To take food or not?

[Rebecca001]

It’s my nephews birthday today and we are going for lunch. I don’t know if it will look rude if not if I take food for me. I am on day 6 of R4 so I really don’t want to be thrown off track today. 
I could just not eat ; I have been doing this a long time and I have no qualms missing a meal- but then does that draw attention to the fact they haven’t prepared anything for me? I could take my own, but then does that look like I expected them not to cater for me?? 
 

it does annoy me a little because I cater for everyone’s food preferences (last weekend I ran 10km in my wedding dress for charity then hosted a party for 20 including vegans. Dairy free, w30, keto, and normal eaters!) 

the family we are eating with know this is not a fad and that I have been doing this for a year- we went on holiday with them last month so they know I just live this way. 
 

i’m not sure what to do- any advice?? I plan to eat before we go, but I don’t want to seem rude at their party. 

[Baptiste]

It's probably too late, and the birthday is long past, but I'll give my advice for anyone passing by!

One simple answer: always bring food with you. ALWAYS 

It will only be a social barrier if you see it as one. If you're open and freely speaking about it, people really don't mind (at least in my experience). Just don't separate yourself from the group, don't make yourself an outcast just because you don't eat like other people. Join the groups, and if people give you a weird look, start explaining. Tell them that you just started this really cool program to change your eating habits (avoid the word diet, people don't like that word). Tell them how healthy it is, and how it makes you feel good, etc...

I actually find it to be a good icebreaker in some cases.

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Thought, it might be a good idea to warn the host before coming that you will bring your own food. Usually, I send a message like

Quote

Hi there,
I'll bring my own food tomorrow. My dietary restrictions are just a pain in the *** to please, it'll be easier that way!
That is, except if you want to cook gluten-free, dairy-free, grain-free, legume-free, sugar-free :p  (just kidding, please don't do that)
See you tomorrow!

Make it playful, don't make a big deal out of it, and people will take it lighty.

I know that it was really weird for me as well in the beggining, but the more you do it, the better it feels!

I hope this will help someone. If you follow the advice, share your experiences

[Rebecca001]

Hi @Baptiste(love that show, are you in the Uk?) 

I went to the party, the food was pizza! I had a little bit of salad and didn’t really mention it. I had lots of comments about how I don’t need to lose weight and should eat more…. 
I just said that people shouldn’t wait until they hit rock bottom to make positive changes to their health, smiled, and changed the subject. 

people are weird about food aren’t they?! 

[Baptiste]

Hey @Rebecca001, you just made me discover that my name was a TV show 

I'm French, from France, living in France!

Some people need more explaining than others, that's for sure… But it does make sense in a way, for someone that never had any problem with food, a program like Whole30 can seem far-fetched.

It's a lot harder to understand the solution when you can't relate to the problem. But I found that, with enough explaining, people eventually understand (and the ones that don't usually aren't the type of people I want to interact with anyway...)

[Rebecca001]

@Baptiste you should watch it, if you like crime dramas and can get uk tv over there! It’s very good! 
 

 

[Allicie]

On 6/26/2021 at 9:19 AM, Rebecca001 said:

It’s my nephews birthday today and we are going for lunch. I don’t know if it will look rude if not if I take food for me. I am on day 6 of R4 so I really don’t want to be thrown off track today. 
I could just not eat ; I have been doing this a long time and I have no qualms missing a meal- but then does that draw attention to the fact they haven’t prepared anything for me? I could take my own, but then does that look like I expected them not to cater for me?? 
 

it does annoy me a little because I cater for everyone’s food preferences (last weekend I ran 10km in my wedding dress for charity then hosted a party for 20 including vegans. Dairy free, w30, keto, and normal eaters!) 

the family we are eating with know this is not a fad and that I have been doing this for a year- we went on holiday with them last month so they know I just live this way. 
 

i’m not sure what to do- any advice?? I plan to eat before we go, but I don’t want to seem rude at their party and to take part in activities with it. 

Such situations constantly occur, because people want to see on the table the food that they themselves want to eat. I think that this is the wrong approach, because people invite guests who have different life circumstances and characteristics. What is puzzling is that these are your relatives who know about your lifestyle. Just remember that people do not always understand and accept what is important to you, and you should take care of yourself.