Park food for dieters

Since Im fat, I have put myself on the Atkins Low-Carb Diet.

This diet of No Carbs (or no more than 20g per day-of course means bread, sugars (anything with sugar fruit and juice are big no-no's) will hopefully help me fit better into Millenium Force and Flight Of Fear.

Since Parks are filled with Ice Cream, Pizza, Fries and Fried-Salad-on-a-Stick, Im just wondering if ya'll could help me with alternatives to eating this stuff.

What would you all suggest.

This may mean that I wont be able to gorge on the Food at SRM :(

Turkey legs...no extra sauce though...lots of sugar.

And actually, cheese sticks or the like, while not lo-cal, are probably not a bad atkins choice if you peel off the breading and blot, a lot.

Smuggle in a bag of baby carrots.

I'd like to try that salad-on-a-stick...where might I find that? ;)

a diet... i would just go running every afternoon after work, and run untill i get tired, don't run too far from work, but keep pushing yourself, if you get too tired you can always walk home, but then again i have never been fat, park food? i suggest you actually take your own food, and if the parks don't let you do that, then drink water, and mcdonalds now have their salads and pastas (although pastas are high in carb, they are beter than a burger me thinks), any way, good luck on the diet

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UK, home to the King of Inverts, Nemesis, and the soon Heir, Inferno

Our water park director lost something like 40 pounds on Atkins a few summers ago...and did it eating park food. Cheeseburgers (even with bacon) are fine...just don't eat the bun and stay away from ketchup. Salads topped with meats, cheeses and eggs are fine, too.

Good luck--you can do it! Paula
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Paula Werne
Holiday World PR
www.holidayworld.com/srm

I know PKD recently got a subway. Maybe more parks will get one...

Other than that i dont know how to help you. Most parks do have salad somewhere though.

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G-Forces: The only positive addiction out there!
CoasterCount: 42

Make sure you also take a multi-vitamin while on the Atkins diet. I have quite a few friends who have used this diet and it has been really successful for them. However, if you stop the diet and go back to your old ways those pounds will come back real fast.

Order up a burger or hot dog or any kind of sandwich for that matter, and throw the bread/bun away. Salads with chicken or steak topping is good, but stay away from pizza.

You also said the word gorge. Don't do that. I know it's hard but you may find that just cutting back the portions of food you are currently eating could work just as well. Instead of eating say 4 pieces of pizza, eat only 2. You will probably still feel hungry but eventually your stomach will get used to those smaller portions.

Also, cut out all pop/soda. I have a friend who lost 15 pounds just cutting pop out of his diet.

Good luck.

I'm using the Atkins diet to get my weight down so I'll fit on the rides too. I usually just order hamburgers or chicken breasts and throw the bun away About every 3 weeks I have a splurge day. I think the book says to do that. Just plan your splurge day for one of the days you're at the park so you don't have to deal with figuring out what you can eat. I've been on the diet for 3 weeks now and have lost 20lbs. Just stick with it till your trip(s).

I recently started doing a low-carb nutritional plan myself (not really Atkins, more like a modified version of it) and I've done this at parks before. Like Paula said, take the bun off of a cheesburger with bacon, or a grilled chicken sandwich. Ketchup is ok in limited quantities. Grab a salad, just don't eat carrots on the salad as they contain more carbs than you are allowed on Atkins. Subway offers their six-inch sandwiches in salad form, and their italian dressing only has like 4 carbs. Go for the roasted chicken with all the vegetables.

Email me if you want and I'll discuss my modified version of the diet, it's a little more carb-friendly. Certain types of carbs are ok, as long as they are eaten in moderation. It's all about the glycemic level of the carb you are eating. I've already gone from 275 to 220 with exercise, weight lifting and a nutrition plan myself. I'm still going too, 200-210 is my ultimate goal. I gotta get back in shape for the waterpark ERT at SRM! ;)

I applaud your efforts though! Congratulations on taking the first steps.

Justin
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Never look a gift horse in the mouth, because horses have very bad breath

Don't feel bad I'm a smug fit in Millie and FoF and I'm 260. Yous hould be able to drop a lot of weight by bringing your own food, or buying at subways, which may be at your park or not, KI is getting one this year.

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Joe Barnett
Forum Moderator/Editorial Writer
www.pkiunlimited.com

One funnel cake instead of two?

If it were me, I'd just not eat. Usually, when I go to park and it's more than 80 degrees out, I'll maybe eat one slice of pizza the entire day and never get hungry.

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A day is a drop of water in the ocean of eternity. A week is seven drops.

The ONE complaint I have about food and parks is that finding Jill a *non-meat* option can be an enormous pain in the butt....esp. in the Midwest, where the "vegetarian" entree is the one with ONLY three kinds of meat...;)
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Dr. Thrill IS my family practitioner
Hey look, gator finally posted a TR...;)

Mmm, three kinds of meat....hglglrllglrlgl.

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A day is a drop of water in the ocean of eternity. A week is seven drops.

Soft pretzels are very low in fat, and have no cholesteral, but they're high in carbs. Not the best food for the Atkins diet, but good for those cutting back on the fat, which should probably also be taken into consideration. I'm no health expert, but I don't think it's worth it to be able to fit into those rides when you're just going to have a heart attack afterwards. Moderation and exercise is the best way to go, IMO.
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Intelligence is a God given gift: Know how to use it.
*** This post was edited by CoasterKrazy 4/7/2003 6:20:00 PM ***

/me restrains self from his anti-Atkins rant... Suffice it to say, I believe "all things in moderation" is the right approach. (This coming from a diabetic who would have a much easier time keeping his blood sugar level if he eliminated all carbs, but doesn't feel the stress on his kidneys is worth that) Ok, so this ended up being an abbreviated version of my rant.

Regardless, good luck in your quest, John! Atkins DOES work for some people, although I personally think there are healthier approaches.

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--Greg, aka Oat Boy
My page
"I can't believe I just left a nuclear weapon in an elevator." -- Farscape

I was actually one of the fools who fell for the ever so popular Xenadrine. It did work though. I lost like 30 lbs, and after I stopped I started running and working out everyday. Now there is a huge ephedra scare and blah blah blah......Anyway, what me and my friends do on Coaster trips is pack salads, wheat shmamichies, and fruits in a cooler. When we are hungry we just head to the truck and have a picnic.

Of course, there are more carb diets than Atkins out there. If you've heard me extol the virtues of the Carbohydrate Addicts diet before, buckle up--cuz you're in for more of the same spiel. And why not? I've been on it for five years, dropped 40 lbs within 4 months and it has never come back. Ever. Now that I'm starting to take my workouts a little more seriously, I've knocked off another 15 to boot. Just wait till I progress to running a mile to start every day. But anyway....

Under the auspices of this very doable diet, you watch your carbs all day except your Bonus Meal. In that meal (which can last up to an hour) you can eat what you wanna, as much as you wanna. I think there may be 'wanted' posters at CP's Midway Market and SFGAM's buffet with a very familiar face on them. Anyway...

On a more serious note--turkey drums without sauce, garden salads with Ranch dressing (watch out for tomatoes and croutons--cukes, green peppers, celery are all fine) and of course you could always order a cheeseburger without ketchup and slide the meat off the bun. The real pain in the neck is the despicable, repugnant Diet Coke and $3 water you're forced to drink. Ugggggggh.

Other tips for carb dieters: Be sure to take daily multivitamins and calcium. Keep in mind that soda consumption will diminish your body's ability to absorb calcium. And a regular daily dose of 400 mcg of Chromium Picolinate will go a long way towards restoring your insulin balance. Heck, it almost kills my desire for sugar altogether.

-'Playa

(5 years, 4 months, 65 pounds and counting)

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The CPlaya 100--6 days, 9 parks, 47 coasters, 2037 miles and a winner.....LoCoSuMo.

Just try to stay away from sugar and fat...they have more calories per ounce. That means it is a lot easier for your body to turn them into energy. When you have too much available, the body says "hey, this is great, let's store it!". Take it easy. Keep in mind that feeling full is on a timer. Slow down while eating and you'll end up eating less per serving. You get full in about 20 minutes. No wolfing.

And whether you are large or not, excersize is good for you. You'll feel better.

I recommend getting a season pass at Magic Mountain and go for an hour or two three times a week. Make sure you skip the Funicular and walk to Ninja Summit. Have a chicken salad with low-fat dressing, and blammo, you'll be able to fit into a Speedy Gonzales constume in no time!

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"Know thyself!"

Actually, I've read that Diet drinks are a bad idea for people who produce their own insulin, which is just about everyone 'cept us Type 1 diabetics.

The theory goes, your tongue tastes the sweet, and sends out signals that say "Yo, sugar on the way!" Your pancreas cranks up insulin production in anticipation of this sugar, which then never arrives. The result is that the diet drink INCREASES your appetite, because now you've got unsatisfied insulin floating around in your bloodstream.

From that perspective, a big part of dieting should be AVOIDING "sugar-free" foods... As someone who needs to provide insulin via a 3rd party, I can't bear this one out, but it makes some sense to me.

Also, lots of the "low-fat" foods out there have added carbohydrates. Your body is a lot more efficient at absorbing carb than fat, so those low-fat foods are in fact WORSE for you. In that regard, the Atkins and other low-carb diets are dead on.

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--Greg, aka Oat Boy
My page
"I can't believe I just left a nuclear weapon in an elevator." -- Farscape

Actually Gregleg I go on no sugar diets all the time to lose weight and have the surger-free things. This winter I lost about fifteen pounds doing it.

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All who think Mean Streak needs a match taken to it say I.

I think Cedar Point has good food but that does not mean it is all healthy. But I beileve ( not 100 % shure) all fried foods are fried in peanut oil.There are places inside the park to sit down and get a decent meal.

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TOP THRILL DRAGSTER I await your coming see you on may 4