Vacations are often pictured as carefree: sunshine, photos, swimsuits, meals out, new places, and time away from everyday routines. But for someone navigating eating disorder recovery, vacation can also bring up body image thoughts, comparison, fear, and discomfort around being seen.
One of the most common challenges during vacation is the pressure to feel confident in your body, especially when wearing a swimsuit or spending more time in social settings. Even after meaningful progress in your recovery journey, body image thoughts can still show up. They may sound like criticism, comparison, or the fear that your body is not “good enough” to enjoy the moment.
This does not mean recovery is failing.
It means you are human, and you are practicing a new way of responding.
In eating disorder recovery, the goal is not always to eliminate every uncomfortable thought immediately. Instead, healing often means learning to notice those thoughts, separate them from your true self, and choose a more compassionate response.
A difficult thought might say, “My body looks different than it used to,” or “I don’t look like the people I see online.” But recovery invites you to answer with something more grounded:
My body is allowed to change.
My body does not need to look like someone else’s to deserve care.
My body helps me experience life.
My body is my home.
This shift matters because disordered eating thoughts often try to make the body feel like a problem to fix, shrink, hide, or control. But your body is not only something to look at. It is something that carries you through life.
It allows you to travel, laugh, hug loved ones, walk through new places, swim, rest, eat, breathe, and experience moments that matter.
Recovery is about progression, not perfection.
During vacation, it can be especially helpful to focus less on how your body looks and more on what your body allows you to do. This does not mean you have to love every body image thought that comes up. It simply means you can practice self-compassion toward your body, even on the days when confidence feels hard.
Recovery may look like wearing the swimsuit even when fear is present.
It may look like eating regularly and intuitively while traveling.
It may look like choosing comfortable clothes instead of punishing yourself with comparison.
It may look like taking the photo because the memory matters more than the criticism.
It may look like reminding yourself that social media is not the standard for your body, your recovery, or your life.
Vacations can bring changes in food, movement, routine, and environment. These changes may feel uncomfortable, but they can also become opportunities to practice flexibility, self-trust, and compassion in your eating disorder recovery.
When body image thoughts show up, try asking yourself:
What do I need right now?
How can I support my body in this moment?
What would I say to someone I love if they were feeling this way?
What experience do I want to be present for today?
You do not have to feel perfectly confident to participate in your life. You do not have to wait until your body looks a certain way to enjoy vacation, wear the swimsuit, take the picture, or make a memory.
Recovery is not about perfection. It is about practice.
It is about noticing the old thoughts and choosing a new response.
It is about remembering that your body is not the enemy of your experience. Your body is what allows you to have the experience.
This vacation season, let the goal be less about looking a certain way and more about staying connected to yourself. Let self-compassion come with you. Let your healing journey come with you. Let your body be included in the life you are building.
You are allowed to take up space.
You are allowed to enjoy the moment.
You are allowed to show up as you are.
If this was helpful in any way, we’d love for you to stay connected with FAB. Here are a few resources to explore next:
Take the Self-Discovery Quiz — A quick way to reflect on your relationship with food and body, and see if FAB might be the right fit for you. Take the quiz
Download the Body Image Ebook — A free resource to help you better understand and navigate body image struggles. Get the ebook
Schedule a Consultation — Ready to talk? Book a free call with our team to explore what support could look like for you. Schedule here
Get the Clinical Quick Guide — A practical resource for professionals looking to better understand and support clients with eating disorders. Download the guide
Meet with Dr. Jen — Interested in a referral partnership? Find time on her calendar to connect. Schedule a meeting
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