Eating Out

Has anyone attempted eating out yet? If so where did you do and what did you get? Last night I went to Capt. D's and had some shrimp. I got full on 4 of them. I mean before the surgery that would have a teaser. My husband felt bad because he was still eating and I was full. Has anyone else had this happen to them?

Hi Ruth, I'm going out to dinner tomorrow night and am NOT looking forward to it. I'll probably get fish. But everyone else will be eating and drinking. And we can't drink a 1/2 hour before or after eating. This is NOT going to be fun. LOL LaVonn

Hi LaVonn! I thought I'd encourage you a bit about eating out. I've eaten out several times and it's truly not as bad as you might expect. In most cases the restaurant you are eating at will have things you can eat if you just choose carefully. I've had steak, fish, salads, and even part of a French Dip sandwich! Just remember your "at-home" rules of thumb and you'll do fine! Drinking before, during and (I was told to wait an hour after eating to drink, hmmm) after has not been a problem for me. I've never been much of a drinker with meals. I know, I'm weird, LOL. Anyway, my main point is, try not to allow yourself to dread going out to eat. The only difference between pre-op and post-op "dinner out" eating is that we just have to make more careful choices and let our new intestinal system be our guide to what NOT to eat and how much. It was hard, but I MADE myself look forward to eating out. It's an adventure and can be a fun one if we let it. When I ate that part of a french dip sandwich, I only ate half of it and I did something that lowered the potential carb intake. I traded the top part of the bun (the thickest part of the bun) on the half of the sandwich I ate with the bottom half of the bun from the second half of the sandwich. So, I was eating both bottom halves of the bun to make my bread portion smaller and I piled the meat on thick. What was left for leftovers, my husband added green peppers, onions and cheese to the next day for his lunch sandwich. (He said it was fabulous!) I'm eating about 1/2 cup of food now. I keep gettin off track, LOL. Just let yourself enjoy the time out with family and/or friends and remember, they are ALL admiring you for your new look and lifestyle! If your crowd is as supportive as mine is, you'll have a great time and feel SOOOOOO proud of yourself afterwards! Enjoy yourself and God bless!! Brenda

Hi Brenda, Thank you for the encouraging words. I know it won't be that bad. LOL I'm just used to having a salad, a couple glasses of wine, and a meal. Now it will only be a couple bites of fish and water. I'm not allowed to have any salad until 3 months out. If anything I'll miss the salad. I went to a ****tail party about a month ago and that was fine, I had a nice time. So, I'm sure dinner will be fun too. My husband and kids want to have Chinese food tonight and I've been on the internet trying to find something I can get for myself. I think I'm going to go with beef with broccoli. I don't think it will be that bad since I will probably have less then a 1/2 cup. Thank you, again. LaVonn

Eeeks! No salad yet for you? I eat salad with no problems now. However, if you haven't had broccoli yet, BEWARE. It makes me throw up every single time I've tried it. Something about it's texture just won't let it go down. Good luck with your Chinese food adventure!! They do have lemon chicken at most Chinese places, you might try that if you have trouble with the beef and broccoli. Good luck and have a SUPER time!! Brenda

We've been out to Applebees twice. The first time I ordered a cheeseburger with no bun and exchanged the fries for steamed vegetables. I took the left overs home for a meal the next day. The next time we went, I had a grilled shrimp spinach salad, with dressing on the side. There were about 7 very small shrimp and a few sliced almonds. I ate some of the spinach with just a tiny corner dipped in the dressing. I was perfectly satisfied. And it was just nice eating out. My partner had feared that we would never eat out again! LOL I almost automatically ordered a diet Coke though. LOL

Hi, well I have eaten out a couple times, i usually stick to soups and bites of fish/or chicken. there have been times i just order a baked potato and veggies. i usually pick from the a la carte side. Feels good to be the only person not pigging out. Enjoy the time out and eat slow.

I went out to eat last Saturday for the first time, to celebrate my birthday. I ordered a chef's salad with dressing on the side. I portioned what I was going to eat - what looks like about 2 oz of turkey, some cheese, 1/2 hard boiled egg, slice of tomato and some lettuce, and then dipped each forkful into the dressing. I was SO full quickly, which was a very different feeling than I was used to when I used to eat out. Jenn

We've eaten out once or twice a week since about week 4 post-op. I often get soup, always soup at asian places. Chili is also pretty safe. I've gotten filet mignon and Logans and it was easy to eat and super yummy with a baked sweet potato (no butter or cinnamon). It also lasted three meals. Last night we went to Chilis and I stole a few pieces of fajita meat from my husband and had some chili. I've gotten chicken breasts and veggies a time or two also. Eating at restaurants is pretty easy I think, just be willing to change up the menu some. Ask for things without sauce and turn down the bread or chips so they aren't even on the table. I had my first fast food today (eek) some pintos n cheese from Taco Bell. It settled fine but I don't want to make a habit of fast food again. I just didn't have time to do anything else.

I've been out to eat more times than I can count.. I take clients out to lunch at least 2x a week. I always look at things that I can take home and warm up, or order off the kids list. Chicken fettucine alfredo has been a big winner with me because I can eat the chicken and a little bit of the fettucine and give the rest of the fettucine to my dogs. Most menus also have a seniors menu that you can eat off of. I've found I still love buffets. I don't eat a lot... but I can have a couple bites of this and that and it's great way to have more than one protein at a meal (ie fish and chicken) I look at eating out as an adventure now and I have found it takes a LOT longer to choose what I"m going to eat.