This may be a crazy question, but it's something I'm curious about!

After having the lap-band surgery, what is it like eatting out at restaurants? I'd love to have an example of how it was prior to the surgery, and how it is now.

like for example: before surgery I ordered a burger and fries and I was able to eat it all...after surgery I order a burger and fries, eat a few fries, half the burger, and I'm full. I take the rest home in a doggy bag and finish it in the next 2 or 3 days.

this would be really helpful for me, I'm excited about the weight loss after reading so many post on here and I want to change my life style, but I really enjoy dinning out with my family (I'm the only one in my family trying to loose weight/has the lapband) and I'd like to know if it's still possible without getting 'stuck' or sick :[

i just spent a while 2 weeks eating out because I was on a backpacking trip. Though I never took my food home that I didnt eat, there was a huge difference in how I used to eat.

Ok so two examples and ones bad I know

So Mcdonalds yes bad I know one day I had no choice. Before surgery I could eat a whole adult meal no problem with a drink. Now two months after surgery I could never even dream of eating even a burger so I opted for a kids meal ( with choc milk to drink later). chicken nuggets seemed ok. Since I ate so slow by the time my friend was finished his normal meal I was no where near finished mine ( 1.5 nuggets) so he ate my fries while I finished my nuggets. Four nuggets and I wasnt hungry for some time after.

Another example while traveling last week. I was at a place in Thailand and most of the food was fried or involved a bun or rice. I got the pad mai or something which is chicken bits, bean sprouts ( I think they're called) egg, noodles, crushed peanuts in an olive oil kind of sauce or something. Before surgery I could def eat it all and still be hungry but now after surgery I simply picked around the plate eating small bits of the Protein and vegetables and ate a very small part of the noodles. My meal happened to be so delicious that all my friends ate it too which somehow made me feel more full ( because the plate was almost empty).

Just to note no one knows about my surgery even though i just spent 24/7 with some friends for 2 weeks. I thought eating out would be hard but it is so easy. Plus you live in an English speaking country where you can ask for things on the menu to be changed ( ie no rice) where in Korea even if I asked the waiter wouldnt understand why I wouldnt want something included in the price I pay.

that's exactly what I wanted! Thank you, you helped me so much! I want to continue eatting out with my family (they know about the surgery) and my friends (they dont know) and I want to be able to enjoy what I'm eatting without feeling like I may get sick or stuck. Thank you so much for your reply!:blushing:

i just spent a while 2 weeks eating out because I was on a backpacking trip. Though I never took my food home that I didnt eat, there was a huge difference in how I used to eat.

Ok so two examples and ones bad I know

So Mcdonalds yes bad I know one day I had no choice. Before surgery I could eat a whole adult meal no problem with a drink. Now two months after surgery I could never even dream of eating even a burger so I opted for a kids meal ( with choc milk to drink later). chicken nuggets seemed ok. Since I ate so slow by the time my friend was finished his normal meal I was no where near finished mine ( 1.5 nuggets) so he ate my fries while I finished my nuggets. Four nuggets and I wasnt hungry for some time after.

Another example while traveling last week. I was at a place in Thailand and most of the food was fried or involved a bun or rice. I got the pad mai or something which is chicken bits, bean sprouts ( I think they're called) egg, noodles, crushed peanuts in an olive oil kind of sauce or something. Before surgery I could def eat it all and still be hungry but now after surgery I simply picked around the plate eating small bits of the Protein and vegetables and ate a very small part of the noodles. My meal happened to be so delicious that all my friends ate it too which somehow made me feel more full ( because the plate was almost empty).

Just to note no one knows about my surgery even though i just spent 24/7 with some friends for 2 weeks. I thought eating out would be hard but it is so easy. Plus you live in an English speaking country where you can ask for things on the menu to be changed ( ie no rice) where in Korea even if I asked the waiter wouldnt understand why I wouldnt want something included in the price I pay.

I'm not a teen, but I'll answer anyway. We went out to eat Saturday night to Texas Roadhouse. I ordered half slab of ribs with mixed vegetables and a house salad. I ate about 1/4 of the salad and gave the rest to hubby. When dinner arrived, I ate one rib and a few veggies -the rest went home with me. I ate one rib for lunch yesterday and the rest is for hub's lunch today.

Sunday night, we went to Applebees. I order the french dip sliders (3 miniature french dip sandwiches). I ate one last night, will have one for lunch today and the other for lunch tomorrow.

I'm not saying these were healthy choices at all, but I don't want to completely deprive myself of my favorite foods. I just eat MUCH less of them and they last a lot longer. I should also add that I'm not losing weight as fast as others, but this is the way I chose to use the band.

Edited January 4, 201016 yr by june09bandit
run on sentence that was bugging me

I'm not a teen, but I'll answer anyway. We went out to eat Saturday night to Texas Roadhouse. I ordered half slab of ribs with mixed vegetables and a house salad. I ate about 1/4 of the salad and gave the rest to hubby. When dinner arrived, I ate one rib and a few veggies -the rest went home with me. I ate one rib for lunch yesterday and the rest is for hub's lunch today.

Sunday night, we went to Applebees. I order the french dip sliders (3 miniature french dip sandwiches). I ate one last night, will have one for lunch today and the other for lunch tomorrow.

I'm not saying these were healthy choices at all, but I don't want to completely deprive myself of my favorite foods. I just eat MUCH less of them and they last a lot longer. I should also add that I'm not losing weight as fast as others, but this is the way I chose to use the band.

thank you so much for your answer!! It really really helped me. My family and friends and I actually always go to applebees so the fact that you used that as an example was perfect. I certainly dont mind eatting small amounts over a period of days instead of never having some of my favorite things again :blushing:

when were you banded? and how much weight have you lost since then? if you dont mind me asking! :thumbup:

I went out last night to our favorite fish place. I ordered the same thing I have ordered for several years. Blackened Snapper. It comes with hush puppies, slaw, & potato. I asked for no potato. I had 1 hush puppy, 1 bite of slaw, & maybe 1/4 of the fish. I brought the rest home to eat over the next few days. This was my first experience out & all in all it was a good one!

I went out last night to our favorite fish place. I ordered the same thing I have ordered for several years. Blackened Snapper. It comes with hush puppies, slaw, & potato. I asked for no potato. I had 1 hush puppy, 1 bite of slaw, & maybe 1/4 of the fish. I brought the rest home to eat over the next few days. This was my first experience out & all in all it was a good one!

thank you so much for your answer! It's really comforting to know I can enjoy my favorite foods, just not as much of them (i.e. weight loss) thank you again! Good Luck on your weight loss!!!

I was banded June 4, 2009. I've lost about 35 lbs. Was losing steadily until I got an overfill and had to be emptied in September. I've had several fills since then, but haven't felt real restriction again. It's been a struggle since that unfill, but I've tried to refocus myself on exercise.

Best wishes to you, you can do it!

I was banded June 4, 2009. I've lost about 35 lbs. Was losing steadily until I got an overfill and had to be emptied in September. I've had several fills since then, but haven't felt real restriction again. It's been a struggle since that unfill, but I've tried to refocus myself on exercise.

Best wishes to you, you can do it!

it sucks that they had to empty your band! Good luck with refocusing on exercise! Maybe if you live close to a mall you could consider walking around the mall? thats what I did before my surgery and I lost 10lbs (plus eatting better) and as soon as I can I want to get back to the mall. Its a lot of fun to walk around and look at the sales and clothing I'll be able to wear one day!

good luck and thank you!

Restaurant portions are usually HUGE, LOL. We just never realized it until now. And now, I order whatever sounds appealing (taking into consideration the things I have problems eating or just shouldn't eat) and I ask for a go box and box up half to take home for dinner the next day. I just think of it as more bang for the buck .... two meals for the price of one. You'll come up with your favorite places. I don't do pizza usually, which is as much a personal choice as anything, and if I do eat it, I get crispy thin crust.

Restaurant portions are usually HUGE, LOL. We just never realized it until now. And now, I order whatever sounds appealing (taking into consideration the things I have problems eating or just shouldn't eat) and I ask for a go box and box up half to take home for dinner the next day. I just think of it as more bang for the buck .... two meals for the price of one. You'll come up with your favorite places. I don't do pizza usually, which is as much a personal choice as anything, and if I do eat it, I get crispy thin crust.

that's a great idea! immediately box up half of the meal so its "out of sight out of mind" and also so you dont over eat. when you eat pizza do you order crispy thin crust because it's less likely to get 'stuck' or cause problems for you? or is that the type you like?

thank you so much for your answer and help, good luck with your weight loss!

The pizza crust thing has a couple of reasons. First thing is that I have a problem with soft bread. If anything is going to get stuck, soft bread is it! Crispy/toasty/cracker-y is all okay because it can't stick itself into a ball of dough. And Crispy crust has fewer carbs/fewer calories that the thick crust you get at a lot of places. If I make pizza at home, I use a fat free tortilla as the crust. I used to be Type 2 Diabetic (the reason I got banded) and back then I had to control my carbs so it started then and it's been so long that I simply came to like the crispy thin crust better.

The pizza crust thing has a couple of reasons. First thing is that I have a problem with soft bread. If anything is going to get stuck, soft bread is it! Crispy/toasty/cracker-y is all okay because it can't stick itself into a ball of dough. And Crispy crust has fewer carbs/fewer calories that the thick crust you get at a lot of places. If I make pizza at home, I use a fat free tortilla as the crust. I used to be Type 2 Diabetic (the reason I got banded) and back then I had to control my carbs so it started then and it's been so long that I simply came to like the crispy thin crust better.

thank you so much! I'm more than sure that you just saved me a lot of painful moments and time trying to get un stuck. I appreciate all of your help and the help of others! thanks so much!

Remember: no soft breads :blushing:

When I eat chinese, I order a side of steamed veggies instead of rice. I can eat it several times if I take home the left overs. I eat less than 1/4 of what I would have before surgery.

Romanos macaroni Grill has a simply salmon diner that I can eat 3 times. It is grilled salmon, broccoli and asparagus. The total calories for the diner is around 400.

I also eat at Carrabbas and have either their grilled salmon or their chicken gratella with the brocolli and/or the spinach. I can eat them 2 or 3 times also. But I do have issues with the left over chicken being almost too dry.

Most of these places are about $15 a plate. With tip, you are looking at about $20. But I can eat them several times, not just once and I am saving on drinks because I cant drink and while I am eating. If I go with my sister or another person who doesnt eat much, we will split a plate.

A REALLY, REALLY GOOD LUNCH, if you have a Ted's Montana Grill....They have an $8 lunch menu and one of the meals is a small serving of salmon, green beans, a few garlic mashed potatoes and a bite-sized roll. The salmon is fabulous!!!

I still go out quite a bit actually but eat differently when we do. If I go to Breakfast with my husband I will order a crispy english muffin, i will eat 1/2 of it and give the other 1/2 to him, he will have a meal that has either bacon or ham on it and I will eat a little of that.

For lunch we just went to applebees this weekend, I ordered the new wonton tacos, they are 4 little tacos, I ate 2 of them, my husband ate the other 2.

Very often I will order an appetizer of some sort then I can share the rest with others at the table, i.e. we went to a pub this weekend, they had an appetizer called steak bites. It was about 5 pieces of steak that was maybe 3/4" x 1/5" with either a b b que or horsey dipping sauce. I ate 2 of them and a bit of salad, the rest was my lunch today.

So you can make it work, the thing I find is to make sure you pace yourself, eat slow, that way although others are eating more you are still eating while they are so no one feels akward. I tend to go for the meat first, salad or veg second, stay away from the potatoes, pastas, fries, or other starches they dont work for me and are empty calories anyway so why waste the small amount I can eat on something like that. Hope this helps.