ordering in a restaurant

[Seth]

While it is nothing more than remaining mentally strong, I often wonder what those of you do (or don't) when you find yourself going out with friends to a restaurant or bar. Do you simply abstain from ordering anything or are there certain drinks or foods (e.g. salad, potato) that you may decide to order as it poses little risk in ingesting.

I find it particularly difficult if we end up going out somewhere after an event where I have not been able to eat anything for several hours.

Seth

[Oscar]

I usually bring a bottle of OJ (+OO/sugar) which can last me several hours. Then in a restaurant there's choices between asking them to make a tomato/avocado(/cucumber) salad, beef carpaccio, or just raw fish. In quite a few restaurants one of these options is possible.

[avo]

First of all, you do not need to go out to a bar or restaurant if you do not want to. Anytime I go out it is because it was my idea, so I already have a gameplan.

Sushi bars are excellent places to go out to. You can ask about frozen/fresh and make your fish choices based on that. Also make sure you specify that you want sashimi, and make sure that you don't get pickled mackerel or cooked octopus/shrimp/squid, just raw.

Also, if you go to a good buffet with a salad bar, you can assemble your own salad, whatever that entails for you specifically.

An actual bar? I can't think of anything other than some type of juice that they may have. OJ? Lemonade?

My universal solution is to get a coffee cup (paper/styrofoam/etc), like from starbucks or something, and just fill it up with OJ. Most people wouldn't sense anything strange with that.

[ganbare]

I was wondering what you all do for a living. It would seem to me that if you are strict about this diet, it is very difficult to do any kind of job that requires a lot of socializing as most socializing happens with food and drinks. I can't imagine what it must be like to have to meet with clients over meals and say that you don't eat anything. Or to have moments when a normal person would invite their guests out to dinner, but be unable to do so because of this diet.

Eating is such a social thing. I know in my culture, Chinese, eating is how people come together. If you refuse to eat it is insulting; some people may even go so far as to consider it a lack of manners and an infringement upon the rules of social etiquette. I realize this is a bit extreme, but I'm sure that there are situations when you refuse dinner or a meal and it leaves the other party really annoyed, confused, hurt etc.

I like this diet a lot, I believe in its principles, but I find that I also have to strike a balance in interacting with the people around me. This works with people that have known you for a long time and are used to your habits, but how about for the people that are always meeting new people ?

Any thoughts?

[Seth]

I usually tell them that I am not hungry (e.g. that I ate a large meal prior) and just order an OJ that I sip and/or a basic salad with olive oil. It is not easy. I have been in positions where people have busted my chops for not eating, but I see it as their problem, not mine. I think once they realize it has nothing to do with them, they don't care.

[clementine]

Ganbare, I totally understand what you are saying, that is the difficulty that I have with this diet as well. It makes me feel much better physically, but I have a lot of anxiety about the social aspect of it.

In North America and most Western countries it might be okay to refuse to eat certain things, but when you are travelling or visiting places where food is central to culture (such as in Chinese culture as well), refusing to eat certain things is very much considered a social faux pas. The only thing that I can think of is to say that you have certain health issues and you have been advised to follow this diet in order to resolve your intestinal difficulties (or whatever health issue). People can't really argue with that, although I know in a business situation it could be rather awkward to explain, but in the end you are going to have to decide how important it is to you to follow this diet. I personally do not want to sacrifice my body for social conventions, and I travel so often that it makes this diet difficult, but so far it has been worth it for me in terms of health. You sort of have to develop a hard skin about what other people think. Anyways, good luck and I hope this helps! Clementine

[samantha]

in order to prevent constipation and eat only bowel moving things or neutral things, how do i order in a restaurant? japanese and normal? sashimi is only in japanese restaurants but both rarely serve fruit for lunch or dinner. ideally, i would want to order fruit, olive oil and sashimi for dinner but what are ways around this? like if the restaurant doesn't serve sashimi and only has salads with vegetables and greens?

[Oscar]

If you're on the Acne Sample Diet you have a limited protein intake, but if not, you can just order sashimi. In a normal restaurant you can try for a avocado/tomato/cucumber salad, carpaccio, raw fish, etc.
To avoid constipation you just have to avoid constipation-inducing substances, like beta-carbolines (cooked proteinous foods) and/or opioid peptides (wheat, milk, rye, barley, spinach).

[Mr. PC]

Spinach has opioid peptides?!!

[Oscar]

Apparently it does, yeah.

[Mr. PC]

Ok, I need to know if the following are OK munch foods (which I guess does fit in with the thread of eating out).

Rice, carrots, mushrooms, tomato sauce, spices (within reason, not too hot), unsalted butter, cooked OO, seaweed (if you go out for sushi, they wrap it in seaweed).

Is there a list somewhere of foods containing opioids / beta-carbolines? I'd just assumed I knew all of them, but now I'm afraid because I'll occasionally be invited somewhere or go out to a restaurant, and offered foods which I think are ok, like spinach, but am now finding out is an opiate.

[RRM]

Ok, I need to know if the following are OK munch foods (which I guess does fit in with the thread of eating out).
Rice, carrots, mushrooms, tomato sauce, spices (within reason, not too hot), unsalted butter, cooked OO, seaweed (if you go out for sushi, they wrap it in seaweed).

http://www.freeacnebook.com/47-53.htm#52

Is there a list somewhere of foods containing opioids / beta-carbolines? I'd just assumed I knew all of them, but now I'm afraid

Potentially, all foods may give you a little, but these amounts are really minute / non existent.
Thats because all foods contain protein, and proteins are long chains of amino acids,
and opioid peptides are often just 5 specific amino acids linked up,
and such a sequence may accidentally occur when digesting any protein.
Foods such as wheat and milk are by nature designed to contain significant numbers of surviving opioid peptides,
and therefore the level is so much higher.
Dont worry about eating spinach.