:faint: Hi how is everyone? well i have been banded for six weeks now and last nite i went with a couple of friends out for dinner, now i knew before we even went that it wouldnt have been as simple as before and been able to order what i wanted and i was totally fine with that because i do not regret having the band at all! im glad i got it!! But what actually happened was that i wasnt able to order anything at all!! the place we went to had no appetizers or small serves of anything whatsoever and just looking at the menu and seeing i couldnt order nothing made me feel left out and for some reason i got upset and had a little cry!!:cry i know it sounds silly and i did feel silly but i couldnt help it!!:hungry: did anyone else feel like this or still feels like this at times? Dont get me wrong ,like i said i have no regrets about the band at all, but for the first time i go to a resturant and could not order a thing and it was i guess sort of wierd! and then on top of that one of my friends offered me some of her food but then i thought, i dont want everytime that i go out to a resturant with friends that they have to feel like they have to offer me things or work around me!! i dont want to be not treated different but feel like it!! does anyone know what i mean? sorry if this sounds silly, but i feel like everyone her can somehow relate to eachother!!!!

I just dont think it has to be like that! You are allowed to go out and occasionally eat something unhealthy or fattening, although you'd be hard pressed to find a restaurant that didnt offer some reasonable choices, particularly in Melbourne. Although six weeks out makes it hard because no doubt you havent gained total confidence in what you can and cant handle and that type of thing.

Iv'e been out for dinner at least a dozen times since I was banded in December and never had any trouble. I went out last night in fact for girls' nigth (I can recommend Almazette in Nth Caulfield highly!!). I made a bad choice actually, the thing I thought I ordered was described as minced lamb, rice and pine nut combo and turned out to be deep friend balls of it, which didnt worry me so much except that it was very cakey and difficult to eat so I didnt eat much.

I never did eat much when I went out though as a glass of wine, lots of talking and eating all together to me always meant excruciating wind pain within an hour or two, I must swallow lots of air. So I'm used to just sampling in restaurants and not hoeing in and stuffing myself. And I dont feel I must eat lots or eat everything or I'm "missing out". If that's how you were feeling, then its all about an attitude change, learn to appreciate sampling, tasting and seeing your friends, not stuffing a big meal down your gob.

I also dont worry about not being able to eat it all. The price of the meal to me is about catching up with people, not getting my money's worth by eating everything on my plate.

And finally, if you're thinking that you must always choose healthy, low fat etc then dont worry about it. An occasional meal out means nothing, you want to eat like a normal person not be on some horrible diet for the rest of your life. Eating out is one of the pleasures of our modern way of life and you should give yourself permission to enjoy it! You cant blow your diet totally, you cant eat that much anymore so enjoy what you can eat.

Nobody has to work around you, you just order something you like the look of and eat what you can of it, leave the rest.

That's all easily said by someone who doesnt have a problem with PB's and intolerances to food, and yep, being six weeks out does make it awkward but it does get a lot better.

Philli,

Unless for some reason, I'm working alone I eat out in restraunts every day at lunch. I have since I returned to work after being banded. I do the best I can with each restraunt even if I have to only order a side item or 2.

I DO NOT recommend getting appetizers because quite often they are very high in fat. They're usually deep fried and breaded nightmares of caloric vices.

Often, I will get Soup (eat that first) and get a side salad or a half a sandwich (I'm lucky I can still eat bread).

Many restraunts offer a children's menu, but again these are often hamburgers, hot dogs, mac n cheese, french fries, etc. I LOOK at the children's menu and SOMETIMES, I find something healthy like grilled chicken tenders and a side like rice or mashed potatoes.

Once you get the hang of what you can tolerate and what you can't, you'll feel more comfortable in restraunts. Tuna/ salad sandwich, then pick out the tuna/chicken is usually O.K., or even ask them to just send the salad. Just remember, they often add LOTS of mayo.

My rules are to do my best to stay away from deep fried foods and focus on making sure I get some good Protein. If I can find grilled, baked, broiled, etc I get that. There's no shame in getting a full sized meal and not being able to eat it all, taking left overs home, etc. I've given up the "clean your plate" syndrome.

Remember, this is a learning process. I would never encourage you to make unhealthy dietary decisions, but as long as you make good decisions MOST of the time.........what's one french fry?

Trouble is restaurant culture is a bit different here in Australia - for one thing doggie bags are illegal due to health regulations. Kids menus are only able to be ordered by CHILDREN, there's no way they'd let an adult order from the children's menu and yep, its always chicken nuggets and chips, hot dog and chips, fish and chips or spag bol, not the kind of stuff you go to a restaurant to eat. And you only get kids menus in downmarket restaurants anyway - pubs, bistros and the like.

I know how you feel. I had a girlfriend suggest we go out to eat at a buffet. My blood ran cold at the thought of just being able to eat a few ounces of food. I know there would be too many questions about that, and you can't take home a doggie bag at buffets. She hasn't mentioned it again, but I'll suggest a regular restaurant instead when she does. Me and DH are going to Maine at the end of the month and honestly that is one of my biggest fears, what will I eat while I'm there? One thing in my favor, is that I can eat ANYTHING as long as I remember to chew it well. I don't get a fill until I return. I think all of the above suggestions are good to remember.

Roberta

In OZ can you get just soup or just a side dish? That is what I do, I will order a soup and a side of say veggies, or a soup and 1/2 sandwich and just eat the insides, I usually tell them I am doing low carb and they can leave the bread off, no sense in wasting it or tempting myself to try and eat it. I also have ordered and split the meal with someone else, usually my daughter. Can you split an adult portion with kids? That way you are getting something you want and the kids are eating healthier foods too. ~Mandy

:clap2: hi there, thanks for everyones replies. In Australia it is a bit different, as one of the ladies said ,us adults arent able to order childrens food and if we did its alll pretty much hambergers, chips and nuggets, fried stuff pretty much!! This resturant that we wentto was more of a take away place so it was hard for me and i didnt get anything from there. I know at proper restaurants they have small size food portions(apetizers) so i know if i go to another one it wont be as hard ,but it was just wierd to go through that andfeel upset, i actually feel kind of silly now that i got upset over that!!:Banane41: :nanahump: I go and see my doctor again this friday so i dont really know what will go on there, maybe another fill? anyways thanks again and ill keep pple posted on progress nd and all that other stuff!!!

Don't feel bad about getting upset. Right after banding, I got really really angry with my husband because he ordered a cheeseburger and I had to have soup. Looking back, I feel bad about it now, but I was pissed at the time. ~Mandy

Yeah, takeaway at six weeks out would have been difficult. It really does get much easier.

I find too, I just dont care that much now. Its only food. I dont care if it goes to waste because I dont eat it and I enjoy what I can fit in more, not worry about not enjoying what I cant eat.

Trouble is restaurant culture is a bit different here in Australia - for one thing doggie bags are illegal due to health regulations. Kids menus are only able to be ordered by CHILDREN, there's no way they'd let an adult order from the children's menu and yep, its always chicken nuggets and chips, hot dog and chips, fish and chips or spag bol, not the kind of stuff you go to a restaurant to eat. And you only get kids menus in downmarket restaurants anyway - pubs, bistros and the like.

Just reading thru old posts and that's not necessarily true, doggie bags are not illegal everywhere although in most they are, places like fasta Pasta still do it and a mexican place I go to called montezumas still do it, the only reason they make it illegal is because if you don't reheat the contents enough to kill bacteria there liable - so if you get sick from it you can sue them, but most people are smart enough to know that you reheat something til it's smoking hot to know it's warmed through right? And as for the kiddie meals I don't see why anyone should be refused - your paying them - your giving your money to them, if I ever came across anything like that I'd ask to see the manager, and if they refuse just leave, there loosing customers and probably more because if you choose to tell others that there service was horrible - they won't go there either which will mean more revenue loss for them - there not willing to do that so in the end they will probably agree.

next time why not simply offer to go halves with one of your friends? A lot of people I know won't eat an entire meal on their own so sharing a meal can be an option. You won't even be eating half anyway, so they won't starve and you can always order an extra side portion to bulk it out a bit.

Just about every restaurant I know will make changes to one of their meals. You can have something left out, something added or change the portion size completely. Why not simply find something you like and ask them to do it in an entree size next time?

I know that the places I eat at (when I do eat out) don't offer doggy bags. Places here in QLD that do takeaway as well as eat in offer dogy bags, but most places that don't do takeaway don't do doggy bags. If you get what I mean!

And I don't think I'd want the crap on the kids menu. Yes, they are smaller, but 9/10 times they are just crap. Nuggets, chips, hotdogs and fried fish are not my #1 selection when I look at the menu! LOL. I would rather pay for a full serve of an adult meal and just leave what I don't eat.

i've found that most cafes/resaurants that wont bag up your left over's for you are more than happy to give you an empty plastic container to do it yourself. its a liability thing i guess. and i dont know if this is too extreme, but take a tuppaware container with you and do it yourself:-)

kt

I always order the Soup, I think its always a safe bet. Quite often i can't finish it, but atleast it won't get stuck and its always cheap:smile2:

When I was first banded, my husband always ate my left overs as to avoid attention being placed on me as to why i wasn't eating it all. I have since gotten over that and I know when to stop.

I think everyone gets to learn what is good, safe food for them. For me, its calamari. Yeh for some reason, I find eating calamari quite easy. i can have an entre size serv and be very content.

YUM! Calamari!! An entree-sized serve of Salt & Pepper Squid with Chilli Mango dipping sauce is my staple meal of choice at any restaurant! :bolt:

YUM! Calamari!! An entree-sized serve of Salt & Pepper Squid with Chilli Mango dipping sauce is my staple meal of choice at any restaurant! :bolt:

I have just got back home after eating out. We went to the Wembley foodhall (not sure if yo know it) but they have a great Malaysian Hawker shop and I gotthe yummiest Curry Laksa. I could only eat just under half of it, and my husband finished it, but I felt so content.....YAY

If you haven't tried it and like Asian food, give it a go:thumbup: