I'm back!

Hello all!
Well it's been awhile since I have posted anything here since I was on vacation in Disney World. My trip was awesome, it was so great to see my parents and be in my favorite place. It's always important to make sure you take time to do something for yourself and to be with the ones you love.

While I was allowed more freedom with my regimen on vacation I still tried to make healthy choices for most of my meals. Admittedly, I indulged in some tasty treats since I was on vacation and also celebrating my birthday. But it is important to balance those treats with the rest of your meal choices and keep in mind your activity level. For example, if I knew I wanted ice cream for dessert I would make sure that my dinner was on the healthier side such as roasted chicken with mixed vegetables. I also kept in mind that for the majority of my trip I was walking around the parks all day and enjoying the sights!

It isn't too difficult to eat healthy at Disney. They have made an effort to provide cleaner meals than your typical fast food/tourist attraction fare. For our trip, my mom had added the Quick Meals Dining plan. For all those unfamiliar with Disney lingo, quick meals is their equivalent to fast food. It should be noted, however, that Disney's 'fast food' is hardy you average burger. I was able to get roasted chicken with mixed vegetables, chicken breast nuggets that were in chicken breast form (not processed pounded meat), and they even had steak on the menu - cooked right there in front of you. So it isn't too difficult to eat healthy. Most meals come with french fries or the like, but you are able to substitute vegetables, fruit, yogurt, etc - all you gotta do is say so. I never hesitate to ask for a meal made my way - Disney is built on customer service and having worked their I know what is at their disposal and how they can cater to you - even at the Quick Meal food places (my first summer I worked at Disney World was as a 'Quick Foods Hostess').

While I was down there, I got a kick out of my parents taking my lead sometimes and ordering healthier. And I got them to drink more water! At no time during the trip did either of them pick up a soda! We would have coffee/tea but other than that it was water (once or twice my dad had Vitamin Water Zero). They were amazed at how much water I drank on a day, and not because I wanted to, but because it was the rule for me (I drink at least a gallon a day).

With the Quick Meal plan each meal included a drink (bottled water was our choice), but if you don't have the plan or don't want to pay for bottled water, you can also ask for a cup of water, which is free. The only places you can't get a free cup of water is the little roll around carts (the ones that sell the ice cream, popcorn, etc) as they have to count their cups for inventory, therefore can't give them out. But I didn't see many of them anymore, I think they have switched their mobile units all over to bottled beverages (no more fountain drinks).

Overall, it was a great vacation! I'm back though - back to work - back to training and back to competition prep for the California in May!