I Unintentionally Lost Weight on Vacation (this is a conversation we NEED to have) 

Thanks to Miro for sponsoring this video and for helping me plan this UK family adventure. Get Miro for free here: miro.com/yt/planning-optimization/

On thursday evening I posted a video with the title “I Lost Too Much Weight (Food & Diet while Traveling Abroad)” and on the thumbnail there was a picture of me with some UK meals and the words I’m Triggered. Early on, there were some comments that the video title, and thumbnail were “triggering for my ED audience”. A couple people aggressively suggested that I “knew what I was doing” “baiting vulnerable populations” with a title like that. As many of you now know, I am a people pleasing perfectionist, I literally suffer from something called rejection sensitive dysphoria, so my knee jerk reaction was to immediately apologize for triggering people and to change the title and thumbnail. But I’m learning a lot about myself since being diagnosed with ADHD and after thinking about this all night and this morning, I realized how disappointed I was in myself for not maintaining my position on my intention. I’m not perfect, so yes, there are going to be times I don’t communicate things perfectly, or I miss something. But in this case, I had a clear intention and important message with this video that was specifically for this “vulnerable population”. If I baited someone on the verge of relapse from ED recovery, then honestly, great. They would find themselves in an important conversation where I could get personal and vulnerable, and talk about the experience of unintentionally losing weight (due to circadian rhythm and schedule disruption, changed hunger cues, and increased activity). And how I, knowing I am a role model in this space, didnt celebrate this loss. I feared it. And I mindfully and purposefully made changes like eating a bigger bedtime snack or being more mindful about bigger portions, to quickly gain it back. I was purposefully sharing a message that is completely different than most popular media - that weight loss isnt always to be celebrated, and that it is sometimes an act of self care to eat more and gain weight, rather than to succumb to undereating tendencies. So I have made the decision to change the title again. I heard your feedback and made tweaks that felt more gentle. And I will always listen to your feedback (at least those of you who actually watch my content, don’t just come here regularly to troll). But from now on, I’m going to trust and respect my own expertise and intention behind my own words first, rather than immediately assuming I did wrong and racing to quiet criticism and noise as quickly as I can. Because sometimes we need to get noisy to enact change. Thanks for the continued support.

The whole weight loss during vacation thing is pretty common actually, particularly for Americans in Europe. Reliably happens to me, too, because we have terrible obesogenic car-centric cities in most of North America and often worse food options/accessibility. Not surprisingly, every time someone I know has gone to Europe, they’ve reported losing weight effortlessly. And every time someone has visited my home in the US, they’ve expressed discontent later at learning they’d gained considerable weight. I’m pretty thin regardless of country, but that’s only because I’m really careful to recognize how generations of poor government policy has set us up to fail in the US, and how much active lifestyle awareness I have to have as a result to live optimally, so I make the appropriate adjustments, enabled by the many privileges I have. You just can’t be passive here, unfortunately.

Yay! Welcome to the UK, hope you enjoyed your holiday here. 100% agree with you on the plastic, some supermarkets are better than others, but so many things still come in plastic and it shouldn’t just be on us as the consumer to fix this, businesses definitely need to do more. The Cotswolds is beautiful, you’ll have had such an amazing time! 💛

I totally agree with you actually that I also tend to lose weight on vacation simply due to walking way more, less snacking, and more intuitive eating (I tend to just overeat less on vacation because the food isn’t as readily available like at home). Enjoyed the video and the food looks delish!! Sorry to see the hate comments 🙃 you can’t please everyone.

Abbey! I absolutely adore you! I’m glad you had such a wonderful time here in the UK! Also, the clarification of ‘I take a lot of drugs’ had me choking on my tea 😂

I feel the same way about eating with my kids on vacation! It can take the joy out of it and turns it into something we just need to "get over with" which I think also suppresses my hunger. And there's absolutely something to having your circadian rhythm being thrown off and jet lag. Btw I'm loving this vlog type video verses the normally carefully scripted video. Thanks for taking the time!

Hey Abbey welcome to the UK!!! U are so right about all the plastic packaging we still have here. I too tend to drop a little weight when travelling because I'm always walking around looking at sights etc, and tend to think less about meal times and eat intuitively. Enjoy ur content 😊

I truly enjoyed this video - big time! I appreciate your honesty and it was super helpful because I have a trip to London soon. Thanks girl! XOXO

I appreciate the acknowledgment that sometimes we need to mindfully eat a little more! With my 3 little kids, I feel it’s so easy to just be done eating because mealtime just got chaotic, but when I look back, I didn’t eat all that much. Or to ignore hunger cues because I’m just too tired of being in the kitchen to make myself a snack. Thanks for this acknowledgment and reminder that food is essential and good!

Thank you for sharing your feelings with us. Always get something helpful from your videos. By the way, love the clothing and sunglasses you treated yourself to. Enjoy them, you deserve it!!

Vacations definitely mess with my appetite and eating routine. We're usually on hiking trips, so I'm often starving and eating weird food at weird intervals! But it's a nice change - you learn to just trust when you're hungry (and when you've hiked 8 or 10 miles in a day you'll definitely know you're hungry!) and what you want to eat. :)

I feel you. Eating out with small children is so stressful. I value my calm meals so much now. I get really annoyed when I get disturbed while I am eating.

I loved this Abbey, was so nice to see a vlog kind of video from you 🖤 really Hope ur having the best vacay ✨

Sending hugs. I have IBS too and it all sounds too familiar. Also, I live in rural Alberta….it’s not the UK but the simpler and safer life exists in your own backyard as well, I promise. Thank you for all your amazing content!

you look so happy and calm enjoy your vacation and let loss while you can love your videos abbey

Nice shopping spree! Glad you enjoyed. You look so relaxed.

I loved those travel style blog, thanks for taking along 💛

Omg those jeans with the buttons going up both sides are SO CUTE!!! :) Glad you had a good trip~! I hope to visit someday too.

Canadian living in the UK here! It actually helps overcome jet lag if you can align your meal times with the local time. It’s less intuitive but it can help get your body on board with the local time in the long run!

Thank you for changing the title to this video Abbey! I’ve watched your videos religiously for years as I’ve recovered from my own ED but when I saw the other title earlier today I immediately thought “YIKES” and scrolled past it.

I loved this video! Welcome to the UK, the Cotswolds are beautiful! I loved how you talked about gentle movement and as someone with IBS-C it was really useful to see your approach to eating for IBS, I would love to see more of this. I hope you had a wonderful break. Thank you ❤

So happy I just found your channel. U give me hope that there’s life outside my ED. I’ve found that I’ve been thinking I had so much control to barely eat, but in reality…. I’m not in control at all. Love from Kentucky, Lesley and medical Service Dog Jake

That’s so interesting, walking more on vacation makes me more hungry so I eat more at meals and always end up putting a kilo or 2 on. But it’s worth it! Always fascinating to hear how others peoples bodies react differently to the same facts.

Loved the little shopping haul. You look gorgeous in all those outfits! ♥

Loved the fashion show! Those were all super cute pieces! Loooooved the jeans

Thank you Abbey for sharing your story! It's definitively hard for me to to eat nutritious and or enough quantity on vacations. Hope you feel rested after your stay in beautiful UK country side, love the landscapes ❤

Miro is so good! We use it at college. I am a design major (web, not clothes) and for teamwork it is even more amazing, cause you keep each other accountable as you can see each others cursors move in real time. So even if you are far apart, you can still plan things with friends, family or colleagues super easily.

All of the food looks reallyyy good! I want to go to the UK! Also, I liked this vlog! You should make more content like this.

I just love how randon and caotic this video was. Just like life randon and caotic. Thanks for being so transparent and open about your life with us Abbey. And im glad u had a great vacation. If I can make a sugestion Costa Rica has some breath taking nature and its full of delicious foods

I also tend to lose a little weight on vacation - a combo of moving a lot, some tummy upset from stress/being in a strange place & not really wanting to stop to eat big meals cause there's so much to do. I don't really worry about it cause I'm never away for more than a couple weeks at a time, so I know it won't have a long term impact, esp since I usually am able to go right back to eating & exercising normally when I get home. Nice to see I'm far from alone in this!

Interesting. In Germany we also see the percentages for the ingredients and they must be listed in order of the percentage (high to low). I didn't know this was not a thing in Canada and the US, especially since fast food joints in the US often list total calories for their products, which is what I would like to see in Germany.

Hope you had fun in the 'sunny' UK, yes we are having one of the wettest summers ever. But I do think we have some of the most beautiful countryside and super old buildings to visit.

i totally understand this because i am the same, especially when i am travelling to a walking friendly country and walking around to explore the place is much more fun. add that to the fact that food is something you actually have to actively seek out especially if you have an itinerary for the day and your time to explore a certain place is limited. it used to frustrate me because it didnt make sense, then i realized that despite eating all the yummy local cuisine, it balances out with all the physical activities im doing which significantly increases on vacations.

I loved the little fashion show - all great buys! Also love a good ghost story haha

I have celiac disease. It’s so hard to travel! I wish I could splurge on a trip but if I have any gluten, I’m literally laid out and sick for weeks. My full recovery can take up to 6 months. It’s nice to see you enjoying all food 😊

This was so refreshing. I can relate 100% to what you said about lower numbers (that others may celebrate) being a huge trigger. Thank you so much for sharing, Abbey! I'm so happy I'm one of your subscribers. 🩷❤️

I never thought of using my circadian rhythm / jet lag as a way to gauge my intuitive eating. I think that was a great tip!

Fashion show of your haul was a fun addition (nice choices!), as well as the 👻 story! I'm new but I'm also enjoying the variety of content and also your overall message ❤

Welcome to the UK!! And I couldn't agree with you more on the plastic packaging it's infuriating! Hope you had a great time

Your skin looks so amazing and glowing. Loved this video I'm from the UK and want to go to the Cotswolds!

One reason for the plastic wrapped produce could be that, in the UK, people rely heavily on grocery delivery. It's much more normalized to have your groceries delivered, and it's more affordable to do so than in the US. So I think it might allow streamlining how grocery deliveries are picked and parceled. This is just my theory (we lived in London for a year, and I wondered the same thing).

Another Canadian here with British ancestry. I did a clinical placement in England in 1999 as a physiotherapy student and researched working in the UK after graduation. At that time, you could get a British passport if a parent was born in the UK (my uncle travelled a lot for work so carried both a UK and a Canadian passport - some countries were easier to travel to on one over the other). As someone whose grandparents were born in the UK, I qualified for a UK Ancestry Visa - easier and cheaper than a regular work visa. Any generations further removed than grandparents born in the UK and you needed to apply for a regular work visa. (Things may have changed since then - this was 24 years ago!)

The second title (this is the third I’ve noticed) was the best.

I get those creepy dreams every once i a while ad I always wondered what they are about! It's usually not kids, but other people that are maybe pushing my shoulder of my stomac, it hurts and I wake up from pain. Thank I get awake, nobody's there and no pain anywhere. So you're not alone! :) Thanks for the vlog!! Loved it!!

Thank you for all of this, including your candidness. I also wonder about the ADHD journey you are on, and I believe you held the meds for this trip? Jet lag, different country, kids... , so many things can be a factor. I would love to see you go easy on yourself, in all ways. God speed!

Ahhh, first comment!! I’m only a minute in, but I love the UK!! I studied in London and go back as much as I can. I plan to be a doctor there once I finish up medical school. Can’t wait to learn about your experience though- always love hearing your insight and expertise!!💘 Thank you for being vulnerable with us and teaching us so openly!!!

Loved this video abbey !!

Loved the fashion show! Please share all the sunglasses you wore in this video. They ALL looked good on you and I want too!

Thank you for mentioning the fiber aspect because I don't have IBS but I really struggle to get in enough fiber and you listed a few foods that are pretty high in fiber which I wasn't aware of... I don't know why but I just did not think that fruit was high in fiber.

I like in the UK and love hiking in the countryside. I live in London for convenience but I try to get out as often as possible. The countryside is so underrated and because it’s a small island it’s much quicker to get places. Lots of museums are free and I make good use of them! Even though national trust places can be a bit pricy (historical places), they’re worth ever penny. I was recently hiking through a river to see an incredible waterfall and felt so at one with nature.

Great vid! Love the new blue dress ;)

Welcome to the UK! Weather is not great right now, but the Cotswolds is beautiful

Horseback riding, even at a walk, is NOT just sitting on your ass if you are doing it correctly. It is a balance exercise and is used as a therapy for those with neurological and muscular disorders like cerebral palsy. And by my tone, I know I'm calling myself out as a "horse girl" but I am, and it was always so disheartening when I was teased and bullied for "just sitting there" on top of a horse. Thanks for coming to my TED talk. -_-

I réálly like this kind of vlogs!! I recognized the "orange/mandarin" by Heston! Been there too! As for the ingredients on packages: yes, that is obligatory by law. In The Netherlands it's even stated that it will get a colour or indication A, B, C, D as to how healthy it is! As for food on holidays, I agree, low on veggies. What I tend to do is take a 100% veg smoothie at juice bars, like Joe&TheJuice etc. Not cheap, but it will provide you with enough healthy nutrients! Enjoy your stay! ❤

Loved the point on circadian rhythm and your little Ghosts convo at minute 21 lol

Thank You Abbey for another lovley and most of all very useful video! Could You please share your chocolate cookie recipe? Thank You in advance! 😋

Glad you enjoyed your holiday. I’d have thought Canada would have even more beautiful countryside than the UK. Having said that, I live in Inverclyde, Scotland, and it’s fabulous here. I have a fantastic view of the River Clyde.

Great video and scenery !

Yay my home country, I've lived in the NZ for the last 14 years but I do miss "home" so I've appreciated this video on so many levels. I'm with you on the fibre....I'm now eating my fruit in the morning, to make sure I get it in. Even if I have something savoury like an egg on toast, I have a brekkie pudding of a kiwifruit, apple etc. the food in excess packaging though...I'd hoped the UK supermarkets might have addressed that by now.

On the list of ingredients it is law in the EU (I assume it's the same un the UK even since Brexit) that if the name of the product mentions a food or infers a specific ingredient is in it, you have to put the percentage of those ingredients in the product. eg. beef casserole needs to have the percentage of beef in the product (per 100g). I live in Ireland and used to work in this area so did many labels like this :)

UK subscriber here 😊 totally agree that it’s ridiculous that our produce is packed in so much plastic but that some supermarkets won’t even give out plastic carrier bags. It looks like you shopped at Waitrose which ironically one of the worst for plastic packaging and the only one that will not supply carrier bags at all. The other stores just charge for them. The other thing I jumped on here to say is that clothes sizing in the UK is awful! You can sometimes see a difference of 2 full dress sizes in the same shop in different items. It can be very triggering! I’m glad you enjoyed your time here though 😊

It’s so nice to get a good review of our food (mind you, Heston Blumenthal and Evelyn’s Table are far from standard dining experiences)! Most visitors from the rest of Europe turn their noses up at our restaurants. And the Cotswolds is the best of England (if you are going to move here, the Lake District/ Cumbria is also worth looking at - it’s where all the professional climbers live so it has a very active outdoorsy culture!

I love those clothing items that you purchased, especially those sailor jeans

Hello Abbey from one of your UK fans, I actually lost weight on a holiday to USA as I ate the same as my 5 slim friends instead of my usual overeating.

I agree with you, especially on vacation it’s important that you can enjoy food and don’t deny yourself something you’d love to try. My family and I go the UK about once a year, it’s a wonderful country for vacation and, tbh, I love the food there - cream tea, fish’n chips, baked goods… especially in the UK I tend to eat very differently than at home, so I try to focus on eating enough fruit. Protein is not a problem, fat definitely not, but depending on the place and season there’s not a big variety of fruit, which is already a struggle at home because I have many allergies against fruits. I tend to put on some weight on vacation because I workout less and indulge more in foods I usually don’t eat or just rarely eat, but I lose it very quickly afterwards, so it might just mostly be water weight. And even if I gain one or two pounds of fat on vacation, I’ll be back at my normal weight, which I feel good in, in one or two weeks and I prefer enjoying my vacation and try new foods.

I purposely stay at haunted places! They are so cool. Granted, even I was freaked out at the St. James Hotel in Cimarron, New Mexico a few years ago when I heard cowboy boots walking 3 steps down the hall, and then 2 knocks, 3 more steps, 2 knocks...as it was moving toward my door about 1-1:30 a.m. EEEEK. One gal had her LONG hair lifted up toward the ceiling when she was in her bathroom putting on makeup!

I do think it makes sense why if you took significant time off that you might loose weight because of how much more free time you have to cook nutritious meals and move more. Whenever I have time off from work I love cooking up a big elaborate meal that I don’t normally have time to make.

I'm planning a 6-month trip so I definitely needed a planner like Miro! Signed up and downloaded. ☺️

I haven’t had the chance to go on a LONG vacation like this yet, so usually when we go on a trip it’s something like 3 nights, 5 nights, ya know, and with the walking/ with ibs I almost always lose weight because I can’t just relax and eat non stop like I do at home because of the early checkout times, the long car rides, and lack of bathrooms lol, but I’m ALWAYS hella constipated after ha, can’t wait to go on a 2 week one some day where I can really eat with full comfort!

I tend to lose weight on vacation, but it's not from lack of eating. I just typically don't have access to heavy weights, so I lose a bit of muscle mass. It comes back pretty quickly though once I get back in the gym and it isn't typically more than a couple of pounds.

Love the part about gentle, joyful movement!

Travelling definitely can interfere with hunger, digestion etc. I tent to eat less as well, but since vacation is also usually the time where I have more alcohol and sweets, I don't loose weight :D With the hunger crushing combo I prioritise protein. I eat mostly plant based and so fibre is never a concern and fat is easy for me since I eat lots of nuts and nut butter. Protein is sometimes tricky, especially when travelling. Many on the go snacks that are plant based are not high in protein, same for restaurant meals.

Hi Abbey, it sounds like you were experiencing hypnopompic hallucinations which feel very real. And thank you for sharing your experience with the pants size. I have the same feeling when I see a bigger number so I can imagine that having the exact opposite can also be triggering.

Intuitive eating is something I really struggle with. I'm either not eating enough and/or skipping meals or binging, because I'm too tired to prepare something or too nauseous to eat, or somehow I just forget, and then I binge because I feel guilty about not having eaten. Lately I've been counting calories and that's been working, because the app will remind me to eat at meal times and warn me if I haven't eaten enough, but it's definitely not something I want to do long term (or that's even sustainable long term) At this point I just don't know what to do.

I have the exact same hierarchies; at home I prioritize protein then fibre then fat but when travelling like you said fibre is much harder to come by so it takes first place

Vancouver Island where I live has all the things you loved so much about the english country side. If you've never been you should check it out!

I would love to know how you eat on the actual flight. I get SO bloated on flights so I always bring my own food and try to go low salt. Would love fiber help to reduce bloating, in air?

Hey Abbey. I am from Suffolk UK and the plastic thing is just the shop you used. If you go in store there are plenty of fruit and veg with no packaging :) although there is still way too much I agree. Glad you had fun here. I bet you could get a visa to stay based on your influencer status. :) there are special allowances for certain occupations to come here. Would love to see you here prepping with our food.

Shopping is SOOOOO triggering for me. I went to a store that only carries pants in a foreign size so I would have no idea what US size I was buying. I was able to just see the clothing for what it is and not be angry for not being in the size I want to be. I'm a postpartum mom and on a fat loss journey. I also have an ED. So... It's been a challenging experience to get my body back into a healthy range. Having the size not play any part in my shopping experience was such an enormous breath of fresh air.

Waitrose is pretty notorious for plastic waste. It’s also one of our more expensive supermarkets. The others are better for loose fruit and veg

In most countries if the packaging claims something like "with spinach" they need to declare the porcentage of everything shown in images or highlighted

Love the Cotswolds!! Lived in a house in Cheltenham that I swear was haunted!! Definitely recommend buying produce at the local farmers market! Loved the eggs I’d get at the local butcher shop.

The turquoise dress is SO pretty on you!!!

Your fashion show was so cute! Good taste in styles

Abbey welcome to the Uk 🇬🇧 have a lovely time x

Aw, I'm so glad to hear you enjoyed your time in the Cotswolds it is a beautiful place. If you love the countryside and hiking next time, come over the border and check out Wales 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿

Here in New Zealand we are ditching the plastic and using paper, mostly recycled. It can be done. And the body is also a weight, we dont actually need dumbells

Glad you guys enjoyed the UK 🇬🇧. Not all grocery stores use single use plastics for fruits and veg; you picked the super market which over uses paper and plastic. Its great you recognised you should probably be consuming a bit more. Your skin looks incredible. Take good care 😊

uk sizes are different from north american sizes.

I get it on focusing on a certain element of hcc! I'm vegan so fiber is not a concern but finding options with reasonable protein source is a struggle on vacation for me

My husband and I recently went on vacation to Las Vegas(3 hour time difference from our home) with all the walking we did, on top of the dreadful heat, I too had a hard time eating. Of course I ate everything that looked and sounded yummy, I would take a few bites and be so full.

I have the same issue! I'm naturally a skinny person, and whenever I'm away and routine gets skewed, I end up losing weight. It's really annoying

I think I've lost weight on every holiday where I've had any weight available to lose! Between not always getting enough food I can eat (MCAS, sensory issues, the works) and being so busy (particularly when I was younger and would do every sport they had) things just worked out that way. I've generally found that if my body needs the weight, it makes a grab for some extra food as soon as I get home and it all levels out in the end.

You look *SO* healthy and well-rested, Abbey!

Are we supposed to eat kiwi peels? Im going to try it now :)

I got a British passport (I live in Toronto) I got a working 5 year visa (cost about $7,000) the super cool thing about it is if you can figure it out with your husband and kids work and school schedule, I believe if youre there for 6 months out of the year every year, after the 5 year mark you can apply for dual citizenship

Why is everyone being down on her ? Great channel and she never pushes starvation or dieting. Just eating to nourish! Give her a break. People go on holiday folks get a grip. Not all shops are too much plastic, but you have to look ( and you wouldn’t know if here in vacation). Keep it up thanks for the inspiration 😊

My exact thoughts were about the size of the pants, they are not the same as in the US/Canada, and they are not the same in the UK either. There are certain shops that I know my size in, and that's all I trust. Living in the UK, I've experienced that most people find 'their jeans' for instance, and keep re-buying every time they get ruined, destroyed, etc.

I think I walked a total of 60 miles when I did a two-week Paris, London, and NYC trip. I definitely lost weight and I definitely should've eaten more. I can't have cow's milk or gluten so grabbing something quick when I am out is nit always an option (although I have found London to be very allergen friendly)