Eating out after surgery

sinderstorm

I'm 2 months out and still enjoy going out for date nights with my husband or the occasional family meal. I do try to scope out the menu beforehand, but know that I can usually find a cup of soup, some fish or shrimp, or even the toppings of a cobb salad that will fit my protein needs pretty easily.

Moe0112

Thank you for all the helpful advice. It has gotten a lot better over the past few weeks

sinderstorm

I'm glad to hear it. I thought of you last night as I 'suffered' through 1/2 of an appetizer of mussels in a white wine sauce.

RENAEJAE

9 days since surgery and eating out seems like a monumental task, but I am looking forward to sharing a meal with my family again soon! Thanks for all the great tips here.

rnin02

I went out with my husband over the weekend to a Chinese buffet of all places and it went well. It was nice to get out and do something, I got some seafood soup while he did the buffet and I just enjoyed my soup. I normally would have totally bypassed it and it actually tasted really good, and was such a different taste than chicken broth:)

badhair56

rnin02, you're braver than I am, I wouldn't trust myself at a Chinese buffet. that's the last place I'd trust. myself to go. I'd try to get my money's worth there, cause I really like Chinese buffets.

rnin02

badhair56 wrote: »

rnin02, you're braver than I am, I wouldn't trust myself at a Chinese buffet. that's the last place I'd trust. myself to go. I'd try to get my money's worth there, cause I really like Chinese buffets.

Well, this was 4 days postop so that might have helped:) and they let me pay for just my soup, I didn't have to pay for the whole buffet.

hockey7fan

I eat out too. I can order a hamburger and toss the bun. Or a grilled chicken salad. I ask the wait person to leave off anything I don't want or can't eat from a salad. I have dressing on the side. I love steak so I will order a steak and it can be several meals. I don't mind taking part of my meal home. Lots of places have steamed veggies too.

willowmarie12

Moe0112 wrote: »

So I'm now five weeks out and went out with the fam for the first time to dinally celebrate some good news. Nothing fancy ordered scrambled eggs had a few bites and I was good I was full. Boxed up my left overs to have tomorrow lol. And then I'll be damn as the waitress was bringing others their food part of me wished I could still eat that stuff. But looking at the weight I've lost and knowing the LONG journey I still have... I was ok with the choice I made and actually wished I made it sooner.

What was your experience good/bad or just plain ugly going out to eat after surgery?

I avoided eating out until this weekend. I am 3 months out and my family had a celebration at Olive Garden *my favorite by the way* and it was better than I expected. I was caught up in conversation and didn't have time to obsess over what I was missing out on. I will admit when my brother ordered my favorite dish I had a twinge of jealousy, but he took a bite looked at me and told me it tasted terrible with a smile on his face. My family us very supportive and that is the biggest support for me. I am sure it would be different if it was just me and my husband, but I also know that I am not in a place to do that right now. Baby steps for me as I continue to maintain the boundaries I put in place with foid. Sounds like you did well.

KDar1988

I hate eating out. The waitresses always think something is wrong with the food and constantly ask if I'm ok. I have the band and if I'm not careful and not chew well, the food gets stuck so I end up making multiple trips to the bathroom to spit out the slime or throw up. It's not enjoyable at all.

hockey7fan

KDar1988 that happened to me all the time with the band and it would make me so mad. I understand where you're coming from on that one. It was frustrating.

cheekitty

I traveled for the first time last month, and I was extremely anxious about eating on the road. I was meeting a friend for the first time in person (He knew about my surgery, but... y'know).

It was actually really great. My friend was happy to share his meals, and nine times out of ten, we ordered something we both liked for him, I'd take a small portion and he'd eat the rest. Or I'd order something we both liked, eat a tiny bit and we took it back to the hotel and he ate it later.

I do run into the whole 'Is everything OK?' from servers a great deal when eating out, but I still love the experience of being in a restaurant. I order a lot of salads, a lot of appetizer sized meals and I get a lot of doggie bags.

I've discovered a love of greek salad in particular, and when I'm out with friends, will sometimes have a bite of whatever appetizer they've ordered and get a salad to go. (I will get 4-5 meals out of a single dinner salad.)

I live in Boston, which is a very food-centric city, so this sort of behavior isn't really uncommon. And when everyone around me is drinking, I don't really stick out that much. (I was not a drinker pre-surgery, so this is not a hardship for me. )

garber6th

I am 21 months out today, and I have no real problem going out to eat, except sometimes the people I go with choose places that make it a little challenging for me, for example, a friend of mine wanted to go to Panera. The problem I had with going there is that while they do have some items with protein, such as sandwiches and salads, they aren't necessarily as protein dense as I feel I would need them to be. We ended up going to a nice burger place instead, and I got a turkey burger wrapped in lettuce. Also, buffets are a complete waste for me. They do have some fairly good options, but really, after WLS you just don't get your money's worth at a buffet! Lastly, I make sure I order what I want, how I want it. I have had wait staff ask if everything was ok when there was a lot of food left on my plate, but I just say I am full, end of story. It is kind of nice having leftovers when I go out to eat, saves me cooking a meal or two!

pawoodhull

KDar1988 wrote: »

I hate eating out. The waitresses always think something is wrong with the food and constantly ask if I'm ok. I have the band and if I'm not careful and not chew well, the food gets stuck so I end up making multiple trips to the bathroom to spit out the slime or throw up. It's not enjoyable at all.

I had the sleeve but will get that slimy feel or actually throw up if I eat too fast or too much. So eating out I am very careful to eat slowly and the minute I feel like I need to burp, I'm done. I always, always, always say something when my meal is delivered like "that's a lot of food, I will need a box for sure!" That sets the server up to know I won't be finishing my meal. If it comes with soup or salad and I only finish a little of that, I tell them how good it was and I won't be able to eat dinner if I finish that, when they ask if I'm done. And when I get that box at the end of the meal, I always tell the server that the meal was great, just way too much food for me. All of that eliminates the question of "is there something wrong with your meal?". I hope things settle for you and you can enjoy eating out again someday.

Pat

CityGirlInBurbs

I'm less than a week post op so I haven't eaten out yet. In the past when eating out I may have looked at a heathy(er) option but knew that it wouldn't fill me up and then order something more substantial. I'm looking forward to being able to look at a menu and know anything on there will fill me up! I hope I'm right!

Athollass

I had my sleeve 1 month and 4 days ago. We had to go out of town when I was between the smooth & soft phase so finding food on the road was a challenge. The waitresses/waiters did give a side ways glance when I asked for substitutions but usually were able to accommodate my request. Since reaching the "regular" phase I haven't ventured out. My husband is supportive and curious as he is preparing for a sleeve as well. We were joking the other day that eventually we hope they will let us order one meal to split. We'll have to see how that will fly!

badhair56

Athollass wrote: »

I had my sleeve 1 month and 4 days ago. We were joking the other day that eventually we hope they will let us order one meal to split.

i had my sleeve on April 1st. when my wife and I go out to eat we often get one meal to split between us and so far we've never had a problem. with the "portion" sizes being what they are, we both get plenty to eat

cabennett99

My wife and I routinely split a meal - most restaurants are glad to accommodate (you are the customer after all). They often double plate it without our even asking. I get the weirdest looks when I try to turn down even water....