build some level of health for a long time now. I am rising from the ashes.

Nowadays I'm somewhat better at being aware of and responding to what is working for me and what is not. And I'm still somewhat good at sticking to programs usually though the added flexibility I've learned can, of course, sometimes lead to a mistake rather than a benefit.

But even today I'm flexing my flexibility muscles. I'm eating celery and humus today because I felt like it. Humus is not really as low carb as most of what I've been doing. But overall it's a pretty stinking healthy deviation. I love it. And I'm pretty confident that today either won't throw me off at all or will only cause a very short delay in my progress. Who knows? As many awesome phytonutrients and amazing health benefits as celery has it may be something I really needed rather than just a whim I felt. Plus it was nice and portable for my loong day out and about. (Left the house at 6:30am, hope to get home slightly before 11pm. Thursdays have been a stressful challenge for food planning because of that.) I hope and pray I'll be down a pound tomorrow morning. I was not this morning. I was actually up one, but as I'm always reminding myself it is not realistic to expect a loss everyday so hanging on to that desire to see it everyday is just self sabotage. As long as I stay calm and keep going usually those little fluctuating bump-ups even out within a day or two on this plan or they sometimes even disappear at the same time that I see another real pound down on top of the fluctuation pound down just a day or two later. I'm going to keep plugging along!

 

[fromscratchmom]

Yikes, I made it sound like I hate conventional medicine. I do not. I have had some significant harm from some of the mistakes in the conventional paradigm. And I did have to divorce myself from it so to speak. But I do still see a doctor occasionally. In fact, I had a surgery that I agreed I needed with almost no convincing having had to be worked at by my surgeon, just a few months ago and I'm currently complying with weigh-ins with Dr Im. He's definitely one of the good guys and I actually voluntarily let him know I was losing weight and asked if he felt the need to keep tabs.

 

[4HOLIDAYS]

Hello all! I am in again for November. I finished 5/6 lbs for Oct. I am shooting for 6 this month even with Thanksgiving.

I love dolewhip floats-vanilla swirl when they had it. since they separated the stand from the softserve spot at wdw, they have only the pineapple/pineapple combo for floats. Last time I went and got the pineapple juice and then separately vanilla soft serve and sort of made my own.

Everything in the past didn't work for my health or weight. i am trying something different in WW and getting 10k steps a day. That is working. I am actually leaving in a couple min to head to the dr for an ekg, chest xray, medical clearanne so I can have a D&C on the 14th. So I guess they are both still a work in progress.

 

[HappyGrape]

3rd of November WDW topic of the day - Wold Showcase in Epcot


It is the first Disney World Land I ever explored and I love it! I love how relaxed it can feel, that you don’t need to have a plan. You can just get there and enjoy the live performances, food, shopping, and theme. Tell me about you and World Showcase. Have you seen all movies? What do you think about the frozen ride vs maelstrom? What is your favorite pavilion and have you seen illuminations? Did I read somewhere that there is now new fireworks show? Have you been to any of the festivals? Where in the world showcase you like to eat? I like planning but I also like having a place to go without plan and still have awesome time. What do you love about World Showcase? Favorite drink or snack?

Question 2 Do you have any go to quick and easy meals, or place you can go get a meal and remain on track on days that you simply don’t feel like planning, cooking or doing much?
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[piglet1979]

World Showcase is not my favorite. I am so board here. I need the plan, if not we just wander and see nothing. I haven't even been to all of the pavilions yet and we have been their 4 times. We do love eating at Teppen Edo. I do get some funny looks from the chef though. I don't the the Soy Sauce on my steak and my daughter just wants plain chicken and the noodles need to be plain too. They are also kind enough to bring her white rice. We are so picky. This is where my son found out he likes sugar snap peas (I think that is what they are called).

I did love Maelstrom. It was a favorite from the time I went as a kid with my dad. My sister and I went on the ride over and over while my dad and step mom saved a spot for the laser light show (the was back in the late 80's). We met a group of boys and rode with them. They were from Whales. I was sad to see it go but I also can't wait until we get to see Frozen. We missed the opening of it by less then a week. I was so bummed.

I am also not a huge fan of Illuminations. I would much rather to MK's night time show. Really EPCOT is not my favorite park all together. I am out voted by the family though. I have not seen all the shows yet. I have seen Cananda's movie and Frances but I can't handle the movies and end up leaving. Both give me motion sickness. I do like the ride at Mexico. I also like see the Characters. This is how my husband gets me here. I stand in line and gets to drink around the world. We had a great meet with Alice once. It was raining out and she was moved inside. We were so went. When we got to the front of the line the kids must have said something about being wet. The 3 of the skipped around the store they were in to dry off. It was so much fun.

Question 2. This is a tough one. My husband cooks at home. So really up to him. Quick meals in our house tends to be hot dogs or chicken patties. We need work here. My husband and i will have a salad if everything is cut up already. If we go out it is usually not good. This week when we ate out the kids went to subway (not my favorite) and my husband and I were going to go to Chipolte. Not a bad choice since I don't get all the fatty stuff on it. But we decided on Panera for me and Aladdin's for my husband. So we did good this day. But this is our one big down fall.

 

[Oneanne]

QOTD:

1. EPCOT is my favorite park, even in it's currently out of date and slightly shabby state. When planning for my first trip I had read that you should start at EPCOT because it is large and spread out, and so not overwhelming. I continued to do it first for probably 15 years/trips and it was actually a hard habit to break. I always park hop, and usually end my evenings at EPCOT. One of my favorite things to do each trip is to have breakfast at Les Halles at RD... everyone else is headed to Soaring or TT or FEA, so the stroll back to France is peaceful and the park feels very private and personal. And having a Brie and Apple Baguette sandwich for breakfast is a wonderful way to start the day.

I know Maelstrom was cheesy and out of date but gosh darn I did it every trip... have to commune with my people don't you know. I actually loved the queue area and the little village at the end more than the ride itself. I don't love FEA at all, I think they did a slap-dash job of throwing it together, but with the new facial projections on the automatronic figures I can totally see how the Frozen target audience would love it.

I'm not sure I have a favorite pavilion, but I have special memories in some of them. One is sitting by the fountain in Germany with my Nephew T, eating pretzels at twilight when the lights all started to come on.

I don't love Illuminations and don't do it every trip, but a couple years ago I was at an AllEars holiday dessert party and the special Christmas add-on almost brought me to tears.

I used to do my annual trip in the Spring, so I've hit F&G many many times: I've been during F&W three times and also during Holiday three times, doing the Candle Light processional each time... I think Whoopie has been my favorite narrator.

Currently Spice Road is a must do for me, I always get the Hummus and Olive plate for a nice light lunch, and I love their Mint Iced Tea. I also usually eat at Teppan Edo, and the previously mentioned Les Halles.

2. What's my go-to for quick and easy dining? To go somewhere and have someone else feed me. I live in the West Seattle neighborhood and we have our own little "downtown" core business area where there are several eateries, including the local Pub which is where I usually end up.

 

[dolewhipdreams]

QOTD 1: I am one of those who loves the WS. It's just a little snippet of other cultures all in one circular mile. I like interacting with the cast members from the different countries and seeing what they miss about their homes or love about America, etc. I've experienced all the set attractions but haven't seen all of the entertainment. I've been at Christmas, Food & Wine, and when there wasn't any festival (which I feel like it's going to a place where soon there will always be a festival). I'm going to experience my first International Festival of the Arts and Food & Garden next year and I'm so excited about those as well! It's on my bucket list to actually visit every country that is represented in the WS

For Maelstrom vs FEA, I only rode Maelstrom once. The first time I visited WDW I didn't even know it existed (I was a young, naive teen on a band trip), the second visit is when I rode it, and by my third visit it was closed. I liked it and I miss that it had a little more thrill than FEA and was also had a much shorter wait! I also have only ridden FEA once and I'm glad I've experienced it but I'm not in love. I think the queue is lovely and I enjoy Frozen but I would rather use a FP on Test Track or Soarin'.

My favorite pavilion varies. I do love Canada because I think it's beautifully done with the garden and the waterfall. If I want to just find a peaceful spot to hang out, I like the back area of the UK pavilion with the garden there. Morocco has a unique feel- it's one where if I'm in the back alleys, it feels like I could actually be in a Moroccan market place and I love that.

I think Illuminations is great and I try to see it at least once every trip. I like the holiday Peace on Earth tag, especially, and I listen to that soundtrack every holiday season.

QOTD 2: As I am incredibly lazy, I have a lot of quick meals up my sleeve. My favorites right now are a simple turkey sandwich on a Flatout low carb bread with some veggies and fruit on the side (maybe some low fat chips if I have the points). We also love to make our own WW friendly pizzas using Flatouts, pizza sauce, low fat mozzarella, and turkey pepperoni. For eating out, Chick Fil A and Panda Express are two of the places that have really good low-point options. Panera actually has a lot of fairly high point options so it isn't the easiest to eat when you're low on WW points. I also keep at least two pounds of pre-cooked shredded chicken in my freezer so that I can quickly defrost it and do something with it- chicken tacos, season it for a salad, quesadillas, etc. That's been really helpful to have around.

 

[fromscratchmom]

I'm not terribly experienced with World Showcase though I've enjoyed what I've seen. I'd love to go solo and really see every nook and cranny. Is that where The Land is? Soarin? Those are the two things I always remember the most when I think of Epcot.

Like DoleWhipDreams said I have a lot of ideas for time crunch or too tired to eat moments. I love to just do a few bites of cheese and berries or a few bites of olives and cheese. I always keep homemade stock in my house as much of the time as possible and although that is not fast to make it's great to just heat up a cup of broth any time or all time or to make soup quick and easy that can be pretty darn basic with just some frozen veggies in it or 1 to 4 kinds of veggies that I had to chop up for it.

Also homemade broth replaces lots of convenience foods that are not good for my body and it doesn't take a lot to make. It just has to be when I can manage the ability to be at home or leave it in a crock pot or with someone else at home with it.

 

[HappyGrape]

It was very busy last few days in work and I have not got a chance to reply or fill in my daily commitments. I have been consistently doing my steps and remaining in balance, and my appetite is down little but I seem to miss the the how did it go today and what can I do better tomorrow.

 

[HappyGrape]

4th of November. WDW Thing 4 - Food as Entertainment

I often read the random quote generator on mimimalist podcast and this is what I got this morning​

Food is not entertainment.

—Joshua Fields Millburn

Question of the day - what are your thoughts on food as entertainment?
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I am not so sure about that! I love cooking healthy meals for my family and I find myself amused/entertained by cooking and trying to be creative with healthy ingredients. Eating for enjoyment is one of the joys of life. Posting a quote from a blog I like, and the blogger review of a book

"Part of our healing requires us to stop glamorizing food by withdrawing some of our false projections onto it and false meanings we've given to it. A balanced relationship with food would be more like your own relationship with toilet paper. Okay, I admit this is a crude analogy, but with both food and toilet paper, quality is important. They both fill a need (when you need it, you need it!), the experience of using them is quick, and most importantly, there's no need to think about them when you're not using them. It's not like you're going to create an overblown fantasy anticipating the velvety softness of two-ply Cottonelle!"
t. It's great to enjoy good food when you're hungry and it's time to eat. It's probably not great to fantasize about food constantly. When you turn it into your friend, your enemy, your comfort, your partner in crime, your Friday night, your emotional boost, the highlight of your week, that's when the relationship starts getting dysfunctional. Actually, just entertaining the idea that you have a "relationship" with food is probably dysfunctional, but a lot of us have treated it that way. You turn to it in hard times. You sneak and "cheat" to spend time with it. You feel guilty afterward. You break up. "Never again," you say and you kick the cookies to the curb. But then next thing you know, you're back together! And it's a blissful reunion, perhaps because it's forbidden.

That's a role that food was never meant to play.
I know that food is more than food. It has cultural and social significance. I don't think it has to be completely utilitarian, like toilet paper. But I think it's really important to keep it in context. There's a time and a place to celebrate with food. If it's not that time or place, your mind should be elsewhere.

 

[HappyGrape]

I posted specifically ice cream picture as for years I associated ice cream with happiness, fun, sunshine, time with family, vacations, beach. I would buy myself tub of ice cream in the winter and would try to recreate happy feeling by eating it. It usually didn't work like this, and on vacations I would end up eating way too much ice cream. I thought vacations would simply not be the same without ice cream. True to be told, I was wrong. I can take it or leave it now. I have no desire to buy tub of ice cream. lol it's 6 am in Dublin! but you know what I mean. I eat ice cream, but I don't feel I need to eat it to have great time. I focus a lot less on food as entertainment, and a lot more on everything else happening around me

Is food entertainment? I disagree with the quote, it can be. And it can be wonderful! Even healthy food can be entertaining. I have no desire anymore to ever to try the kitchen sink and I know most people would feel physically unwell with the likes of food coma effects after eating too much of any food but huge amount of kitchen sink type of thing even worse. But there was a time when I would have thought that this is my definition of fun! Eating ice cream until it's hard to walk after.

Associating fun with eating too much isn't good entertainment. We do it, as we get something out of it. But there are better ways to entertain yourself.

I look at healthy meal with gratitude now. I want to eat food that makes me feel incredible, gives me energy and supports healthy aging. I crave my veggies. And I now view eating too much as something that makes me feel tired and isn't at all enjoyable. But I feel there is place for ice cream, when eaten in moderation and food is entertaining, even when practicing moderation and not overeating.

 

[4HOLIDAYS]

Fri QOTD- Epcot- I love it! But I love all the parks... I enjoy going around, seeing the details. We have done the tours there which were terrific. We love being able to wander around, see the different shows, grab a bite at so many place. I find it hard to narrow down just what we will see and do there as it is to big to do it all. I liked Maelstrom better than FEA, I liked the village better and I really liked when they had the viking ship the kids could play on. I also liked the big light display they used to have at Christmas and the laser and fireworks show that was before Illuminations. I do like Illuminations though.

Go to food- Kodiak cakes, eggbeaters, wraps with turk/chick, pudding cups, popchips, string cheese.. I have to have these things in the house to make my life easier.

Sat QOTD- That is how I used to think, well, I still do a bit. I cannot wait to have crab legs at Cape May Cafe is December and a dolewhip. Some habits are hard to break. I do think I have changed though in wanting healthy,, fresh, clean food. Fried food does not appeal the way it used to and surprisingly the bake goods don't as much either. We used to plan events, parts of trips, evenings around the food. Now I am trying to plan the evening or event and then fit food in. This is a tough one, really changing a lifetime way of thinking.

I do love icecream but eat only as an occasional treat. We stay at the Beach Club each yr, and have never done the kitchen sink. My kids get ice cream every other day when we are there and I used to as well. Now it is maybe once in the week and only a single scoop. i am learning.

My Dr visit did not go as expected. He saw something "unusual" on the ekg and sent me immediately to a cardiologist. Will be doing a bunch of tests on Tuesday. One more reason to keep on this current path.

 

[fromscratchmom]

Great Discussion Topic! Although I've had plenty of times in life that I enjoyed food or enjoyed it way too much I now have to live a lifestyle that separates me from others in enjoying food together. It's a shame really but it is necessary to my health. I think food is a natural for entertainment and for socializing and for caring for others. Still sometimes a health issue interferes. And now perhaps our food culture has reached a level of unhealthy norms that it's generally creating many health problems.

Almost every food treat and almost every food occasion has it's folks involved who think that if you don't partake in some way that you are ...well there are a million variations but that you are wrong in some way from being standoffish to mentally ill to hurting your own mental health by being too strict. However, those times facing all of that are just so frequent it would be an all day everyday thing bowing down to others and hurting myself if I had not learned to cope with their fallacies and behaviors. It would be the same horror show of declining health and no standard of living that I had ten and fifteen years ago.

I would love it if there was such a thing as a strong and decent size subculture that all abstain from all food additives and non-food ingredients, all refined sugars; just ate real, whole foods,; and had plenty of the people in it off of all refined grains or all grains. Lol. In real life folks divorcing themselves from the standard American Diet are fragmented and going in many different directions. And of course tons of people are new to it and can misunderstand another person's issues or get upset in some way about what another person needs to stick to the same as SAD eaters.

I have no idea how well I may or may not do with Disney food at high-end Disney restaurants someday in the future. But in general I think of having to abstain from food at Disney. And I know I can be at peace with that, most of the time.