Last night for Valentines Day we went out to eat dinner. I have to tell you I was terrified. At home in my cozy little house, I can take forever to eat and not worry about the consequences or anyone else noticing. I have to admit, I was a bit aprehensive!

First thing I did was try to order Decaf Iced tea, and was told they didn't have any. So I ordered Water, and then remembered I can't drink anyway! :crying: I must have read the menu 30 times trying to figure out what to order if anything at all. I ended up ordering some Soup which I was able to handle ok. I took one piece of shrimp off my hubbys plate and one (about 1/2 oz) of chicken off my daughters plate and put it on a little plate. That's all I had and was full!! I was so shocked I couldn't beleive it. They brought these great bread sticks out that looked fantastic and it never even bothered me one bit. Normally I would have pigged out and been so full on the bread sticks and still stuffed my meal down after those.

This thing really works. Every new phase, and every new experience is a big adjustment and it makes me feel so out of my element, but once you've passed that incident or that stage it gets easier and easier.

This I SO WORTH IT!!

Sounds less tragic than I imagine it being LOL Good for you!

Barbara,, that is great, pretty exciting eh.. Thanks for the post of good news.

Way cool. :crying:

I always review menus online in advance to have a game plan! And you are right, I always think about how slow I am eating only in a restaurant.

Glad you had a great time out. I agree it really does work, and eating out gets easier and easier as time progresses.

When we go to the mongolian grill/chinese buffet, we are always there for at least 1 hour to an hour and a half. If I'm going to go there, the husband and kiddo know we're gonna be there awhile.

Lucky you for getting to go out to dinner! We (me, hubby, son) went to see Avatar for the second time yesterday, this time on the Imax screen. Afterwards I asked if they wanted to go out and grab something to eat (cause I kinda did!) or go home and I'd cook steak.... they chose the steak. I had the ricotta cheese stuff. :crying: Gotta say, I'm looking soooo forward to being able to have a few bites of steak!!

Eating out has been a real challenge for me...Our southern culture literally REVOLVES around the next meal. Our society in general (wait, let me put my philosophy hat on..lol) wants more for less. Portion sizes as we all know are ridiculous. Its funny how I flocked to those same restaurants because of this when I could shovel food. Now, I see it as wasteful to go because I can only eat so little. I order half orders (when available) eat appetizers (even those are sometimes gi-normous) or the old, "honey, I'll just nibble off your plate" (grin) We truly are 'cheap' dates!!

After seeing how little I could eat at our Valentine's dinner last night, my husband agreed that we should start sharing dinners. He does not need to lose weight, but agreed that he does not need the "extra large" portions either. Should be fun when we are in the mood for different things!

After seeing how little I could eat at our Valentine's dinner last night, my husband agreed that we should start sharing dinners. He does not need to lose weight, but agreed that he does not need the "extra large" portions either. Should be fun when we are in the mood for different things!

We share a lot of the times. One of our favorite steak houses has a special when you order a steak dinner, you can get 1/2 rack of ribs for $6. PERFECT lol. John orders his 12oz steak, 2 sides, and I get to have 3 of the ribs and I nibble on his side dishes.

When all 3 of us are out, me and the kiddo share an entree and sides. TGI Fridays, Applebee's, and Chili's all do that 2 for $20. Appetizer, 2 Entrees, and a dessert to share. We always get a bunch of different stuff so all of us can eat. It's like going to a buffet now when we go out to eat because we all share stuff. Definitely a cheap night out, when you feed a family of 3 for less than $25 including the tip.

To everyone who thinks everyone else in the restaraunt is noticing you NOT eating, I promise they aren't. I can't ever recall a time in my life when I've been lurking over other people's tables watching what they do or don't eat. I guess I can say this because I eat out so much these days, and have social luncheons 2-3 times a month with a bunch of other Air Force wives.

Hi am laughing out loud and SO happy for you Barbara. Another good aspect of this that we can save alot of money eating out by eating off other peoples plates:)

Sounds like all went well. How exciting. I know how scared I was to go out to eat for the first time with my band. Eventually all went well, and I really only had a problem a couple of times. Here's to getting our skinny lives up and runnin! :smile::smile::smile: