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Problem Situations You May Encounter
in Elimination DietingI
n this chapter we will consider aspects of elimination dieting, the problems
that may arise, and useful solutions to these.
The advice that follows has application both in the initial test phase of
the plan and in long-term management of avoidances which may have been
found necessary.
Eating out on the diet
One of the most important difficulties everyone encounters right away is
the problem of eating away from home. Not many people, even twenty
years after I first wrote this book, have much idea of what it means to
follow a strict exclusion plan, so you can expect little help or sympathy from
restauranteurs or hotel staff.
Part of this is prejudice and part ignorance of the issues involved.
Allergies still have the stigma of ‘all in the mind,’ and even close
family might not be sympathetic to what you are trying to do: expect some
rebuffs. There is an unfortunate tendency in the population to view a meal
such as a chop and vegetables as inadequate eating in some way; it makes
many people feel uncomfortable. There is a misconception at large that
a ‘balanced meal,’ supposed to be so desirable, consists of a little bit of
everything, including wheat, dairy, sugar and stimulant drinks. So if you are
eating with others, expect attitudes that vary from scorn to indifference.
One thing that motivates hostility, I’m sure, is the fact that those
you are with also have allergies and addictions: seeing you overcome your
cravings will remind them inappropriately of theirs, since they are not able
to defeat them. It is rather like giving up smoking: this seems to goad fellow