“I’m going to need a whole sandwich for dinner.”
As someone who used to be terrified of eating bread because of a fear of weight gain, I never thought I’d say this. But it came out of my mouth when my mom asked if I wanted to split a sandwich at the Chicago airport last weekend. We were standing in front of the bakery case at Brioche Dorée en route to our gate to fly to Fargo for a family memorial service. But it was dinner time, and my stomach was grumbling for turkey, brie and apple on artisan bread. Half of a sandwich wasn’t going to cut it.
Restriction can definitely be a default mindset when traveling. You have less control over your food choices, less flexibility with time (especially when visiting a bunch of relatives), and you’re out of your workout routine. All of those factors can be triggers for disordered behavior (like restriction) around food when it does become available.
But let’s be honest, a sandwich can be a pretty perfect meal: carbs, proteins, fats, plants. The sandwich I was eyeing wasn’t a super well-rounded sandwich, but I needed fuel and wanted satisfaction. It was toasted, too – and damn, was it good.
Travel presents such a good opportunity to reframe negative triggers around eating into prompts around eating. Example:
Thinking of food as a trigger: “Dang, my only food option is this case of sandwiches. Eating bread stresses me out because I don’t want the extra carbs. I’ll just have a little bit.”
Thinking of food as a prompt: “Dang, my only food option is this case of sandwiches. I haven’t had a sandwich in forever. Which one of these gives me some of the nutritional benefits I want, and also satisfies my cravings?”
The eating becomes an adventure, right along with the travel. Try it next time.
