Starting weight 351, 11/23/05 and 237 current. Goal about 190

Day of surgery - 275 Now - 194. It's funny I feel skinny at 194. On the way up at 194, I felt like a big fat blob!!!

I have tried: Restaurants: Red Lobster- one time I got clam chowder and another time I ordered the lobster, shrimp, fish stuffed mushrooms... the mushrooms were protein packed, but very greasy (due to the cheese). Next time I'm thinking of trying crab by adding it onto someone's meal Chilis- I've gotten the shrimp (that's added onto an order) and they were pretty tough since they were grilled- I put a lot of lemon juice on them to help me eat them. With that I had someone's else's side dishes- mushrooms and bell peppers then a bite of the cheesy mashed potatos. Red Robin- I've shared the fish tacos (not eating the breading or the tortilla) and the pork fajitas (not eating the tortilla and the rice). Chinese- Egg Fu Yung- I don't eat the sauce and eat the insides of it. Mu Shu pork- w/out wrap, wonton soup- that is THE best- I get the 'ultra' version that has shrimp, chicken and pork floating around w/the wontons. I can eat the meat out of the wontons but don't touch the shell of the wonton. Then I eat the veggies of the soup. Mexican- Primarily I will get a taco or burrito and eat w/out the tortilla. Tacos- I get chicken w/cilantro and cheese then add chilis. Burritos (the kids size)- chicken, beans, cheese, sour cream, lettuce, tomatos, chili salsa. Other places I try and order soup or a salad (eating the protein first; i.e. I always add chicken or shrimp if it doesn't already come with a meat item). For soups, I try to get protein w/out carbs- i.e. no noodles or potato based soups. My favorites are Thai soups and Chinese soups. For salads, I usually stick to spinach or the field salads- staying away from iceburg since iceburg has no nutritional value.. and I'm not going to waste my limited veggie intake on that! Hee hee I do miss my salads. Oh, I get the dressing on the side too. Fast food: I try to get salads or sandwiches and leave out the carbs like breads, fries, etc. I did try a cheeseburger from Portillo's (w/out bun) and was able to eat about 4 bites- beef is really dense for me still. I really enjoyed reading other's choices too! Jennifer N

Since I travel every week from Mon - Friday, I spend a lot of time in restaurants eating. Most of the time, I try to get the soup especially at lunch. It fills me up and I don't get sick very often on it unless I eat too many noodles from chicken noodle. I don't do that anymore! Anyway, here are some of my favs: Red Lobster: ask for 1/2 lb of snow crab legs and get a dinner salad or soup. This fills me up. If i am eating with a good friend, I will share a meal with them. Red Robin: Pulled pork fajitas. Hold the guac and tortillas Subway: Atkins wrap, usually only get the meat and cheese with ranch or light mayo. This is two meals for me. Uno's: cup of Clam chowder. Boston Market or Chicken Out Rotisserie: The turkey with mashed potatoes, no gravy and no bread. The biggest thing I do when I try a new restaurant or one I haven't been in before, I tell the waiter/waitress, I am a gastric by-pass patient or show my OH Card. Ask if I can order off of the senior menu or if there is an ala carte menu or sometimes the children's menu. Most restaurants are very accomodating. Lise RNY 11/29/04 409/296/190 -113lbs

Lynnie, Of course you'll stick with the program and before you know it, you won't remember what it was like to be 200. Ok, let's be real, we'll all remember what it was like but we won't go back there again!! You should be very proud of yourself!! Good job Take care! Deb 243/181/135?