Identifying Challenges With Diet

BREAKING HABITS AND ADHERENCE

Breaking habits can be difficult when it comes to being diagnosed with IBD -- often you have to drastically change daily/long-term routine by adding diet restrictions and daily, weekly, or monthly medication
There are common trigger foods that are associated with IBD including greasy/fatty foods, meats, dairy, and popcorn/corn and some of these are often taken out of the diet all together
It can be easier to break habits of eating these foods/food groups by doing elimination diets and seeing specifically what works for you as an individual because whatever works best for you is the path that you should take
Don’t be too harsh on yourself when you aren’t able to adhere to your diet 100% -- it can hurt your long term mental/emotional health
When trying a new diet or identifying trigger foods, it can be hard to let go of old foods that you used to eat. For example, popcorn is a very popular snack item, but oftentimes corn is identified as a food to avoid for those with IBD. Finding alternative snacks or foods to those you used to love and eat regularly can be a helpful option. Here are some snacks you can have instead of popcorn (https://www.everydayhealth.com/crohns-disease/diet/crohns-snacks-you-can-pack/).

COST

Sometimes diets/specific foods (i.e gluten free) need substitutes for the status quo product (flour vs garbanzo bean flour) can be difficult to afford as the substitutes can often be more expensive. For people who are completely switching a diet it can be expensive to change most if not all ingredients that you cook with your pantry. As whole foods are often highlighted in these diets it can be a difficult expense since whole foods are often more expensive.
Some options for individuals who cannot afford food: you can go to social workers and talk about getting food stamps, food pantries, etc.

The social aspect of diet: younger children might want to not feel isolated or different, feeling in control.
As aforementioned, as diets are researched, the different dietary options can hopefully become normalized.

TIME

Finding a diet that works for you can take significant time for either you or your caregivers. This could mean spending more time in the grocery store to find specific foods or this could mean preparing alternative recipes. However a positive way to look at it is that the more time and attention you could spend now could provide you better health in the future.

SOCIAL LIFE AND DIETS

Diet can often come up as an awkward topic to discuss when dining out or eating out with friends, family, and loved ones. While it depends on how open you are to discussing IBD and whether you feel comfortable telling your dietary restrictions or not, there are certainly some ways to try to avoid awkwardness as suggested from this article from Very Well Health:

Feel comfortable voicing your restaurant preference
If the restaurant is already decided, try to look at the restaurant menu in advance and plan ahead
Remembering your trigger foods
Locating restrooms
Anticipating any potential questions about your dietary choices. If you do not feel comfortable sharing that you have IBD, you can answer with some of the following choices:
“I don’t like _____ food anymore”
“I am trying to go vegan/vegetarian“ (for those avoiding lactose products and/or meats)
“I’m trying a new diet”

TRAVELING

Gluten free and similar restrictions can be challenging diets to manage when travelling to newer places
Once diets are researched and studied, options can increase and accessibility can increase.

If it is hard to stay on a diet consistently you can always try to partially or slowly implement a diet (switching to breakfast for gluten free/trying an elimination diet).
As said above, make sure that you are forgiving of your slip-ups that you may have because sometimes a full 100% diet switch isn’t needed for someone! For instance the mental/emotional toll that it takes on someone to adhere to a diet 100% of the time might be more hurtful than being able to make small amends for yourself on a diet.