Had a another good day for the most part, Met my food goals and most of my exercise goals. Was able to increase my morning ride to 7 minutes and my evening ride to 3 minutes. Not a world beater but better than when I started.

I ran into my first snag in behavioral thinking though. I'm not sure if it's my problem or the problem of others. My wife's birthday is coming up and one of her friends invited us to have dinner at a restaurant that is one of those places that is a gorge feast. I declined and tried to explain that even though this would be pre op, I still wanted to remain true to my diet. This led to a heated discussion about how I needed to realize that I couldn't avoid restaurants forever. I KNOW THAT!!! But they are off limits until I recover from surgery.

I guess what I need to help with is if I'm TOO being narrow in my thinking? Am I expecting too much? This is the only way I know I know to do this. All or nothing.

Please give me any feedback you can.

Still praying that I do this.

I applaud you for wanting to be careful with food consumption pre-op. I personally went to restaurants pre-op until starting the liquid diet and within 4 weeks post-op. What worked for me was sticking with restaurants that post their menus and nutrition. I go online, review the nutritional information and decide whatI want before I get to the restaurant. this has made going out a pleasure. My husband and I were both concerned because going out is an activity we both really enjoy. I don't know about you but sitting at home eating cottage cheese does not excite me!

Good Luck on your journey!

I also go out to eat a lot. I love good food. I have no problem ordering something I can eat anywhere I go. I take the rest home and I get a few meals out of it AND my pets have a field day.

I'm also 8 months post-op so I have post-surgery self-control. I did start eating out fairly soon after surgery though. I love going out to eat.

If you can't handle it now, then offer a compromise to them. Like a place with grilled salmon and fresh veggies. Lean Protein and fresh fruits and veggies are your friends. You don't have to have things you can't eat on your plate. Ask the waiter NOT to bring the bread basket, no rice, no sauces, just lemon, etc. Order only side dishes if you have to (a couple of veggies). No one ever got fat from eating too much spinach. That's what I do.

I went out to restaurants pre op with the fam - we were visiting the inlaws at the time - and it was hard as h*!!. Also had several sessions of M&M poker and rum - we always use M&Ms as chips (and the rum is for, well, getting toasted) - and that was hard too. But I brought had my blasted Protein shakes and told myself it wasn't going to be forever and these were special occasions for the rest of the fam.

Its a lot less hard post op because you're just not hungry in the same way - and eventually you get to eat food. On the other hand, my husband has done all the cooking - and he cooks like a 10 year old (read spaghetti every night) - for the last month because we all agreed it would be cruel and unusual punishment to have to cook for them and not eat EVERY day. Now that I'm in soft foods I'm back to cooking some.

You're pulled both ways. I think I'd probably go for the wife's birthday and eat the spinach but see if you can come to agreement that this is the only one until you're certain of yourself.

Had a another good day for the most part, Met my food goals and most of my exercise goals. Was able to increase my morning ride to 7 minutes and my evening ride to 3 minutes. Not a world beater but better than when I started.

I ran into my first snag in behavioral thinking though. I'm not sure if it's my problem or the problem of others. My wife's birthday is coming up and one of her friends invited us to have dinner at a restaurant that is one of those places that is a gorge feast. I declined and tried to explain that even though this would be pre op, I still wanted to remain true to my diet. This led to a heated discussion about how I needed to realize that I couldn't avoid restaurants forever. I KNOW THAT!!! But they are off limits until I recover from surgery.

I guess what I need to help with is if I'm TOO being narrow in my thinking? Am I expecting too much? This is the only way I know I know to do this. All or nothing.

Please give me any feedback you can.

Still praying that I do this.

Are you being too narrow in your thinking? You bet you are, it's called FOCUS! You can't do anything about how others react to your decision, you can only control what you do. If you can't deal with going out and asserting yourself, don't go there, stay focused on YOUR journey. This time will pass, a year from now things will be different, so will your wife support you between here and there? Only the both of you can answer that.

For me, I passed an a few functions both before and right after surgery so my wife went alone, and now I can go out and have whatever I want to. The difference? Before I might start with bread, a salad, a beer or two, then the main course, maybe another beer. Now, I can only handle about a cup of food total or I get real uncomfortable, so I skip the bread and Pasta, no more beer to fill me up, lean Protein like chicken or fish, I try to leave some room for some veggies, by then I'm usually too full for anything else. But the important difference is, I don't miss the quantity of food and enjoy the flavors, the company and the moment. So hang in there, you're doing the right thing. Good Luck.

Edited February 12, 201511 yr by vincereautmori