I have a young daughter and travel for work, I'm hoping to get feed back on what you all eat when out and about at chain places and sit downs. Sometimes finding the healthiest options are tough when you're on the go. Also how long do you all take to eat the portions you do?

I'm days away from my 5 month mark!

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I too travel frequently and have to eat out when we are away. I am nearing the one year mark, but have been eating out since just after my pureed stage. I have found a few things that helped me:

1. Get familiar with the menu BEFORE going. Most places have menus online now. Take a few minutes to research what restaurants are in the area and check out what they have to offer. I find if I am armed before going in, my frustrations are less.

2. Don't be afraid to order an appetizer as your meal. I do it all the time. When they ask if you want that first, I simply say "No thank you, this is my meal tonight." Never had an issue.

3. Protein, protein, protein! I tend to order fish, chicken, or if all else fails, a burger and I pull it apart. I eat the protein, or what I can of it depending on the portion size. Sometimes I give my sides to kids/hubby. Sometimes I just leave them on the plate.

4. If I really cannot find a single thing to order, I will get a Soup. I never order chowders, as they are too heavy for my sleeve and fill me too fast. However, most restaurants have French Onion or another broth based soup on the menu.

I love TGIFridays because I can order 2 sliders, eat just the patties and be full. I also have been know to ask if I can order off the kids menu. Some places allow it, some don't. I just tell them that due to abdominal surgery I cannot eat typical portions and I hate to waste food.

Best of luck & enjoy!!!

Thanks for the tips! Ordering and wasting food is annoying!

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When in doubt I choose Mexican and get fajitas then I can pick out the meat and eat some of the veggies and bypass the rest.

I've been looking at menus prior to surgery for items I'll be able to eat post surgery. Many restaurants have a light menu which often have at least 1 protein/veggie option. Chili's has several possibilities. You may not be able to eat the entire meal but they're smaller. A few places now have a a greek platter appetizer (hummus, olives, etc) - 99 Restaurant has one and a few local places here. We have a few places that have bun-less options for burgers (beef or turkey). As mentioned above - there's always soup. For fast-food - Wendy's Chili is an option or a grilled chicken sandwich minus the bun from the other fast food places. I'm not sure at what point salads will be okay but there's usually a salad option with protein and also you can replace a typical side (fries, potatoes)with a salad. In terms of traveling - many hotels have a little refrigerator now so you can bring back leftovers.

,9

I get appetizers or soups/chili or split a meal with someone. If I don't finish it, I take it with me

Just found out on here there is a bariatric card you can print out to hand to your server at several chains. I'll link it here!

http://www.obesityhelp.com/magazine/RestaurantCard.html

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A hamburger sounds yummy, three weeks out????