Gluten-Free Grief: The Loss of Travel Freedom

Has living gluten-free changed the way you travel?

Do you love spontaneous road trips, vacations, exploring new cities, or trying local foods . . . and now feel that travel is out of reach due to living gluten-free?

Maybe you have even thought:

“Traveling just isn’t worth it anymore.”

I felt that at the beginning of my journey, and I’ve heard the same complaint from many clients.

When most people go gluten-free, they worry about the food.

But nobody talks about the grief, the losses we experience . . . the grief of our favorite foods, convenience, family traditions, and, yes, feeling different when you travel.

Let’s talk about the grief of going gluten-free

Since losing my dad, grief has taken on a whole new perspective in my life. The more I think about it, the more it correlates to living gluten-free – giving up gluten is a huge change and loss we feel.

Over the last years taking care of my dad, there were many days I felt grief – his loss of traveling (he would never come to my home again!), his loss of eating (he had a hard time using utensils), his loss of communication (we had a hard time having a simple conversation). I was never going to ask him questions about gardening or cooking again. Watching someone decline with Alzheimer’s is a series of saying goodbye.

I’ve thought a lot about this in relation to gluten.

I see it again and again in clients – not wanting to say goodbye to gluten for good, not accepting it and moving on, staying in the feeling of loss instead of creating a new reality. 

This week on the podcast, I am starting a new series about the hidden grief of living gluten-free. We’ll study losses that can be easy to overlook, yet have a huge impact on how we feel about our gluten-free lives.

This is definitely something to think about when going gluten-free.

Today, we’re starting with travel freedom.

The hidden grief of traveling gluten-free

Going gluten-free changes how you experience vacations, family trips, restaurants, spontaneity, adventure, and even how you see yourself as a traveler.

You may be grieving:

• The freedom to take a last-minute trip
• The spontaneity of jumping in the car and going
• The excitement of trying local foods without worry
• The confidence that you’ll be able to find safe food wherever you go
• The ease of traveling with family and friends
• The feeling that you’re an easy, uncomplicated travel companion
• The identity of being carefree and adventurous

Have you thought about, or realized your thoughts on the above situations?

In this episode, I’m sharing some of my family’s experiences, including what it is like to travel with my children and seeing firsthand how much research and planning go into something that once felt so simple.

Also important are the stories from my clients who were afraid that being gluten-free meant they had to stay home, miss out, or become a burden to the people they were traveling with.

But here’s the important part…

We don’t have to pretend those losses aren’t real. We can acknowledge them and feel the loss.

Then we can create a new version of travel, which may look a little different but can still be safe, joyful, meaningful, and full of adventure.

Living gluten-free does not mean your life stops. You can still travel, explore, go out with friends and family, and experience new places.

You simply need strategies and plans to make it work.

Next week on the podcast: we’re talking about another loss that catches so many of us off guard…

The loss of convenience.

And trust me . . . I’ve felt this one too.

You don’t have to stay home and sit on the couch; you just need to make plans with some new habits to get there safely.

Has living gluten-free changed the way you travel?

Make sure you hit the follow button on the Saying Goodbye to Gluten Podcast because this is only the beginning of our Hidden Grief of Gluten-Free series.