Wendy Leung: What do you do when you can't avoid your IBS food triggers?
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If you're terrified of mystery meals wreaking havoc on your gut, by the end of this video,
you'll know how to make the best out of a bad situation.
Wendy Leung: Holistic Health & Happiness Coach, Licensed Acupuncturist, and Powerhouse
IBS Conqueror, and I struggled with restaurant food too.
Now I teach my clients how to live life while healing their gut.
And now I'm sharing with you too.
Wendy Leung: In this series, we've talked about all different food groups and all the
major IBS triggers in them.
Last episode, we even shuffled and recategorized them into groups that are easier to track
and figure out.
But what if you're in a situation where you can't avoid eating the food that you know
trigger your symptoms, what do you do then?
Do social meals give you extreme anxiety?
Let me know my dropping a yes or no in the comments below.
Wendy Leung: So, say you're at a birthday dinner, it's somebody really important to
you, but there's a limited menu at the restaurant or you're over at someone's house and you
don't know all the ingredients in the meal.
You felt guilty about not going because you've already said no a million times before.
But even before you leave the house, you can feel your anxiety kicking in, worrying about
your bloating, your pain, your gas flaring up or having to run and hide in the bathroom.
If you're in a situation where you have little or no control over what you eat, there are
still a few things that you can do to make sure that your outing is as painless as possible.
Wendy Leung: Tip number one, make sure you eat.
I've heard from a lot of you that say that you avoid eating before going out because
you want to avoid setting off your symptoms, but that's actually the wrong approach because
you've got is already weak.
The more you starve your gut, the weaker it gets.
So you're actually doing more damage in the long run.
So if you don't want to risk eating mystery foods while you're out, just make sure that
you eat before you leave the house.
That way you have full control over what you're putting in your body, and you're making sure
that your gut is nourished.
Wendy Leung: Tip number two, breathe.
Take a few slow deep breaths before you leave the house, and again, before you pick up your
utensils to eat.
Breathing calms and opens your body relaxing your muscles and your gut and also helps
to calm the anxious thoughts that are going round and round in your brain.
By taking a few deep breaths before eating, it's like you're resetting your body and your
brain and you're telling it that it's okay to perform the task that's in front of you.
Wendy Leung: Which brings us to number three, repeat a mantra.
You are resilient and you've survived so much so far.
So, instead of focusing on the terrible things that could happen, that might happen, that
haven't happened yet, shift your focus and give yourself a positive mantra to repeat
before you leave the house and before you eat.
Repeating a mantra is a really good way to redirect your thoughts and emotions.
I really like this one, I am resilient.
Wendy Leung: Tip number four, warm up your gut.
Remember my TCM golden rule of thumb for a weak gut, warm, simple, cooked foods.
If you're able to, always pick a meal that follows this rule and also avoid as many of
your food triggers as you can.
If there aren't any warm options available, you can warm up your digestion by starting
with a soup or a cup of hot water.
Yes, I did say hot water and I order hot water at restaurants all the time, even if people
might look at me funny.
The reason being that tea and coffee can be potential triggers for you and so in order
to avoid that, you just want to have something warm to start up your digestion system and
water is a great start.
Wendy Leung: Tip number five, chew.
Digestion starts with your teeth.
In an ideal world, you would actually chew your food 30 times before swallowing but no
one really takes the time to do that anymore.
Take small bites and aim for at least 10 to 15 chews per bite.
By chewing for longer, you're signaling your gut that you're sending it food, and you're
also helping break down your food to make it easier for your weak gut to do its job.
Wendy Leung: So to recap, here are five things that you can do to control your IBS if you
can't control your food.
Number one, make sure you eat.
Number two, breath.
Number three, repeat a mantra.
Number four, warm up your gut.
And number five, chew.
I know that it can be really hard to get a handle on your IBS anxiety, so if you want
a tool that you can use to calm your mind before you leave the house, sign up for my
newsletter and I will send you one of my guided meditations right to your inbox.
The link is in the description box below.
Wendy Leung: And if you're at that point where you're sick and tired of your IBS taking over
your life, look into my Conquer IBS Reignite your Life mentorship program, because I teach
you everything you need to know to be able to put your IBS behind you for good.
Whether you work with me live or you sign up for the self study program, you'll be on
track to never worrying about a menu ever again.
And trust me that's possible because that's what I do all the time.
Both program links are in the description box too.
Wendy Leung: Okay, if you like this video, you know the drill, let me know by liking
it below and then let me know what your favorite tip was in the comments section below.
Also make sure that you share this with all of your fellow IBS conquerors because I want
to spread the word that IBS is completely manageable, and not only is it manageable,
it's also absolutely possible to get your IBS under control for good and I want to help
you guys do it in 2019.
I'm going to keep teaching you more and more about everything IBS related, so make sure
that you stay tuned, you subscribe to my channel and you hit that bell so you're getting the
notifications every time I'm posting.