Today, I'm going off script. I'm sharing a behind-the-scenes look at exactly how I'm planning my travels while staying consistent on the Wahls protocol. So I'm sharing everything from what I plan on eating, especially during group dinners with a pre-fixed menu, to how I handle the social pressure and judgment from others who don't understand the Wahls protocol, and in some cases, don't even know about my diagnosis either.

Only three new clients. So if you are interested, apply at Alenebrennan. com/coach. Now onto today's episode. There are 1 million people diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in the US. So that makes you one in a million. And you have a special purpose in this world that no diagnosis can take away from you. So if you're ready to reclaim your body,

Hello, my friend. I am so excited for this episode. This is going to be a juicy one. And as I said in the intro, I'm going completely off script. So we'll see where it goes. But I am traveling next week. And I'll admit I'm a little uneasy about it because I haven't traveled a lot much since my daughter's been born. I did one trip to New York when she was about one year old. So this is one year since then,

for dinner tonight. So my goal for this event is really building relationships and feel good throughout the event so I have the energy to participate in everything. That is my goal. I want to have the health and energy to participate in all of the activities so I can build some really good relationships while I'm there. And I remind myself of this because it's so important to set the tone early that this trip, it's not about food. It's not. If I'm going into this trip already feeling disappointed and left out and deprived, then I'm not setting the right tone here. But it doesn’t mean that it’s not hard already seeing the messages fly around the group chat about where everyone is going to be meeting up for dinner on Wednesday night, because that’s our one free night. And they have already suggested like some great local pizza spots.

That is what I would love to do. I would love to do that. And then afterwards, I’d love to debate with all of the people that I’m sitting with on which variety was the best. Was it the margarita? Was it the sausage? Was it the cheese? Was it, I don’t know, was it the cheese? Was it the white pie with broccoli? I’d love to experience that. And especially if they’re talking about some really good local spots too. Like, yes, I want in on that. And it stings when I see that because I know I can participate in that. But I also know. Nothing tastes as good as being healthy feels. Nothing tastes as good as being healthy feels. So as I'm planning for these travels, I was sharing some of the strategies that I'm using with my clients that I work one-on-one with. And I wanted to share them with you as well, because I know this is something that so many people struggle with. And especially as we're coming into summertime, when vacations are being planned, or there's just different events, like this is a season of weddings and graduations and all kinds of things.

The hotel where the event is at because I'm staying at a different location. I wanted to stay in that hotel. So now it's just a short elevator ride up and down from my room to the conference room. And I can do that if I need a nap, if I need just to step away from everybody for a moment, or if I want to grab something to eat that's not available, but I have back in my room. So let me first by kind of like doing a rundown of what I'm thinking from a food perspective.

And maybe some fruit. This tends to be pretty easy for breakfast. Just the biggest question is whether or not the kitchen will have chicken breast available in the morning. But typically, if you call them ahead of time, they may be able to set one aside for you or whatever. But the bacon, obviously, they have that ready for the morning. The sautéed spinach, they tend to have that available because most people ask or many people will ask for that in an omelet. And fruit, you know, that's definitely a common breakfast side.

I also looked online to scout out like a local smoothie spot. And I just searched the name of the town that I'm in and smoothies. And one smoothie spot came up. I don't exactly know how far it is from the hotel. So, you know, like just the little details that you have to figure out beforehand. But what I'm doing is I have a notes app on my phone that I'm putting all of these things in and I'm categorizing it like breakfast. Okay, here's the name of the smoothie spot. Here's the link to the website.

Don't know exactly again how close it is to the hotel but worst case scenario I take a quick Uber ride over if I need to. And really I say it as breakfast but that could also be like a nice snack. If I need a substitute for lunch or if I need a substantial snack that's a great thing that I can just grab and go. They also have acai bowls which are delicious. So that's another option for me. And then, just to bring something that I know I can have on hand with me,

I don't know. I just don't feel as good. But I can use one or two in a pinch. So that's fine. So that makes me feel like I have breakfast covered. I could do room service. I could hit up the smoothie spot. Or I could do one of the Bobo bars. I also could grab the Paleo Valley sticks. They have the beef, venison. They just came out with chicken and turkey and all kinds of different ones. So that alone wouldn't be substantial enough. But if I had that and a side of fruit or something like that. So that's breakfast.

I'm not springing this on her at the last minute. If you have ever planned a major event, if you've planned a wedding, then you know. It is that level of detail and that level of intensity. The week before is chaos. It's organized chaos, but it's chaos. So I didn't wait till the week before to reach out to her. When I first signed up for the conference, I reached out to her then. And that was like months in advance. And I just wanted to get on her radar. I said, listen, just want to let you know, I'm excited.

So reaching out in advance really sets the tone for you to be taken seriously. If you are reaching out in advance, they know that this is something that is important to you. And this is not something that you're just showing up unannounced at the event. There's too much going on at that point. And honestly, the decisions are made. There's not really a whole lot of room for finding alternatives at that point. So reach out nice and early. I actually reached out so early. She didn't have the menu set yet. However, it put it on her radar. And then it was last week that she sent a message out to the group of, you know, these are some of the restaurants that we're going to in the evening. She didn't really mention too much about the lunch. So I followed up with her and she shared the menu that they're going to be serving through the hotel restaurant. Honestly, I looked at it and it's really like,

had before that. I've never had somebody say like, 'yes, we're organizing a massive event here.' And oh, if you wanted to order from this restaurant down the street, we're happy to coordinate that for you. That's somebody who's just going above and beyond, but I really appreciate it. So you don't know when those opportunities are going to come up until you ask. So I did look at that other menu. And again, they did look like they had some really good options. So I at least feel like if I'm ordering off of the hotel restaurant menu,

at different restaurants each night. So the organizer had shared the restaurant of where we're going, which they look fantastic. I wish I could just eat whatever I wanted off the menu. I'd love to have free reign on it all. But again, nothing tastes as good as being healthy feels. And I want to make sure that my diet is supporting my health and my energy to show up to all of these events this week. And I'll also be honest, like I can't burn myself out at the event. I need to make sure that I have the energy to travel home too. So I've reached out to each of the restaurants on non-service hours; don't call during the lunch and dinner hours. You're not going to get a good response. I call during non-service hours and I've asked to speak with the manager or the chef. And I explained that I'm coming in with a group next week. I have some food allergies, so I just wanted to discuss the menu. They were both very accommodating. And I will say, I try to make the process as easy as possible on them. And I also have very low expectations. Again, I don't go in being so excited

and really on the people that I'm spending the time with. So I was able to contact the restaurant, ask about the oils that they use, ask about different things of being gluten, dairy, soy, nut, and egg free. If you've heard me say that list before, that's my personal list. The eggs and the soy are allergies that I know I have. The nuts trigger migraines and then the dairy and the gluten are from a leaky gut and MS perspective. So I've called the restaurants,

the area to check out. Now I've called all of them and only one has a gluten-free crust and I haven't been able to get through to know if it's one that I can actually have, but at least I know I can get a salad at one of them. It may be a boring salad, but it is a salad. It's something on my plate. It's not going to be the hot pizza. I would love the ooey gooey cheesy pizza. It's not going to be that. It’s going to most likely be a boring, bland salad, but nothing tastes as good as being healthy feels. Can you tell that this is my mantra that I’m like prepping myself with throughout this whole thing? My goal for this event is to build relationships, not indulge on food. So I feel like I will have something to eat for each meal. And like I said, I’m also trying to get through to the hotel to see not only what their room

But I also want to ask them if there's a local grocery store or market that I could stop at, because then I might be able to pick up some things from there. So that's kind of my rundown of what I'm planning from a food perspective. Now let's dive into kind of like more of the real side of the emotions behind like the social pressures, the potential judgments, and feeling left out and or deprived. So first, let's start with the social pressures and judgments. Let's keep it real. It's not easy to have a separate diet than everybody else when you are sitting around a table because eating is a very communal experience.

To do to manage my health, because what do I care what other people think? If I were to kind of like cave to that pressure and eat what they think that I should be eating, I know the reality of that. I will be shut down. I will not be able to participate in any of the other activities. And that's no. No is the answer to that. And I've shared many times before, my daughter is my why.

That's what I say for you too. No, don't cave to the social pressures. I love the saying, this has nothing to do from a food perspective, but it is relevant in this conversation. What other people think of me is none of my business. What other people think of you is none of your business. So it doesn't matter. Like don't tell yourself a story of what they're thinking or any judgments they're making about you and your food. You do what you need to do to manage your health. And if somebody is not supportive of that, I question them. I question them more than I'm questioning my own food. Because who are you to say what I should and shouldn't be eating when I know that this is something that is helping me to manage an incurable chronic illness? Like, I'm sorry, I don't have time for this. And I say this because clearly, clearly, I'm passionate about it. However, I've never, in all honesty, ever had somebody come up and binge and bend that judgmental or pressured me into eating something. And I think that's because

If I stand firm in what I'm eating and what I'm not, and I deflect the conversation after that, I don't sit here and say, oh, well, yeah, I don't know. I'm trying to avoid gluten or I'm trying to do this. No, if you're trying to do something, that means that you're not fully committed. So whether you are fully committed or not, don't use that word because that gives somebody else permission to start influencing, or I shouldn't say it gives somebody else permission. It opens the door for somebody to start thinking that they can influence your decision. It's a very different phrase when you say, I don't eat gluten versus I'm trying to avoid gluten. If you want to minimize the pressure and judgment, use the term, I don't eat gluten.

Oh, why don't you eat gluten? Because it's something that has made a big difference for me in managing my health. So do you know where we're going afterwards tonight? Like completely shift the conversation. If you don't want the questions to continue, shift the conversation. If you want the conversation to continue, then you can leave the door open. It depends upon who the person is. Sometimes I don't mind because I'm a nutrition coach and I enjoy talking about it. And if that can help to plant the seed for somebody else to start feeling better based on their choices, great. But I'm also aware that if I'm having this conversation at a dinner table and people have just ordered their meal,

say it with conviction. And then deflect to something else. So that's what has helped me with kind of managing judgment and social pressures. Now, the other side to it is also very real and raw, feeling a little left out. Like I can say all of those things and I believe them and I stand strong in them. And there is also that moment when all of the meals are being passed around and you can't help but look and see and smell and hear all of the, oh, that looks so good. Oh my gosh. Oh, I can't wait. That's hard. That is hard. And it's hard not to have the thought of, oh, well, I don't get to have that because I have MS or whatever your autoimmune condition is. Not only do I have to deal with this incurable chronic illness that feels like it just disrupts my life, but I also don't get to indulge in good food anymore. I have to eat the bland and boring food. If that's the soundtrack that's going through your mind, that's not a helpful one.

Menu. I want that. However, I got this diagnosis. I didn't choose it. I didn't do anything to like bring it on. This is the deck of cards that I got dealt and I have to play them. So I can choose to then let this be an emotional game for me and pull me down. Or I can look at it and say, okay, yeah, I would love to have them. And in this moment, this is hard, but this is what resilience is. I know that I have my invisible army around me.

Eating the healthy options because afterwards you feel good. And here's the most rewarding part. When everyone gets up from the table and they're like, oh gosh, I'm so full. Oh, I feel disgusting. Oh, I just want to go home and get my sweatpants. And you're like, hmm, interesting. I feel kind of good. I keep that thought to myself though. And the other part of it, I really do try to focus beyond the food. I really try to focus on the relationships. And the people that I am around. So here's the thing, because I have done all of this planning ahead of time, when I show up next week, I don't have to think about a single meal. All of it is planned out. And that feels really nice. That feels really nice. So I'm choosing to focus on the relationships that I want to build there. And this also applies if I'm like going on vacation with my family. I will look at the menus ahead of time.

Or when I was, or if it's a girl's weekend and I just get to be with my girls. Yes. Like. This takes your time and attention off the food and shifts it to the relationship that you are building. And that in and of itself is such a gift. It is such a gift. Stay true to yourself. Stay true to your health goals because again, nothing tastes as good as being healthy feels.

Information or inspiration from that. This is a wrap. Thank you so much for listening, and I will be back next week. Well, my friend, we've reached the end of this episode. Pick one lesson from today's discussion and put it into action now. It's time to reclaim your body, mind, and life from multiple sclerosis. And for more resources, events, and programs, head over to AleneBrennan. com. See you on the next episode of my MS podcast.