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oh pookie. you've come to the right place!!! i was eating in restaurants two weeks after surgery, for a wide range of reasons, mostly to do with MOM.

before the surgery, though, i went to a couple of places where i'd eaten often and told them what i was doing, and asked if they'd puree some soup for me. they ALL said that they'd do whatever i needed, and they were wonderfully supportive.

afterwards, i didn't need food pureed. thank goodness. but for awhile, i stuck with soft fish: flounder, sole, salmon.

and YES. doggie bags are a fact of life. take a cooler in the car with you if you're continuing on somewhere. OR eat with someone who will split an entree with you. OR go the appetizer route. but a word about appetizers: with the emphasis on getting your protein in, sometimes appetizers aren't the way to go. a shrimp cocktail is fine [once you move from soft foods to firmer foods], but starting with a salad is not a good idea [you get too full too fast and don't have room for your protein!!!!]

and forget the bread basket. move it as far away from yourself as possible, even off the table!!!!

my strategy <and believe me, everyone has a different approach>: if i'm with a bunch of people, i try to get them to share a couple of appetizers. and then i have a little. otherwise, i don't order them. and then i pick an entree that i'm willing to eat for a couple of days. yes. you read right. i have yet to run into a restaurant meal that doesn't last me for AT LEAST 3 meals [dinner plus two more].

except maybe a small lobster.

i have always tended to eat my salad last, and that works just fine here...

but remember: if something you eat at home doesn't settle right, don't order it when you're out!!!! especially at first, it's smart to eat something tried and true, until you figure out what's working and what's not... i've tossed in restaurants all over new jersey... and a couple in NYC.

Hey Pookster....gotta warn ya...eating in restraunts is, for me, most likely the hardest part of this surgery. Even a year out. There is danger lurking everywhere!

My problem is that I get to talking and not paying attention to what I am eating. I don't chew well enough and before I know it, something is stuck and I am hurling in the well tiled and well scented ladies room.

how pretty.

I have found that fish is good, but for me eggplant is better although it doesn't have enough protein in it but I don't have problems with it getting stuck. Shrimp for me was deadly.

You've been warned....

love,
peach

Pookaletta,
I go out sometimes and agree with what Jif and Peach said. I always bring home food. I try to find something that's protein rich without being too hard for me to get down. A lot depends on my fill level. I just had my third fill and let me tell you, this one's pretty tight. I have to be very careful with what goes down or it comes right back up. I don't know how it is for bypassers, but dry food is tough for me, so I look for something that's sauced or moist so it has a better chance of sitting okay.

My surgeon gives all his patients a card asking that we be allowed to eat from the children's menu, but I just can't see that I'll ever use it. The other thing that's hard for me is that there's always drinks around and it's hard enough for me not to drink with meals, so I have to be really careful at a restaurant because I just reach for my water without thinking.

Hope you're doing well!
Chickadee

Thanks for asking this question Pookie, I was wondering the same thing.

one of the things my surgeon said to me - a big one that stuck with me - was that this is not punishment. it's a means to a healthy life. but taking away good food, friendship, restaurants, etc. is NOT part of the plan. eating sensibly. exercising. drinking water. THAT'S what it's about...

not punishment.

soooo i figured that attitude had LOTS to do with this process.

I remember eating breakfast with Jiffy a few years back. She barely touched her plate but the one thing that really got my attention was the fact that she was enjoying the company she was with instead of or shall I say more than the food. NOW THATS WHAT I CALL PROGRESS !!!!!!

Don't worry about that bridge until it comes Pookie, I know your gonna do just fine.

oh leenie... i was STUFFED. and you're right: i was having such a good time, i'm not sure i would have eaten anyway!!! wasn't that a great day????

we need to do it again.

I'm so jealous! I wanna have breakfast with you goils! If I make my hair really big and talk funny, could I come be a Joisey goil too?

The Chick

ummmm. i don't have big hair. and contrary to what SOME FOLKS might say, i don't talk funny.

but don't worry, we'll let you into the state ANYTIME YOU WANT, you little chickadee..

Chick

I don't see to many women w/big hair these days, unless they are VERY elderly, but Jiff... we do talk funny (according to the rest of the world..okay well except New York, they are worse).