Question:
I'm feeling a little overwhelmed trying to figure everything out about food
I'm pre-op and I thought of this yesterday...what if say a week or two after surgery we go out to eat...wedo like to go out and that will probably not change too much...so we're out..does anyone have any suggestions on where to go to satisfy my food needs as well as my family's? Not to be rude...I'm not looking for they need to be more supportive etc.. I'll probably want to be out by than I just need to know what would be a good choice and what would you have to eat? Give me a sample menu.....just for eating out..not for at home..I can figure that out okay. Thanks for any help, input, suggestions anyone might have...this is a great place to get the info quick and with such loving support. Thanks again! — kathleen-Joan piper (posted on March 4, 2003)
March 4, 2003
It depends on where you are at in your after surgery diet. At 2 weeks I was
on liquids only. That is a no brainer. Now, though we go out to eat all the
time. I usually, can find something on any menu I can eat. Everywhere has
meat. I try to stick to chicken or fish. I eat that first, and that usually
does me in. Get used to getting a to go box, or split a meal with someone.
My wife and I do that alot. It really isn't hard to be compliant. Open RNY
11-11-02 down 115lbs
— dkinson
March 4, 2003
As Donny says, 1-2 weeks out you will most likely be on liquids (at the
most, purees - some surgeons & nutritionist vary however). Later on,
you can go for something like a shrimp cocktail or a crab cake or you can
go for a regular entree and just end up taking it home and eating it over
several meals...JR (open RNY 07/17 -157 pounds)
— John Rushton
March 4, 2003
I have gone to "Bob Evans" restaurant many times. I am allergic
to all fish and seafood so that limits my choices greatly. However, they
have a great Grilled Boneless Chicken Breast. I get that and instead of a
potato and vegatable side I ask for 2 vegatable sides. I get Ranch Dressing
to dip my chicken in (Yummy). Of course I can't eat the entire meal so I
always ask for a take home box. You can also get Breakfast there all day.
They have Eggs and Bacon or Sausage. Sometime I'll get the childrens
scrambled egg and bacon meal and give the toast to my son.
I have also ordered steak, ham or roteissory chicken at reastaurants too.
Just remember to get veggies in the place of the rice pasta or potato.
Patty
— Patricia C.
March 4, 2003
Order side dishes like steamed vegies, mashed potatoes, soup, salad,
cottage cheese, etc. Most places have hard boiled eggs for salads, ask for
one as a side dish. You can also ask them to puree/grind the meat or fowl
you do order (my elderly mother used to do that all the time when her
dentures hurt.) Lastly, you could have the Duodenal Switch and order
ANYTHING you want and take what you don't eat home for a later meal....
— merri B.
March 4, 2003
I didn't go out to eat until six weeks postop. I really don't think I
could have handled it a week or two post op. At six weeks I nibbled on
some of the appetizers that everyone ordered and then I had a shrimp
cocktail for my dinner. Had they had a soup I could have eaten, I would
have ordered that (it was a steak house and they had steak soup and I can't
tolerate steak yet). Dinners don't bother me but what has bothered me is
stopping for lunch because everyone seems to wolf down their food and I'm
sitting there picking at it. One day I was in the mall with my family and
felt rushed and wound up eating too fast and throwing up. Not fun in the
mall bathroom. :(
— susanje
March 4, 2003
At a week or two from surgery I was still going through food withdrawals
and I don't think I could have handled going out to eat with my family. At
first it is very depressing to see the food and not be able to have it. A
week or two later, you get in a different mindframe and it's completely
different. By then you have learned you can't have that stuff, nor do you
want it.
First time post-op I went out was at about one month for breakfast. I
ordered a cup of hot tea, some water, and ate one of my son's sausage
patties from his kids breakfast meal. I felt satisfied, got to enjoy my
family's company, and did not once feel deprived or weird while everyone
else scarfed down 3 pancakes, 2 eggs, hashbrowns, sausage, bacon, toast,
etc. I think I may have taken one bite of my husbands hashbrown but I was
not really wanting anything else. Family restaurants are great because they
have soups, sides like cottage cheese, applesauce, appetizers, senior
menus, etc. Like Eat-n-Park, I always find something good to eat there and
they let me order off the senior menu with smaller portions.
— Dee ,.
March 5, 2003
Well, I went to a wedding reception/cruise two days after I got home from
the hospital (4 days after surgery), and to a restaurant the next night for
a birthday celebration! At the reception, they had a buffet dinner, and
the only things I could eat on my pureed diet were mashed potatoes and a
little bit of the sweet potatoes. Passed on everything else and had water
to drink. At the restaurant, TGIday of the week, I had potato soup. Tasty
and creamy with no chunks of potato in the soup. I went out with my
husband to the local Italian place a few days later, and had minestone soup
- and asked for mostly broth. That was good and took me as long to get my
soup down as it did for him to eat his meal! Bob Evans restaurant allowed
me to order "turkey lurkey" from the kid's menu - a slice of
turkey, mashed potatoes and green beans. Still too much for me to finish,
but less waste. Soup is usually a good choice, and also appetizers, which
can also be shared if they are too much food. Fast food can be difficult -
not much to choose from. I do like Burger King's junior chicken Whopper -
just the chicken part! It's very tender and you can eat it with your
fingers if necessary. Forget the bun. Some people can tolerate Wendy's
chili, so I think Burger King's chili would be okay, too. Remember, the
first few weeks everything is still healing and you need to take it easy.
Early on, I didn't necessarily see eating in a restaurant as a
"meal" but more for the togetherness, and finding something to
eat was more or less a task to make others around me more comfortable. I
really didn't care if I ate anything or not, but I tried to make the best
choices possible given my dietary limits at the time.
— koogy
March 5, 2003
I think you're gonna see that eating out isn't a priority the first few
weeks out of surgery. You'll probably still be on some form of liquids and
you'll still be trying to get your energy back at this time.
<p>
I waited until about a month post-op before I went out to eat the first
time. We went to LaBamba's Mexican Restaurant and I ordered an Enchilada
w/ no sauce. It just had the meat wrapped up with a tortilla with cheese
baked over the whole thing.. YUM, but I had 5 bites and was done. I was
very careful not to overeat so I'd feel sick in public so I just stopped.
The rest of the time I spent talking to my family and enjoying their
company and I also have begun to notice just how much some
"normal" people eat!! Wow! Good luck to you and enjoy your
journey!
— thumpiez
March 5, 2003
As a new post-op, I think I ate out for the first time maybe four weeks out
or so. In those early months of going out, I'd try to order things that
didn't involve a lot of cooking with sauces or oils ('cause you don't want
to dump on something new to you when you're out). I recall ordering a lot
of cheese and fruit platters, eating vegetable (or noncreamy) soups or
chilis, and Mexican food is also a good choice (many soft textures, but
avoid the rice and eat the fillings out of tacos and tortillas, not the
shells). Frankly, eating out wasn't all that much fun in the early months
due to the concern of ordering the wrong things, so I'd probably try to
avoid it until you feel you and your pouch are better acquainted. :~)
— Suzy C.
March 5, 2003
We eat out all the time. (My husband also had the surgery in December)
The main hurdle, in my opinion, is letting yourself leave lots of food on
your plate. Something most of us are NOT used to! Or, making sure you take
and use your leftovers. We usually get a fish or chicken meal and focus on
eating that part first. Then, if you have room, treat yourself to some of
the salad or side dishes. Open RNY 3/19/02, original weight 312, current
weight 199 (loss of 113 pounds)
— jm3218
March 5, 2003
In the early days, my best bets were family restaurants like Bob Evans,
Denny's, IHOP, etc., where there is a full menu. I ordered things like
cottage cheese with fruit, vegetable soup, grits, oatmeal, and scrambled
eggs. The same kinds of things you have at home, unfortunately. But it's
always nice to go to a restaurant with the family.
— joeandteri
March 6, 2003
I would suggest a buffet. We have Golden Corral and several others here.
That gives you a wide variety of choices. Also I think Furs or Lubby's,
again due to the wide choices that are availabe. If you go to a sit down
restaurant I would suggest checking out the appetizers, sometimes they are
things that we can eat. Also the fruit platter with cottage cheese. Those
are just my suggestions.
Good luck!
Melanie
— Melanie H.
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