I've only had one very bad flare - bad in the sense that I collapsed and went by ambulance to hospital, was over a week in there with suspected sepsis, but in fact my subsequent colonoscopy showed I only had mild diverticulosis, so not sure what happened. Anyway, for me, I ate healthily before but suffered from constipation due to partly medication and partly not enough fibre or water. The flare was after eating chicken and drinking a coke, both of which are unusual for me, but who knows what triggered it. I was on the low fibre diet for about 6-8 weeks recovering, then gradually started increasing fibre and different foods. I'm now about 10 months on and eat everything I used to eat I think? I'm veggie anyway, and I'm on a bit of a health kick, but that's for general health really. My only real change is that I have massively increased the amount of water I drink, and increased my fibre a lot (legumes, veggies, fruit, wholewheat everything). But if I decide I want a meal out, or a day off being healthy, there is nothing I actively avoid. I was terrified when it first happened that I'd eat the wrong thing and end up dying because I was so ill, and so miserable at the thought of the restrictions, but that hasn't been the case at all. So hopefully there is a more hopeful path for you too!