The family went out to eat last night at Mimi's Cafe. I chose there because I really wanted some good Soup. So we get there and they bring the bread basket, I had a nibble of the sweet bread and ordered a pom/lemonade. Now my hubby doesn't share his food. He just doesn't. He doesn't want a bite of anyone elses but he is very....odd about his food. What he orders is what he eats and he always eats all of it. So sharing with him is out of the picture. The kids meals were corndogs, Pasta, pizza, yuck. All of the small meals were fried or pasta, neither which sit well with me. I ended up ordering the Clam Chowder. Once everyone's food gets there and I taste my soup I totally don't want it. I end up bitting the bullett and ordering the petiti sirloin with asaragus (YUM) only to eat about 2 pieces of asparagus and 3 bites of steak. I brought it all home but none of what I got, aside from the soup, heats well. My dinner ended up being over 20 bucks for basically about a cup of food and none of it is really any good for leftovers.

How do you handle eating out?

There is nothing really you can do unless you go to a place with steak and veggies on the kids meal.. I would suggest either bringing you own food or enjoy left overs the next day..

I order a lot of soup and salad. Luckily, I don't have to worry about sharing because my husband shares, or the kiddo and I split an entree with 2 sides.

I also order ala carte. I've ordered just a 6oz ribeye, or sirloin steak or a chicken breast with a side salad. Chilis, Friday, Logans steakhouse, and most locally owned little restaurants never refuse to serve me just a piece of meat. They typically just charge me for the meat, and salad. Like with Logan's they have an entree with 2 sides that's $12.99, I just order the steak and salad, I paid $8.00 for the steak and the salad was $1.99.

When I go to Breakfast every Friday morning with my girlfriends, I order a country fried steak with gravy. They charge me whole whopping $3.59 for the whole meal. It's a small CFS, but it's perfect size for me.

I always order and bring stuff home -- usually my hubby will eat half of mine, but then I have half to bring home -- so, I save it for lunch the next day. Like today we went out to a German restaurant and (I LOVE LOVE LOVE German food) I ordered what I wanted knowing I'd reheat and eat tomorrow -- it was a steak wrapped around bacon and onions. Yum it was good. But I could eat 3 bites. sigh. I really really really wanted to pig out and eat the entire plate (which could have served 2) but my reality is like everyone else's here. sigh.

I just always order steak and then I can bring it home and reheat and make it into steak sandwiches, steak salad, whatever.

I bring home 1/2 to 2/3 of everything I order out. I could feed the neighborhood on my leftovers! A lot of restaurants have "light" or "heart healthy" or "low carb" sections on their menu, and that is the first place I look. Well, if there is no shrimp cocktail on the appetizer menu. I love that Red Lobster will let you order the "add on" order of crab legs without actually "adding" it on to another entree and I almost always choose some sort of egg dish at places that serve breakfast all day. I'm a big fan of the veggie omelet with salsa.

I tend to stay away from beef items. They sit heavy in my sleeve and can be too tough when reheated. But chicken and fish items always work well for me. My family loves to eat out, so I've gotten good at breaking down a menu item into what I can/can't, should/shouldn't eat and ordering only what I want. I used to get annoyed at people who made special requests when they ordered, but now I'm one of those people. I've yet to run into a server or a cook, who was anything less than accommodating.

OMG. I never thought I would see the day when I could eat steak! THat is amazing that some of you guys can handle it and have not been sleeved too terribly long. SO EXCITING! So do yall remember when you first tried it?

My boyfriend and I eat out almost every day. I order things I can take home (i.e. not soup) and things that taste good as leftovers (steak, for example, is mediocre the next day).

i always try to teach my kids to order healthy things on the menu, and they share with me or i order a vegetable soup....and salad.

I had steak at about 6 weeks out. I never have any problems and it always sits well for me. I"m going to ask if I can just order the meat and not any sides. That would be perfect for me!

The family went out to eat last night at Mimi's Cafe. I chose there because I really wanted some good soup. So we get there and they bring the bread basket, I had a nibble of the sweet bread and ordered a pom/lemonade. Now my hubby doesn't share his food. He just doesn't. He doesn't want a bite of anyone elses but he is very....odd about his food. What he orders is what he eats and he always eats all of it. So sharing with him is out of the picture. The kids meals were corndogs, Pasta, pizza, yuck. All of the small meals were fried or pasta, neither which sit well with me. I ended up ordering the Clam Chowder. Once everyone's food gets there and I taste my soup I totally don't want it. I end up bitting the bullett and ordering the petiti sirloin with asaragus (YUM) only to eat about 2 pieces of asparagus and 3 bites of steak. I brought it all home but none of what I got, aside from the soup, heats well. My dinner ended up being over 20 bucks for basically about a cup of food and none of it is really any good for leftovers.

How do you handle eating out?

I usually order with my child an adult meal (we both agree on), with two plates!

Oh, I luuuuuvs me some steak. I had a few tiny bites of very tender steak right about 6 weeks out and it's always sat very well in my sleeve... better than chicken, early out.

When we eat out, if it's not a buffet (where it's so hard to NOT overeat because you want a bite of everything and not feel like the money's wasted on you), then usually I get something sensible with sensible sides (if included, like veggies as opposed to mac & cheese), eat what I'm comfortable with, and take the rest home. That way either I get another meal or two out of it, or my son (if he's home) gets it, or hubby gets it, or something. I don't feel bad ordering a full meal, 'cause it'll be eaten anyway, eventually!

Plan A for me to order something with my 9 year old son that we both like. Plan B, when we don't agree on something is to use a card my surgeon gave me. It is the size of a business card and says:

Medical Request to food Service Providers

This person has had surgery that significantly reduces the physical size of their stomach and is under Doctor's orders to restrict the quantity and type of food consumed. We request that you kindly allow him or her to order a small portion, or to make a selection from your children's or senior's menu. Than you for your cooperation.

I hope it works well!

I've only been in social situations since my sleeve 6 months ago only recently and never had any problem with it. Yes I always had leftover but I see that as a plus, one price for professionally cooked food that turns into 2 or 3 meals? I'll take it! And as for steak not translating into leftover the following day, I disagree; sliced thin in a sandwich, over greens in a salad, bathed in sauce over pasta, slivered into fajitas with cheese, and on and on! I've also ordered just the appetizer as my main meal and never had a problem from the waitstaff.

Your situation is different from mine, but I think the best thing is to just realize that when you go out, you're going to waste food. I actually kind of like the idea that I'm not cleaning my plate these days, but it is not economical by any means to go out and spend $20 for 6 bites. I would say if you can find something you would really like and that will actually make good leftovers, that's the way to go. I love omelettes, but they are terrible for heating up the next day, so I usually choose something else.

My husband and I both had the surgery, so he will usually share with me. We do, however, have vastly different tastes. We've never ordered even close to the same thing at restaurants, so this has been a bit of a challenge for us. We usually just try to pick what we think will have really good protein, but not many carbs. If we can't come to an agreement, I have my kiddo share with me. I'm always up for a burger (minus the bun for me) or a soft taco, and that's what he eats at 9/10 of the places we go. He's almost 8, but we can order the kids meal and share usually. My husband is really good about eating leftovers, too. He'll eat nearly anything warmed up the next day. We were out of town shopping the other day, and he was annoyed because we went out for lunch instead of supper. He didn't get to bring all of the shrimp home that I left on my plate because we had nowhere to put it.