Outings

[lsales4363]

Last weekend my son and I went to Six Flags Magic Mountain. It was pretty exciting, I was able to "buckle up" in every ride I wanted to ride. And we walked and walked. On the drive home, we stopped at Denny's. I don't know if any of the rest of you received a "restaurant card" from your doctor, but I have a nice little card signed by the doctor that says please allow this person who recently had surgery to order off the senior citizens or kid's menu. This was my first trip to a restaurant since surgery. I was able to order off the kid's menu and got bacon and eggs. And before anyone is shocked about the bacon - I didn't eat it. My son put it on his hamburger.

I did attend my first, in-person, support group last night. There are three hospitals in my area that perform bariatric surgery. The support group I attend is for the hospital closest to my office (two blocks) but not the one I had the surgery at. I thought the difference I've seen here were regional. Their post-op food plan varied greatly from my doctor's. I think I may need to attend the one at my hospital to see if it is better suited to me.

 

[CALQL84HEALTH]

WoW what an accomplishment in such a short time. It is all the little things that you can do that make the journey worth it.

 

[Cheyenne]

So glad everything is going so well for you!!! Congratulations on your weightloss, you are doing awesome!!!

 

[StinkerBelle]

Isales, my hubby and I do the same thing when we go out to dinner.
If there is something on my plate that I don't want or cannot have I give it to hubby.
We went to Cracker Barrel not to long ago they actually allowed him and I to share a breakfast which worked out well for me. They did not even charge us a "shared" plate fee like some places.
I had some of his omelet and we ordered fresh apple slices as a side for me. We also found out that CB is one of the extreme few restaurants in our area that has decaf tea bags and turkey available, .
It works out great.

 

[dancinbr]

A good idea about ordering off of the kids menu. I like that idea. So far I have been paying full fare or just ordering an appetizer. I need to talk to my Doctor about that too.

I don't order a dessert, but I will take a bite if my wife orders one; just a bite.

If I order a full meal for whatever reason, I take what I can and bring the rest home and have two more meals at home.

As to fitting into rides at the amusement park, isn't it wonderful.

Congratulations. More importantly, you are having fun with again with your son and participating rather than just watching.

Ralph

 

[lsales4363]

When my doctor's office gave me the card, they said that restaurants don't have to accept it, but go ahead and try. I think once I have a diet that includes all the food groups (My doctor's plan is protein only for first 6 months) I will venture out more. But I was prepared when we went on our road trip. I ate breakfast before we left and had 3 meals packed and several bottles of water. The stop at Denny's left one travel pack of tuna left. Planning ahead is important. I feel like that was my trial run and I passed.

 

[dancinbr]

When my doctor's office gave me the card, they said that restaurants don't have to accept it, but go ahead and try. I think once I have a diet that includes all the food groups (My doctor's plan is protein only for first 6 months) I will venture out more. But I was prepared when we went on our road trip. I ate breakfast before we left and had 3 meals packed and several bottles of water. The stop at Denny's left one travel pack of tuna left. Planning ahead is important. I feel like that was my trial run and I passed.

Hi again,

Even though you may or may not be able to order off the kids menu, you can still order small. At a diner I can order a single poached egg with one piece of whole wheat toast. I have done that many times.

Also, for lunch I have ordered one small cup of soup and that is that.

At dinner I have ordered just an appetizer and in fact have taken home half of the appetizer. I just tell them that is what I am having. I have asked the waiter to come closer so I could tell them I am a bariatric patient and cannot consume more than 3 ounces at one sitting. They are generally pretty good once I tell them my situation.

Ralph

 

[StinkerBelle]

Hi again,

Even though you may or may not be able to order off the kids menu, you can still order small. At a diner I can order a single poached egg with one piece of whole wheat toast. I have done that many times.

Also, for lunch I have ordered one small cup of soup and that is that.

At dinner I have ordered just an appetizer and in fact have taken home half of the appetizer. I just tell them that is what I am having. I have asked the waiter to come closer so I could tell them I am a bariatric patient and cannot consume more than 3 ounces at one sitting. They are generally pretty good once I tell them my situation.

Ralph

Like you Ralph I too have occasion to order a "custom" meal within my limits and there have been times I explain to the wait staff that I had intestinal surgery and I am very limited in what I can eat and how much I can consume. I have not had any issues with ordering. I personally have not had any issues or problems when ordering kid portions. Our favorite restaurant will scale down the adult dishes to kids size for me and charge us for a kids meal. I believe it is all in how you approach your server.

What concerns me is all of the hidden sugars used by restaurants as flavor enhancers.. Many places use "broths", bouillons or other seasonings to season their veggies that have various forms of sugar. We had dinner at a well known diner, I asked to see a pack / container of the seasoning to check the ingredients, I almost fell over when the 2nd ingredient was sugar...

Many places use spice rubs and seasoning blends that have several types of sugars in them.

I had one run in with sugar and do not want nor need another one.

 

[dancinbr]

Like you Ralph I too have occasion to order a "custom" meal within my limits and there have been times I explain to the wait staff that I had intestinal surgery and I am very limited in what I can eat and how much I can consume. I have not had any issues with ordering. I personally have not had any issues or problems when ordering kid portions. Our favorite restaurant will scale down the adult dishes to kids size for me and charge us for a kids meal. I believe it is all in how you approach your server.

What concerns me is all of the hidden sugars used by restaurants as flavor enhancers.. Many places use "broths", bouillons or other seasonings to season their veggies that have various forms of sugar. We had dinner at a well known diner, I asked to see a pack / container of the seasoning to check the ingredients, I almost fell over when the 2nd ingredient was sugar...

Many places use spice rubs and seasoning blends that have several types of sugars in them.

I had one run in with sugar and do not want nor need another one.

Yes, I fully understand. That is why when I order, lets say a steak ( I always bring home most of it and use it over the next couple of days) I tell them to grill it and to put absolutely nothing on it!

If I get around to ordering a vegetable, which I really haven't done as yet, I would order a steamed vegetable with nothing added. If I order a potato I would order a baked potato.

So, there are even safe ways to order foods that assure you don't get any unwanted ingredients such as sugar in a sauce, etc., etc.,

 

[StinkerBelle]

Yes, I fully understand. That is why when I order, lets say a steak ( I always bring home most of it and use it over the next couple of days) I tell them to grill it and to put absolutely nothing on it!

If I get around to ordering a vegetable, which I really haven't done as yet, I would order a steamed vegetable with nothing added. If I order a potato I would order a baked potato.

So, there are even safe ways to order foods that assure you don't get any unwanted ingredients such as sugar in a sauce, etc., etc.,

I always request my food with no seasonings, butter, oils, sauces and such and still have received my food with all of the mess on it because the kitchen staff was having a bad night...
That is how I found out about all of the hidden sugars and garbage they add. I did not want to put our waiter out and make his night bad by being a PITA customer that why I asked for the ingredient list..
Cracker Barrel has been by far the worst when it comes to ordering food plain. In this case I ordered a hamburger steak plain and steamed broccoli plain, not a hard task to accomplish, what I was brought was my plain streamed broccoli laden with their sugar enhanced vegetable broth it was the waitress who messed up because she felt it was to much trouble to bother the kitchen staff (that is what she told her manager). Normally my very patient husband handles these issues, this time he let me handle it. I explained to both the manager and waitress about my surgery, dumping syndrome and that I would most likely end up in the ER or wishing I was dead due the issues caused by unseen sugar she got the point. Fortunately I am very sensitive to the sugary taste and caught it before even getting a second chew in.

For me a kids sized dinner will feed me for 3 meals at home