Has anyone taken a vacation since surgery?

We are taking a 2 week family vacation to California and I am just a tad worried about eating. We are staying in a condo for the most part so I will have access to stove and refrigerator, but realistically I know we are going to be eating out alot. Just curious what others experiences are with venturing out into the world of restaurant eating. I have done some here, but not knowing what kinds of restaurants etc...just curious for other's experiences or tips.... thanks

My surgery was just 3 days after yours. I just returned from a convention in Las Vegas, and while it was a bit tough, I learned a lot about eating. I kept protein shakes in my room, and started my day and ended my day with them. When ordering out, I stuck with simple things, oatmeal for breakfast, or a side order/appetizer instead of a whole meal. When I go out with my husband, I either order a cup of sou*****thing and just mooch off of whatever he orders. The portions are always more than he should eat anyway, so the little bit I take doesn't phase him. I have definately become a "cheap" date! Enjoy your vacation, just eat slowly and don't pu**** and you will have a blast! Sandy

I find that if I look at the menu, I make worse choices. What I found works best for me is to just tell the server what I want such as "I would like salmon, grilled or broiled, plain with no sauces and a side of brocolli. Is that something you can help me with?" Then they look at you like you are a weirdo, but they usually find a way to make it work. Also, like Sandy said sometimes sharing a meal with DH can work. When we go to Shells, his seafood combo comes with a skewer of grilled shrimp so I take that and order a vegetable. No matter how careful you are, you are still at risk. I like to have breakfast for supper so we go to IHOP. I never noticed until recently that the menu says in small print that the omelets are made with a splash of pancake batter to make them fluffier. Now I order scrambled eggs instead. I still have trouble not consuming everything on my plate so I ask for the to-go box up front. I divide my food and get it off my plate so I don't eat it. Last night I ate at Sonny's. I ordered grilled chicken, sweet potatoe, and green beans. I cut my chicken breast into and gave half it to my daughter. Unfortunately, I left the whole sweet potato on my plate and darn if I didn't eat it! I was so mad at myself!

We are going on vacation in April.... I am worried myself as well.. We will be staying with friend that don't have the best of eating habits.. I mean she is a diabetic, but she doesn't work on controlling her sugars at all with diet... she just ajusts her insulin.... So I will have to do some of my own shopping plus bring some protein supplements with me... I know we will go out at least once while we are there, and I Have not been out to eat at all since surgery... I really want DH and I to go out a couple times before we go so I can get into practice of how to order.... ::::sigh:::: Who knows if that will ever happen... but aside from the eating part, I am looking forward to our vacation (even though we will have all the kiddos with us.. lol)..... Hope you have a good time and good luck with the eating out!!!! Shawn M.

Barb, I actually go out to eat a lot and have been on several trips in the last few months. I typically order just an appetizer although it's hard to find food that hasn't been fried in appetizers. Often if you explain your surgery (if you're comfortable doing that) they will let you order off the children's menu or even the lunch menu which has much smaller portions. Perhaps I'm lucky that once I get full I don't feel the need to keep eating so for me it's only annoying that I waste so much food when I order a regular menu item. For the plane ride I also bring snack meals (I'm not sure how long your flight is but if it's long you'll need to bring something) I usually bring a packet of oatmeal and ask for ho****er and a spoon, also cheese sticks and the low fat wheat thins, and my protien granola bars. Just make sure you don't bring any liquid stuff with you since they will make you throw it away (if it hasn't been checked) if it's more than 3 ozs. I think the biggest thing is to make sure you have all of your supplements and protien so you don't have to try and figure out where to get that when you get there. Hope that helps a little and have a great trip!! Corinna Q

Thank you all...you have been a big help. Gotta remember to take some protein supplement for sure...especially for the plane.

I took a 3 day trip to FL and took 2 packets of syntrax nectar for the plane. I asked the flight attendant to fill up my water bottle and I just shook the protein. I also brought a bag of oatmeal and mixed it with water. On the ride home they gave a tiny sandwich with turkey. I ate the turkey, left the bread and that worked well. I am going to CA next week. I have the ready to drink shakes from Bariatric Advantage that you add water to. I am bringing those with me since we will be staying in a motel. I will go to the supermarket and get some breakstone cottage cheese and yogurt also. I bought a few Pure Protein bars (they are on sale at CVS this week for $1 each) in case I need them. As for restaurants, I find eating from my husband's plate is always a good bet. If I order an appetizer I won't want to eat it the next day anyway. It will be trial and error but hopefully it will work....also the individual cans of tuna with crackers will also be a good meal for the plane.

I know your question was more about eating out than traveling but I have a travel tip. I bought some individual packets of cinnamon peanut butter from bariatriceating.com. They sell individual size packets (2 Tbsp) and individual SF jelly. Pair that with crackers and it makes a good travel meal.