I have a family who loves eating out. Was this a hard transition for anyone? Is it weird when everyone else is eating and you are sitting there? Does the waiter look at goi funny? I want to still enjoy the family time. Is there something you all started with your family in place of dinners?

Just order something you can have that you would enjoy and save half for a take home box. Then pick at what is left on your plate and engage in conversation.

My first restaurant food was chili. When I went to a Mexican restaurant I ordered a chicken fajita, ate some of the insides and took the rest home for another day.

This might be easier than you think.

Thats true. I just dont want to seem different.

My husband is a huge fan of eating out. Since we don't have kids at home it is easier to select where to go that fits with my more limited options. Granted, I am 8 months out now so I am not as strick as I was at first. Here are some of the things I have found work for me.

(I am located in Texas so some of these options may be regional....)

1. Wendy's small chili (I can finish about 2/3 of it now, but less when we first started getting them)

2. Chick-fil-A grilled nuggets or salad options

3. Mexican - chicken tortilla Soup (hold the tortillas/chips). Hubby orders fajitas and I just eat the chicken and peppers without anything else.

4. Chinese - Egg Drop Soup. Beef broccoli or Pepper Beef. Tip: Order hot green tea to start. You can sip this until the entre comes out. keeps you busy and gets fluids in!

5. Jimmy John's sandwiches: get the unwich version and finish what you can

6. BBQ place - Get the chicken or turkey option and skip the sides. Don't be afraid to walk in someplace and just order the meat.

7. Italian - (this is a hard one for me) I usually just stick to a soup or side salad. sometimes they have just shrimp appetizers or I have ordered the mozzarella sticks and just pulled off the breading part and eaten the cheese.

8. Wings places (Buffalo Wild Wings or similar). Order the grilled wings or just live a little and get the regular wings. I can only eat 3-4 so make sure you order the snack size...

9. Steak places - Hubby orders 8 oz. filet and I get 2-3 oz of it and a side of green Beans.

10. pizza - again a hard one. I just eat the toppings off of the pizza and leave the crust.

I am sure there are other things I am forgetting but those cover our usual eat out spots.

4. Chinese - Egg Drop Soup. Beef broccoli or Pepper Beef. Tip: Order hot green tea to start. You can sip this until the entre comes out. keeps you busy and gets fluids in!

This would be a problem since I can't drink before I eat. One of the first times I went out to dinner I ordered a Water and went to town on it thinking I was getting ahead for the day. food came out and I was like rut ro. My pouch was full of water. Live and learn...

Just order sides. A side of Beans and rice at Mexican restaurant. We go to the same restaurant all the time. I also will order a single tamale.

Egg drop soup is great at Chinese restaurants. Even a side of fried rice would be okay. Rice is carbs but if you just eat it every now and then you will be fine.

Last night we went to a burger 0lace and I got a turkey burger with a side of broccoli. No bun. The waitress never batted an eye and I didn't feel any different. I really wanted my man's onion rings but I got over that quickly.

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Thanks everyone! I guess its just trial and error. Im just nervous. I will have my surgery most likely in April and I am trying to cover all my basis before then.

Thats true. I just dont want to seem different.

Why? Will your family love you less if you don't eat?

No not my family but like the wait staff wondering why I dont eat that much. I just dont want questions. No one really knows im having surgery except family.

When I go out with my family or roommate I'm not allowed to order anymore. Because they say I only eat three bites so I should just take it off their plate. And save my money. It's a hard concept to grasp mentally. Going to a restaurant and not ordering. But it makes sense. These people are aware of my surgery and are always accommodating me. I do pitch in with the tips at the end.

Like everyone else has said, once you are on solid foods, it's pretty easy to find SOMETHING you can eat just about anywhere. Ask for a to-go box at the beginning and put the extra in there before you even start eating. That helped me a lot when I was still having trouble with my eyes being bigger than my stomach and eating too much before the "full" feeling kicked in. I don't have to do that anymore at 16+ months out, but at like 4 months out, it was pretty helpful.

No not my family but like the wait staff wondering why I dont eat that much. I just dont want questions. No one really knows im having surgery except family.

One thing I figured out really soon after being sleeved and worrying about wait staff or people we are with noticing how little we eat is this:

Nobody notices or even cares.

We are so self absorbed when we are newly sleeved (rightly so), we don't realize that that the rest of the world doesn't revolve around our dietary habits

I usually order a Water with lemon because people just don't get it that you don't want a drink. I may take a couple of tiny sips of it.

I've had waitstaff ask me if there was something wrong with my food. I just tell them it was great, can I have the rest of it to go please.

I go to meetings at restaurants on a regular basis and I usually order a steak and with the leftovers I can have 3 more meals out of it.

At Denny's recently I ordered off the senior menu (no one asked my age). It was a plate with one egg, two sausage links, toast (gave to my mom), and a bowl of fruit (ate a couple of grapes and gave the rest to my kid).

At Marie Callendars I usually order the hot artichoke/spinach dip appetizer, and ask for celery sticks instead of chips. At least half goes home with me in a to-go box.

Eating out......it is a weird experience.

It wouldn't be so bad if we could eat and drink simultaneously with our sleeves. I'd finish my dinner and sip coffee or tea afterwards as they continued to eat.

Take today for instance....went out for lunch with my wife. I ordered a split lobster tail, broiled fish and a skewer of grilled shrimp with steamed broccoli & zucchini sides. She ordered a shrimp plate.....some heavily breaded, some extremely spicy (bang-bang style) and a skewer of the grilled version with a side of linguini and some type of tomato based sauce.

She had the salad bar while we waited on our meal. The stuff that was on her salad was a meal unto itself.

20 mins of small talk while she ate the salad.

food arrives and I eat 2/3 the lobster tail and share the rest.....3 of the grilled shrimp and a couple bites of fish while she eats her various shrimp styles with the linguini.

I took an excruciating long time to eat but I was done, done and done while she kept at it.....then went back to her salad.

Seemed like it took forever.

What really prolonged the deal was the fact that she had just, this morning, been to the doctor for follow up on bloodwork taken for suspicious gal bladder issues, reflux, heartburn and etc. I'm fairly certain he told her to avoid soft drinks, fried food, spicy food and acidic food. So....her meal included all of the above and had the predictable results. Post meal coughing and discomfort that I saw coming from a mile away.

I've got to find a way to enjoy going out for meals.....but right now it's not so much fun. I think I'll let her go out with her girlfriends for such meals and we'll just have our outings together at Starbucks and the like. I'll get a killer cup of java or two and she can have all the treat-eats she cares to order......or when can go somewhere that I can order a skinny margarita and relax while everyone else satisfies their carnivorous habits. We have eaten out and sat at the restaurant's bars and done just that and it was much more pleasant for me.....football or basketball on the bar televisions.....other folks around to interact with, etc. Wing joints with a bartender that will mix 'em like I request are my favorite spots so far.

I've got to relax and be more patient. I'm not there yet.

I'd rather grill up a feast at the house and let folks eat while I prep, cook and clean up. I don't feel like camping out at a seat at the table.

No not my family but like the wait staff wondering why I dont eat that much. I just dont want questions. No one really knows im having surgery except family.

Who cares what the waitstaff thinks. I get it. I am over 2.5 years out. I've had a few concerned waiters ask if I didn't like my meal or offer to bring me something else. I simply say I'm fine, smile and resume my conversation. I've never been questioned when I just order a drink or a cup of Soup.