I have mentioned before that I have been on a Gluten Free diet for more than 2 years now. I have done some posts about it in the past, you can have a look back at them here and here!
Like with everything there are good points and bad points and following such a restrictive diet can have it's challenges. Today I thought I would write a post about some of the challenges that I (along with others) on a gluten free diet face on a weekly, if not daily basis.
Restaurants:
I LOVE food, and I love good food in great restaurants, eating out is like my favorite hobby! Being gluten free does tend to make this a little more challenging. I have less choice and I have to go through each menu before I eat anywhere. I hate making a fuss and I really hate asking what is gluten free on a menu as I would hate people to think I was being difficult. I have had some amazingly positive experiences recently though. For my birthday meal a couple of weeks ago the chef came out to personally talk me through the menu and at Carluccios I had a separate gluten free menu with so many options on it i was seriously spoilt for choice.
Being the odd one out:
I have to turn down a lot of food that I am offered or turn down invites to places that I cannot eat in. I feel like a broken record sometimes and I hate the idea that I am being rude or anti-social as a result.
Cynics:
I have a big problem with people being cynical. If I had a pound for every time someone questioned how serious my allergy really was then I would be very rich by now. It is awkward to talk about each and every single symptom I have and I hate feeling like I have to try and justify myself to people. All I can say is next time I'm throwing up at 3 o'clock in the morning I will come and wake you up and you can come hold my hand instead, and we will give my poor boyfriend a break.
Fad Diets:
Following on from cynics are the people who think that I am doing it to lose weight. The celebrity trend for going gluten free has done genuine intolerance sufferers no favours. It is also proven that you only really tend to loose a noticeable amount of weight on a gluten free diet if you are indeed already intolerant to it (Which is a lot more people than realize it!)
The look:
That look that people give you when you tell them you are gluten free. If you are gluten free, or have an allergy to any type of food you will know exactly what I am talking about!
Attention Seeking:
A lot of people assume I am following this diet as a form of attention seeking, a lot more people think that by talking about my allergy this is a way of looking for sympathy. It is absolutely not. I talk about my allergy so that people are aware of it. I feel so much better in myself for sticking to my diet that I would never want to people to feel sorry for me, I would also never deliberately make myself ill for the attention.
These are all really common problems and I know that most people with some sort of food allergy will know exactly what I am talking about. But gluten intolerance and ceolics disease are both things that people are becoming increasingly aware of. Menus everywhere are adapting and changing to add gluten free options everywhere I go now, so hang on in there, soon it will be as normal as being a vegetarian! ;)
Like with everything there are good points and bad points and following such a restrictive diet can have it's challenges. Today I thought I would write a post about some of the challenges that I (along with others) on a gluten free diet face on a weekly, if not daily basis.
Restaurants:
I LOVE food, and I love good food in great restaurants, eating out is like my favorite hobby! Being gluten free does tend to make this a little more challenging. I have less choice and I have to go through each menu before I eat anywhere. I hate making a fuss and I really hate asking what is gluten free on a menu as I would hate people to think I was being difficult. I have had some amazingly positive experiences recently though. For my birthday meal a couple of weeks ago the chef came out to personally talk me through the menu and at Carluccios I had a separate gluten free menu with so many options on it i was seriously spoilt for choice.
Being the odd one out:
I have to turn down a lot of food that I am offered or turn down invites to places that I cannot eat in. I feel like a broken record sometimes and I hate the idea that I am being rude or anti-social as a result.
Cynics:
I have a big problem with people being cynical. If I had a pound for every time someone questioned how serious my allergy really was then I would be very rich by now. It is awkward to talk about each and every single symptom I have and I hate feeling like I have to try and justify myself to people. All I can say is next time I'm throwing up at 3 o'clock in the morning I will come and wake you up and you can come hold my hand instead, and we will give my poor boyfriend a break.
Fad Diets:
Following on from cynics are the people who think that I am doing it to lose weight. The celebrity trend for going gluten free has done genuine intolerance sufferers no favours. It is also proven that you only really tend to loose a noticeable amount of weight on a gluten free diet if you are indeed already intolerant to it (Which is a lot more people than realize it!)
The look:
That look that people give you when you tell them you are gluten free. If you are gluten free, or have an allergy to any type of food you will know exactly what I am talking about!
Attention Seeking:
A lot of people assume I am following this diet as a form of attention seeking, a lot more people think that by talking about my allergy this is a way of looking for sympathy. It is absolutely not. I talk about my allergy so that people are aware of it. I feel so much better in myself for sticking to my diet that I would never want to people to feel sorry for me, I would also never deliberately make myself ill for the attention.
These are all really common problems and I know that most people with some sort of food allergy will know exactly what I am talking about. But gluten intolerance and ceolics disease are both things that people are becoming increasingly aware of. Menus everywhere are adapting and changing to add gluten free options everywhere I go now, so hang on in there, soon it will be as normal as being a vegetarian! ;)
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