I'm looking into getting the lapband. I'm curious, can you still eat out in restaurants and maybe have a drink with friends? I know you will not be able to eat much but I would like to hear stories from those that have the lapband.

Hi HarleyNana,

I just noticed we have the same bandiversary, just a few years apart. I was recently banded in 2007. I'm excited since I have read many of your posts and you are the first person i have seen with my date.

Sherri

I eat out a lot because we are always so busy. I love to go to Applebee's. I have my daughter get the new 3 choices with French Onion soup to start, then Jack mac and cheese, and the new mousse shooter. I have a couple bites of soup, then the chicken off the mac and cheese with maybe 5 noodles, then 2 bites of the shooter and I am great!! It cut our bill by a bunch and then we aren't wasting food! Sometimes we still bring stuff home!

My hardest thing was not drinking with my meals. I am doing much better, but it was a struggle!

Eating out in restaurants is not a problem. You just have to have the mind set that you are going to eat healthfully. I don't have any restriction (that I can tell) so I COULD eat anything, but I don't. My band doesn't control WHAT I eat so much as it cuts my URGE to eat. I can play with a small amount of food for quite some time.

As for drinking (not with meals but in a "drinking situation"), I usually drink iced tea when others are drinking beer. If it is more of a cocktail situation, I ask for non-sparkling Water with a few lime wedges and some ice. No one can tell that I'm not drinking. Sometimes I have cranberry juice on the rocks with a lime wedge. Keeps people guessing.

Just don't fall into the trap that many obese people find themselves in of worring about what other people think of what they are eating. It doesn't matter and it makes people make crazy bad choices.

My two cents.

Hehe....I didn't mean drinking alcohol with my meals--sorry if it came across that way...LOL! I meant anything. My whole life I have grown up drinking with my meals and now I am not supposed to. It has been a hard transition for me!

I go out to eat a couple times per week. No PB problems, no sliming...and I do have good restriction. Just eat slow and if necessary, STOP and let things pass. I eat out with my husband and while he DOES know I have the band, nobody else in the restaurant does. The server may just wonder if something was wrong with the food because I eat so little of these HUGE portions they bring out. :thumbup: I haven't had any alcohol since getting banded...I think I'm afraid of stalling my weight loss.

Mostly order from the appetizer menu. Try to hit restaurants that may be a la carte....the burger platter is a no no as can't (won't) eat the french fries...eliminate the bun....usually have soup/salad, and forget the all you can eat places! Was out for brunch with the girls but had to make smart choices and not the breads, sweets, etc! You have to make an effort to follow this new lifestyle....