The DS and eating out?

At McDonald's, I've been getting the angus snack wraps a lot. It is an angus burger (actually I think it's half a burger) wrapped in a tortilla. They have 3 different "flavors." one has bacon and cheese! I use the tortilla wrap as a holder, and peel it off and discard it as I eat the burger part. Works great!

I have eaten out a lot, even at 2 months out, and as others said, a meat or shrimp appetizer is good, or order a steak or chicken or fish meal and save the leftovers. Veggies instead of fries/potatoes/rice/pasta. Eat mostly meat, and a tiny bit of veggies if they appeal to you.

Karen

Very easy to eat out, I often get appetizers, or the main dish, depends on what I am craving. I just stick to protein first. Always take home the leftovers, they are great for lunch for the next day or two. You will just eat smaller quantities, and do protein first.

I seldom eat salads out as I need a bathroom soon afterwards, I save that for at home.

I am loving this thread!   My favorite place on earth is the Japanese steakhouse, I usually get the salmon, white rice ( I know a no-no post-op), and grilled veggies. I love my california rolls as an appetizer, are those okay?

The short answer is: no, california rolls are not exactly ok early post-op. Later on, maybe, if you can tolerate it and you eat your protein first.

The long answer is:

1) California rolls are mostly rice and avocado, it is not protein dense enough for your needs, so try to focus on your protein first, if you have room after that nibble on some veggies or sushi and see how well you can tolerate it. This assumes you've graduated to solid foods, of course.
2) Rice may not agree with you early out, it expands in the stomach putting stress on your healing staples. I am guilty of this, it really hurt. Owie...
3) Rice takes up a lot more room than you think and if you eat it you won't have room for protein- this is a bad habit to pick up post op.
4) Limit carbs during the weight loss stage as much as you can.
5) Rice is carby, and may give you wicked gas. You'll have to wait and see how well you tolerate it once you're able to eat it.

Don't be surprised if your stomach can't eat rice for a few months. However, salmon is awesome! High protein, soft, yummy, plus omegas! Go with that, and save the rolls only if you have room after you eat the protein.

I'm 8 months out and I still can't eat more than a 2 pieces of sushi without getting uncomfortable. So I stick to sashimi (raw fish without the rice).

Hubby and I eat at restaurants at least twice a week.  I ate appetizers when rather new, yet order off the regular menu more often now.  I take my own plastic container for the left overs.  Wait staff have been great.  It saves on wasting all the Styrofoam in the garbage, plus it goes straight to the fridge until I'm ready for it.  Love Longhorn for steak and red rock grilled shrimp.  Our kids are grown so we eat very little fast food, but when I do most are great about serving me a burger without a bun, like Hardee's mushroom swiss.  Most of the time they remember to put in a fork and for all they know, I'm a low carb fanatic and not a WLS patron.

I love eating out.  I would eat out more if I could afford it.  I can always find something, without making too many revisions.

At a steakhouse, I'll usually have a salad (I pick a non-sweet dressing...like plain vinaigrette, ranch, bleu cheese and generally eat around the croutons or just eat a couple), then for an entree I usually pick steak, chicken, or fish (preferably with no breading.  And I try to make one of the sides a non-starchy vegetable.  If I get something starchy (fries, potato,corn, rice, pasta)...I eat a few bites and move on.  I try not to pig out on any bread or chips brought beforehand.

In the first year or two, you'll probably not be able to eat much, but that is the only issue I'd foresee you having,

The most common revision I probably have is to ask that something not be breaded.  I do that at asian food places.  I generally try to eat items that are already traditionally not breaded though.

I just eat around starchy foods, breads, tortillas, rice, etc and go for the protein.

My Mom and I went out to Chick-fil-a and I got the 4 piece chicken tenders. It lasted a couple of days. I forgot to ask for sauce, but I guess it's just as well since I'm so new post-op. Then we went out again another day for lunch and I ate half a fish filet and saved the rest for dinner. It was a sandwich, so we threw out the bun, like I did at McD's one day. (I'm going to start asking to just hold the bun to save food.) Today I ate a quarter of an omelet that we got at a restaraunt for lunch. I'm working on the other quarter of it for dinner. She went home today, so I'm on my own now and will be eating out much less. But so far it has been easy!

I love McDonald's Chicken Selects. Tangy BBQ sauce please !!!  Not much of a steak person since surgery....not sure why?? Take me anywhere for shrimp or fish....anytime.

 I eat out often (I hate fast food though) and I just order what I want.    I almost always have to take something home, or DH pretends to be my human garbage disposal.     I do have to watch the rice - it can still make me vomit even five years post-op, if I eat too much of it.   I never order pasta.
I cannot think of one time since I had my DS five years ago, that I"ve been unable to find something on the menu.

Like others, I will order appetizers if I can't find anything appealing.   I also make sure I order something that reheats well later.    Today, I went to a local mom and pop joint and order a meatloaf dinner that came with unlimited soup and salad bar.   I ate a HUGE salad loaded with eggs, garbanzos, cheese, etc. and vegetable beef soup.   I ordered the entree (meat loaf, mashed potatoes and green beans) to be wrapped to go, and I had that for dinner!

I eat the majority of my meals in restaurants because my job requires that I travel nearly 100% of the time so I am barely home for 2 days each weekend.  It is not difficult at all.  In the beginning, I asked them to leave many things off my plate just because I hated wasting so much food.  It is not a hassle to make requests for what I want ... don't be embarrassed by requesting that they meet your needs since you're paying your own good money for this service.  

If I went to a Mexican restaurant, I'd order carnitas or a fajita platter but request no rice, beans, or tortillas be served with my meal since I didn't want to waste any space on that stuff.  I almost always had enough to have leftovers that I could pick at for the rest of the afternoon if it was my lunch, for example.  If I go to a sub place for lunch, sometimes I request they put the sub in a bowl without the bread.  Other times, I just take it as is but still eat it with a fork and leave the bread.  Early out finding options from the appetizer section is a good option.  

I avoid places where I am a little more unsure of the sauces, etc such as Chinese places.  I am more sensitive to flour used as a thickener so I've had bad experiences with Chinese food although places like PF Changs offers gluten free options which I can usually tolerate better. Unless I make cream based soups at home, I avoid them since again I am afraid of the flour used to thicken them.  

I hate the taste of McDonald's hamburgers now.  They taste way too dry now.  I have better luck at places like 5 Guys or even Wendys.  The meat is juicier and doesn't sit like a brick in my chest.  

I have a hard time eating chicken but the grilled thighs and legs from KFC are pretty good ... no issues.  

I had dinner at Texas Roadhouse the other night and got a 6 ounce filet.  It was the perfect size.  

Another thing that I love to eat lately is sashimi.  I couldn't stomach it before as a pre-op but now I really like it and have it at least once a week.  I never get the rice so it's all protein... couldn't be better for me.... salmon, tuna, and white tuna are my favorites although if I had read about white tuna before ever eating it, I would have never ordered it but now that I like it, I take my chances.  

Seafood restaurants are always a good option.  I can put away as many crab legs as a normie.  Good stuff.  

Just eat slowly and pay close attention to your "full signals".  Take time to chew your food well and relax between bites.  I used to have difficulty early on if I drank a lot while I ate.  It would feel like things were stuck and I was more likely to barf then.  

Eventually, when you go out to eat, no one will be able to tell that you have altered guts ... you'll be totally normal.