Constantly eating after travel

ALongWayAway

Hi
I live in the UK, but I just got back from a month in South America. Over there I was volunteering and meals were at set times, no snacks, and that wasn't a problem, but since I got back two days ago I've been eating almost constantly and I've no idea why - I'm not even sure whether I'm hungry or not, just the mental compulsion. Is it the time difference? Trying to stick to low-calorie foods but if this goes on much longer I'm going to start really sabotaging the weight I lost beforehand... Thanks

eileensofianmushinfine

I would just make it a point to plan to get back on track tomorrow. We had a wonderful trip out to Las Vegas, but I knew that as soon as I got back, I had to get back to ALL of my eating habits that had been working. Instead of low-calorie foods, maybe go for "regular" food and be sure to hit your protein and fat macros. When I do that I don't tend to feel hungry.

peleroja

Jet lag and even just disruption in your normal routine can mess up your brain's relationship with your body for a while, including your appetite. Get some sleep, drink lots of water, and try to think about what you're eating and why before you do it, and it'll more than likely sort itself out in a day or two.

rachelbouc

I was just going to say that I didn't snack at all when I was in Europe, but then I realized it would have been a lie.
Refocus yourself and get back on track. Where you tracking meals over there or did you stop tracking? I'm going to bet if you didn't track that your meals were a little higher in calories, so you didn't need to supplement with snacks throughout the day. Now that you're back, you probably have switched back to a lower calorie way of eating, making your body want what it was getting? It happens to me sometimes when I go to a birthday party and eat at maintenance and then go back to my normal eating the next day.

Machka9

I had to ease back into the diet after my recent trip. For the first couple weeks back, I ate at maintenance. Then I dropped it slightly for the next week, another drop the next week, and then down to where I am now.

azulvioleta6

Ooo...I want to know where you were in South America and what tasty things you got to eat there. Probably not helpful.

Rest, make sure that you are well-hydrated and give yourself a week or so to be fully re-adjusted.

How long it take to re-adjust depends on exactly how many times zones you hopped. I am on the Pacific Coast of the US, and I notice that my students who come from the Middle East need about 2 weeks to be fully on-task and able to concentrate in their new time zone. My students who come from Japan sometimes take as long as a month to readjust. East to West is harder than West to East.

Kalikel

Personally, I liked melatonin for jet lag, but that was back before Ambien. If I could, I take that for jet lag now.

The eating thing...got me. I never had that problem, but it didn't really care a lot and wouldn't have noticed if I was eating more.

Now, flying makes me pack on a few pounds, so I see it on the scale and even though I know it's the flying, I'm doubly committed to calorie adherence.

I'm sure you'll get back on track tomorrow and it will all settle down.