BariatricEating.com Health & Nutrition
Rant - All this food and nothing to eat.
We took the opportunity of the recent holiday weekend to visit my husband’s
daughter and her family on the west coast of Florida. Since I am a ‘bulletproof’
five year post op, I didn’t think it was necessary to plan for my
food on a two night trip. I know that no matter where I am I can find
something appropriate to eat.
Well this is the first time I was stumped and my health suffered for it. I had a hard time eating, not because of my willpower, or constraints of my surgery, or ability to make good choices, but because there simply were no good choices. Everywhere we went the type of food, quantity, quality, fat and calorie counts were out of control. Why do restaurants feel that they need to pile food on oversized platters so it overflows onto the table? Portion sizes have increased to ridiculous proportions and most of us can’t stop eating! On this trip I was at the mercy of my location and we were in an area filled with chain restaurants.
Take me to a 'good' restaurant and I can find the perfect moist and protein filled entrée in 30 seconds. 'I'd like the pan roasted halibut with mango salsa, roasted asparagus, and mushroom risotto but please ask the kitchen to not put any risotto on my plate'. There we go… 30 seconds! How about this one… 'I will have the Petite Filet Mignon, medium rare and instead of the THREE side items that come with that, I would just like a small house salad WITH my steak, rather than before'. Just to clarify, I don’t necessarily mean expensive, I mean good quality... healthy... clean food... not fried... fresh... not processed or frozen. I can have a tuna melt at Michaels Coffee Shop next to the grocery store and the world is right. It shouldnt be hard work to find something to eat!
I started out the morning of our trip with an AchievONE, but it was NOON and we were not even on our way. Our 4 hour road trip, took 6 hours, as we had to get the car washed and make several stops for errands before hitting the Turnpike. I was sitting at the carwash thinking about the 12 cases of water at the house and my warehouses full of protein drinks and bars.
We stopped at a Turnpike rest area; Starbucks, Popeye’s Chicken, and Nathan’s Hot Dogs. I got a Venti regular coffee, added a bit of half & half and Splenda… my husband ordered a Venti Blackberry Green Tea Frappuccino (700 calories, 140g fat, 101g sugar, 141g carbohydrates…egads!). We skipped the fast food.
We went straight to Ty’s grand daughter’s Sweet 16 party at her other grandparent’s house. The BBQ fare consisted of pre-made burger patties that were cooked very well done and very dry looking, maple baked beans, macaroni & cheese, macaroni salad, and condiments. There were big bottles of soda on the table and a small bag of ice. There was NOTHING for me to eat and rather than risk throwing up burger chunks in the bushes I decided to pass on the feast. I had a cup of room temperature tap water as the ice supply was quickly depleted. We sang 'Happy Birthday' and a plate with a very large square of birthday cake was handed to me. I stared at it for a moment, looked at the picnic table of unhealthy food and knew why their entire family was unhealthy and obese. To make things worse, they noticed that I didn’t touch my cake and one of ‘the Aunts’ made her second comment about there being something wrong with the food. There is a little tension between the families (for good reasons I wont go into) and I knew it looked bad for our team, so I told her that I had weight loss surgery. For the next hour as word spread, I listened to everyone’s opinion and story of the ‘person they knew who gained all their weight back’ and why they would never have bariatric surgery. (No doubt, they just watched me sit and not eat a morsel while they all packed in their favorite foods topped off with a hunk of cake) They didn’t know that my life and business revolves around bariatric surgery, and I didn’t feel the need to disclose it. It’s not worth the effort to attempt to educate people who defend their obesity. So I sat there for hours and grinned as this party was not about me; no food, no water, no Coke, no cake, no beans, no dry beef burger.
When we left at 10 pm we were all hungry (I am never actually hungry, but recognize my need for food) the only place open en route to the hotel was a Village Inn; 8 pages of food, and nothing for me to eat. Everything was deep fried or smothered in cheese or chili or both and I didn’t think that I should tax the ability of the lone nightcook by getting creative with my specific food requests. The family ordered breakfast. When did three egg omelets stuffed with everything in the kitchen and doused in sausage gravy become the norm? Who decided that we need three pancakes to go with that three egg omelet? Why would anyone need three eggs, three bacon, three sausage links, three sausage patties, three pancakes, and three biscuits with gravy? I ordered a tuna melt thinking I could eat the tuna and cheese.
The waitress stuck a platter in front of me piled with fries, under which was hidden a tuna sandwich on white bread containing a smear of tuna. The entire table was filled with horrible carbs so there was nothing to take from anyone’s plate. I was so mad at myself, a warehouse full of protein and I didn’t have a packet of Nectar in my purse? She asked me if I wanted the untouched platter 'wrapped up'... uh, NO.
Our night at Holiday Inn Express included a free breakfast. I poured a cup of coffee and looked at the offerings. Bagels, giant cinnamon rolls and blueberry muffins, apple and orange juice, and boxes of sweetened cereal. We stopped at Bob Evans restaurant for a ‘better’ breakfast on the way to Dione’s house. The texture of scrambled egg makes me nauseous, but I can eat an omelet. The menu was full of three egg omelets filled with meat, cheese, hash browns and covered with cheese (or that sausage gravy again), served with stacks of pancakes, baskets of biscuits, bowls of more gravy, piles of potatoes and vats of grits. We waited 30 minutes for the enormous breakfast to be orchestrated by the kitchen; I ate 8 bites of my omelet and left the other 5 plates of accompanying food untouched. A ridiculous amount of food for $6.99, but I guess that is part of the attraction.
We took the entire family to Macaroni Grill; finally, food that I could eat! I asked for a glass of red wine, and a big bottle of Chianti was placed in front of me along with a crayon to mark the table for every glass that I drink. Four loaves of hot rosemary bread are on the table for 7 of us and we are made to feel woefully inadequate if we don’t want to start off with a platter of fried calamari, or artichoke spinach dip to help us while away the time while we ‘wait’ for them to take our order. The entrees are massive. Can anyone finish 4 large pieces of sautéed chicken; this was at least an 8-10 ounce portion smothered with prosciutto ham, artichokes, and olives? Not one of us finished our meal; even our 21 year old grandson could not make a dent in his slab of lasagna. We ordered two desserts and oversized blocks of tiramisu and chocolate cakes were delivered to our table. It was ridiculous. I was however relieved that for the first time in three days, I was able to order food that I would choose to eat.
We live in Fort Lauderdale, an area notorious for retired people and their smaller plate ‘early bird specials’. If you are seated by 6 pm you can make a selection from a smaller portion, lower priced menu. It is a good idea not only when you are 72 and eat at 4:30, but for any age at any time. In many of our local restaurants you can pay a $5 ‘sharing charge’ and the chef will split the entrée dinner between two plates in the kitchen so each person can have a more reasonable portion. You don’t have to ask the waiter for ‘an extra plate’ and feel as if you are cheating as you slop half the food onto a salad plate. The waiter doesn’t stare at you for taking up a table for two while you both use the silverware, eat the bread (speaking metaphorically of course, breathe the air, and soak up their view, for the price (and tip!) of a single entrée.
Hey what an idea… paying more for the privilege of getting less food! This just could catch on. We have to do something as people are going to explode if they keep eating like this.
Ciao,
Susan Maria
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© BE, Inc. 2011 - Susan Maria Leach. All rights reserved.
