Eating Gluten Free In Public.
By 1grnthmb
@1grnthmb (2055)
United States
June 23, 2008 1:24pm CST
I have Celiac Disease and can not eat anything with wheat, rye, barley or oats in it. This is a very challenging diet. because there is gluten hidden in a lot of products. Yesterday we had a picnic at church. They served hamburgers and hot dogs and a lot of side dishes. I took Jenny through the line and got her what she wanted and then went back and got a plate for myself. I got a hamburger patty and some lettuce and NO bun. That made some people look at me funny. I then got some fruit salad that I knew was safe for me to eat and asked about a couple of other dishes and had people say that it did not have wheat so I double checked and asked if there was flour in them. Why of course they did! Why is it that people do not know that flour is wheat? Like Duh! I then took my plate and sat myself down, rolled the hamburger patty up into lettuce and started eating. You would not believe how many people were staring at me because I made a wrap out of lettuce. Why you would think I was a side show freak or something. Well it was an adventure and one of the reasons why I do not eat out in public very often. Would you stare at someone if they were eating something that was different then what you eat or modified it to make it edible for themselves?
4 people like this
13 responses
@tanniebabe78 (2934)
• United States
23 Jun 08
I would have been there right with ya! I am lowcarbing and it can be challenging, but I just ignore the other people. Let them stare. I do and it doesn't bother me a bit.
1 person likes this
@Erilyn (3020)
• United States
23 Jun 08
I don't think it is strange at all. I have yet to figure out why people think that everyone else is just like them. I remember when I was younger and worked at mcdonalds people would come in and ask for burgers without the bun all the time. There are a lot of resturants that have no problem doing something like that for a customer and some places are making it part of the menu. People just need to realize that not everyone is like them, and some people have dietary needs outside of what they consider "normal".
For People like that I just want to look at them and ask would you like to join me? this is a new diet that i found you can lose 20 pounds in a week lol. See how fast a lot of the expressions will change hehehehe. I would find some kind of remark to say to the worst of them lol.
You should see me when I order at a mexican resturant. I love Mexican, but can't eat spicy food. I had my gallbladder removed and since then i have to be careful of what I eat. The server will often look at me funny when I order, but as long as it is brought to me right I don't care.
1 person likes this
@cripfemme (7698)
• United States
24 Jun 08
I can relate to the staring thing on a different level because people tend to look at me due to the fact that I have cerebral palsy and require a wheelchair to get around. I also talk differently so people tend to stare at me for that too. Additionally, I have an allergy to a chemical in plastic (well some plastics anyway) that could make me go into anaphalatic shock. I frequently have to modify my eating choices based on packaging or ask them to change the packaging for me. I love to eat out, however, and refuse to let my allergies or the people who have nothing better to do with their lives than look at me take this activity away from me. My friend, Mary Frances (may she rest in peace) had a great comment for starers. "Take a picture. It lasts longer", she would tell them. This may sound mean, and I'm sure your church friends mean no harm and you don't wish to be mean to them. However, it does make people think.
@cripfemme (7698)
• United States
17 Jul 08
She lucky to have a mom who understands what it's like to be stared at.
@crazynurse (7482)
• United States
24 Jun 08
No, I wouldn't think it strange for someone to modify their food to fit their needs. So what if what or how they eat is different from what I eat and how I eat it. Who is to say that my way is the 'correct' or only way to consume an item? Geeze...give me a break! I have a family member with Celiac and I also have a family member who cannot have glucose/fructrose. The latter is severely limited in what she can eat as practically everything has high fructose corn syrup in it. She can only have dextrose. She has to make her own bread and lots of other things. There are countless fruits and veggies that she cannot eat as well. I would simply die if I had the limitations that she has, but she has grown accustomed to it and feels much better than she did before finding out what it was that was keeping her stomach in so much pain and keeping her in the 'john' with diarrhea! We accept things and move on.
@Barbietre (1438)
• United States
24 Jun 08
No one should be eating High fructose corn syrup, they have just discovered that is makes gout worse. It also can not be burned by the body and gets stored as fat.
@beautyqueen26 (16030)
• United States
23 Jun 08
No, I wouldn't stare at another person who was
eating differently than me.
But I might get stares for my hotdog toppings!
I love those things.
It's America! We live in the melting pot of cultures.
Everyone's different, even down to what they eat.
A simpler way to explain your eating habits to the
insensitive numb-skulls that glare and poke fun, would
be to tell them that you are doing
the Atkins diet and have already lost ten pounds!
No carbs! Get it, cause wheat and such has carbs.
I'm sure they would get that. Atkinds, low carb is
all the rage. Lots of people do it and they don't
get stared down. And, it's sort of true, you really
are following no carb, if you think about it!
They will be eating their heart out with jealousy
and leave you alone enough so that you can enjoy your
time out with your family without derision!
Be well.
Have a beautiful day.
@tanniebabe78 (2934)
• United States
24 Jun 08
Nope! That response will just get him a whole new line if idiocy! People don't know what Atkins is and thinks it is NO carb when they really should read the book before talking. So he would get lectured instead of stared at. I know all about this one.
@Barbietre (1438)
• United States
24 Jun 08
Amen to that, I eat protein power close to Atkins. They think all we eat is meat hahaha! They have no idea how really healthy it is and how balanced our mrals really are. I had my Triglycerides drop from 225 to 84!
@cjgrooms (4456)
• United States
23 Jun 08
No i wouldn't stare, but my son has multi allergic syndrome and one of his allergies is wheat so we would often order him a burger minus the bun. I have to admit until he developed this problem that i had never thought about what flour was made of. I tell you i got an education with this child. And going out to eat is not only an adventure but for him could be downright dangerous because when you would ask if this dish had this or that in it they would say no then 10min. after starting to eat he was having an allergic reaction!
@1grnthmb (2055)
• United States
25 Jun 08
Having food related allergies and intolerances is a very difficult to live with. It puts so may restrictions on us that people do not understand. I am sure your son is often tempted with things that he can not eat by people having the attitude that a little will not hurt you. People on the whole are very shallow and self centered so when it comes to some one that is different they just have to nose in. Hey! Have you had you son try the low carb versions of the burgers. They are wrapped in lettuce instead of being on a bun and are delicious.
1 person likes this
@cjgrooms (4456)
• United States
25 Jun 08
My Son has been on Xolair shots for several years and over the past year the doctor has had us let him start eating a lot of things that he couldn't before (including wheat).
The only foods that he can't tolerate these days is eggs (unless they are baked in something in the oven on 350degrees for at least 30min.) tree nuts, peanuts and All seafood. Other than that he seems to do pretty well these days. I dread the day that they have to take him off the shot and then he has to go back to giving up all the things that he has gotten used to eating!
@p3halliwel2005 (3156)
• Philippines
24 Jun 08
No I wouldn't stare at anybody else who is eating. Here in our country people respect the privacy of others. So what if you eat that way because of your disease..people should not stare because it's not nice. Don't let them get to you as long as you are not doing something wrong do live your life as is and don't let their stares bother you. They are just people who are nosy and can't mind their own business. I would just shrug it off and pretend I am a commercial model and they are watching me eat..I would even ask them if they want my autograph for a laugh..lol..Take care
@pyewacket (43903)
• United States
23 Jun 08
Hehehe..LOL...gee, maybe you should hang a sign around your neck stating you can't eat anything that has wheat/gluten in it. I don't know why people concern themselves or be busy bodies about what someone is eating...What is it their business anyway? Maybe you should have just stared back at them with what they were eating to make them feel weird
@eachen2002 (889)
• United States
24 Jun 08
I'm allergic to sugar and i still eat but i break out from it.i just have to make sure that i drink alot of water or just don't eat alot of it.it's not strange that ate food that way,they do have lettuce wraps with different meat like chicken and beef and ground hamburger.
@underdogtoo (9579)
• Philippines
24 Jun 08
That might have been a first for them and they were probably wondering why they did not think of that before. It is actually quite common in some Chinese dishes where you use a leaf of lettuce or cabbage to wrap some ground meat and eat it that way.
@Barbietre (1438)
• United States
24 Jun 08
I eat lowcarb and avoid starches also. Many places now accomdate us easily, but in the past we would get looks. In factone local hamburger palce has one exactly like you eat ( and so do I) and it is called a "skinny burger" wrapped in lettuce.
You know the part that makes me angry the most ios the fact people accept a vegetarians right to eat that way and will not argue, but any other ways of eating they feel thye have a right to lecture. I am eating healthy diet and it is no one else's business what I eat. Do not let other people's attitude out you off, you do not have to defend what you do.
@joyouskay (113)
•
24 Jun 08
I have severe allergies to foods- the most dramatic being all nuts. People always think I'm odd when I have to ask what type of oil foods or fried in, or double check on the ingredients of specific dishes. Sometimes I find it amusing that others seem so interested in what I have to do- but it gets a bit old when I hear the constant "you have to live without eating nuts?", "I could never do that", "oh my gosh, that is so awful." Maybe it's just because I've dealt with it my whole life, but it just doesn't seem like such a big deal anymore.
I've gotten to the point where if I'm going out for a business dinner, I call the restaurant ahead of time and plan my meal. That way I never have to say anything in front of Clients, and don't have to bother explaining anything.
