: *standing in a field, surrounded by
: flocks of Sandhill Cranes
: *a single Sandhill Crane flying over
: our yard, calling loudly
: *horses sticking their heads out of
: the windows of their trailer on
: the freeway
: *buying myself a special gift

: The last few days have been an
: adventure with food. I am now
: gluten-free (which I don't
: recommend doing unless you are
: very steady on step 7 and have a
: very good reason for doing it) and
: that has meant doing extra
: planning.

: On Wednesday, we had a catered
: luncheon at work. I knew it was
: coming from Olive Garden, so I
: just made the assumption that I
: wouldn't be able to eat it. I
: packed a lunch as usual, and while
: everyone else ate lasagna, chicken
: parmigiana and fettuccine Alfredo,
: I had chicken, brown and wild
: rice, and cucumber salad. I joined
: in all the festivities and had a
: good time.

: On Thursday, we had a consultant in.
: When the meeting ran over my
: regular lunchtime, I told everyone
: that I was going to go heat up my
: lunch. At that point, they decided
: to break for lunch and go to a
: restaurant that I had been wanting
: to try out. Initially, I decided
: to go with them, but then I
: decided that I really shouldn't
: wait that long to eat. So although
: lunch would have been really yummy
: and fun, I stayed in the office
: and ate what I had brought to work
: with me.

: On Friday, we had a catered lunch at
: work again. I knew the food might
: not work for me. Some of it ended
: up being all right, and I
: supplemented with food from the
: lunch I had brought as a back up
: plan. Then that night we went to a
: party. It was a pot luck, which
: can be really challenging because
: you don't know who brought what,
: so you can't ask if there is
: gluten in things. I knew there
: would be enchilada casseroles, but
: chile sauce usually has flour in
: it, so I packed a sandwich bag of
: chicken in my purse in case I
: couldn't get enough protein at the
: party. I ended up managing to find
: enough, so I didn't have to use my
: chicken, but I'm glad I brought it
: just in case. I had a great time
: at the party.

: We have been invited to a neighbor's
: house for Christmas Eve dinner. I
: know they are serving tamales,
: which should be all right for me.
: We have a fancy cheese assortment
: we can bring with gluten-free
: crackers, so I can supplement my
: protein with cheese. As long as it
: isn't windy, we will light our
: luminarias before we go, so that
: when we walk home in the dark, we
: will see the lights flickering.
: (Luminaries are made by putting
: sand in the bottom of a paper
: lunch bag, and then setting a
: votive candle in the sand. Then
: you light the candles. The lights
: flicker in the bags. It's a New
: Mexico tradition. We will set them
: on top of our adobe wall and along
: the edge of our driveway.

: One of the most important things I
: have learned in my years of doing
: the program is to have a back-up
: plan. I always pack a lunch, even
: if I supposedly have lunch plans,
: in case my lunch date cancels, or
: the food provided doesn't work for
: me. If I'm going somewhere and
: don't know what the food situation
: is, I bring along some protein in
: a sandwich bag, or have a simple
: protein shake first. And when I
: was not gluten-free, I would not
: have had an issue with the food at
: any of these luncheons or parties.
: I would have just made an
: exception about not eating whites
: and had lasagna and chicken. I
: would have been fine with all the
: food at the second catered lunch,
: and I would have had enchilada
: casserole at the potluck party.
: The only one that still would have
: been a problem was the lunch that
: would have been very late. I am
: just sharing these stories as
: examples of planning and handling
: tricky food situations. But don't
: get worried - if you don't have
: additional foods you are avoiding,
: it is usually much simpler than
: this.

: Allison

Allison,

I think you have captured how we all adapt in Step 7. Planning becomes
part of regular life. Having a backup happens on autopilot. And makes adaptations
like going gluten or dairy free simply makes the motivation deeper. The payoff gets
bigger and our clarity deepens about why we make the choices we make.

It doesn't happen all at once. I think what is the most powerful, is that we grow without resentment
and we keep doing what we do and grow it because we love where it takes us. Thank you for sharing your process.

Kathleen