Getting back to normal

I went out to dinner this evening to the home of a colleague of my husband. I don't know them well and haven't told them I had WLS. I was concerned about what might be served for dinner, but I was able to eat everything - I was just super careful about chewing, and about portion size. We had salad, grilled prawns, steak, french fries, and bread. I was able to have a little bit of everything, but tried to eat more steak and prawns than the other foods, keeping my focus on protein. And when dessert was served, I just said "no thanks, I'm trying to cut back", and nobody thought a thing of it. Prior to WLS, I was worried about all the food restrictions and how hard it would be for me to eat in social situations, but now that I'm 3 months out, I am able to eat a wide variety of foods and can enjoy myself in social settings without feeling like I stick out with special dietary needs. Plus I looked great in an outfit I haven't worn since 2000! Sheryl

Way to go!! I'm starting to feel normal in those situations too. I'm wondering what a prawn is? Is it like a shrimp? Does beef sit in your stomach heavy? Just wondering, it kind of seems like I swallowed a rock if I eat more than an ounce of beef. How much were you able to eat of the meat? -Dawn

Dawn, you are correct - a prawn is a fancy name for shrimp. In my area (west coast) a prawn is what you call a large shrimp. As for beef, as long as I chew it well, I seem to cope quite well with it. Last night I ate about 3/4 cup of salad (greens and radishes and tomatoes), probably just over 1 oz of beef, 4 large shrimp, a piece of sourdough bread, and 3 large french fries. On other occasions, I've eaten as much as 3 ounces of beef, and as long as I go slowly and chew well, I don't seem to have trouble. Honestly, I think I have more tolerance for a variety of foods than most people in our "October '05" class; I've only had one bout of vomiting the entire time. Of course, when I was pregnant, I didn't have any morning sickness, so I believe that I am just less prone to nausea than the average person. I feel very fortunate. Sheryl

Good for you!! I can't wait to feel that normal again!

I know, you've been having a tough go of it; your tummy is a lot more touchy than mine is. I really hope it gets easier for you soon! Sheryl

Sheryl, that's wonderful, I still haven't been able to eat like a "normal" person, I just go ahead and tell them I had WLS, I even tell the waiters, so they give me a break and stop asking me if I'm sure I don't want nothing to drink or wan****er, and if the food is ok because I'm not eating, but I'd love to fit in once again Celia

Celia, I know what you mean, I feel like I need to explain to people that the food isn't bad; I just can't eat very much of it. I don't want them to be insulted or anything. In the case of my hosts last night, I just let them know that I had been dieting hard since last summer (100% true!) so they didn't feel like I was not enjoying the food. Sheryl

What is up with waiters and the water thing? Every time we go out and they ask me what I want to drink, I say nothing, so they all offer me water. Then I say no, I really just want nothing, they all look at me like I have 2 heads. Sometimes they bring me water anyway! When did it become socially unacceptable to eat without drinking something? If the waters in front of me, I'm tempted to sip, so I would rather it just not even be there. Is that so hard to understand? Sheryl

That really frustrates me too, I almost yelled at a waitress who kept asking me if I was sure I didn't wan****er. Now I just let them bring the water and I pass it over to someone else or I let it sit there.