Help Please...Going out to dinner postop

Hey Everyone,

I am freaking out a little bit. Tomorrow night is my father-in-laws birthday dinner and we are going out to eat. I am 11 days postop and I am stumped! I am going to drink a protein shake before we go and I will try to find some sort of soup on the menu, but sitting there surrounded by lots of yummy food is going to be torture. Did anyone have this issue? How did you handle it? (Not going isn't an option.)

My fathers birthday was almost two weeks after my surgery .

I took my protein shake with me, and I got some soup there becaue I was allowed soup at the time .

I was so full from my protein shake and soup I could care less what everybody else was eating it didnt bother me at all .

I just sat there ate my soup slowly and talked with everybody . The main converstaion was about me anyways lol  they was all curious about my surgery and how I was doing :o)

PS  you will get to the point things just dont bother you anymore :o) My sons 16th birthday was yesterday and I got a huge Dairy Queen Ice Cream cake sitting in the freezer, and a huge chocolate chip cookie sitting on the bar that his friends gave to him and I have no desire to eat them foods.

You will get to the point what is more important losing the weight or the food and right now weight is more important :o)

Are you still on full liquids or have you moved on to mushies??  It you are on mushies then you could have mashed potatoes or something like that ...although my doctor didn't allow mashed potatoes...too many carbs. 

I would say the best plan of attack is to "eat" before you go out and then just sip on some broth there.  As far as being tempted...for me it's a funny thing...sometimes I'm not tempted at all and have no problems....sometimes I am very tempted.  I guess it's something you will have to get used to.  There is always something other people are eating around me that I shouldn't eat....whether it's cookies or candy bars or McDonalds...you have to be able to face people stuffing their face while you sit and watch.  One thing I did ...at work we have bagel day...I can't and shouldn't have bagels.  What I did to help me not feel bad about not eating bagels and cream cheese was...I looked it up on line and found out they are around 400 calories and 50 carbs!!!  I couldn't believe it.  It help me feel better know what I was skipping...an extra 400 calories...and more carbs than I eat in a day!!!

I wish I was on mushies...it would make it a little easier. I am still on liquids, so I can have soup...with no chunks. This is just the first time venturing out since my preop liquid diet started. It wouldn't be so bad if it were a few days ago, but the past two days have been really hard. I am sooo sick of protein shakes. I can't wait until I can at least start mushies. I know it's going to be a battle in my brain, gonna be hard.

What soups did you all eat during the liquid stage?

Jenny,

How far are you away from the mushy stage ?   The last four days of my liquid diet I was starting to get a little hungry and like you bored with shakes and soup and my doc cleared me to eat mushies .

Why dont you call them today before the weekend and ask them if its okay if you can eat some mashed tators and things like that .

They might surprise you and give you the go ahead.  My doc cleared me and told me as long as I ate slow and didn't get sick it was fine :o)


I ate alot of cream of broccoli soup , tomato soup , and I would eat chicken noodle soup but not the noodles or the chicken the broth only which was okay not the greatest.

Tomato and broccoli soup kept me full and I would add extra cheese to my broccoli soup for more protein .

 

Hi Jenny,  I had the same issue, actually more than once since surgery.  At an italian restaurant I had soup with egg in it (stratiecelli or something like that) and asked for some sauteed scallops and ate a few of those and my husband ate the rest.  One time I had 2 soft potato skins and once a half a tartufo.  It all worked really well.  Talk to the waiter and explain your needs as I have found most to be really receptive and helpful.  Enjoy!! 

Seeing that you are not on mushies yet I would go with a soup -- if you see one on the menu that sounds yummy but has chunks, just ask the kitchen to puree it for you.

Trixie

I just called and left a message with the nurse at my surgeon's office, hopefully I will hear back today. I have been very strict with my protein shakes, and soup broth. Hopefull, I will hear something back positive. Were any of you eating the broccoli in your soup at this stage, I haven't had any yet...but I would love to. I think I would be fine if I could order some broccoli cheddar soup and mashed potatoes. Both are heavy enough.

You can try to do the soup -- or you could satisfy your hunger before you so, and just use some sugar-free breath mints to keep your mouth busy while everyone else eats. 

Sip water or tea.

If your family knows about your surgery, it should not be a big deal -- just say that you had your 'dinner' before you came --- if they don't know, it might be best do try the soup, and say that you had a big lunch, or your stomach is 'not quite right'.

Sometimes for me, it is easier to have none, than to try to have a limited portion -- so the breath mint works best.

Have fun -- enjoy the company, and steer the conversation to the Birthday Boy if the attention starts to focus on you and your (lack of) eating.