I had a major dump episode only once. i was at the mall and had a small chocolate cookie from mrs fields, major craving, and wow next thing you know i felt like crap and sweating like crazy. never do that again. sometimes i do get sick from eating too much but that has been like 3 times or so.

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

I have only dumped once and it was on a protein bar. The funny thing is I had been eating these things for a week. Thank goodness I didnt' throw up. I just took some nausea medicine and went to sleep.

I am 12 weeks post op today. In that 12 weeks I have had 4 weeks of stalls. The first stall was 15 days and I am in a stall now that has lasted more than 10 days. But I have to think before this stall I lost 20 pounds in 20 days. I am trying to be positive about this. I keep thinking my body needs to slow down. when I was losing that fast I felt wiped out all the time. This last 10 days I have actually had more energy. I know when my body is ready to start losing again it will. Until then I just keep doing what I had been doing.

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