Tips if YOU are one of "those" people

I did a general post on being one of "those" people with food restrictions/allergies, and included tips on how to deal with a friend or family member who is one of "those" people. However, I decided to do a separate one with tips of what to do if you are one of those people. These are strictly what I've found helpful through my personal experience:

1. Accept that you are one of those people, and don't compromise your diet to avoid being an inconvenience. I included this somewhat in my last post, but I think it all starts with this step. No matter how much you don't want a particular food intolerance or allergy, you can't will it away. I've tried! Accepting it and deciding not to compromise leads to working around it successfully... finally. It's so easy to forget how awful you feel when going off of a way of eating, until you do it. When you're feeling "normal" it's easy to think maybe you can cheat a little. Then you do, then you regret it and then you have to get back on track. Getting over that denial or hope that maybe you just tracked your symptoms wrong or that maybe your symptoms were from something else (hopefully something easier to give up!) takes a little time. At least it did for me. Also, if people see you compromising your diet on a regular basis, they will assume that it's because it's not that big of a deal if you "cheat", understandably so. I completely "get" the constant battle in your mind to choose between the difficulty of avoiding what you shouldn't have and dealing with the consequences if you have it. There comes a point where you have to just accept it.
2. If someone invites you over for a meal, ask what they are making and if you can bring something. This is hard. It always feels rude no matter how many times I do it, but it is necessary. Asking if you can bring something helps in two ways. First, it doesn't feel as rude to ask what they're making in the first place when it's immediately followed up by another question focusing on helping in some way. Second, if what they are making is something you can't have, you can bring something that you can have. If you mention that you have an allergy in the process, make sure they are aware that you don't expect them to cook a "special" meal for you or modify their meal plan. This is unfair to them. If they are cooking when you arrive, ask if you can help with anything. This makes it easier to figure out what ingredients are in something (if you have a severe form of celiacs, this option is out since just touching or inhaling small particles of gluten can trigger a severe reaction). Sometimes people forget to list things or simply don't know what's all in that can of cream of mushroom soup their putting on the chicken or that there is wheat in soy sauce. So observing and helping in the cooking process helps you become more familiar with the ingredients.
3. Speak up! An appropriate time would be when you're at a restaurant and need to "customize" things. This is annoying, but also necessary. Sure, it may inconvenience the server, and be embarrassing to have a list of customizations and questions while everyone is watching you order, but is that two minutes of embarrassment worth avoiding getting sick from your meal? It is for me! If servers are helpful about this, I just increase their tip to make it worth it. I had a server at my favorite Thai restaurant tell me that if you don't specify gluten free in a dish, the cooks will just toss flour into the sauce sometimes to "thicken" it, even if it isn't normally an ingredient. He said to always specify "no gluten" when ordering for this reason. This completely explained why sometimes I would get very sick from eating there, other times I was fine! I was very appreciative of his input and glad I started asking questions (he was also nicely tipped). Also, when you're in a group deciding where to go for dinner, speak up and throw a suggestion out there that you know is safe for you. Hopefully there's takers on your idea. If you wait until everyone's decided and realize it's somewhere you can't make work, it's a lot more awkward to speak up at that time, or decide not to go.
4. Don't speak up! Know when to speak, and when not to. For instance, if someone cooks you a meal don't wait until it's all done and you're ready to eat and then ask what's in it and mention you can't eat certain ingredients. This puts the host on the spot and then he or she may feel bad you can't have what they made. This is a time where you just have to go hungry if you question the safety of the meal instead of being rude. Or, if you are invited on prearranged plans to go somewhere specific (maybe someplace you know you won't be able to eat), don't speak up unless invited to give your input. There's always a way around this, even just politely declining the invitation.
5. Be prepared to miss out on some things. For example, if you have a gluten allergy and all your friends decide to go to the newest brew pub/pizza joint where all they have is beer and burgers, just don't go. If you know everyone will be enjoying your two favorite things in front of you that you can't have (and are afraid of just giving in), it's okay to miss out and avoid the constant temptation.
6. Make plans instead of trying to "go with the flow". This is hard if you are naturally a "go with the flow" sort of person and you aren't used to leading or initiating things. This is another area I'm still working on myself. Getting used to being an initiator or decision maker when it doesn't come natural is tough. If you're already the decision maker of the group, this should be pretty easy for you! 

So those are my few tips I've learned in dealing with food restrictions. Do you have any more tips that you've come across that have been helpful while dealing with your food restriction?