Eating out after surgery

I am already thinking about how I will handle eating out after my surgery. I know the temptations will be there especially when I am socializing with my friends. Its been our tradition to order several appetizers and then maybe a dish or two and share them all and most often the appetizers and dishes are not the healthiest of choices. I have only told my best friend about the surgery so no one else in the group knows so that will be an issue. Learning to make healthier choices and sticking to them will be hard at a restaurant I fear. Overeating and not knowing the calories in the foods worries me. How have you all handled eating out after your surgery? Any tips?

If possible, I find out what is on the menu and make my choice before going to the restaurant. I find the healthiest choice. I skip breads, appetizers, and order without carbs on the side dishes. Most of the time, it will be grilled fish or chicken with vegetables. Most of it comes home with me in a doggy bag. Tasting the appetizers can a slippery slope leading to poor choices.

It depends on your group's choice of restaurant, where you are in your weight loss journey and also how you eat at home ( or most of the time ) .

I would always avoid fried and fatty foods like ribs and sliders and desserts but a few bites occasional indulgence especially if you eat lite normally are fine ... provided you're not actively trying to lose weight ( obviously then it's self sabotage)

I often bring a fat free salad dressing with me in my purse - and natural freeze dried butter seasoning to make fish and other dishes tastier without adding fat or calories.

I also really like buffets - everyone can taste a bunch of things and I can choose less fatty ( and fattening) items .

I won't try anything for the first time away from the house and I don't keep much in the way of not on plan foods in the house so that helps; I review the menu ahead to see what I will order and I focus on the conversation not the food. If I'm not hungry, I just get a beverage.

I also am super strict about the wait time after eating before I drink so that helps with not grazing while sitting around the table.

Once I mentally reframed it from "eating out to socialize" to "socializing at a place that happens to be a restaurant", it became easier.

A lot depends on where you are when dining out.

In the beginning, I would just get an appetizer and passing it off as not being to hungry. It would be simple things such as soup, shrimp, etc.

Father along in the program, I would get from kid's meals (if it's a healthy choice) or from the seniors menu. Most standard there includes broiled fish, turkey, etc. Ask for substitutions potatoes for another vegetable, no sauce or gravy, etc. I've been known to ask for a box right away. Half for the meal and rest for the next day.

Most people don't really don't care. They're there for a good meal and companionship. If they do question, tell them you're working on a healthy lifestyle and trying to improve your eating habits.

I often vomit up fries, pasta, bread, and meat. But everyone's pouch is different. So to avoid the 'exposure' to my surgery and vomiting, I often stick to soup and salad. No one in my life knows except for my husband.