IBD and family meals: the food you eat for the wrong reasons
Managing your diet with IBD — ulcerative colitis or Crohn's — is doable… as long as you're on your own. The real test is going back to your family. There, it's no longer a question of nutrition. It's a question of emotions.
You're not eating a food, you're reviving an era
For me, it's the big bowl of sugary cereal drowned in milk. As a kid, it was the perfect breakfast: the only concern was finishing the bowl before going out to play. Every spoonful takes me back to those mornings, when the illness didn't exist in my life yet.
That's exactly why it's so hard to resist: I'm not eating cereal, I'm switching an entire period of my life back on. And no list of "allowed / forbidden" foods accounts for that.
There's also the family culture of "eat fast, eat a lot." In my family, finishing your plate in two minutes was almost a model to aspire to. Getting seconds before everyone else, a competition. Hard to unlearn that over one dinner.
How I handle a family meal today
I prepare for the moment before I'm in it. I know the cereal bowl will be sitting right there on the table, tempting me. Deciding in advance what I'll do is far easier than resisting in the moment, with hunger and nostalgia both at their peak.
I find myself a less problematic alternative rather than settling for a frustrated "no." Something I can eat with everyone, at the same time, so I'm not the one sitting apart with a special plate.
And I accept slipping up sometimes. What matters isn't the small slip on a Sunday: it's making sure those slips don't become the rule again once I'm back home.
Looking back…
Our eating habits aren't dictated by hunger alone, but also by our emotions and the people around us. Noticing those influences and learning to say no to them when they no longer serve us, without rejecting the people we love, is a real step towards a lasting balance.
Important: this is my personal experience, not dietary advice. The foods that work for me won't necessarily work for you. For a diet suited to your IBD, talk to your doctor or a dietitian.
How family and my circle played into my relapses, and how I relearned to eat, is on my journey page and in the book UC: Living Without Medication.