Surviving a professional conference 4.5 weeks post-op?

Hi everyone. I was wondering if anyone may have some tips for how I might survive a 4-day conference out of town 4.5 weeks after my RNY surgery. I'll just barely be to the soft food stage by then. I'm traveling via Amtrak and plan to take a lunchbox with string cheese, cottage cheese, and yogurt for the trip, but I'm not sure what I'm going to eat while I'm there. I'm staying in the HQ hotel so I can run up to the fridge in my room for lunch (how sociable, right?), but I won't have a car in Seattle so I probably won't be able to do any grocery shopping. Any suggestions? Will a lunchbox packed with cottage cheese and yogurt last me 4 days at that point? This will be my first ever national conference, and I was lucky to get my company to approve the trip, so I really don't want to miss the opportunity.

Hi there! Congratulations on the great opportunity.  I am in a similar situation.  I had surgery last week, and start a brand new job on 5/4, 4 weeks to the day of my surgery.  I obviously want to make a good impression! I have no experience to offer but we can share plans and ideas along the way.

Day 1 of my new job is a full day orientation at company HQ, which I will drive to. That's much easier.  I will just pack a lunch bag. I plan to get a nice bento box type container that will look smart-ish, and  I will offer an explanation to the coordinator in advance. 

The following day I fly to Another city to work with a client for 4 days.  I will be doing this every week for 3-4 months. I am only worried about the first week - I will figure out my long term options once I'm there.  

I don't know if I will have a car but once I know the hotel, I will look at room service to find any and all options that will work.  I will bring my magic bullet to be able to purée stuff and will take protein shakes or Powder to carry me through if needed.  In the event new boss and clients will take me to lunch or dinner I will order soup and only have the non solid part if needed, and supplement with protein shakes later or before.n

for you, at a convention, I think you may have a few options other than heading back to your room.  Contact the convention coordinators and explain your eating requirements (soft food, etc.) They may be able to help you find an option or offer you a soup, a cheese plate - they deal with special dietary requests all the time. You can also just bring and have a RTD shake during lunch, skip the formal food and network network network! if all else fails, you will need to head back to your room to grab lunch.  If your room doesn't have a mini fridge, just ask for one. Many hotels offer this accommodation for medical reasons, and we have a medical reason! 

Looking forward to seeing what other ideas you come up with - or that our fellow members offer. 

You're going to do great - we both will! 

Christine

Wow, it sounds like you definitely have a plan down! Thanks for the tips. I may try to see if the lunch options include anything I can eat. Or at the least, I can grab a cheese stick and wander around the exhibit hall, which I won't have any other time to fit into my schedule. I called the hotel, and they do have a minibar that they said I'm free to unstock to fill the fridge with my own food. I plan on taking them up on that!

I would bring ready to drink shakes that you are used to drinking (or protein powder and a shaker cup). I would not recommend trying new things that early out when you are away from home. You do not want to risk getting diarrhea and spending most of the week in the bathroom. 

Very good idea! I hope it's far enough out that I'll have had time to test a few things, but I won't try any new food ventures away from home.

Planning is the key. In the hotel you can certainly get scrambled eggs for breakfast. Supplement with a protein shake - pre measure your powder and take a blender bottle to shake it all up. On Amtrak you will want to take some bottled water too, just in case, and get ice if they have it (you didn't doecify the length of your trip but east coast commuter trains don't have a lot of amenities -then again I'm not sure about the Acela. Diff story if you are in an overnight route. 

You may indeed have to bow out of catered breaks and lunches. I have been in that situation many times where the only break foods provided are sugary carbs. This is where your string cheese can come in handy! It will tide you over till lunch.

lunch menus were actually harder for me than dinners. Salad, soup, and sandwiches are standard fare. If you're lucky there might be a buffet, but scope the place out for an option. Even if you get s grilled hamburger patty somewhere, it's going to be more of a sure bet. The issue with soups is you don't know what's in them! Tomato soups can be oddly high in sugar. Cream soups with a lot of fat might not sit well. So scout it all out, and watch for a plan B.

Remember that even if a 7-11 type store is nearby, they have hard boiled eggs, bananas, and often times even sugar free jello.

Dinner? Leave the sauces off. Go with gentle white fish if you can.  Second choice - chicken. No need for excuses to others. You can do a very effective job of moving food around on your plate! 

Fortunately the train trip is just over 4 hours (Portland to Seattle), so some bottled water and protein shakes are a great idea. I signed up for a vendor-sponsored dinner, but I'm thinking about bowing out. Fortunately the other meals are all on our own...I don't believe anything else is catered, but I don't know what food options will be available. Good idea on the convenience stores...I'll hunt around on Google Maps to scout some places out!

When I had to travel after my surgery I brought some drink mixes I bought through my nutritionist's office.  The brand is Healthwise and they have 15 grams of protein.  I brought a berry flavor and a pineapple-orange flavor, but they have other flavors too. I liked them because I was really tired of the vanilla/chocolate shake flavors and they were drink mixes so they didn't taste weird not blended.  They were in packets so therefore very portable.  The pineapple-orange was good for breakfast.  Will you have access to a microwave in your room?  You could also bring something like chili or a bean dish to eat for some of your meals.  I was obsessed with homemade chili when I hit the soft food stage. My body craved it!

Thanks, I'll look for those. I do anticipate getting sick of the creamier protein shake flavors. I don't think there's a microwave in my room, but I hope there might be one available somewhere in the hotel. I'll call the hotel to check.

The "Healthwise" shakes (if I am thinking of the right thing) are really good. My dietitian sells them and although they are pricey the convenience is great, calorie count is low, and did you know they are based on grass fed whey protein? I use the mocha and add a shot of SF chocolate syrup to spike the flavor a bit. (At home, not on the road.)