Another TV inspiration -- "The Bariatric Surgery Discount"

For those of you *****ad my recent "Sheldon Plan" topic for streamlined meal planning, you probably realize that I watch TV a lot, and you would be right. I'm currently watching back episodes of "The Profit" (a reality show) on Hulu, and in one episode saw something I had never seen before.

Marcus Lemonis (the show's star) is a multi-millionaire who travels the U.S. looking for small businesses that need a helping hand to lift them from near-closing to million-dollar profits. The particular episode that caught my attention was a small barbecue restaurant in South Carolina. Marcus was being shown around the place to see how they operated and noted that they offered bariatric surgery portions with an appropriate discount. Wow! What a great idea!

Whenever my husband and I go out to eat, I invariably bring home most of the food I ordered. I don't like wasting food, so I end up eating the same thing for a day or two until the food is gone. It's not always the best nutrition choice and it's a boring way to eat.

Has anyone heard of a "bariatric surgery" discount anywhere? So many people are getting bariatric surgery. This would be a great idea for restaurants to adopt to accommodate the rapidly growing population of bariatric patients who are tired of taking home huge doggy bags, or worse, spending lots of money for food they may not even eat.

Maybe we need to start a Bariatric-Discount campaign to get restaurants to offer this option to our select group. Wouldn't it be great to get and pay for just the small amount of food we need? I'm calling Obama tomorrow! This needs to be addressed NOW!

Seriously, has anyone heard of this before?

psychoticparrot

Have not heard of it but it is a good idea!

Some surgeons give their patients a business sized card stating that you, the patient, has had bariatric surgery.  You can use this at some places to order off the children's menu or similar types of things.

I never used it.  It was my decision to have surgery and I shouldn't expect restaurants to change their menus to cater to my personal life choices.  Sometimes I'll order an appetizer which is much smaller and generally doesn't need to come home with me.   Or like you, I'll bring home my leftovers and eat them the next day.  It's not a problem for me.  I tend to order protein forward food in restaurants that I like.

I think the vast majority of WLSers are far to private, or afraid of embarrassment, to ask for bariatric portions and pricing in public.

I also despise waste. But I think that fear of wasting food is a bad thing for most of us. Growing up being forced to clean our plates was a horrible lesson. If you don't like leftovers, let it go. A little bit of food being thrown away isn't the worst thing that can happen. How many times did we finish a bag of chips, box of crackers, or whatever, so they wouldn't go to waste? It's one of the bad philosophies that helped us become obese to begin with.

You're right, Grim T. I tell anyone who will stand still long enough about my surgery, but not everyone feels the same way I do. And eating too much food to avoid throwing it out is even more wasteful than actually throwing it out. But it would be nice if restaurants at least offered the option for those who could benefit from it.

Sigh.

psychoticparrot

My husband got the same surgery I did about 11 months after me.  When we go to restaurants (which is a lot, actually) we'll order one entree and split it.  In that case there usually isn't any leftovers.  But when we want different things I love having leftovers for the next day! 

I got the card and my favorite restaurant takes it.  I get the Jr steak and it is still 2-3 meals for me.  Other days I make up for it and order the fillet and just eat the salad and take the steak and steamed broccoli home.  I and the parrots eat for 3 days.  They love broccoli.

The problem with this idea -- other than the fact that you are expecting the entire restaurant industry to cater to a very small percentage of customers who couldn't control their eating and ended up choosing to have surgery to address that issue (I don't think the rest of the world should accommodate my personal weakness/failure) -- is that restaurants then have to find a way to make ANY entree in a half size portion... which isn't going to happen.

Most of us find ways to order items that are already smaller portions or share plates with others or eat just the protein and leave the rest of the meal or just take the leftovers home (and eat them ourselves or let someone else finish them).

Not to sound rude, but if you are bothered by not eating something that is not "the best nutrition choice" for two or three meals, maybe you just need to make better choices when eating out.  Don't misunderstand... I do understand the boredom of eating the same thing three times in one week, and I completely understand wanting to have something "special" when you eat out (and therefore ordering something you wouldn't normally eat several times).  I occasionally order something special (but too high in fat/calories/carbs) and then separate out just the portion I know I can eat as soon as I get the plate and then I leave the other part untouched for someone else to take home as leftovers. We have a family dinner out every Friday night and my brother loves it when I do that, LOL.

Lora

• Sheldon: First, I notice that you offer soup and a half-sandwich?
  Penny: Yes.
  Sheldon: Where exactly does the half-sandwich come from? Are you giving me half of someone else's sandwich, or do I have to wait for someone else in the restaurant to order the other half?
  Penny: No, no, Sheldon, they just make a half-sandwich.
  Sheldon: You can't make a half-sandwich. If it's not half of a whole sandwich, it's just a small sandwich.

I think your idea is already catching on!

For years, it seems restaurants have catered to small groups of the population, i.e. "lighter fare" options, "Low carb" options, "weigh****chers points" options; now, with a larger section of the population now getting surgery, or just realizing that huge restaurant portions are so unhealthy, I am seeing more and more restaurants offering their already smaller lunch portions (1/4 to 1/2 smaller than dinner portions) as an all day option, or accepting bariatric cards. Often, I just order an appetizer, but those can tend to run to fried, or heavily sauced options that I don't like. I will often just order a grilled chicken breast or small steak and a steamed vegetable side. Even if it isn't a menu item by itself, most restaurants have some sort of grilled or baked chicken breast and a steamed vegetable or side salad. I just tell the wait person what I want, and it has never not been "doable"!. So, even if it is not termed "Bariatric Surgery Discount", most times your idea is already on the menu!