Unbelievable !

[jasonD2]

This is insane!

Ive been at a sales meeting all week. I was concerned about my options for lunch since the company ordered in for everyone, so I paid a visit to Whole Foods (near my hotel) and picked up my own stuff to bring...no big deal.

Day 1: I show up with my own food and everyone completely freaked out...oh, you brought your own lunch? whats the deal? why? huh? look at him he brought his own lunch -- well it was either that or fried rice and salsa w/ chips and cake, which is all they provided

Day 2: HEY...he brought his lunch AGAIN! why did you bring your lunch again, dude? options were sandwiches, chips and cake

Everyone made such a freakin big stink out of this for no reason. It wasnt a problem for me but clearly it was for everyone else

WTF is the big deal? this made me so uncomfortable and self conscious that i couldnt even enjoy my lunch cause of all the scrutiny

[digmom1014]

Is this meeting with the same group of salespeople each time?

The first few times my sales group had lunch together, they asked if they were sitting by me, and then the rumor spread. I just addressed it as, "I'm allergic to wheat" and they never bother me after that.

I think sales people are supposed to go with the flow and mimic customers eating habits, since we have to take them to lunch so often.

No one ever understands when anyone passes up a FREE lunch.

I'm sorry this happened to you.

[mamaw]

People can be nasty & immature which sounds like this time they were trying to get under your skin & it apears they did just that. You let them win.

I believe this should go to a higher up so it doesn't happen again & education needs to be addressed about celiacs. To me this sounds like a boy's night out to rip on a person for fun. Not a business meeting lunch........

Usually when anyone would comment to me at a business meeting I would just state that I have an autoimmune disease that I get sick when I comsume anything with wheat in it & that usually sparks more questions & then I have a chance to educate more people. Several have went & been tested & now also are gluten-free......

Now my family rides me all the time about bring gluten-free because they do not get it... but down the road they may just have to follow the diet as well so I tell them be careful what you say & do as things have a way of coming back & biting you on the A__ ___!!!!

Stick to your gluten-free lifestyle & get healthy.........You will be the winner!

blessings

mamaw

[UnhappyCoeliac]

Stay strong bud, eat your lunch, ignore them, there problem your looking out for yourself and thats what important.

PS: with those sort of options Im picturing overweight balding executives, cakes and chips for lunch lol. It sounds like they are the problem... they sound tubby or unhealthy at the least.

Just say your on a health kick man. I use the excuse all the time honestly... I have eggs and fruit/ salad for lunch most days, or gluten free chicken anyone questions me... I simply say body building...Or I want to slim my face out. No need to bring up gluten(as most wont understand the disease in a the few secs you explain it to them) I think just general health, let the tubbys eat their cake

[home-based-mom]

Instead of wilting under the scrutiny (or testosterone-laden bullying) try answering with:

"Hey, guys, I'm glad you asked. Let me tell you about the millions, yes millions of people in this country get sick eating just this very kind of food because they are either allergic to it or their bodies have an autoimmune response to it."

Take it from there. You are in sales, right? Make it a sales pitch!

[Jestgar]

Instead of wilting under the scrutiny (or testosterone-laden bullying) try answering with:

"Hey, guys, I'm glad you asked. Let me tell you about the millions, yes millions of people in this country get sick eating just this very kind of food because they are either allergic to it or their bodies have an autoimmune response to it."

Take it from there. You are in sales, right? Make it a sales pitch!

:lol:

At the very least they'll be so annoyed at having to listen to a sales pitch, they'll never ask you again!

[mommida]

Here in the Detroit area they just covered a story about WORMS.

Worms from pork products that have invaded peoples BRAINS!!!!!!!!!!

Most of this type of infection is in third world countries, but the southwest United States is having an alarming increase.

Then they showed the surgeon pulling this monster worm out of this woman's BRAIN. After the first tug it bulged up like a balloon! (They explained that happens because the pressure holding it compressed was released.)

They blamed it on poor hygeine of food prep "professionals". They wrapped up the story about how much faith and trust we have that people wash their hands and the food we eat are safe and clean.

Now, if I was in a foul mood, I would have showed them the video of this. After they had their nice free lunch, of course.

These insecure people need to get a life. But sometimes they can be a lot of fun to mess with.

Seriously, I think I'm scarred for life after seeing that.

[gadgetgirl]

Sorry to hear of your experience. My experience is usually the opposite "Hey, where did you get that - that looks really good!". It happened again this week at the annual employee appreciation (can you say PIZZA?) party. I made up my own gluten-free, dairy-free, grain-free pizza and had the kitchen staff bake it for me (I even provided the pan to avoid CC).

I had to use my fork to keep people from trying to swipe my pizza.

As a side note, I've been a very picky eater all my life so I've developed a very thick skin about people making comments about what is on my plate.

[flagbabyds]

whenever i'm in this situation and just annoyed i fidge the facts sometimes and be like, 'well if i eat what you're eating, i'll die, and you'll be blamed, now you don't want that, do you?'

it pisses people off sometimes but you know, it gets the point accross and they stop bothering you and make sure that you don't eat any gluten after that cause they're kidna scared...

it seems to work for me especially with people my age, casue a lot of people don't understand celiac...

--M

[Welda Johnson]

I love the responses to your blog! At age 64 I've had a lot of years to get used to peoples' sometimes rude, sometimes just uninformed comments, but believe me, reading the responses you got has given me a whole new outlook on how to explain to people just why I have brought my own food. I'm with jestgar that you should just put your salesmanship talents to work full force, and sweep them away with the thought that they proabably have Celiac too. I think most people got so tired of me trying to explain why I was trying all these innovative recipes and new foods, that they finally just withdrew any comments they might have had. Now I see them straining to see what I brought this time, and what I'm going to eat, as opposed to what they are eating each and every day.

I'm wishing you smooth sailing and hoping that you have the perfect response whenever anyone gives you "the business" about what you're eating, or why you've brought your own food. It gets better everyday. Welda