Episode 24: How to Do Thanksgiving with IBS

Thanksgiving is coming up for those Americans that celebrate, and for many of you who do indulge in this food feast holiday while suffering with IBS, what should be a time to come together and be with loved ones, can turn into a truly intimidating event.

How can you navigate this day to the best of your ability when you are worried about the consequences of eating or not eating the foods that you love?

Today we are going to talk about a few different essential strategies that can equip you to enjoy the foods you love. We’ll also talk about how to communicate with your loved ones about your IBS (or not communicate about it at all if that’s what you prefer) before the big holiday.

Find the full transcript for this episode and other resources at HealingHerIBS.com/24.

Celebrating Thanksgiving with IBS

It’s such a privilege that can go unrecognized–– to go into a big important social event and not worry about the food that you can or can’t eat. Or to not worry about the potential consequences that will come from eating the wrong things.

Do you remember how it felt to not worry about food very much before you had IBS?

I remember that absolute freedom and am grateful every time I go into a social event these days, knowing that I have mostly healed my IBS and I don’t have to worry about every little morsel I put in my mouth and how it might make me sick in the way that it used to.

I recall as well the years for when it was not so easy and the immense thinking  and planning that I had to have before events like Thanksgiving.

When it comes to big social parties like the holiday coming up, the approach I recommend is one that involves a little bit of planning and a little bit of letting go, and figuring out ahead of time what kind of personality you have and using that self-knowledge to pave a way forward that lets you celebrate and relax, without a ton of unwanted gut issues to deal with on the day or the day after.

Determining your IBS Personality

Before we go forward into specific tricks you can use to have a nice holiday, you’ve got to know what kind of an IBS person you are.

Start off by asking yourself:

Take stock of this question before going further with my Thanksgiving advice. I have learned in life so far that often the best way forward is often finding the middle way. This also goes for managing IBS in your real life.

Many times as women we can become very obsessive and restrictive and afraid, or we can swing in the opposite direction and have a kind of Fuck it attitude. Both ways have a price that you’ll have to pay.

If you restrict too much, you continue to live in this IBS hell that controls your life and robs you of the joy of living and of eating. You may be restricting essential nutrients as well that you need to be well.

Going steam ahead  and eating everything you like without thought of consequences for how’s it’s going to affect you in this present moment means you may enjoy yourself while eating but you may feel sick for days afterwards.

The Middle Way

After having determined which personality type you have, or in which direction you could see yourself going in with this holiday, see if you can lean in a bit in the opposite direction. See how you can move yourself just a few degrees in the way that would benefit you the most.

One thing that really worked for me and my more controlling personality was to think about the kinds of dishes that would be served at Thanksgiving and to think about the ones that I knew I could tolerate well.

I’d start to make a menu for myself of all those dishes I knew I could eat. For me, that included the turkey and a smaller portion of mashed potatoes. I could mostly eat the grean beans and the carrots and the cranberry sauce.

Then, of course there are the things that you may absolutely love and wish you could eat with abandon, but you know at this point in healing your IBS, it would not be so smart to indulge in full force.

When I was sick with IBS, this included the dishes like the stuffing and bread and pies that I knew would hurt my stomach.

For those dishes, you can see about making or getting versions of those things that are going to sit well with you.

 I would make gluten free pies and a gluten free version of stuffing that made me feel like I could still indulge fully in the things I loved without getting a huge, bloated stomach right afterwards.

What are the Thanksgiving dishes that you adore but you know may send you into a pain cycle?

Make a list of those things and ask others if they can make a version that’s better for you, or see if you could make it yourself.

Social Joy and IBS

Sometimes when you have IBS, you isolate. You go further into yourself because of the fear that you have of your symptoms coming up at times when you can’t handle managing them.

Thanksgiving can be one of these times. If you are considering isolating yourself because of your IBS symptoms during this time, let me encourage you to just take a baby step into engaging socially with your loved ones in a way that could feel good to you, if it is in fact something that would feel good for you.

Try your best at this time of year to let yourself experience joy and pleasure in a way that feels right. Have different plans for how you might manage any IBS symptoms that come up ahead of time to give you a sense of control.

If your social isolation has become quite extreme, I highly encourage you find a mental health specialist that you trust that can help you work through this fear. I know firsthand how isolating IBS can feel and how hard it is to re-engage with the world, but doing so is part of the process of healing.

Thank you for listening to today’s episode and please share with other women who are sick of being sick with IBS.