A Little Holiday Indulgence

My uncle came all the way from New Mexico to spend Thanksgiving with us. We spent the day at Disneyland, which became a family tradition four years ago. Now, I always do my best to try and stay in line with my strict diet, especially when I am at Disneyland. There are so many different foods and drinks that have the possibility of triggering my eczema that it makes it extremely difficult to eat there.

Straying from the course

During the week I did my best to stay away from things that bothered my eczema. I avoided soda and I limited my intake of meat and sugary treats. All was fine when we ate at home, but it started getting harder to stick to my guns when we ate out.

Caving in to triggers

I caved and had a little soda one day, it definitely bothered me, but not to the extent that it usually does. While giving my uncle a tour of southern California we ate a LOT of fast food. Bringing my own food was a possibility, but to be honest, I really didn’t feel like it. On Thanksgiving itself, I tried my best to stick to my diet, but………

Indulging

I decided to indulge a little. The restaurant we ate at had a special Thanksgiving Monte Cristo, which is a sandwich, deep-fried in stuffing with turkey and cheese inside. It was really delicious and I don’t regret it at all. I admit that it did upset my stomach and eczema a bit, but not to the extent that I thought it would. I quickly applied a medicated crème to my eczema the minute I returned home that night. It helped, just not as much as I had hoped.

Cheat days

The next day, I made sure that I was fully prepared to combat any flares or itching. Staying hydrated and rinsing my wrist with cold water often are just a few of the things I did. The second night I had an amazing chicken sandwich, which it didn’t affect me too much since I practiced my self-care tricks.

The aftermath

Afterward, I did my best to return to my normal diet. Because of the choices I made, my weekend was spent flaring. In addition to how the area on my wrist reacted, I also broke out with rashes on my arm, they weren’t huge and honestly, they were fairly easy to get rid of, but they were still annoying. Although I don’t suggest doing things that will trigger a flare, I also don’t regret eating everything I ate those two days.

Accepting periodic cheat days

Now, I’m not saying I loved straying from my diet or I won’t continue my diet, that would be self-sabotage. But, I will stick to my diet as much as possible. Sometimes you can’t always stick with it and just have to do the best that you can. I don’t have to be so rigid all the time and if I prepare for a little indulgence now and then it won’t be the worst thing in the world. I can’t always stick to my diet and that’s okay.