A Disney October Surprise

Linda bought me a Disney Surprise for Halloween to help cure the "I am missing Disney" blues.

This is a ceramic Mikey Head in the shape of a pumpkin (jack o lantern) designed to hold a small candle inside. It is the perfect Halloween decoration!

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!

Cheapest Groceries Near Disney World

We did a lot of grocery shopping during our Disney trip and were concerned that groceries in Florida (particularly around Disney) were more expensive than what we are used to in Upstate New York. So, I did a study. I tried to align similiar products and sizes whenever possible.

I compared the grocery prices between:
- Walmart on Rt 27 (which has similiar prices compared to Walmarts in upstate New York)
- Publix on Rt 192
- Market Place on Rt 192
- Target on Rt 192
- Wegmans in Upstate New York

The results? Generally speaking, Walmart had the cheapest groceries. In a close second was Wegmans in Upstate New York. The worse place to shop was the Market Place.

Milk is generally more expensive in Florida than Update New York:
Wegmans: $2.49
Publix: $4.09
Walmart: $4.38

Loaf of Cinamon Bread shows a strong contrast in prices:
Walmart $2.98
Wegmans $3.49
Publix $3.99
Marketplace $3.99

Another example is a box of Hunts Chocolate Pudding cups:
Walmart: $2.78
Wegmans $2.79
Publix: $2.99
Marketplace $3.69

There was a $.30 price difference between what we were used to paying for Hamburger Buns and what we paid at The Marketplace:
Wegmans: $1.29
Target: $1.39
Publix: $1.39
Walmart $1.48
MarketPlace $1.59

But generally speaking, Walmart had the cheapest prices on most items. And therefore by using Walmart, groceries in the Disney area are not more expensive than what we are used to in Upstate New York. You can see the entire list here:
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets...it?usp=sharing

Extreme Transportation Around Disney

During our summer stay, I was surprised at all the various modes of transportation I saw.

It is very common for people to rent extended vans that have four or five rows of seating. I watched one of these pull up in front of a 5 bedroom villa with the back end of the van so low it was nearly dragging on the ground. Twenty-five people exited the van and went into the villa. Twenty-five!

In a parking lot behind a Burger King, a uhaul pulled up. The back of the uhaul slid open and three families came out. Small children, teenagers, adults. I suppose a uhaul is cheaper than Enterprise car rental. Someone suggested to me that the three families might additionally be living in the uhaul, but I find that difficult to believe.

In another vacation villa neighborhood, I saw a large tour bus pull up and everyone emptied out and went into a single villa. How many people can sleep in a five bedroom villa?

When you really want to go to Disney, I guess you do what you have to do. But these were some very extreme examples that I saw!

Gopher Turtles

Most Florida villas have a disappointing view from the pool deck. Either you are starring at your neighbors swimming in their pool, or, you have a wall or white vinyl fence.

But not us!

When we stayed in July, Our view was of a large open field of pine trees! We learned why while talking to a real estate agent. Apparently that land is owned by a elderly doctor who has refused to sell it to the developers. He has held onto the land all this time. And now they have discovered gopher turtles on the land. These turtles are called gophers because they dig into the ground. And gopher turtles are on the endangered species list. So now that highly valued and treasured land isn't as valued anymore. I benefit by having a nice view from the pool deck, and seeing the occasional turtle munching on weeds.

The Cost Of Disney

This summer we spent 32 days living at Disney and we are planning to return in late December. This is a good opportunity to review our goals. Specifically, financial goals. Last year we were at Disney for 22 days and this year 32 days. We didn't hit the lottery, these trips are really expensive, so we attempted things to make the 2014 trip cheaper.

First, the cost of the villa. In 2013 we paid $119 per day. This year we paid $93 per day which saved $26 per day!

Next, a huge expense is food. Our goal was to eat at home and off property as much as possible. We didn't do as well as I had hoped. In fact, many opportunities to eat at home were lost because we were challenged getting out the door in a timely fashion. However, we did cut nearly all of the Disney table service restaurants this year. We did have an improvement. Considering groceries (including soaps, cleaners, paper, and everything) and out-to-eat, in 2013 we averaged $129 per day. This year we averaged $85 per day which saved $44 per day.

$85 still blows me away and I know there are huge improvement opportunities there without taking away from our vacation.

One thing to consider is that we would buy groceries and go out to eat if at home. It isn't $85 per day while at home, nevertheless, it makes $85 per day a little more palpable.

Our journey to Florida and home was $300 cheaper because we used cheaper hotels, cut the trip by a day, and cut several of our normal stops out of the trip.

Souvenirs, gas, and our year passes worked out about the same.

I feel pretty good that we were able to significantly extend the length of the trip without increasing the cost, and if we ever try this again, there are opportunities to cut back even further.

Nearly Arrested?

We were nearly arrested today. Or at least detained. Perhaps questioned. But certainly fined. Almost. By the pure fault of our own and drawing unnecessary attention to our questionable activities brought us, an average middle class, country loving, God fearing, American family, caste into the criminal element and brought under the spotlight of the authorities.

Where do I begin to explain how we could have become such vagrants?

I am now running nearly 4.5 miles per day. My pace is horrible due to running intervals and the inability to breath in the hot humid summer air, but I don't care. I return home drenched and dripping and gasping for air yet unable to breath as I drown in the humidity and I love it.

I wanted to capture a video of the path I use so that in the cold upstate winter, I could use the video while on the treadmill or elliptical to keep me motivated. While on the treadmill I can either look out the window at falling snow, or look at blue skies as palm trees pass by. I'd rather have the later - even if the palm trees only exist on a TV screen.

The plan was simple: hang a camera out the passenger van window while driving the van through the neighborhood at 5-10 mph. A last change of plans had Linda driving the van (even though he didn't have her license with her and was wearing flip flops) while I hung my arm out the window.

And off we went... Creeping down each neighborhood road. No one would think it odd that someone with New York plates were scoping out a neighborhood with mostly vacant vacation villas.

Someone did think it was odd... A member of the Sherif's department! He rocked through the neighborhood to find us, then pulled up behind our slow moving van. I didn't notice him because I was concentrating on the video camera, and Linda didn't notice him because it is difficult to make a van drive so slow.

When Linda did notice, she said "Oh my God! There is a cop car behind us!" I quickly pulled my arm inside the van, shut off the camera, and threw it under my seat. Linda, in a sense of panic, flipped on her left turn signal an veered left, then flipped on her right turn signal and veered right, pulling the van to the curb. What was she going to do? No license! And driving with flip flops! And now erratic driving!

The sherif slowly pulled along side of us, checking what we were doing. What would we say? What would he do? I wasn't really doing anything wrong by making a video of the neighborhood, but Linda, on the other hand, was a complete criminal! After slowly passing by, the sherif then drove up the road and out of sight.

Were we safe? Was he simply running out plates and then he would return? Did someone call us in? Was the cop really checking us out? I don't know. But what I did know? I wanted my jogging video! Undeterred by our close brush with the law, we drove around the block and then picked up filming where we left off.

The outlaw video is completed (minus the brush with the Police). You can see the video with this link:
http://youtu.be/8yaynfRn204