eating disorder

Disney Magic of Healthy Living

I hope everyone is having a magical week!
Congratulations to the winner of my BeckleyByMelissa Scarf Giveaway: Celina!

Yesterdays delayed Monday Motivation: “To change your body, you must change your mind.”

Ahhh Disneyland. The worlds biggest human trap operated by a mouse!
A magical land of discovery, dreams, and really unhealthy food!
I’m quite spoiled, living only a short drive from the Disneyland resort in California. My best friends and I all have annual passes and love going as much as we can, even if it’s just for one ride a fireworks. See, I told you. Very spoiled living so close… I LOVE Disneyland. I’m a total kid at heart and am in awe of it’s magic every time I go. One small problem I’ve always had with Disneyland is that it’s not so easy to eat healthy there.

A quick flashback story: When I was trying to lose weight, I never wanted to go to disneyland with my friends. I basically cut one of my favorite things to do out of my life because I had a fear of the sugary fatty temptations that were at the park. I thought that if I went to Disneyland, I wouldn’t be strong enough to avoid the temptation and go on a crazy sugar binge of churros and Mickey Mouse Ice Cream Sandwiches and gain 20 lbs overnight. We all know that isn’t true… but at the time, my disordered mind told me that it would happen. So ya, you read that right. I was basically scared of Disneyland! Who is scared of Disneyland? Speaking of wanting to stay “healthy” and only eat “healthy foods” I should’ve known how unhealthy I actually was at that point. After I was able to get back on my feet and recover from my eating disorder, I started going to Disneyland with friends again. I was in a much better place where I didn’t fear food or the house of mouse, and allowed myself to have fun and enjoy a churro. It’s all about balance!

RFFMBT DisneylandToning my arms on the Teacups! haha just kidding!

 

For a company who promotes the “Disney Magic of Healthy living,” there are not many healthy options for us at Disneyland. Or at least not advertised around the park! I did some super detective work to find the best options to stay healthy while having fun at Disneyland. Call me Catherine: Mouse Detective! During my exploration at Disneyland for healthier foods, I discovered some excellent options!

Disney Magic of Healthy Living
Here you leave today and enter the world of yesterday, tomorrow, and fantasy.” – Walt Disney
Enter Tomorrowland: bringing inspiration, ingenuity, and ideas of building a better tomorrow.

Did you know that Tomorrowland is home of the only all-healthy-food cart at Disneyland, CA?
The Tomorrowland Fruit Cart is the only cart that strictly sells healthy foods. You won’t find any tempting chips or sodas at this cart! Just 100% healthy, wholesome foods to nourish your body during a long day at the happiest place on earth. Here’s what the Tomorrowland Fruit Cart has to offer!

Red and green apples, bananas, oranges, sliced pineapple, sliced mango, grapes, apple slices, strawberries & blueberries, pickles, veggie sticks with ranch dip, Sabra Hummus & Pretzel Pods, Disney Freeze Dried Fuji Apple Crisps, OceanSpray Craisins, and OceanSpray Craisin Trail Mix! They also sell Vitamin Water Zero, Powerade Zero, Honest Tea, Smart Water, and Dasani.

Disney Magic of Healthy Living
Disney Magic of Healthy Living
Disney Magic of Healthy Living
Disney Magic of Healthy Living
Disney Magic of Healthy Living
Disney Magic of Healthy Living
Disney Magic of Healthy Living
Did you know that all of the plants in Tomorrowland are edible?
The visionary landscaping doubles as a potential farm, projecting an ecologically astute future, where humanity makes the most of its resources. It’s a great big beautiful tomorrow, in Tomorrowland! I absolutely love this idea of an agrifuture. I never noticed the gorgeous display of veggies until now.Look how gorg that red kale & rainbow chard is? Umm inspiration for my future house’s landscaping! I would take a kale bouquet over flowers any day!
* I wouldn’t recommend eating the Kale landscaping at Disneyland! haha

Disney Magic of Healthy Living
Disney Magic of Healthy Living
At Frontierland in Disneyland, CA there is a pretty good Mexican restaurant by Thunder Mountain called Rancho de Zocalo. The restaurant has different stations for tacos, burritos, and tostadas. There is a great vegetarian option for tacos called Soft Tacos Monterrey which contains two tacos with sautéed vegetables, rice, and beans in a flour tortilla along with a side of spanish rice and beans, guacamole, salsa and shredded lettuce. This huge plate of deliciousness is $10 (annual pass discounts available here, score!)
*You can make these tacos vegan by requesting no cheese and no sour cream.

My order: Soft Tacos Monterey without cheese or sour cream.
* This meal is big enough to split with someone!

The Rabbit Food Pyramid Breakdown
Produce: sautéed vegetables
Whole Grain: flour tortillas & rice (two servings of grains, but very filling)
Protein: beans
Plant Based Fat: oil that the veggies are sautéed in

Soft Tacos Monterey
I’ve also found a pretty healthy vegetarian option at California Adventure. The Lucky Fortune Cookery in the Pacific Wharf area at Disney’s California Adventure Park has a variety of Asian Rice Bowls with your choice of protein and sauce over sautéed Asian vegetables and steamed rice for about $9 (annual pass discounts available here too, wooo!).
*All of the sauces are vegan except for the Thai Coconut Curry sauce!

My order: Asian Rice Bowl with tofu and sautéed veggies and some teriyaki sauce on the side.

The Rabbit Food Pyramid Breakdown
Produce: sautéed vegetables
Whole Grain: rice
Protein: tofu
Plant Based Fat: avocado (guacamole), and oil (that the veggies are sautéed in)

Asian rice bowl
With a little bit of faith trust, and pixie dust, you can stay on track with your healthy eating while visiting Disneyland! Balance is key. Healthy produce for snacks all day, a well balanced meal, and a little something special like a churro to indulge in!

RFFMBT DisneylandWith my main squeezes Boo & Kitty a.k.a. Sully!

Health & Happiness xo

Being A Bridesmaid

Being asked to be a bridesmaid is ones of the biggest honors. There is nothing more exciting than being a part of someone’s big day. Last summer I was asked to be a bridesmaid in my college roommate Jocelyn’s wedding. Of course I gladly accepted! I can only imagine how beyond gorgeous her wedding will be and how stunning she will look walking down the aisle. My roomie is a looker! Such a beauty, and her future hubby is just the same!

roommate baking timeThrowback to the good ol’ college days circa 2007: Jocelyn (the bride!) and I baking with our bff Betty Crocker! Classy as always Catherine… way to go!

Lakers gameLakers game circa 2007 with Ryan, Jocelyn, and her now fiance Ryan!

Along with the bridal showers, bachelorette party, and wedding weekend festivities to look forward to, there is a little something else… the bridesmaid dress. I’m sure if you have been in a wedding before, you can definitely relate to my battle with THE bridesmaid dress. Luckily, my friends have exceptional taste, so I’ve never been disappointed with the bridesmaid dress selection! However, I am ALWAYS disappointed in the bridal salons and brands who sell bridesmaid dresses. You’ve heard the spiel, “please give us the measurements for your bust, waist, and hips and we will order your dress accordingly.” In a matter of seconds you go from your usual size 26 jeans to a size 10,000 dress. They assure you that due to your measurements, size 10,000 would be the best fit. Umm I think not! Well, let me tell you that this just happened to me.

I sent in my measurements, and was told that I would be in a size 20 dress! After accomplishing and maintaining my weight loss and recovering from my eating disorder/body image issues, this was probably the last thing I wanted to hear. I know I know, the size of your clothes shouldn’t matter… But sometimes, it’s just upsetting. Especially after all of the hard work you put in. Of course I started tearing up, and my mind instantly went into ED mode again. All over a stupid number. Jocelyn was pretty surprised about the dress size that the salon wanted to order for me, and she was so sweet about the situation. Apparently I’m not the only bridesmaid with an odd dress size!

Bridesmaid dress designers often make garments that run extremely small. I totally understand that it’s all about the bride. Duh! But do they need to make the bridesmaids feel insecure and bad about their body in the process? Oh, and for the record they should make all wedding dresses a size “awesome,” so everyone call feel freaking awesome on their big day! These companies make the process of ordering a bridesmaid dress so unpleasant sometimes. Not only do they make you feel like a whale, but once the size 10,000 dress that was “selected according to your measurements“ arrives, it’s ginormous and needs hundreds of dollars in alteration$! Bridal salons must be making a killing off of alterations!

The entire situation of ordering my bridesmaid dress got me so down. I was talking to my friend Taryn, and she was telling me almost the exact same story about a dress that she had ordered. She helped me realize that it didn’t matter what size dress they put me in, it’s going to end up being altered, and beautiful. No matter the dress size, I am so honored to be in Jocelyn’s wedding! She has always been such an amazing friend to me, and I cannot wait for her happily ever after! A silly number is not going to ruin the excitement of this big event!

I’ve caught myself getting down on myself over numbers recently whether it be the scale, measurements, or clothing sizes. When this happens, I have to take a step back and look at all of the accomplishments that I’ve made. A scale cannot measure passion, ability, strength, compassion, or your potential. A number cannot define you or tell you how beautiful you are. A number is just… a number, and you are so much more than that. So no matter how far you have to go on your journey, or how many times you have fallen off of the wagon, know that you are beautiful, and worth so much more than a silly number.

Positive Motivation Scale
Positive Motivation Scale 1

You is kind. You is smart. You is important.” – The Help

Question: Has a number ever made you upset?