Travel Tips For the Intuitive Eater
So many people tell me that they often feel nervous before traveling because of the food. What is going to be available? How can I trust my intuition when I am out of routine?
When traveling, you might find that you eat when you are not hungry because there are new foods to try! Or, you might happen to go too long without eating because you are out and about on excursions and you can’t eat during those times. Sometimes you can’t pick what you are eating because meals are prepared for you. Of maybe you are in a different time zone and your hunger and fullness cues get out whack.
What is intuitive eating?
Intuitive eating is a non-diet approach to eating that was developed by two registered dietitians, Evelyn Tribole and Elyse Resch. There are 10 principles of intuitive eating with a goal of helping you improve your relationship with food and your body.
Reject the diet mentality
Honor your hunger
Make peace with food
Challenge the food police
Discover the satisfaction factor
Feel your fullness
Cope with your emotions with kindness
Respect your body
Movement - feel the difference
Honor your health - gentle nutrition
New to intuitive eating and want to learn more? Check out this blog post.
Intuitive eating travel tips
Remember that intuitive eating is not the “hunger and fullness diet”
These are two big principles, but there is so much more to intuitive eating than just honoring hunger and feeling fullness. Best case scenario, this is what you do. But sometimes you will overeat for various reasons and that’s okay! The important thing is to give yourself grace and move on. You likely aren’t on vacation all that frequently and so a few days (or even a week or two) is not going to drastically impact your health or ability to continue on your intuitive eating journey
Give yourself permission to eat
You have permission to eat foods just for the sole reason of satisfaction! With this permission, you may notice that eating baked goods won’t feel very good. Try to incorporate some gentle nutrition here where you can (without allowing it to be strict rules!). Also, experience the local cuisine! In my opinion, this is one of the best parts about traveling.
Don’t compensate
Your body is smart. Your health won’t be in turmoil from eating out of your typical routine. No need to skip meals or do extra workouts just because you feel that you overate or ate different foods.
As you become an intuitive eater, you may notice that you start to crave more nutritious foods that you may have had less of while traveling. If you know, you know. Those who only eat vegetables as a punishment or because they feel like they “have to” and especially those who only eat them plain and raw often cannot relate to this.
Get curious
Some people may find that they get into a good groove with their eating when they are in their typical routine, but struggle with intuitive eating when away. If vacation tends to lead to lots of guilt because you consistently eat past fullness and indulge in foods that you typically wouldn’t have access to, this might be a good area to focus on in your intuitive eating journey.
If you eat past fullness or feel food guilt, get curious about why. Did you go too long without eating and get overly hungry? Have you given yourself unconditional permission to eat?
Apply gentle nutrition
Gentle nutrition, one of the principles of intuitive eating, is all about incorporating nutrition guidelines that feels good in a non-diet-y way. Here’s a few ways to practice this principle while on vacation:
Aim to eat 3 meals plus snacks if needed or wanted.
Add in veggies where you can. Some fiber might help with constipation too.
If movement feels good - do it! But no need to force yourself to workout or exercise to “burn off” food that you ate. Depending on the nature of the trip, you may even find that you are more active than you typically are!
Bottom line
Traveling can be super stressful, especially for someone who is early into their intuitive eating journey. Practice giving yourself permission to enjoy all foods on vacation and apply some gentle nutrition where you can. Remember, your body is smart and can handle being out of routine for a little while!