The DS and eating out?

My Family and I love to eat out occasionally.  I have 2 young children (8 &4) and so their idea of eatting out i****ting a McDonald's with a Playland (blah).   My Husband and I on the other hand love to go for steaks.  So on our rare "date nights" we go to LongHorn Steakhouse or Outback, etc.

But I am curious about those who have had the DS what they eat when they hit the restraunts.    Can you typically eat off the menu or do you have to make several revisions to your order?  Are there certain resturants that you love, others that you tend to avoid?

I am just wanting to still be able to eat out here and there without having it be an "ordeal". 

Hi Aundrea,
 I am six months out and my hubby and I escape on date nights too.(My first date after my DS was at like 3 months)We always end up at Applebees or Outback. It really isn't hard to order when we go out. At Applebee I get 7oz steak with Shrimp and Parm cheese, steamed veggies, I comes with mashed potatos but I never eat them. I can usually finish about half of my steak and a few bites of veggies. I take home my left overs. It is not hard to eat out, always protein first, then if you have room and can tolerate it veggies or what have you. Hope this helps, I know others will chime in soon.

It's actually been much less of a problem than I thought. For fast food I usually grab some chicken nuggets. There's usually enough small menu items or dollar menu options where you don't have to worry about getting too much food or a side of fries that go to waste. For more formal places I'll get a protein rich appetizer and that's usually enough. If I get an entree I usually end up taking half of it home.

Steakhouses are my fave! Hubs will get a GIANT steak, plus a couple sides and we share them. Creamed spinach is my favorite side, and we both like our steak and prime rib rare.

The only things I avoid are burgers and sandwiches because of all the bread, it fills me up too fast. I avoid subway like the plague, although I can usually tolerate their meatball sub if I pick the meatballs and melted cheese out of the bread. There are some asian food places near me that have burger-like things, but the buns are both small and steamed so they're easy to get down. I also love sashimi, that was one of my best food friend post op, and I still love how gentle it is on my tummy and so protein rich.

Places I like: 
Hale and Hearty soups
chick-fil-a
sonic
baohaus (pork belly baos rock)
xi'an famous foods

 I have so much freedom with this DS!  I eat out quite often and do not feel restricted.  As long as I have gotten my protein in for the day, I can eat anything.  I ususally split with someone, cause I just cannot eat that much anymore!  Tonight I am going out for Mexican, my favorite!  I'll order extra sour cream, full fat of course!!!

I generally order an appetizer (shrimp) then nibble off DH's plate.

I out regularly and I eat fast food regularly. It's easy peasy to eat restaurant food when you aren'****ching fat. In restaurants I just minimize the amount of the starches I eat (or save them for dessert!). In fast food places, I ditch half the bun on the sandwich, or I order chicken tenders.

 I don't have any trouble eating out.  I either order off the menu and take home some for later or my wife and I will split a dinner.

When we had the dinner to meet the Vitacouple during their latest tour, my wife and I split a half rack of baby back ribs.  Between that and the veggies that came with it, we had no leftover meat.

Thank you all so much for your input!  I've specifically leaned towards the DS for the freedom of eating with this surgery.  I love the fact that I can still eat at McDonald's if I want (nuggets) or go out for a nice steak (hmmm...ribeye). 

Thank you! 

I'd suggest the tenders over the nuggets :-). Check the protein content. Tenders require a fair amount of sauce for me, but sure taste better than nuggets and have more meat.

YAY RIBEYE :-). I'm pigging out like a maniac on beef cuz I have to go back to NJ this week and to paying ridiculous prices for my meat *whine*. Oh, and I have another big fat river trout in the freezer as well. I do NOT want to leave Montana.

You will but it may take time to build up to eating out like others on this thread. Unfortunately, eating out is a big part of socialization. We go out as a family to the movies and dinner from time to time. I remember a month or so after my DS when I went out with them and we went to AppleBees I had some shrimp and was so sick afterwards. I remember just sitting there watching everyone else enjoy their meals etc. I felt like crying and never wanted to go out again. I was very sick for 6 months after though and couldn't eat much of anything.

What a difference time and healing makes. I'm 16 months out now and I can enjoy going out to eat. I can't eat nearly what I ate before but I pace myself and enjoy the company more now. If I have appetizer and salad I know I won't be eating my meal and that is just me. You will really learn how to listen to your body and what food works with you. It's different for everybody.