Want to feel good while traveling? Cue Intuitive eating for mental and physical health. Intuitive eating is a self-care framework created by Evelyn Tribole and Elyse Resch. They wrote the book Intuitive Eating: A Revolutionary Program That Works in 1995. Since then, there have been multiple research articles supporting this framework. I first learned about Intuitive eating back in high school before I ever really go into nutrition and health. I was majorly intrigued as someone who was deep in diet culture and body image issues at the time. I became a big proponent of Intuitive Eating when I was in undergraduate getting my degree in nutrition and dietetics. Since then, I’ve read multiple research articles on this topic, practiced Intuitive eating for years (kinda imperfectly sometimes), and wrote some papers and research articles on this topic. All that to say, this topic is super close to my heart. And I absolutely love talking about it with anyone and everyone. As an Intuitive eater sometimes it’s challenging to practice while traveling.  

When traveling you get busy and are fascinated by all the lovely sights, sounds, tastes, and smells of the place you’re traveling to. Add in travel budgets and time constraints and sometimes practicing Intuitive eating is rather hard. Intuitive eating while traveling is easier than you think and can make your time traveling that much better. Fueling your body for those long travel days is so important for your mental and physical health. Here’s how I practice Intuitive eating while traveling and how you can to.  

1. Take time to eat regular meals and snacks. This tip is first because it really is most important. For you to feel good when traveling you need to eat regularly. Listen in to your hunger and fullness signals and take the time to eat when your body is telling you you’re wanting food. Sometimes, your hunger and fullness cues get a little bit mixed up when traveling. This is when it can be helpful to eat every 3-4 hrs. This practice is called mechanical eating, and no it doesn’t involve any robots or anything like that. Mechanical eating is the process of eating on a pre-set schedule that you choose and having set meals and snack times. If you’re going to be out exploring all day, bring some snacks. Packing some snacks in your bag is a fantastic way to make sure you’re not going to get super hangry when you’re out. It also helps you to stay in the moment and enjoy what you’re seeing and the people you are with.  

2. Embrace imperfection. Realize that it’s okay to sometimes choose foods you don’t really want to eat based on access or budget. When traveling you might not always have access to your favorite foods. Some foods you eat won’t be that satisfying or won’t be what you’re used to. That’s okay and it’s still important to fuel your body when you are traveling.  

3. Give yourself permission to eat all foods. When you’re on vacation, there’s this idea that you let go and eat all the “bad” foods. No foods are inherently good or bad and all of them help fuel your body. Saying no to that diet mentality is so important. That alone can make your travels so much better. Be conscious about your language around food and incorporate all kinds of food into your diet while traveling.  

• Prioritize sleep. Sleep is so important to regulating your hunger and fullness hormones, ghrelin, and leptin. Sleep is also vital for your long-term health. I always prioritize sleep when I travel, and this helps me tune into my body. This tip will also help you stay well when traveling. These tips will help you to get amazing sleep when you travel. 

5. Practice gentle nutrition. Gentle nutrition when traveling is a great way to make sure you’re getting all the important nutrients to keep you energized. Gentle nutrition is the practice of making food choices that honor your body and your tastebuds. Gentle nutrition can be as simple as adding a piece of fruit with breakfast or nuts as a snack. Another example would be to have a salad and pizza for lunch rather than just pizza. You could also go grocery shopping for fruits and veggies you can have easily available. Gentle nutrition is more of a tricky topic for people just beginning to eat intuitively. It is important to not make gentle nutrition just another diet. For those who have a history of disordered eating or chronic dieting, it could be beneficial to focus on the other principles first before this one. 

6. Make movement a part of your day. When I’m traveling, I always love walking to see all the different sights. This is a wonderful way to get in movement into your day. For some locations, movement is not as possible. This is totally okay. Embrace movement when you can but don’t feel like you must get in exercise every day or even exercise at all on the whole trip. Make movement optional when traveling. Give yourself permission to rest when traveling. You deserve rest and that is just as important as productivity. Traveling is a great time to prioritize gentle movement such as walking, yoga, or Pilates. Incorporate movement through walking through the museums, walking to a cafe, or biking through a new city.  

7. Communicate with your travel partners. Communicating your needs is so important when traveling. Everyone has different food schedules, and some people don’t prioritize regular meals and snacks. For example, if your family wants to go to the Louvre, but you’re feeling hungry and know you need to nourish your body. In this situation, you can let them know you’d like to get some food before heading into the museum. Another tip to deal with traveling with those on different food schedules is to stock up on some easy meals and snacks when you get to the hotel or Airbnb.