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Will I still be able to enjoy eating out and being social?

Posted by NZ WLSC

Of course! It may just take a month or two for you to feel comfortable enough to eat out and make the right choices, as the last thing you want to do is dump or get food stuck when you are out with your friends.

It also pays to have a few excuses prepared for cafe/restaurant staff or friends who ask questions you don't want to answer about your appetite.

What you can eat when you got out will depend on what you can tolerate, but here are some things post oppers tend to go for:

  • Cheeseboards
  • Soup (just watch out for the creamier ones)
  • Eggs - boiled, scrambled, poached, benedict or florentine etc (just watch out for hollandaise, you may choose have it on the side or without)
  • Quiche without the crust
  • Frittata
  • Seafood chowder
  • Salads, you may just need to customise the ingredients or ask for the dressing on the side
  • Chicken (as long as it's tender, careful with chicken breast)

Don't be afraid to order an entrée as a main, lots of people do it and it's a more manageable portion at a bargain price.

If you've been invited to something at someone's house, you could offer to bring a dish so that you know there will be something you can eat. Or just show up with one, they would be crazy to turn it away!

As for excuses, you may not need them, but sometimes cafe/restaurant staff can take leftovers a little personally. Often this stems from concern that you didn't enjoy your meal, so their intentions are good. Or perhaps you are out with friends who you don't want to tell about the op, who are curious as to why you aren't enjoying the hearty kind of meal they may have seen you with in the past.

Either way, it doesn't need to be a big deal. You can easily brush them off with something like...

  • "it was delicious thank you, I just had a late/huge breakfast/lunch/dinner"
  • "that looks lovely, I'm just not that hungry right now"
  • “thanks but that’s a bit too rich for me”
  • “thanks but I’m on a low carb diet”
  • “thanks but I’m trying really hard to watch what I’m eating”
  • “thanks but my doctor has told me to lay off wheat/sugar/fried foods for a while”
  • “thanks but I didn’t realise there was going to be food here and I had something before I came”
  • “thanks but I’m feeling a bit off colour so I'll just stick with my drink for now"
  • "no thanks, I really don't feel like any of that right now but I would love a [insert something you can have] please"

Just remember to have fun. Social occasions often revolve around food, but you do get used to shifting your emphasis from food to great company and how hot you look in your new, smaller clothes ;)