holidays

Hello @VashtiB

Sorry to hear you’re struggling. I have a few suggestions for you.

Firstly, with your choir. Could you make a low carb cake and take that along so you can join in with the others? There are plenty of delicious recipes.

With the travel it can be difficult when you’re not in your usual routine, and I agree explaining food preferences when you don’t speak the language can be tricky. However, with a bit of planning you can make it work. One easy way is to eat very simply while you’re away - skip sauces, for example. Or look up a few key phrases before you go and have them written down - a friend of mine with multiple food allergies always does this. And look for a few places that look ‘safe’ for you to eat in close to where you’ll be staying.

Since diagnosis I’ve been to a few countries - in Europe and beyond - where I don’t speak the language but have been able to find suitable food (and I’m picky as well as being keto).

I think it’s harder when you’re newly diagnosed but as LCHF becomes your standard you may find you’re no longer craving the things you currently miss so much. That makes things easier when out/travelling too.

Sounds like you know this and are just having a wobbly day. We all get those, so have a hug and know it will get better!

Anyway sorry for this post- I really am not trying to put a downer on anyone but today I am struggling.[/QUOTE]

Hello from a fellow Aussie, living in the UK. I'm sorry to hear you are struggling. Initially, I certainly got fed up with the not eating cake-at-break-time at work routine and tended to just have my coffee and cream. Now I'm on insulin and could theoretically eat the cake, I choose not to.
I've driven extensively through Europe every year since 2002, and have found it as safe as driving back home. They speak English, their second language, in hotels, restaurants and tourist places.
Most of Europe has a version of the Meditterrian diet at restaurants, which is meats, vegetables and olive oils, which are great for you. Just ask for sauces on the side, if you're unsure. They often have an English version of the menu.
If I'm travelling off the beaten track, such as rural non-touristy places, I'm very good at looking up menus with a language dictionary app on my phone, for anything that I can't translate. I book hotels on booking.com which is in English.
I've only just started using insulin and haven't travelled abroad or overseas yet, the 'unknown' is going to be challenging. I'm going to Hamilton Island, Queensland, in October for a wedding.

VashtiB said:

Hi all,

Just after some advice. Just for background today and yesterday have not been good for me morale wise. I'm part of a choir and we rehearse weekly and it ends with tea/coffee and cake with everyone socialising. Yesterday was the first time I hung around for that since my diagnosis and obviously I couldn't eat the cake. It's a small choir and when I left I felt really low.

Anyway I live in Australia- it's been great to see some other Australians on this site. My dream for many many years has been to go to the UK and Europe. I'm now feeling that this is impossible and it is breaking my heart. I can't go anyway for a few years but it has been my dream for so long. My idea was to do a river cruise to see a few countries and then do a tour around the UK. Now I can't see how that is feasible. I've been on a couple of cruises and think I would not enjoy it at all on the LCHF diet- no cocktails- very limited in what you can eat. So how can you visit countries in which you don't speak the language unless you are on a tour. If you are on a tour you will have a much limited choice of where you eat. How do you identify food you can eat in a country in which you don't speak the language. In addition most of the tours are related to food and wine so I'm not sure how that would work.

I'm hoping those of you who live in the UK or Europe have some at least vague suggestions. As I said it won't be for at least a few years- I just need to know that it is at least possible. I'm absolutely committed to LCHF but I struggle with it nearly every day- just not as much as I would struggle with losing my eyes or limbs or some of the other complications of diabetes. The best highlight today was Keto egg custard so that has been a major boost to my food for the future. I know logically that I will over time find more food and variations that I can eat- I know logically that things will get better and in fact I and my husband have found more things that I can eat and don't totally hate every week so I am sure over time it will get better.

Anyway sorry for this post- I really am not trying to put a downer on anyone but today I am struggling.

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Hi!

Quite a few countries here, especially in big cities, can provide a menu in English. And speaking for myself, if I go out to a Dutch city I don't know, I might check out what restaurants I can eat at, close to our main destination. (Could be a museum for instance. And those usually have a restaurant too, that serves salads!). If you ask them to leave the spuds/bread and add a salad or veggies, they will. Loads of grill rooms, fast food that can be low carb if you leave the bun (and no, you won't be given grief about it), it's as fixable as it is out there in Oz. Should Italy be on the itinerary, they actually serve the carbs as a separate course (and there's a lot of courses), so if you switch it out with the meat or fish course and double up on that, you might get an odd look, but hey, you're a tourist, not a native. In Germany they really, really love food and their sausages are to die for. And usually keto. Belgium, same thing; excellent cooks, loads of options. So you might have to skip a few traditional dishes like waffles... They have a chocolate museum you can visit and their dark chocolate must be good, and allowed on a diet. And don't get me started on France. It's not just croissant and baguette-country.

I have considered getting a little (business)card for restaurants, saying in a bunch of languages I'm diabetic and thus don't eat carbs, and whether the kitchen can swap things around a little etc etc, so when I do start traveling again (can't these past few years, what with the cat being ill), I don't offend the kitchen with my odd requests. It'd be a nice little problem-solver. I do get where you're coming from, because the first year after diagnosis I just didn't eat out for fear of botching it, but... I have lunch out about twice a week, maybe some tea somewhere in the meantime, and more often than not in places I've never been before. (My usual haunts know I tip well for their trouble)... It's not as difficult as it seems.

Even better: Yesterday I went to a Cat Café, and when I made the reservation I mentioned the ketogenic diet. The owner read up about it (being a former nurse it peaked her interest), and went shopping especially for me. She didn't have to do that, just one of the sandwiches without the bread would've been fine, which was what the previous owner did, but they went the extra mile. I was happy, they were happy, and this morning she put a post on facebook about how she catered to a diabetic lady who was on a ketogenic diet, and how happy she was with the service. She wasn't lying, I was thrilled! I wasn't a burden, I was a marketing opportunity, haha. (And I hope it'll pull more people in, because that place is fab!).

Don't worry overmuch. Most of Europe serves eggs, slices of cheese and bacon in the hotels for breakfast, so you're fine there (might have to check the website first though). If you have a hotel that sucks, just go to a nearby McD's and get their McMuffins without the muffin. (McD's is everywhere). If you dine on a ship or in an all-in hotel, and you have a buffet, just go with the meats, fish, eggs, poultry, cheeses, espresso's and whatnot... I know, there's a lot you'll have to ignore, but if you fill up on the low carb stuff, you won't have ROOM for a single carb! And if you're traveling with a companion, well... If they don't mind giving you a bite of their dessert, you'd still have the taste without gulping it down. (My husband gave me a slight taste of his Oreo Brownie yesterday. I think I still was under 8 grams of carbs, total, that day.).

Just figure this: This is a UK forum. With thousands of members who eat low carb. Most of them are British. If eating low carb was a problem, they'd be in deep ****.

Don't give up on your traveling dreams!
Jo

I can ask for a green salad with tomatoes and mild cheese in several languages, plus the term for diabetes - learning how to say that and request suitable meals makes a good impression, and you can write it down on a postcard and slip it into your pocket or wallet to have handy.

If you’ve got time take a browse of Bills travel thread, maybe start from the end to the middle. He’s done lots of touring trips in many different countries, the first pages are his early life, but the pages numbers in the teens are ones from travelling with diabetes. I’m working through it as if it were a book right now, but if you’ve got time a page or two should put your fears to rest that travelling around Europe is more than do-able.
https://www.diabetes.co.uk/forum/threads/bills-travels.5896/

Hi @VashtiB

Again sorry your on a low .

we all get them where life just gets to 'Meh'..

But as for travel...
we travel most years India, Thailand etc
and i would have little worries when abroad, doing as other do, and finding the things i KNOW i can eat.

*Thailand was a foodies paradise...how there are any animals left i don't know..
they just seem to have foods stalls on every corner.

India was a worry... rice breads, but either the relaxation, holiday sun or foods a lot less processed, the foods (i tested ) failed to give me the spikes i expected..obviously i laid off the heavy use of rice etc..but the breads made little impact.

And Europe..( in comparison the uk is poor) over there, the choice is much bigger, the delis have meats and cheeses to die for

ok baguettes, batons, croissants..all entice, but just be strong and say NON...
pasta etc..but you get the drift.

Just find what you can eat, and GO..

( in most of the world you can get by in English..
once you Aussies learn to speak it properly, you'll be just fine.. )

be a shame to want and not go because of the Diabetes.

Jo makes a great point, Indians, Europeans Aussies..The WORLD GET'S diabetes.
and we all manage to survive in our native habitats, without too much effort.

if you can survive in Oz..YOU can survive anywhere, mate.

Good luck.
hope things start looking up for you

happy journeys.

VashtiB said:

Thanks everyone- some great ideas- I particularly like the idea of having cards with the information in lots of languages- would never have considered that but it is a great idea. Thanks for all the ideas but most of all the empathy and the hope that it has given me. That meant more than you will know. onwards and upwards.

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I've just been on a cycle trip across the Netherlands to Germany, and found it very easy to eat low carbohydrate.
Everyone was very nice and helpful, and it was easy to get a salad instead of potatoes, for example.

One thing that helped a lot.
I picked up a free blue wristband at a Diabetes UK conference a while back, and holding that up for people to read the word "diabetes" was far more effective than trying to explain why you didn't want carbohydrates.

I travel a lot and so far, never had a problem. There is usually at least one English speaker in every restaurant. Substitutions aren’t usually a problem but you can just order a side of something if it’s not possible. Most menus have an English translation or use an app to translate things. Not let it spoil your travel plans.

There are a few threads on Italy and Rome as an example. We visited Rome earlier in the year:

https://www.diabetes.co.uk/forum/threads/when-in-rome-lchf-in-italy.161533/

Also:

https://www.diabetes.co.uk/forum/th...e-end-of-the-world.164706/page-2#post-2073322