Weigh-Ins are on MONDAYS - Updated July 3, 2017

Surgery Date: October 20, 2009:

Monday, April 30, 2012

When Is Your Lunch Break?

...because I want to schedule a meeting during that time.
I remember when I was in my first year of being banded, social and group meals (especially at work) kinda freaked me out a  little a lot.  These were usually catered lunches at work or meals out with vendors/customers at restaurants.

So many questions would flash through my brain before these meals:
  • Would there be a food choice available for me?
  • I am going to take FOREVER to eat.  What if everyone finishes before me?
  • I'll need to talk during these lunch/dinner meetings.  How will I chew, chew, chew while I talk?
  • What if I get stuck and PB? (I'm still waiting for my first official food-related stuck/PB...I've only had large vitamin stuck issues.) I used to always visually locate the bathroom when I would enter a restaurant for this exact reason.
I quickly realized during that year that:
  • There is ALWAYS a good choice for me at most restaurants. Everything from the local Mexican restaurant to the Olive Garden...there's always something.  Since I'm usually the one organizing the lunch meetings, I get to choose the foods/restaurant (they don't call me the "cruise director" around here for nothing).
  • I'll always look up menus online before going to eat out. I check out the nutrition facts and can then see what is my first choice and second choice.  Then for fun, I'll occasionally look up what I would have ordered in my pre-band days. What a difference!
  • People do notice that I eat less or slowly which I could really care less about. But most people seem to just really care about themselves.  Because if people do notice, they start apologizing for eating too fast or too much.  Hilarious.  I'll usually say "Oh, I'm just not that hungry" or remind them about my band.
  • Now I'm only looking for the bathroom cause I drink so much damn water.
Today, I've just organized a pizza lunch meeting for my team for next week. 

Yes, I chose PIZZA.

I specifically chose a pizza place that has a great salad bar.  Yum.

14 comments:

  1. I remember being worried about not drinking with meals and if the wait staff would bug me about refills etc. I pretty much exclusively order water at resturants and drink it down before the meal arrives then don't touch it again even if they refill. : )

    Such a difference!

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    Replies
    1. Yes, the no drinking while eating rule when out to eat can be challenging. This is one of the bandster rules that I follow "loosely". LOL. I think the concept of food staying in our pouches above the band is a bunch of hogwash. There's been multiple studies that the food really only stays there for a few minutes (drinking with meals or not). But I guess that's a post for another day.

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    2. I don't drink with meals and wait 30 minutes after eating until I do drink. I notice that if I happen to drink after I have just eaten, I can feel the food being pushed down by the water. Its uncomfortable and makes me slightly nauseous.

      Not drinking with meals was the hardest thing to change for me. It took me weeks to get it right, and now that I'm fine with it you say that it doesn't matter? And now I want to be able to drink and eat again. I always thought the drinking rule was really important for weightloss. Who knew?

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    3. I think it's good that you stick to your WLS rules that your surgeon recommends. I'm a bad rule breaker on the drinking with meals. :(

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  2. Did u have any excess skin...if so what did u do...if not what did u do

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    Replies
    1. Yes, check out these posts:
      http://lapbandgalsjourney.blogspot.com/2012/02/wanna-see-my-wobbly-bits-spanx-review.html

      http://lapbandgalsjourney.blogspot.com/2011/06/baring-it-all-lets-talk-about-loose.html

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  3. I used to hate staying in for lunch, but post band I would say that I average 3.5 days in per week. I eat so slow that when I do eat out, I often end up bringing back my lunch to eat more slowly at my desk. :) In any case, I find that it always works out.

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    Replies
    1. Great plan in taking it back to your desk :)

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  4. You are very lucky/careful you have never been food stuck. I have, at work, and it is soooooo embarrassing. My new rule is I never eat in meetings or right before meetings. A rumor started that I was pregnant because I kept getting sick in the bathroom. I still get weird looks from Planning Commission members like they are speculating on my due date.

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    1. Oh my...stuck at work and PBing is one of my biggest bandster fears. The bathroom is FAR away from my office. I guess I will make friends one of these days with my office trash can...sigh.

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  5. I still am not drinking with meals, and I do not plan on going back to it either! I am however grateful that I no longer PB :) I remember what you describe so vividly!

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  6. I always look for the bathroom first as well. I still order a drink when I go out to eat and I will drink before I start eating, but not after...I can't drink right after I have eaten. It will make me throw up every time.

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  7. Good lord. I'm having trouble with lunch and the "not telling" thing. They buy lunch at the new job on Mondays. There was some sort of grilled chicken pasta yesterday, and a caesar salad. I took a little and got totally stuck on the second bite of chicken. No PB'ing but it didn't want to go down. I can eat just fine most of the time but not at the new office. I don't get it. Tomorrow I'm taking a break with my tuna salad and eating in my car, alone.

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    ReplyDelete