Gaining weight on a Disney vacation

[Lumpy1106]

I don't gain. My early morning runs, plus all the walking cancel out the extra vacation calories and the guilt!

This is me too. I rarely get to go running in the morning so, as strange as it may seem to those that don't, I really look forward to those pre-dawn runs. I get right around 20k steps per day while in WDW. We don't do a lot of sit-down meals either due to cost. 3-4 big meals for the week. We even make lunches to carry into the parks, and I have oatmeal and maybe some fruit and a cup of yogurt for breakfast in the room before we head out. Not trying to lose weight while we are there, but it usually happens.

 

[JodyLynC]

Seriously? I’ve never gained weight on a Disney vacation . With all the walking I can eat whatever and be fine .

Yes, I am seriously asking this question. Not sure why it warranted that response.

 

[KristaZ]

I typically gain 2-3 lbs. Even with walking 30,000 + steps every day. My husband loses 2-3 lbs each trip!

 

[DaviVascaino]

I don't care about how much weight I gain, usually it is only a few pounds, 2-3 pounds.

You are on vacation, just enjoy.
What I usually do is I try to shave off a few pounds BEFORE disney week, then I can eat and drink guilt-free.

 

[HashberryOTG]

I typically gain 2-3 lbs. Even with walking 30,000 + steps every day. My husband loses 2-3 lbs each trip!

Same for us!! Ok, maybe it's sometimes 5.... but it depends on how long we're there.

 

[ChipTheRescueRanger]

I dint put any on after 2 weeks. But I have since home as cant stop eating MNNSHP candy whoops

 

[winterwhite]

I used to gain, mostly because I was eating restaurant breakfasts which I don’t do at home and are generally calorie bombs.

Now I don’t because we split meals, at most I eat a piece of fruit or a cup of yogurt for breakfast, and I don’t really want sweet treats except occasionally.

Regardless of “burning it off” your body still has to process all that junk and I feel a lot better now not eating it. Even if you walk 20,000 steps that’s about an extra 725 calories. Half a Gaston’s cinnamon roll is about 890; it’s very easy to overeat even with the exercise.

 

[Jimmy Mouse]

I always put on 5-10 lbs. I like beer, actually I love beer so at WDW I tend to drink a lot of beer. Add that to all the snacks I eat all day, no matter how much walking we do, I still gain. But it's totally worth it.

 

[ShannyMcB]

Usually stay about the same near as I can tell. I don't own a scale but when I get home my "skinny jeans" still fit. Having a granola bar or the like for breakfast and having kids meals at QS restaurants helps maintain.

 

[emily nicole]

I have never gained weight on a Disney World vacation, because of all the walking. I averaged 23,000 steps a day last trip.

A cruise, on the other hand... my clothes are tight by day 3... lol!

 

[tobikaye]

I sometimes gain weight, usually about 2-5 lbs, other times, I lose about the same. It mostly has to do with how active I am leading up to the trip and how much I over indulge.

One trip, I was on the go like crazy before and after the trip so my daily walking at WDW was only a couple miles more a day than average. I gained weight that trip because I ate a bit more desserts than normal.

Another trip, I was so crazy with work and storms in my area in the 2 weeks leading up that I was probably only getting 3-4K steps a day or less. I lost almost 5 lbs that trip because I walked so much and I wasn’t really feeling like eating much, especially desserts.

 

[miamimama]

I’ve never actually weighed but I think I stay the same because I walk so much but I probably eat more with the festivals and snack stands. Hello Churros and Margarita’s and Mickey Bars.!!

 

[mynewgroove]

maybe an unpopular thought, but just wanted to point out how rampant diet culture is here. Especially there are children or teenagers with you on the trip, are you mindful of how you talk about your body and food? I think it can send some very unhealthy messages, especially if you are continually making comments about being afraid of weight gain during the trip or mentioning how you look.

 

[willowsnn3]

Even with all the walking (averaging 20,000+ steps daily), I have always gained around 8 or 9 pounds if our trip was at least a week long. But it is vacation so I ate whatever I wanted, mostly sugary, high fat, sodium filled stuff. And enjoyed every bite. First day back I do a somewhat liquid fast. Lots of water, protein shakes & such. That takes care of most of the weight gain right away. I eat differently at home than at Disney (rarely eat sweets) so that helps.

 

[snikki]

At Disney usually 2-3 pounds but I think that’s from all of the walking.

Now I have gained ten pounds from some all inclusive trips. Also gained about that much when I’ve done NOLA, Nashville, Key West, etc. These kinds of trips also have me drinking a ton more alcohol which I think is the main reason for the weight gain. I really don’t drink much on my Disney trips. And there’s much less movement these trips.

 

[RoseColored97]

I wouldn't worry that much about weight fluctuations while on vacation. Those 5-6 or even 10 pounds may possibly be water/bloat from increased salt intake, sitting for extended periods (airplane), walking for extended periods, etc. Your weight can and does fluctuate that much. Everything balances out within a few weeks when things get back to normal.

 

[jf256]

I wouldn't worry that much about weight fluctuations while on vacation. Those 5-6 or even 10 pounds may possibly be water/bloat from increased salt intake, sitting for extended periods (airplane), walking for extended periods, etc. Your weight can and does fluctuate that much. Everything balances out within a few weeks when things get back to normal.

This - I went away for the weekend and gained 6lbs. 2 days later I had actually gained 0.5lbs which is basically nothing. Cruises are particularly bad for this my OH doesn't bloat at all normally but goes on a cruise and he does quite badly. Around 1 day after he is perfectly fine again.

 

[DLgal]

Most vacation weight gain is water bloat from all the carbs and salt. Most vacation weight loss is due to excessive sweating or simply not eating much. No one is cancelling out 4000 calories a day by walking 20,000 steps.

 

[winterwhite]

maybe an unpopular thought, but just wanted to point out how rampant diet culture is here. Especially there are children or teenagers with you on the trip, are you mindful of how you talk about your body and food? I think it can send some very unhealthy messages, especially if you are continually making comments about being afraid of weight gain during the trip or mentioning how you look.

Not eating food you don’t need to eat, whether it’s to maintain your weight or not, is not “diet culture.”

WDW is chock full of food that is terrible for you. It’s not “diet culture” to not eat these things because you don’t want to put garbage in your body.

Making good choices about treats on vacation isn’t “diet culture.” In fact, specifically eating a lot of junk you wouldn’t normally eat because you’re on vacation is a message I wouldn’t personally want to give my kids as that’s not a healthy relationship with food, either.

 

[IslaLila]

Much of a Disney vacation is centered around food. Despite walking around, I suspect many of us has gained weight while visiting WDW. If you did how much weight did you gain? If you didn't, how did you manage to keep it off?

I haven't been to the parks since I've been losing weight, but my plan is to give myself permission to not finish snacks and meals. At home I've gotten so much better about stopping eating when I'm full rather than clearing my plate. At Disney I know there have been times when I got tired of the pretzel halfway through but ate the whole thing anyway, ate more than I needed at meals because it was there on the plate and I couldn't take it home for later etc. This time I'm just telling myself it's ok to just have a few bites even if it means I'm being wasteful. It's a girl's trip, so I also plan to ask my friends if they want to share things.