Re: Travel / Vacation and SCD

[Guest guest]

Since I've been SCD I've traveled to the Philippines, Hong Kong and Vietnam (I

live in DC). The " trick " for me has been to travel places where I know people.

In the Phils I stayed with my best friend's family and they had a cook who they

told what to make. I also brought some almond flour and made some muffins and

cookies while there. Hong Kong I just brought food with me and had plain meat

(when I was still eating meat) and veggies in restaurants. My parents live in

Vietnam so I stayed with them there and used their kitchen to cook. I did

venture out to Cambodia for a couple days. For breakfast I had fruit and had

the hotel cook (since brekkie was included in the stay) prepare a couple hard

boiled eggs. I would eat one or two and bring the rest with me for lunch (along

with something like lara bars as snacks). I had a fridge in my room so when I

was in Vietnam I made a bunch of chicken stuff and froze it for the flight to

Cambodia and then put it in the fridge when I got there and used it for dinner

and occasionally lunch. I definitely end up losing weight when I travel and

it's probably not just because I'm walking everywhere!

I think that the next time I venture overseas I might not be staying with people

I know so I'll be looking for an apartment that I can rent for a couple days

(it's an option that I found out about when looking for places to stay in

Scotland) or looking into a B&B where I can talk to the person cooking the

breakfast. Oh, has anyone been to the SCD B&B's? I'm so curious about them.

Oh and as for the flights themselves? The last couple times I've gone I've

brought hard boiled eggs, a banana or two, some SCD cookies, maybe some kind of

bar like lara bars and (something I can't do now) jerky. I found some that

seemed to be SCD legal at the farmer's market. I talked to the guys selling it

and they said they didn't put anything in it. Of course I don't eat that junk

anymore so next time I'll probably take that out and instead bring some nuts or

something.

One of the things that does kill me about being on this diet though is not being

able to eat the local cuisine. I've lived overseas most of my life and part of

the joy of traveling for me was experiencing the local culture through their

food. True, some fruits and veg do taste a little different when you travel but

it's not quite the same thing. I always feel really bad when people offer me

food and I have to turn them down....especially because in the countries I tend

to travel to it can taken as an insult. I say " food allergy " but you can tell

people still feel kind of bad.

As a " funny " aside...when I was in the Phils I had people tell me on two

separate occasions (and from different backgrounds - Filipino and Italian) that

they " pity " me or, " if I had your diet, I would kill myself. " Traveling with

friends who understood the diet and why I'm on it certainly helped. They made

me laugh about situations like that one. Mind, I'm not insulted at all by what

they said. I can see where they're coming from and I understand the cultural

background enough not to be insulted. It's the same way as in Vietnam if

someone said " oh, your husband is ugly, " it's not meant as any kind of insult

and isn't taken that way by anyone familiar with the culture (more a statement

of fact??) so definitely familiarize yourself with the place you'll be going

first.

Entirely too long of a response

Stacey

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> I am at a point in my life where I want to travel... see the world. I would be

taking trips more than a few days and would be unable to bring my own pre-made

SCD foods ect. I read Raman Prashad's book " colitis and me " and he says in it

that he traveled to the middle east twice on SCD already.

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> How do you travel with SCD?? Where do you find the foods you can eat? There

has got to be a way....