Hi Sarit,

Often when I'm going to a house or traveling with others, I let them know that it's important for me to eat a certain amount and at a certain time, or I don't feel very good. I also mention that I will provide for myself, so no one needs to worry about me. By letting people know beforehand, it helps me be clear, and lets me know I've done my part. And often people are very helpful, and will work with you. It really isn't your responsibility to take care of everyone else, unless you are willing, and it has been talked about before the trip.

Colette

: Even though I previously in this
: thread said I had successfully
: pre-planned my food for my
: vacation, I did have an issue that
: I'd like to ask you people about.
: My problem is how to manage things
: when being out with other couples,
: when meals are not so clearly
: defined.

: The nature of our vacation was such
: that we had sit-down breakfasts,
: on-the-go lunches, and sit-down
: dinners. That meant that I had to
: eat my own browns at breakfast and
: dinner, and had to fend for myself
: for lunch and for mid-morning and
: mid-afternoon snacks (when others
: ate pastries or other non-friendly
: foods).

: The problem was not so much in what
: food to bring for myself, but how
: to eat it in front of everybody,
: while they had inferior and
: unsatiating food. For example,
: while sitting outdoors in various
: nature spots, I needed to lay out
: a decent lunch for myself, while
: the others munched on skimpy
: snacks. Even though that was their
: own decision, it felt
: uncomfortable to eat a real meal
: when there was nothing for others.

: The point is that if everyone is
: snacking on junk, people feel ok
: about it. But if one person whips
: out real food, then everyone
: suddenly realizes how hungry they
: actually are for food.

: I considered bringing food for others
: too, but it was not realistic to
: bring along healthy lunches and
: snacks for 6 more people for 3
: days. Before we left on our trip,
: my husband expressed great
: discomfort about my bringing even
: just whole rye bread for myself.
: He has great difficulty with the
: idea of my eating "my"
: food which the others will not be
: having. I decided to bring a
: larger amount of bread and yam
: cakes, and ended up being short on
: the last day because I had offered
: it to all and it ran out. As a
: result, I had to eat whites on the
: last day.

: I find this issue annoying and not
: easily solvable. One of my
: problems is standing up to my
: husbands rigid ideas about what's
: right and what's not right to do
: in the company of others.

: I'd be interested in hearing your
: ideas.
: Sarit