A Saturday evening out in Manhattan with friends after seeing a Broadway show - we decided to go to Carmine's, an Italian restaurant, to eat. I told them to choose the restaurant - no matter where I went I would not be able to eat much anyway.

Carmine's is a family-style restaurant with large portions that feed about four people. We got a cold antipasto, which came on a huge platter, and I was able to pick a few things off of there to eat - smoked salmon, yellow tomato, eggplant, red peppers, spinach and cheese, which was lovely for me. For the main dish, we had veal parmigiana with pasta, of which I had a little bit. I also remembered not to drink my raspberry lemonade until I had finished my solid food. I waited 15-20 minutes before drinking. Boy this felt so good, not making myself sick.

What was nice about this family style was that I was able to taste a little of everything, without having to order entire portions for myself, most of which I could not finish. So this worked out just great for me.

I think what I'm saying here is that I'm learning how to eat out with my lap band and still enjoy the dining experience. This only took me 9 months to figure out - LOL. So this was a new step for me and it really felt good - a Saturday evening out in Manhattan.:rolleyes2: