Exercising while at Disney

There are many dietary temptations while on vacation, especially a Disney vacation. It can be very difficult to stay on track. And hay - it is a vacation, you deserve that second piece of chocolate cake! I often come home from a vacation weighing several pounds more than when I left.

I talked to one person last year who felt it was easy to maintain weight and fitness goals at Disney. He believed that all the walking plus the heat burned so many calories that it didn't matter what someone consumed. In my experience? That simply isn't true.

I have found several things that help me when I'm on a Disney vacation.

1. Eat a salad at least once per day. It is hot, I don't feel like eating much anyways, and a salad can be very refreshing.  Sometimes it is difficult to select a salad when there are so many other options. Regardless, I adopt this as a rule.

2. Don't over do it in the heat. Florida in the summer isn't the time for anyone to try to prove how physically fit they are. Drink plenty of water and take many breaks. If you have any questions, talk to your doctor.

3. Walk or run. In 2014, I woke up early every day and went for a 5 mile jog. I was surprised how hard it was to jog in Florida's heat and humidity. My times and performance in Florida were way off my training and I often struggled just to breath. There were many times I just walked part of the trail. I would always return drenched in sweat and wringing out my shirt. Therefore, I always took a bottle of gator aid with me to help with hydration, and re-hydrated when I returned.

You can see my Florida Neighborhood jogging path through Indian Creek here. If you are staying on property, ask the front desk about jogging paths. You can simply walk or jog around the resort, or, they may have suggestions that could provide views normally missed.

4. Weights and Bands. If you are flying, you don't want to take weights to Disney as your luggage is weighed and you might have to pay extra. I drive, so, it is easy for me to toss a 25 or 35 pound dumbbell into the back of the van. It really doesn't take much room. I also take some rubber resistance bands, which are light and easy to pack.

5. Taking the weights and bands is one thing. Staying motivated to use them? Is something else
entirely. I would return from a jog every morning and all I wanted was a shower. I wouldn't let myself shower until after I completed some resistance training.

6. Showering after a work out. Florida is hot in the summer and if you go for a walk or a run, your body temperature will rise significantly. This has to be accounted for when taking a post-work out shower. Too hot of a shower can fatigue your body and prevent it from cooling, causing you to continue sweating for an hour after the shower. Too cold of a shower can throw your body into shock. I recommend starting with a luke-warm shower and then slowly lowering the temperature to help cool off your body and return it to normal.

Those are my tips for maintaining your diet and fitness goals while visiting Disney.

Getting In Shape For Disney

In preparation for the Summer 2014 Disney trip, I dropped a ton of weight. I had put on some weight after a promotion at work and wanted it removed before the summer. A Disney trip can be physically challenging so being in good shape helps. While everyone is different and you have to find what will motivate you, I’ll nevertheless share with you my experience and perhaps you’ll find something helpful. I’m not a doctor, I am sharing my amateur experience, and you should consult an expert if you have questions.




Bottom line, weight loss is the result of creating a calorie deficit. You have to burn more calories than you take in. You can take pills and powders and buy fancy exercise equipment or join expensive gyms – none of that matters. What you have to do is create the calorie deficit. You can waste a lot of money trying to find a trick and not get results.

Exercise: If you aren’t use to exercise, start by doing just what you are willing to do. Are you willing to walk to the front door and back? To the mail box and back? To the corner and back? To the store and back? Just get started and you’ll feel good and want to do more. To get energy you have to burn energy, so, the more you do – the more you will be able to do.
I was used to exercise so I usually did 60 minutes split between two different elliptical, and 10-20 minutes on a bike. Two to three times per week I additionally spent 30-60 minutes walking or jogging or adding resistance (weight) training. Bodies get used to exercise and exercise becomes less effective, so, it is important to confuse your body by changing things and doing many different things and continually turning up the resistance to keep it challenging. Basically, if you enjoy doing it, it probably isn’t effective anymore and the things you hate doing are the things you need the most.
Cardo (bikes, treadmills, running, Zumba) have better calorie burn per minute than resistant training (weights), but you only burn calories while doing the activity. Resistant training keeps the calorie burning throughout the day as your body repairs the muscles and you strain to use sore muscles. When doing Cardo long term, your body will burn fat and muscle, thus reducing muscle tone and reducing calories burnt during the day, so, the trick is to do a combination of cardo and resistance.

Diet: The most difficult. 400 calories for breakfast, 100 for a snack, 500 for lunch, and then dinner got anything that was left over. I’m a big guy, so, my goal was to hit 1500 calories after eating and exercise. If you aren't 6'4", your calorie goal is going to be lower. Just don't starve yourself - starving will shut down your metabolism.

The quality of calories matter. Fat and sugar have more calories per ounce and can be worse for your body than other choices. As a result, you want to pick healthier fats. And think of white flour (which is used everywhere) as if it were sugar too and pick something that is harder for your body to break down (like wheat).

5 or 6 small meals work better than 3 large ones. To keep your metabolism burning all day, keep it fed with smaller meals.

I calorie count, but fruits and vegetables are free. I don’t count those. So, when I need to fill up or am having a bad diet day, I turn to those. And I try to eat as much salad as I can stand. Eat lean meats: chicken, low fat hamburger, ground turkey, turkey bacon, turkey hot dogs, etc.

I have a couple of really good recipes. I find salsa that hasn't had sugar added and dump it into a slow cooker with chicken. It is healthy, easy, and tasty. Another is chili using ground turkey – you really can’t tell it is ground turkey, and the beans help add healthy protein.

I like chocolate and it has been my weakness. I compensate with coco puffs, chocolate flavored yogurt, and when I need the real thing I turn to dark chocolate.

I give myself one cheat day per week so that if I fall off the wagon, it is OK and permitted and I can get right back on the next day. I don’t use the cheat day every week, but, it has been helpful.

Finally, many people recommend regular weigh-ins to monitor your progress. My weight fluctuates from hour-to-hour and day-to-day. Some weeks would have great progress and others terrible. I was getting very disappointed. So, I switched to doing 5 week weigh-ins and it has been much better.

I hope these suggestions help!

2013: Pain in the Back

Saturday was a Disney Water Park day. We had to pick between Typhoon Lagoon and Blizzard Beach. How to pick? If you mostly like the tidal pool and lazy river? Typhoon Lagoon is the best. They have a couple of water slides, but the wait for us was 30-45 minutes. There is a kiddie park for those under 48". And there is a place where you can swim with the sharks. If you like water slides the most? Then you choice is Blizzard Beach. Both parks have many of the same things, just one is better than the other at some things.

We picked Typhoon Lagoon and spent most of our time in the lazy river. We did five laps around the park just relaxing in an inner-tube. Ahhhh...

It has rained everyday we have been in Florida and this day was no exception. Luckily? We were at a water park. But the thought did cross my mind that we should seek shelter so we wouldn't get wet.

After the lazy river we tested the wave pool. The wave pool has two modes: waves like you might see at an ocean; and tsunami. We were standing in the calm tide pool with the water lapping below our knees. A siren sounds. Then a thunderous rumble. And a tsunami wave (perhaps twenty feet high?) formed in front of us. By the time the wave hit us, it was at my shoulder height.

I quickly turned and grabbed my youngest (soon to be 10 yr old Son) and lifted him above my head so the water wouldn't drown him.

Five years ago I was lifting heavy CRT computer monitors at work - giant 30" monitors, and I blew out my back. I went to the hospital for an MRI, was put on some good medicine. It felt like the top and bottom of my body were disconnected. I had to use a walker and endure a lot of pain across a week to walk again. After that, I would occasionally have minor back pain around the SI area requiring back pain medicine, muscle relaxers, and a few days of light activity. During the past year I have been strengthening my abs and back and have had no problems.

I lifted Mike while turning as that wave hit. I dug my legs into the ground so the wave wouldn't knock us down, sending us both into the water. It was then I felt my back snap and knew that was the end of the fun for me.

I have returned to the back pain medicine. It isn't a major problem - I am still fully functional (still carrying the 50lb back pack). But I have a constant never ending pain in the back.

To add misery to the pain. I forgot the first rule of water parks: sun screen. My brother taught me that you should start the summer with a good burn and then you wont burn again, you will just tan. Obviously my brother is not a doctor, but I followed this pattern yearly. I get really good deep tans. I get so tanned that one September at the start of elementary school, my daughter told her teacher I was black. So you would think the lack of sun tan lotion wouldn't have a strong effect on me. I didn't do my back or chest and now I have a nice burn. Back pain and sun burn - nice combination.

It should be interesting to visit Disney with a bad aching back. I wonder how I will survive the rest of the trip! But I can't be a whimp and ruin the rest of the trip for the family. I will just have to suck up the pain, bite down on a leather strap, and keep going!

Father's Day Fall

The count down for the 2014 trip is ticking away! 11 days before we depart on a 37 day adventure!

To prepare for the trip, I have been getting in shape. I am below my goal weight and running faster than I ever have before in my adult life. I'm looking forward to staying trim by jogging around the Floridian neighborhood in the morning during our stay.

We tend to be late to everything we want to do. For Father's Day Weekend we planned to see a baseball game. We arrived 30 minutes late, the parking lots were full, and our iphone told us all the seats in all the sections we wanted were sold out. We decided to give up on baseball and just head home. I pulled the van back onto the city street and headed for the express way. In my confusion of the city streets, my disappointment about the game, and my searching for the expressway signs, I missed a red light. Yep, I became one of THOSE people, the kind of people that I always think should turn in their license because they are a menace. Or, more accurately, a typical Floridian driver.

As I crossed into the intersection I quickly sized the approaching traffic and in an instant determined my best course of action was to stop. I dropped the break pedal to the floor. The anti-locks kicked in. The tires smoked. And I laid on the horn to bring attention to the fact that I am an idiot.

A white car was quickly approaching the intersection, saw my van, and took evasive action. He dropped his break pedal and in a fog of smoked tires, avoided hitting the side of the van by swerving around the front of us. This guy had to be a professional driver because just as soon as he missed us, he swerved the other way to miss a guard rail, and then spun the other way such that he was now heading up the off ramp.

I was worried about still sitting in the intersection, so, I gunned the gas and shot onto the expressway, leaving the driver of the white car to wonder what kind of an idiot I was, and hoping that driver realized he was going the wrong way before someone came down the ramp.

In moments we were clear of the scene at which point my family took the opportunity to remind me the importance of good driving skills. I am certain God must have been driving that white car because that is the only way I can explain how we avoided that accident.

God can be an interesting fellow. He probably looked at the situation and asked: why should my family be punished for his poor driving ability? For if that white car hit the passenger side of the van, I would have been OK but I don't know what would have happened to everyone else. God saved my family but had other plans for me.

After Saturday was a bust, we decided to go to the movies on Sunday for Father's Day. We arrived late, the movie had already started, and the theater was packed. We had no choice but to sit down front in the neck bending seats. I lead the family to the seats and didn't realize there was a step down (the step was dimly lit compared to the other walkway lights). I missed the step and fell, but caught myself on the seat. Then, oddly, I found I could walk using my left foot. I sat, look my shoe and sock off, and tried to enjoy the movie while my foot throbbed and swelled.

Today I went to the doctor for xrays and am now wearing an air cast. I have to stay off the foot for three days and wear the cast for 1-4 weeks. No more cardio exercise for a while and I might not be running during our Florida trip. If that is the price I need to pay in exchange for that white car not hitting the van? I'll take it.

Health Update

For the 2014 trip I wanted to lose some weight and be able to run 12 minute miles for 5 miles. I am now ten pounds below my goal weight, I ran a 10.7mm 5K and a 11.07mm 5.5 miles - substantially beating all my goals. My hope is to keep the weight off by jogging around the neighborhood in Florida.

When we travel from upstate New York to Florida, we drive for 24 hours (counting frequent restaurant, gas, and bathroom stops) across 2 or 3 days. To stay awake and alert while driving I tend to snack on French fries, cheese popcorn, home made chocolate chip cookies, and drink energy drinks. And then I get home after a vacation and learn I put on ten pounds!

For this 2014 trip I am looking for something healthier to snack on. It has to be something that travels well, doesn't need refrigeration, and takes a long time to eat.

I am going to try regular popcorn instead of cheese popcorn. However, it is easy to get a kernel stuck in your teeth, which would be very distracting when driving.

I am also experimenting with a combination of Freeze dried blue berries, Apple clusters, dried Banana, dried mango, dried pineapple, Banana chips, and raisins (all unsweetened) put together into a trail mix. It tastes like cardboard and is expensive. But it is healthier than French fries and that natural fruit sugars will help keep me alert.

If anyone has healthy snack ideas for long trips - please let me know!

Running Program

Here are some of my times as I prepare for Disney. I'm not breaking any records here, just trying for a goal of 5 miles in 12 minute miles so that I can run every morning while at Disney. In addition to running, I spend an hour on an elliptical every day to help prepare. Here are some of my times:

4/8 12.2 mm/2.5 miles
4/13 12.3mm/2.5 miles
4/15 11.9mm/ 2.5 miles
4/23 11.85mm/3 miles
4/29 11/6mm/3 miles
5/1 11.6mm/3 miles
5/8 11.3mm/3/5 miles
5/13 11.3mm/3.5 miles
5/14 9.3mm/4 miles
5/21 11.3mm/ 5.3 miles
5/25 11.2mm/5.35 miles

2014 Running Program

I wanted to drop some weight for the 2014 Disney trip. Right now I am 5 pounds below my goal, so, I am happy.

This weekend started my 2014 Running Program. My goal is simple: be able to run 5 miles and average between 11 and 12 minute miles. Why? My running trail is 5 miles long and I would like to complete it during my lunch breaks.

For motivation? I have been watching some YouTube Disney Marathon reports. There aren't any running events at Disney during the summer (too hot), so I will be happy to jog in the morning around the neighborhood we are renting in.

It has been two years since my last running program and it felt really good to get this stared. I want to start slow with some interval run/walk so I can focus on form and minimize shin splints.

3/29 - 13.4mm/2.2 miles / Treadmill
3/30-12.8mm/2.3 miles/treadmill
3/31- recovery
4/1-12.6mm/2.4 miles/treadmill
4/2-leg strength training
4/3-12.4mm/2.4 miles/treadmill

Getting In Shape For Disney

If you are planning a trip to Disney, one thing you should do is plan to get in shape! To get the most out of your visit you will be walking most of the day for miles, often in extreme temperatures carrying a child or a heavy backpack. If you aren't used to doing a lot of walking, Disney can take a toll. You want to get your family in shape as early as possible. That means finding time in a busy schedule for some long family walks around the neighborhood. That’s right! Include the kids. Because when the kids wear out they stop having a good time, and pretty soon you’ll be “one of those parents” yelling “I paid a lot of money for this trip and you are going to be happy!” while the kid is dragged behind the parent exhausted.

I put on 35 pounds in the year leading up to our July 2013 trip. While that additional weight didn’t hold me back, it is difficult carrying extra weight in the heat and humidity of Florida. I was often exhausted at the end of the day, and toward the end of the trip I experienced a back injury.


I was determined to improve for our 2014 trip. Shortly after returning home from our 2013 trip, I started to diet and exercise. No gimmicks – just eat less and hit the treadmill. I have lost that 35 pounds and I am going after some more! Best of all, I feel great. I am ready to walk all day no matter how hot it gets.

There are many things to plan to assure you have a great time at Disney. Don’t forget to plan for the physical exertion.