What Happens When You Stay Safe At Parties?

Whether it’s a birthday, a wedding, or a holiday party: any special occasion tends to be a struggle for IBS sufferers. It’s not like you can request a special menu or make alterations to your meal.

In my experience, there are 2 ways of dealing with food at parties: either you indulge and regret it later, or you struggle to stay safe. Why struggle, you ask? Well, here’s what happens when you try to avoid any trigger foods:

You won’t eat very much

Food served on special occasions is rarely IBS-friendly. Whether it’s chips and treats or sophisticated meals – they probably include at least one ingredient you can’t have. And then you often don’t even know what’s inside!

So, in order to avoid any trigger foods, you’ll have to forgo anything you don’t know the recipe for. In my case, that includes anything with sauce, desserts, pies, cocktails, etc.

Consider yourself lucky if you’re served a piece of meat with mashed potatoes. Otherwise, you might end up starving for the night.

Some people will get frustrated with you

Do you know how certain people believe that you should sacrifice your own comfort in order to please others? Especially if it’s someone’s birthday, wedding day, or other celebration – or if someone made the food you’re supposed to eat!

Those people will probably get annoyed when you deny foods in order to accommodate your IBS. If they believe IBS is not a real condition, it’s even worse.

I struggle a lot with such expectations. Not only due to my IBS, but also because I’m an introvert. The same people who don’t understand why I won’t eat something also get mad when I leave an event early. But that’s an issue for another time…

If like me, you’re a people pleaser at heart, you have to learn to put your needs first. After all, the people judging you don’t know what it’s like to have flare-ups as soon as you eat one wrong thing!

You’ll be much healthier

While it’s easy to overeat at events or stuff your face with tons of unhealthy things, this is unlikely to happen if you avoid trigger foods. I don’t know about you, but neither chips nor candy is safe for me!

Overall, you’ll probably spend a healthier evening than all the other guests. If you’re struggling with acne like me, your skin will be happier, too!

It’s a small consolation when you’ve spent hours being hungry and unable to eat anything that is served, but at least it’s something.

Stock up on snacks

Speaking of going hungry: If you’re like me and can’t survive without eating for long periods of time, you have to bring snacks to parties.

I know that some fellow IBS-sufferers in this community prefer not to eat at all, but I personally can’t do that. I get lightheaded and dizzy… well, it’s not fun.

The best types of snacks to bring are those you can sneak into your bag or the pockets of your coat. A simple sandwich or an oatmeal bar.

Your IBS will thank you

And that’s why we’re all here, right? In the big scheme of things, events and parties are defined by the people we’re with, not the foods we eat.

Sure, some people might give you a hard time. But most of them won’t care, or won’t even notice if you don’t eat everything.

At the end of the day, you’ll make much nicer memories if you err on the safe side and avoid trigger foods, rather than indulging and suffering from a flare-up later on.