Calories Burned at Disney: EPCOT and Magic Kingdom

We recently went to Disney World for the first time in about three months. Since it was our first time their in so long (for us), we took complete advantage of it and ended up staying in the parks for a total of 13-hours. No, that is not a typo, but it is the longest I have spent in Disney World since the age of ten. In that 13-hours, the hubs and I went to Magic Kingdom, EPCOT, the Polynesian Hotel, and the Grand Floridian. It was a ton of walking. Oh, and since we got there so early, we were close enough to walk to Magic Kingdom's ticket counter from our car... Just a few extra steps along the way.

We started our day bright and early at Magic Kingdom and decided to take advantage of the limited crowds by going around the park and riding any ride we wanted to. This ended up taking about 45-minutes and included seven rides. Phew! Next was another trip around the park ending in Adventureland where we completed the entire Pirates Adventure card game- something I would completely recommend every Disney visitor do.  

After that came lunch at the Polynesian Resort followed by a quick tram ride to EPCOT. While at EPCOT we walked the World Showcase once along with walking from the Land Pavilion to France twice. The crowds were still pretty quiet and we were not only able to get a Fast Pass for Soarin' after 4:00 PM, we were also able to walk onto the ride around 7:00 that night! Epic. Next came dinner at the Japan Pavilion followed by a quick tram ride back to the Grand Floridian Resort to watch the Magic Kingdom's fireworks on the Seven Seas Lagoon. I should note that watching Magic Kingdom's fireworks from the Polynesian or Grand Floridian has become my favorite way to end the night. It is an incredible view with wonderful ambiance and no crowded exodus from the parks. Yes, I am pretty sure we found the holy grail of Disney traveling.

Overall, we walked just over 28,000 steps in one day! This is, by far, the most steps I have walked in one day since getting my FitBit. Hold on to your hats because this massive exertion of steps ends up equaling a pretty good calorie burn at 2,423 calories! I was super impressed by this. Burning over 2,000 calories by walking is pretty impressive, especially considering that my resting metabolic rate is about 1,300 for an entire day! This massive calorie burn makes me feel a little better for getting that yummy Starbucks Coffee from their new location on Main Street. Funny, but the coffee line may have been the longest line we were in that day. 

EPCOT and Magic Kingdom Exercise Summary

• 28,355 steps
• 14 miles
  
• 2,423 calories

The Best Advice for Staying Fit

I was recently out at lunch with a good friend who asked me a pretty simple, but not too easy question. She asked me what the most important thing that I have learned about staying fit is. This was a pretty pin-point question that caught me a bit off guard. First, decisions like that are one of the hardest things for me to answer, and second, what is the most important thing?

My answer to her was simple, but left me thinking about the response for quite a long time. It seems like the most important thing for myself and most people to learn about staying fit is how to make the fitness commitment and stick to it. Sticking to anything can be difficult, especially something so often tempted as good health. The reason I started this blog in the first place was to make this constant decision to eat healthy and push our bodies as simple as possible. The best thing that we can do is be as consistent as possible, make good choices, and not beat ourselves up when we fail.

Unfortunately, the title of this post may be a bit of a lie. There cannot be one, singular, tip for staying healthy. Every tip comes with baggage; commitment is the same. My answer to her was three part- make the decision to stay healthy, research simple ways to eat healthy and tasty foods, and find a way to exercise at least 150 minutes a week- even all there is time for is a simple 10-minute routine. Funny, but when I think about his blog, those are the pillars that is stands on. Sure, there are a few money saving tips, some lifestyle posts, and the occasional Disney fan fest, but overall, we are in search of simple ways to keep that healthy commitment.

For me, simplicity is the key to keeping up on health. Decisions are much easier when we are able to keep the follow through simple. What is your best tip and secret weapon for keeping a healthy lifestyle?  

What is Water Weight and How to Loose it

{via}

Water weight is like a stealth bomber to so many people's fitness aspirations and one of the main causes of the dreaded mini yo-yo effect. With the mini yo-yo, you can gain and loose up to 10-pounds in as little as one night. Simply put, there is no way that we are able to gain pounds of fat or muscle that quickly, even if we are eating cruise ship style. Those crazy scale fluctuations that simply make no sense and leave me recalibrating my scale on an [almost] weekly basis can be attributed to water weight. This small annoyance has got me asking the questions what is water weight and where does it come from?

In simple terms, water weight is an abnormally large amount of fluid in our circulatory system. This fluid is mainly from the pressure in our capillaries getting too high. When this pressure gets to high, fluid is excreted into the surrounding tissue as a way of equalizing. Sometimes, this fluid is re-absorbed back into the capillaries when pressure regulates, and sometimes, it does not. When the fluid is not immediately re-absorbed, it becomes what we endearingly refer to as bloat or water weight.

Water weight can usually be found in our abdomen, legs, knees, and ankles. Although rare, water retention in the ankles and feet can also be a sign of congestive heart failure. This is normally only seen in people ages 50 and over. Other symptoms of congestive heart failure include fluid in the lungs and chronic coughing.  

There are a few less severe reasons for water retention other than congestive heart failure. Usually, bloating is brought on by a diet too high in sodium or alcohol, or too little water. By decreasing the alcohol consumption and limiting the amount of processed foods eaten on a daily basis, we can usually cut back the bloat. Of course, drinking at least 8 cups of water per day is vital for water retention prevention.

The average person will see a decrease in water retention after 1-4 days of a diet with lower sodium and alcohol and a higher intake of water. Sometimes, the weight loss process can take as long as three weeks, depending on one's diet. If your first go at loosing that water weight leaves you heavier rather than lighter, do not fret. It is common for our bodies to retain both the water we are drinking and the fluid in our body for a small amount of time. This normally goes away after the first 1-2 days.

Try eating grapefruits, blueberries, and non-artificial sweeteners to increase the water weight loss. Exercising at least 30-minutes per day will also help reduce water weight along with staying away from carbonated beverages, starchy foods, and dairy. For those who are extra serious about loosing those extra lb's, take Jillian Michaels water wight-loss challenge and drink 60-ounces of distilled water mixed with one tablespoon of sugar-free cranberry juice, 1 dandelion root tea bag, and two tablespoons lemon juice daily for a week. 

Check out this article for an in-depth list of foods to reduce bloating, and this article to find out some of the foods that cause it.  

Weekend Challenge

{via}

I have to admit, over the past few weeks, the weekends have become a time for me to either completely zone out, or, catch-up on all the things I did not get done during the week. This catch-up/relax combo has made for an incredibly solid excuse for not working out those two days, and my body has started to show it. No longer. 

Not that I am encouraging massive workouts everyday, but some form of daily physical activity is vital for a healthy lifestyle. For this reason, I started this weekend challenge. Maybe you are already doing this on a daily basis and there will be no problem in keeping it up over the weekend, or maybe this will be a challenge. Either way, this weekend challenge is a great stepping off point for healthier weekends, higher energy levels, and better fitness.  

This weekend, my fitness challenge is two-part. This first is to workout either Saturday or Sunday for 30-minutes or more. This 30-minutes can go towards anything from 30-minutes of lunges (good glory) to a 30-minute jog, or a nice 30-minute yoga flow. A 30-minute workout will get our heart rates up, will go a long way towards higher energy next week, increase the likelihood of exercising during the week, and help with better all-around fitness.  

The second part of this challenge is walking. Yes, walking. Walking between 10,000-12,000 steps per day will increase stamina, lubricate joints, and help maintain a healthy lifestyle. Unfortunately, most people do not take this many steps in their average daily life. This simple challenge will kick-start our healthy weekend challenges and our week ahead. Ready to take our little weekend challenge? I cannot wait to hear your results!