It seems every time I go out to eat now I always get asked questions like

Was there somthing wrong with the food? Is everything OK etc... My husband and I even had a manager come over and ask if there was somthing wrong when the waitress notices I hadn't ate much.

I have started saying I'm just not that hungry and I need a box.

I guess it's better then them looking at me and thinking "I can't believe she ate that much!

Anyone else with similar experiences? How have you handled it?

I know exactly what you are saying. I ate about 2-3 bites of my food one day and the waiter kept coming by and asking if the food was ok. It was akward. Finally, I told him that I just wasnt hungry...LOL I guess he thought it was strange. He gave me a look and then asked if I needed a box...

That wasnt the only time either. Most of the time, I just eat off of everyone else and tell the waiter that I ate already. Maybe one day we wont get wierd looks because we will be smaller. I think they expect us to eat a monster sized portion of food because we are big...

Oh well. I just ignore it all. I know what is going on and so do the people I am eating with. The waiter doesnt really matter in the long run...

Good luck!

Ps. alot of restaurants will let you order from the kid's menu if you ask!

When i first started going out for dinner after the Band I felt like the whole resturaunt was watching me. Now I just tell them I had a big lunch. Now I have lunch for tomorrow.

I hate this, especially with the in-laws. I always try to order something I know I can eat a "decent, unnoticeable" amount of, like soup or something. Or something with alot of bones in, like ribs (sure...i order them for the bones, you can believe me, right?) I get water, take small bites, eat real slow...lots of water.

I hate to admit it, but i've even had to duck into rest room to cough up enough so i didn't do it next to the table!

Usually I can get away with ordering soup and saying, "oh, this is all I'm getting, Im watching my weight, I'm oing really goo too, so I don't want to mess up ") usually all the tiny people around me are like, "OH, good for you." and change the subject. (Although i secretly think they are thinking, "it's about time!"

Maybe I have a weird view of this, but I LOVE to do this at a restaurant especially with the family. I am less hungry around them. I feel almost like I'm showing off! At the same time it sucks when my 118 pound sister in law pigs out and has two bowls of soup and an entree....WHY can she eat like that????

I kind of think its funny when the waitress walks by looking at my uneaten plate with concern on her face 4 or 5 times before she asks if it was okay. I went to lunch with a banded friend one day and we both ordered big plates of food knowing we would be taking most of it home to our husbands. It was pretty funny. I just tell them it is really good but i will need a to go box.

There's an Indian restuarant we used to eat at once a week for the last nearly 4 years. A month post-op I went back and ordered 1 dosa. I only ate 1/4 of it with a little bit of the soup. Usually I eat a whole dosa, whole soup and some appetizers. Anyway the chef came out personally to see what was wrong. About 10 minutes later he came out again with a new dosa. I ended up taking that one plus the left over one home. A week later we went back and I made a special trip into the kitchen to let the chef know that his cooking was amazing and I just had stomach surgery and couldn't eat a whole lot so I'd be taking atleast half of my food home.

Other places do seem to look at me like I'm crazy.

I had lunch with a male friend of mine today... he knows about the surgery and also knew I had a fill yesterday. Anyway when we got to the pub he said he wasn't all that hungry and was going to order a salad so I suggested that we share a meal. The meals there are so big. He was happy to do that so when the food came over, I asked for an extra plate and cutlery. I'm over worrying about what people think. In the end I'd rather do that than spend money on food I'm not going to finish. (We don't usually take leftovers home in Australia).

Well, my husband usually watches over me like a hawk to see what he can eat once I'm finished! And, when I'm out with friends, it's like the food lottery to see who is going to take home my left-overs if I don't take them myself! Most of the time, I order what I want, eat a little and take it home. But, I have to admit, sometimes it's fun just watching the hubby and/or friends hover to see what they can nibble on!! LOL

My doctor gave me a little card that shows a little blurb about my surgery and, sometimes, I show it if the wait-staff are being a little toooooooo observant.

I usually order a to-go box when I order my food. I simply say "Go ahead and bring it now because I know I will need it." No one has ever questioned me. If I sense a question, or someone asks if the food was ok, I just say "It's great so I want to take it home, I just wasn't as hungry as I thought." If Ie ver got a direct question, I would just tell them that I have a lap-band and physically cannot eat that much food.

In fact, some local bandsters I know locally used to get together for lunches every now and then, and once we were at The Melting Pot and not sure if they'd let us all split a fondue so I explained to the waiter that we had all had weightloss surgery and physically could not eat more than one fondue between all of us, and he didn't charge us the surcharge you're supposed to get for sharing.

i, like wheetsin, just as for the to go box when the food comes to the table. i will not, however, explain myself. it's no one's business that i have my wonderful lap band.

if it's a nicer restaurant, i do usually wait until i am finished cause they take the food and box it up for you, but normal, every day restaurants, i have no hesitation asking for the box.

With my hubby and I both banded, if we can agree on what to order we just share it. Recently at a Ruby Tuesday's we ordered a meal to share, the server (or kitchen staff) actually split the meal and brought it on two plates. We tipped nicely for that!

Another time at a family owned restaurant we both ate just a small portion of our meal and didn't want a box because we weren't going home for hours and didn't want it in the car so long. The waitress was sure we weren't pleased and kept asking if something was wrong. When it finally dawned on us why she was concerned, we told her the truth. But we aren't touchy about it. We'll tell anyone who will listen. LOL I certainly do understand that others are more private and it can be difficult to deal with.

I love eating out. It gives me a chance to eat things I don't prepare at home. My meals are usually a few dollars more expensive cause I usually order salmon or fish of some sort (yum-O) It will feed me for 3 meals so I'm okay with the price.

I ordered a side of cottage cheese for a meal once and the waitress looked at me like I was crazy.

I tend to stay away from the kids menu. hot dogs, chix strips and spaghetti are not usually my 1st choice.

Every once in awhile I just want to pig out, like the good old days! Eat my entire meal and bread and dessert in one sitting. But then I remember that's what put me here in the first place.

Oh, another thing we do is ask if we can have lunch portions or senior portions, they are usually still too much, but we don't get questions because they assume we weren't "that" hungry in the first place. No one has ever turned us down for asking for smaller portions or asked why. We aren't quite old enough for what the menu says for seniors. Mind you, asking for a senior portion is less food, not the same as asking for a "senior discount" in which case they might ask for proof.

Anyalee,

I see you've computed a weight at which you'll no longer require CPAP. Can you please tell me how this works.

Thanks!

It seems every time I go out to eat now I always get asked questions like

Was there somthing wrong with the food? Is everything OK etc... My husband and I even had a manager come over and ask if there was somthing wrong when the waitress notices I hadn't ate much.

I have started saying I'm just not that hungry and I need a box.

I guess it's better then them looking at me and thinking "I can't believe she ate that much!

Anyone else with similar experiences? How have you handled it?

I haven't had this problem because I ask them up front if I can order off the childrens menu, or share a plate with DH and I tell them why that I had bariatric surgery.....I have for the most part had positive results with this......!!