There’s a version of a vacation that looks like this: You spend the two weeks before the trip eating less, working out more, and telling yourself you just need to drop a few pounds before you’re in a bathing suit. Then you get there, and for maybe two days, you feel okay. And then the dam breaks. The free-for-all kicks in. You eat in a way that feels totally out of control, come home exhausted and ashamed, and spend the next week “getting back on track.”

If that’s familiar, this episode is for you.

I’ve lived that version of traveling for years.

And now I live a very different one. Travel now is just… life. Food on a trip doesn’t feel like a special occasion or a free pass. And in this episode, I’m walking you through exactly how I eat while traveling — not as a set of rules to follow, but as a window into what’s possible when you actually trust yourself.

What’s In This Episode

• Why the pre-trip restriction cycle almost always backfires — and what’s actually driving it
• How to shift your intention from “how will my body look?” to “how can my body get its needs met?”
• Why travel is inherently dysregulating for your nervous system — and how to work with that instead of against it
• What it actually looks like to eat intuitively on a trip (including eating more than the people around you without making it mean anything)
• How to handle it if someone makes a comment about your body or how much you’re eating
• What I do differently on travel days specifically — and why I don’t feel the need to “earn” my meals
• Why coming home doesn’t have to mean compensating — and what nervous system regulation actually looks like in the days after a trip

The Old Pattern

Before I did this work, every trip started the same way. A few weeks out, I’d get hyper-aware of my body. I’d start thinking about wearing shorts. A bathing suit. What people would think. And from there, the restriction would kick in — eating “clean,” working out extra, trying to drop a few pounds before I got on the plane.

It always backfired.

I’d get there, and maybe the first two days felt okay. But the control was white-knuckled. And eventually the grip loosened. I’d hit a point where I felt completely out of control around food — eating in a way that felt frantic and chaotic. I’d come home, vow to get back on track, work out hard to compensate, and restrict even more.

The cycle just continued. Only now I was exhausted AND ashamed.

Why Things Are Different Now

The biggest shift wasn’t a strategy. It was this: food isn’t special anymore.

When I’m home, I enjoy food. I eat what I want. I trust myself. So when I travel, it’s not suddenly the only opportunity I’ll have to enjoy eating. There’s nothing to unleash. There’s no pent-up deprivation waiting to take over.

That’s what makes the difference. Not willpower. Not rules. Not discipline. The absence of restriction is what creates the freedom.

Travel Days: How I Actually Do It

Travel days are their own thing — and they deserve a bit more intention. Not because food suddenly becomes complicated, but because travel is genuinely dysregulating for your nervous system. You’re sleeping less. You’re sitting for long stretches. You’re out of your environment. Your body is working harder than it looks like it is.

So I make sure my body is fed. I bring food with me. I eat when I’m hungry. If time zone changes mean my body is asking for an extra meal, I have the extra meal without negotiating with myself. No “but I already ate.”

That used to be unthinkable for me. I would ignore hunger on travel days entirely — and for a long time, I didn’t even notice I was doing it, because my focus was entirely on how my body was going to look, not how it was going to feel.

Now the question I lead with is: how can my body get what it needs so I can be PRESENT on this trip?

What Eating on a Trip Actually Looks Like

I don’t really care about going out for breakfast. It’s just not a meal I get that excited about. So we’ll usually do a small grocery run — eggs, toast, avocado, fruit — and have a slow, relaxed morning at home base. It’s easy, it’s nourishing, and it means I can save the going-out energy for meals I actually look forward to.

Lunches and dinners are where it gets fun. And yes, on a trip I’ll often eat out once or twice a day. There’s no anxiety around it or mental math. There’s no scanning the menu for the “safe” option.

Sometimes I want a salad because my body’s craving fresh vegetables. Sometimes I want a sandwich. Sometimes I have a sandwich AND pizza in the same day. And here’s the thing — over time, it just balances out. If I have a big lunch, I’m probably not hungry for a mid-afternoon snack. If I have a lighter dinner, I might want something before bed. My body is doing the math for me. I just have to listen.

I also bring snacks. Not because I’m anxious about food being available, but because I don’t know how the people around me are going to want to eat. If my body needs something and we’re between meals, I have it. Even if no one else is eating. That used to feel embarrassing, now it just feels like taking care of myself.

One more thing: I’m usually the one who eats the most out of my friends. I need a lot of food. That’s just true. And it doesn’t mean anything bad about my body. It’s not something I make a story out of. I trust myself, I respect my body, and I give it what it’s asking for.

On Comments from Other People

If someone makes a comment about how much you’re eating, or about your body — that is always a reflection of their own unresolved stuff. Their own body image, their own relationship with food. It has nothing to do with you.

You don’t have to take it on. You don’t have to defend yourself. You can protect your own energy, set boundaries when needed and remind yourself of what’s important on your trip (whether that’s presence, connection, enjoyment, peace, relaxation, etc).

Coming Home

This one matters because for a long time, coming home from a trip meant one thing: damage control. 

Get back on track.
Work out hard.
Eat less.
Compensate.

Now it looks completelyyyyyy different. Actually, quite the opposite.

When I get home from a trip, my nervous system is usually quite dysregulated. I’m tired. My capacity is low. The last thing my body needs is MORE intensity. So I fill my cup instead.

I sleep in.
I go for light walks instead of intense workouts.
I eat in a way that feels gentle and nourishing. A
nd I give myself a few days to actually come back into myself.

That IS getting back on track. It just looks like compassion instead of punishment.

What I Want You to Take From This

Travel doesn’t have to be a minefield. It doesn’t have to be the thing that throws you into a week-long tailspin. It doesn’t have to be something you brace for.

But the freedom you feel on a trip is only as real as the freedom you have at home. If food is still charged, still restricted, or still a moral dilemma — vacation just becomes the pressure valve. And then you’re right back in the cycle.

The work is in the everyday. And this episode is just one snapshot of what the other side looks like.