Bigger person and riding rides (mostly Planet Snoopy)

[esquire]

Hi all, I was at the park this morning with my family and thought I'd share my experience. Maybe it will help someone in planning.

I am a bigger woman - I'm 5'8" and carry most of my extra weight around my middle - stomach and hips. I wasn't sure what to expect with rides. I was there with my husband and two kids (46 inches and 39 inches).

I was able to ride with no problem: Boo Blasters, Woodstock Express, Woodstock Whirlybirds, Surf Dog, Rivertown Train, Race For Your Life Charlie Brown, Grand Carousel, Eiffel Tower (obviously).

I had trouble with two rides: Snoopy's Junction and Kite Eating Tree. Kite Eating Tree I could understand because the operator just couldn't get it hooked. Luckily my daughter could ride by herself and a kind stranger offered to have my son sit on her other side as there was an empty seat there so they could both ride (my husband doesn't like heights so he wasn't wanting to ride).

But Snoopy's Junction! Those little trains! Apparently you have to wear the seatbelt and it just couldn't fit around me. This is kind of mind boggling because my husband could ride just fine. So my daughter rode that by herself and my husband rode with my son. I was a little bit sad because I remembered that ride from my childhood.

Anyway, hope that helps someone who might be looking for information on bigger people and rides. I did not attempt Flying Ace Aerial Chase but I have a feeling that would be a problem too.

If there's anything to shame me into keeping up trying to lose weight, it's this embarrassment in front of my kids! Hopefully I can drop some more weight before next year when my daughter will be over 48 inches. I want to ride Beast and Racer with her.

[The Interpreter]

You can do it! It's an admirable goal, and an important one.

Bless you for sharing this information.

[kiruler102]

I myself have a hard time riding some rides (Diamondback, Drop Tower, Flight of Fear). I have faith in all who set their mind to reaching goals. Good luck on your goal as i try myself to be able to slim down as well

[LongLiveTheSmurfRide]

As of today I've lost 36 pounds since February 15th thanks in large part to myfitnesspal.com

Religiously follow a plan that you set on there (lose 1 or 2 pounds a week) and it really works.

What I've lost in weight, I've gained in clicks on the ol' lapbar!

2000th post!!!

[esquire]

Thanks for the recommendation! I just signed up. I'll start tracking tomorrow. I get a lot of exercise (I'm starting a running program to train for a 5K) but I just eat all day. I am a stay at home mom so it's just easy to grab a few pretzels here and there. I want to lose about 60 pounds.

[LongLiveTheSmurfRide]

Which running plan are you doing? I did the Couch to 5K plan which worked out great for me.

Something that was invaluable to my wife and I when using MyFitnessPal was a digital kitchen scale so that we could measure the exact portions of servings to the gram. I was like that where I would just eat anything around the house because I was bored or whatnot. It took a few weeks of self control until now I just don't feel like I have to eat as much. I still get cravings, of course, but as long as you treat yourself now and then, you'll be fine.

Also, I found this great site that gives low calories recipes which are delicious: http://www.emilybites.com/

A few of our favorites to make are:

http://www.emilybites.com/2012/03/buffalo-chicken-wraps.html

http://www.emilybites.com/2011/08/taco-cupcakes.html

http://www.emilybites.com/2012/01/california-club-quesadilla.html

http://www.emilybites.com/2012/01/philly-cheesesteak-sloppy-joes.html

Also, if you like pickles, those are great little snacks that are only like 5 calories. And salsa (though you gotta watch it around the chips).

Hope some of this helps.

[esquire]

Thanks! I plan to try a couch to 5K program in the future but right now I am building up my endurance so I can walk 5K. Right now I am walking/running about 2.5 miles. When I can walk/run 3.1 miles I will try to switch over to a couch to 5K program.

[jcgoble3]

The Couch-to-5K program Smurf referred to is here: http://www.coolrunning.com/engine/2/2_3/181.shtml

I would encourage you to give that program a shot now. If you're already walking/running 2.5 miles, then depending on what the proportion of running to walking is, you could probably jump in around week 2 or 3 right now.

[girlafraid]

well done you! I'm on the train with ya at the moment, working hard! I use www.fitday.com as it tracks EVERYTHING for you and puts it in a little pie chart and I find it really useful and better for keeping me in check if I actually write everything down properly. I love it tracks your exercise against your baseline metabolic rate and food eaten for the day, week, month, etc.

[OldieButGoodie]

Wow! Good luck to you in achieving your goal!

[spitfire]

Smurf, thanks for posting that recipe site, I've been looking for new healthier meal ideas! Gets so boring making the same things over and over.

Good luck on your weight loss goals. I lost 34 pounds last year and have gained about 10 back. I have to admit, KI is one factor that makes me determined to not put all my weight back on. I would be heartbroken to not be able to ride my favorite rides.

[flightoffear1996]

Good luck on your goal!!! I just lost about 20 pounds over the course of year. I feel more engertic and more proud of my-self. Im still running every night.

[HHauntFanatic]

Hi all, I was at the park this morning with my family and thought I'd share my experience. Maybe it will help someone in planning.

I am a bigger woman - I'm 5'8" and carry most of my extra weight around my middle - stomach and hips. I wasn't sure what to expect with rides. I was there with my husband and two kids (46 inches and 39 inches).

I was able to ride with no problem: Boo Blasters, Woodstock Express, Woodstock Whirlybirds, Surf Dog, Rivertown Train, Race For Your Life Charlie Brown, Grand Carousel, Eiffel Tower (obviously).

I had trouble with two rides: Snoopy's Junction and Kite Eating Tree. Kite Eating Tree I could understand because the operator just couldn't get it hooked. Luckily my daughter could ride by herself and a kind stranger offered to have my son sit on her other side as there was an empty seat there so they could both ride (my husband doesn't like heights so he wasn't wanting to ride).

But Snoopy's Junction! Those little trains! Apparently you have to wear the seatbelt and it just couldn't fit around me. This is kind of mind boggling because my husband could ride just fine. So my daughter rode that by herself and my husband rode with my son. I was a little bit sad because I remembered that ride from my childhood.

Anyway, hope that helps someone who might be looking for information on bigger people and rides. I did not attempt Flying Ace Aerial Chase but I have a feeling that would be a problem too.

If there's anything to shame me into keeping up trying to lose weight, it's this embarrassment in front of my kids! Hopefully I can drop some more weight before next year when my daughter will be over 48 inches. I want to ride Beast and Racer with her.

Great to hear that! Good luck and keep it up! Kings Island also gave me a good kick in the butt to lose some weight. At Halloween Haunt last year, there were 2 different ride operators who tried to buckle my safety belt on Drop Tower. The second one was finally able to push down hard enough to get it buckled, but nonetheless, it was a very tight fit. Then when the ride was done, everybody else was leaving the ride, while I was waiting for a ride operater to come over to unbuckle my safety belt because I couldn't unbuckle it myself. It was that tight. It was very embarrassing and I vowed that that would never happen again. I've lost about 35 pounds since then and still losing. It may have embarrassing then, but now that I look back at it, it was actually a good thing that this happened to me. It was just the motivation I needed to lose some weight.

[RollerCoasterRoyalty]

I have alwyas said this and I am young so I dont want to sound absurd or anything but it seems like Theme Parks are a great place to get motivated to lose weight! You walk around a park all day, most of the time in the heat. The rides that you get on can make you decide if you are where you want to be weight wise and with everyone talking about success stories out there I am sure there is more. I think theme parks can help in the cause of losing weight (as long as you dont eat all that food throughout the park)

[Kawana]

My problem is that I'm so tall (6'5"). I know it's a different park but I had to take a walk of shame on Mystery Mine. I just couldn't get the OTS restraint down enough. I think my height was the factor there. I'm trying to run but my stamina just isn't there. I've had success in riding my bike on the trails with losing weight in the past, but I wonder if I'm just too "exceptional" to have fun at parks anymore.

[HHauntFanatic]

My problem is that I'm so tall (6'5"). I know it's a different park but I had to take a walk of shame on Mystery Mine. I just couldn't get the OTS restraint down enough. I think my height was the factor there. I'm trying to run but my stamina just isn't there. I've had success in riding my bike on the trails with losing weight in the past, but I wonder if I'm just too "exceptional" to have fun at parks anymore.

I'm not quite as tall as you, but I'm almost 6'3" with broad shoulders and those over the shoulder restraints have always been uncomfortable for me. Their definitely not made for big shoulder people like myself. As far as the running goes, try to keep with it because it's one of the quickest ways to lose weight. I've lost about 23 pounds over the last 3 months by running and eating better. If I were you, I would start off running just a little bit and gradually increase the amount of time you run. You don't want to overdo it at first. Eventually, your body starts to get used to it and you'll be amazed at how far and how long you can run after a while. I jog at a local park and there is a hill there that is a beast to run up. When I first started running, I could barely make it a quarter way up the way. But everytime I went out to jog, I'd try to run up the hill just a little further each time, even if it was just a few steps further. I am now at the point where I can run up the hill with no problem and it's an awesome feeling.

[LongLiveTheSmurfRide]

Agreed, your stamina, no matter who you are, will get there when you keep at it.

Do the Couch to 5K program slooowly. When you've slowed down, slow down some more. It's more important to just keep moving than to move fast. Speed will come but you have to get your endurance up to get there.

Last year my wife had never run a mile and now she's able to do 5. Took her a couple months to get there and she's still pretty slow, but she's amazed at what she can do now when she used to think it just wasn't something she'd be able to do.