anyone experience swollen ankles/feet after a week of eating at Disney???

[tami82]

I just have to ask this because im not sure if i am the only one. I am somewhat thin and try to eat right most of the time while at home. Then when i go away on vacation it all goes out the window. I find around 5 days into my vacation my ankles & feet start to swell & feel tight, i am guessing water retention from eating like such a pig. Im not sure if being on my feet constantly has anything to do with it also but probably more from the overeating. It does take a few days to go away once the heavy eating stops. Does anyone else experience this??

 

[DISNEY1975]

Yes, I dont think its the food!

My feet swell like hot air balloons. It takes weeks to recover when I get home. On most trips, I stay even or lose a couple of pounds. I dont eat too heavily because I know Ill be walking for hours and thats never fun on a full stomach. Its all about the shoes and not pushing yourself all day.

I have ***planned*** for my next trip to do parks 1/2 days and pool 1/2 days. Of course, Ive planned tht in the past and it never worked out that way!

 

[J.C.&ALI'SMOM]

I think it has a lot to do with WDW food's sodium content and being on your feet for long periods of time.

 

[ktlm]

I think you are probably retaining water because you are getting dehydrated. Sounds like you need to be drinking more water while you are at WDW. The walking all day on its own will swell up your ankles and feet too.

 

[VeganCupcake]

It's probably dehydration, the less fluid you drink , the more you retain, especially since most things in Disney are LOADED with salt. Having something high in potassium(carrot juice,banana, etc)will help. The same thing happens to me when I eat too many Moe's burritos & vegan cupcakes(the Moe's is right next door to the whole foods here and I go on binges). I'm small framed as well, its usually more noticeable when you're use to looking lean. Every time we get back from Disney my abs look distended & bloaty& I develop cankles. Sorry so long, Since my health food store closed down that I worked at since 2000, I am always dying to help people with health stuff

 

[moepanz]

Did you fly to WDW or drive? I swell up after I get off of flights. It starting happening to me after my second trip to Vegas. It goes aways after a few days.

 

[GaSleepingBeautyFan]

I think it's a combo of the food, heat, all the walking and not enough hydration.

I get cankles at Disney when I go in the heat unless I drink a ton of gatorade/water, put my feet up and watch my salt intake.

On our last June trip, even my hands swelled up which was a first for me.

 

[BenandMorgsMom]

What a great thread. Count me in. It's nice to know we are not alone in our suffering!
We are DVC members but in the beginning we used to purchase the food package. After a day or two, I couldn't understand what was happening to me. I had floatation devices around my feet. My shoes didn't fit and it was hard to walk. It was very distressing.
I went to see my physician and we discovered that I am allergic to MSG and sensitive to high sodium.
We cook all meals when we go down now and I no longer suffer. It was magic.

 

[Kathy Z]

I think it has a lot to do with WDW food's sodium content and being on your feet for long periods of time.

I completely agree with this. We are used to eating fairly low sodium diets at home and it seems as though everything at WDW is heavily salted. We did make a special request for scrambled eggs without any salt at Ohana and an enormous platter of them was brought to us within 10 minutes. What a welcome relief!

 

[AprilLizbeth]

Drink all the water you can, and elevate your feet on a pillow or two at night or when you go back for a nap. Another thing that helps with fluid retention in the heat is swimming. Go back for a midday break and do a couple laps if its your thing. Between the water pressure on your tissues and the muscles squeezing the fluid back up into your circulatory system, you can have s****y ankles again by dinner time.

 

[tony67]

I agree with the water and salt comments.
Flying also tends to dehydrate you so that can be a factor.

All that being said ask your doctor the next time you are in for a check up.
Especially if it happens again.

 

[sydneysmom]

count me in...whenever I walk alot and it's super hot, my fingers swell up like sausages ! It hurts to make a fist. but I find if I soak them in ice water, it helps. ( don't know why, but it does)

 

[Scrappy_Tink]

I think it has a lot to do with WDW food's sodium content and being on your feet for long periods of time.

Too much sodium, especially after normally watching your diet, will do it to you every time!!

 

[CathieArms]

My guess is that it's a combination of the higher sodium content than you're used to in the food, together with the increased walking and time on your feet.

I'm not thin by any stretch of the imagination, but I don't typically experience swelling in my feet/ankles, BUT...I do if I'm on them for hours and hours and hours (like at Disney World).

 

[JenSop]

I'm in the camp that blames it on dehydration and all the intense walking. By the end of a Disney trip, my feet and ankles also get swollen. I sweat profusely, so I'm constantly trying to stay hydrated, but it's hard to do when the heat index is over 100 every day.

I'm no stranger to eating salty food. I tend to actually up it a little in the summer (on purpose) to counteract what I lose when I sweat. (Seriously, I SWEAT really bad - sorry if that's TMI, but using it to make my point.)

So I don't totally think it's the salty food at Disney. (There's plenty of sodium in the frozen meals I heat up at home. And since my blood pressure is on the low side, I don't worry about it.)

 

[honeydiane1953]

Did you fly to WDW or drive? I swell up after I get off of flights. It starting happening to me after my second trip to Vegas. It goes aways after a few days.

Yes that is very true re flying and swelling. Also the amount of walking coupled with the high sodium food will sure do it also.

 

[tami82]

Wow im glad to see im not the only one!

 

[MrsLS]

I'm sure other people have mentioned this, but it's not just the food, it's probably the heat too. this happens to me in hot places but I notice it more when I wear sandals, not sneakers all week. I'm sure it has to do with the food as restaurants add more salt than you would at home, but a lot of the products you probably use at home are filled with sodium, if you aren't careful (looking at labels). So its probably a combo of both. I would drink plenty of water if this is a problem for you and be careful with what you eat.

 

[2Tiggies]

Heat and standing on your feet are more likely to cause swelling than the food you eat in a week. Because you are so engrossed in what is happening around you most of the time, it is easy to be blissfully unaware of just how much walking you do. If you are not used to it, and more so if you are not used to the climate, swollen feet are more likely.

 

[donaldfan1]

long flights and hot weather make mine swell up , when i went to hawaii it lasted a week