Tips For Eating Intuitively On Vacation

I’m currently in Brazil and it’s my second to last day of this trip. It’s a Sunday, so a slower day and I’m reflecting on how eating has been. I’ve had people ask in the past about eating intuitively on vacation and thought it would be freshest in my mind to write my thoughts down now, as it’s happening, as opposed to later.

I arrived in Brazil late last Monday (3/2) night, which was technically 1:00 am Tuesday (3/3) Brazil time. I took two flights to get here: one from IAD to Panama City, Panama and one from Panama to Recife, Brazil. I only had a one hour layover in between so it was essentially non-stop traveling until I landed. Lots of things made these flights overwhelming for me: I was traveling alone, into two countries where I don’t speak the language fluently, I had a short layover and truly arrived with 20 mins to spare, and I was going to arrive in Brazil late, when it’s dark, when I’m alone.

I give that background to share that there’s a lot of chaos and inconsistency when traveling aside from just our eating and movement patterns. I’m going to focus on eating intuitively while traveling but it’s helpful to remember it’s never just about the food. We’re usually in a new place, with a new culture, it’s unfamiliar, uncertain and unexpected at times. A lot of traveling is out of our control, so it makes sense that food might feel extra stressful as well. 

With all of that said, it’s possible to eat intuitively while out of your comfort zone. Here’s a few things to remember/that might be helpful when practicing intuitive eating on vacation.

Connect your mind + body.

Intuitive eating is about connecting your body’s signals with your mind’s knowledge about what’s available, what sounds good and what will nourish your body. Think about your schedule and what’s available at a given time. Maybe you’ll be at a museum or park for several hours and won’t have time to eat at the most convenient time. It might be helpful to overeat slightly before that so you aren’t too hungry when you finally get to eat. Or, if you can bring snacks, that can help too! 

Don’t be afraid to try new foods.

When on vacation, it’s likely that there will be new foods to try. You’ll like some and dislike others. It’s part of the experience for me to enjoy local foods when in a new place, but it’s okay if that feels foreign or scary at first. Intuitive eating might look like eating something similar to what you’d normally eat at home, but it might also look like trying a new food because it looks delicious or you’re curious to try it.

Seek satisfaction.

Regardless of where we’re eating, satisfaction is a big part of intuitive eating. So while you’re trying a new food, see if there’s a way you can incorporate all three macronutrients. What makes a food satisfying for one person versus another isn’t crystal clear, but research shows we feel more satisfied when we incorporate a lot of different food groups and don’t restrict our intake. 

You don’t have to get it “right”

With all of the above tips, it’s important to understand that you don’t need to get this eating intuitively thing “right.” Intuitive eating looks different for everyone. You will undereat at times. You will overeat. You will enjoy an eating experience and you won’t enjoy another. Overall it’s great if eating nourishing and fun but it’s also totally okay if it just gets the job done so we can move on with the other activities we have planned.

Understand this is temporary, but repetition is key.

If being out of your comfort zone with food is scary, that’s okay. It’s hard to be out of routine, in a new place with unexpected plans and foods popping up. You won’t be on vacation forever (ha!) and soon you’ll be back to your routine. I’d also say that repeating the hard stuff — eating new foods, eating past fullness, eating at different times — does help. We begin to see that our worst fears about food aren’t so scary anymore, and we build up our tolerance to handle more hard things.