Since you have had surgery,

have you gone to a restaurant, and what did you eat since you are only eating little amounts.

Kat: When first eating out, I only ordered what I had eaten before at home. Usually, only from one of my kids or my wife's plate. A side salad is good for me now or one with shrimp - as I know my stomach tolerates it well. I love the taste of beef but eat very little of it unless at home as it'**** or miss on how it affects me. Just start out as safely as you can and don't be shocked if you can tolerate something one day but it makes you sick the next for awhile after the surgery. Your new stomach takes some adjusting to. Dave

I ususally go to Denney's or Golden Corral. At Denneys I order a regular meal, eat about half and take the rest home to reheat and enjoy later. I skip the salad before the meal and sip water while hubby enjoys his salad. Iceberg lettuce does not set well with me since the surgery and if I did eat the salad, I would not have room for the main course. The first time I went to Golden Corral, I enjoyed a small portion of steak, baked potato, and some veggies. Since I cannot take out any uneated portions from the buffet, I take very small portions and when I get full, I cover the plate with my napkin so I'm not tempted to force in any extra bites. I pace myself and eat slowly and since hubby is a fast eater, we usually finish at the same time.

I agree with Dave - I usually try only things I have tried at home. I like going for Mexican, as refried beans usually do well. I ask about the fat content, though, and only go to restaurants that don't add lard or extra fat. I can usually find things to eat at Italian places, but Chinese has make my stomach upset ever since surgery. Eggs don't go down too easy, either, but some people do well with them and omelets are good. I'm a vegetarian, so sometimes our eating out options are limited. I've been on liquids since Christmas, so just the thought of all this makes me hungry. Good luck - eating out can be fun and a challenge - but we're a cheap date now! elizabeth 359/253/160

Kat, I've eaten out just a couple of times in the past week or two. (see my "I feel NORMAL" posting January 1 or 2) First, I looked at restaurant menus online to see what each restaurant had available. Once there, I chose a salmon dish (I'm not up to other meats or salads yet) and asked for the sauce on the side. It came with mashed potatoes and greens. That wonderful meal lasted me FOUR meals total! Although fish can be tricky warming it up without getting dry, I just put a wee bit of the sauce on it, and it was perfect (also covered it to keep in the steam.) The next time we went to IHOP and I got scrambled eggs with cheese on them and hash browns. I ate about 1/4 of the eggs and picked out some soft portions of the potatoes, then gave the rest to my hubby. Most restaurants have menus online now, so it's a good way to figure out ahead of time what you'll order. Makes the whole menu less intimidating! Good luck, Tammy

We try and eat out at least once a week. I usually order off of the childrens menu and that is more than enough. I like mexican, italian and seafood...these usually sit well with me. I leave the beef for home because it is a hit or miss thing. Ask your surgeon's office if they provide cards that you can show so that you can order from the children's menu. I love eating for around $3.00 and not even finishing that!

I do eat out . And Love it . What I do .. to prepare myself for this adventure .. and I call it that because you just never know .. I ask for right up front a to go box . This helps me to not over eat . Now - I get stared at a lot - .. when I do this .. Once I get the box .. I put on my plate what I know I will eat and take the rest home . I do not eat at Buffets . These places are the reason I weighed 310 pounds .. and it pains me to sit there and watch people pile on all that food .. .,,, Just me .. When I do go out .. I eat healthy of course .. and normally share a plate .. As Dianna - we are share buddies when we eat out . Thank Goodness we like the same things ! Hope this helps you . Nat

I love eating out, as I'm not much of a cook. I even order carry in on a pretty regular basis. Since my surgery I've been the queen of doggy bags. My room mate loves it! I normally order a regular meal...as kids menus rarely appeal to me...hot dog and mac and cheese, no thanks! My first real meal out was at Morton's Steak House. It was a work event, so the bill wasn't headed my way at the end of the night...I ordered just like I would have presurgery...BUT....I took home THREE doggie bags. Everyone thought it was hillarious, but no one at work knows I've had the surgery, so I guess it would look a little funny. I honestly just had them wrap up the salad before they brought it out, cause I knew I'd never be able to eat that along with the appetizers my boss had ordered and the tasty steak I was waiting for. A lot of times I order appetizers...especially hot wings, cause I do REALLY well on those and get protein. But I ususally still need a doggy bag, bc appetizers are sometimes MORE food than the average meal. My doc did give me a medic alert card to provide to restaurants if they give me a hassle about ordering off the kids menu. I have yet to use it in a restaurant since most people don't know I had the surgery. It did get my spiked OJ past security at the army/navy game, though! Haha! Best of luck! LB

LB, Something you stated made me want to drop you a note - you didn't tell anyone at your job. Well I have my surgery at the end of the month and I don't plan on telling anyone here at work. Now I am having my gallbladder out during my WLS surgery so what they think I'm having done is Gallbladder surgery - which is the truth. Can you please let me know how hard or easy was it to keep it from others that you had WLS. Do people ask you all the time how you took off the weight? Just wondering - any comments is appreciated. Jean

Hi, Jean! It wasn't too hard to keep it from people at work. Since I see them everyday, most of them never noticed I was losing weight. I had my surgery on 10/14/05, and only now have people said, "Hey, Lacey...it looks like you've lost some weight." Even though I'm losing drastacly it doesn't appear that way to everyone else. When someone does happen to ask me how I lost weight I tell them portion control, 5 small meals in a day, cutting out sugar, and excercise. All of which is true. I only took one week off from work following surgery and that was a bad idea. I ended up calling in sick for a second week. I just didn't feel well. When I first came back I was also accused of being annorexic by one busy-body in the office. I laughed it off as paranoia, and made sure that when I did eat, someone was watching. Haha! Good luck! LB