Back from Atlanta....

Hi, Gang~ Well, first off, I hope everyone is doing well. Atlanta is a wonderful town and we had a great time. We did go to Emeril's Atlanta...and I have a story for you. I took everyone's advise and decided on an appetizer, soup and a salad. The appetizer was a small amount of cheese, with a dot of spread and 4 little pieces of ****tail bread. PERFECT size for us WLS people. I was pleased. The soup was a fish chowder...nothing thick and heavy...it seemed perfect as well. I took a spoonful of it, and it was a little 'fishy' but had about 4 more spoonfuls. Then it hit me. Need I tell you? First I felt myself get hot, then the stomach started to turn. Then I spent the rest of the dinner in the bathroom dumping the damned soup. My son and my boyfriend, who in my opinion are professional eaters, ordered these fabulous dinners, which I could not even stand the sight of. I stayed in the bathroom while they ate as not to hurl on their expensive dinners. A half hour after the dumping, of course, I felt fine. I do have to tell you, it was the most beautiful restaurant I've ever been in...and I've been in a lot of nice ones. The wait staff was incredible. I wore a black skirt, my boyfriend and son had on black pants. When we sat down, they replaced our white linen napkins with black ones, so we wouldn't get lint on our clothing. Have you ever heard of such a thing? It was pretty amazing. The decor was gorgeous, and perhaps the next time I go to Atlanta we'll go back and I'll actually eat something. Needless to say, I don't think I gained weight in Atlanta! Take care and be well! Joanie

Hi Joanie; Welcome back to the land of endless rain!! I'm glad that the trip was enjoyable, but I'm sorry that the dinner didn't work out. I guess that this WLS thing is a never-ending learning experience. Mike

The rain here is HORRIBLE. We're actually rained in...both corners of my street are a mess and I can't get out. I felt bad about the restaurant at first, but I'm in it for the long haul...and sometimes things just don't agree with the pouch. It would be nice if we knew in advance, but what the heck...it is what it is. Try to stay dry! Joanie

Hi Joanie, Welcome back & sorry to hear about your ordeal. Sounds like too much sugar & heavy cream in that soup. Thats probably what made you dump so quickly. It has been a long time since anything has affected me in that way, so I guess it is always a possibility even 19 months out. Thanks for the reminder anyway, & glad your trip was safe & you got back home without any troubles. Hope you guys get a break from that rain soon. or you will be floating out here to the desert soon.(Hee,hee). Marilyn, the Bearlady

Thanks, Marilyn! I know there was cream in the soup, and maybe the combination just wasn't a good one for me. If we do float out to the desert, we'll remember to float on by!!! Joanie

Welcome back!! I'm wondering if it wasn't the bread instead of the soup that did you in. Sometimes bread is more deadly to me than plain old sugar. Connie

Hi Connie! It was definately the soup. The first thing that got me was the smell....very fishy. I know it probably had cream in it, but it wasn't real thick. It seems no matter how far out we are from surgery, we are still learning about what the pouch will and will not handle....and I'll never eat fish chowder again! Take care and be well! Joanie

some oil or butter in the soup??? i "hang" on the over fifty forum (OFF) and a big bunch of us are converging on atlanta in january--join us? sorry to hear of your dumping but glad you are home safe....

You will LOVE Atlanta. By all means, if you get the opportunity, go to Emeril's Atlanta. It's an amazing experience, just don't order the fish chowder! The portions aren't huge, an appetizer and salad are perfect for us WLS people. I am supposed to start classes in January, so I don't think I'll be going away for a little while. You'll have a blast! Joanie

Well, I'm sorry you had to have such a lousy experience at such a wonderful restaurant! I'll pony up my suggestion as to what happened too what the hell! It sounds like you did what I do sometimes and perhaps it wasn't the soup at all but the 4 little pieces of ****tail bread that got washed through because you ate the soup. Watch for that in the future and see if that might not be it. I can eat bread and cheese separately but if I "wash" it down with something I'm taking my chances on getting sick. Also, the cheese sometimes will stick with some people I know and they will huck that up because it just doesn't want to go down. I don't have that problem, but I do know some who do. Anyway, the point is, I suppose you'll try something you know to be more safe next time. Welcome home! Dina