WEll, I ate 2 salads and shrimp scampi and the sampler - it has a some breading in it. - well, it could have been much worse right? I mean I could have had fried shrimp and their lovely bread.

I did drink 3 glasses of ice water too! What was so surprising to me was I wasn't even a tiny bit tempted by the bread!

That's great! I'm only on my second day of induction, and I know I'm going to be going out to lunch next Sunday. I was thinking Red Lobster, but I think I'll be vetoed for Olive Garden! I have no idea what the heck to get from a pasta place beside their salad!

I would order the chicken breast w/ alfredo sauce on it. - the thing is you should check they don't thicken their AS w/ rue.

Olive graden has a musscle appatizer you can get. Ask that they not bring the breadsticks to the table though as they are so tempting.

For red lobster there are a ton of more choices. Shrimp scampi, they also have rock lobster tails, and crab legs. The lobster cesear salad is wonderful, get it without the crutons and it's great. Just pass on the rolls, those things are great.

And of course at both places skip dessert

Just checked out the Olive Garden menu, and there are a couple of things I could get. They have salmon picata served with veggies but that's a dinner entre. The San somethingorother seafood dip looks great to....but of course I couldn't eat any of the bread. Breadstick, I have no control over. The others in my party will be partaking, though I will not.

I'm only on day two of induction! I need to worry about getting through the rest of the week!

For now just take it one day at a time. The day your going out, make sure to have a good lunch and breakfast. Starving yourself will just make yur resolve that much weaker. When the bread comes and the other people try to get you to eat some, just remember that the pleasure form that breadstick won't be that great, while the pleasure from getting into a size 8 jeans will be wonderful and longer lasting. What really helps me when dessert comes around is to remind myself I can make the same thing at home, low carb and better tasting. Same with most the entrees. I made a chicken parmasan tonight using parmasan cheese and 0 carb bake mix as breading. Then I had it topped with ragu sugar free sauce. It was much better then I probably would of gotten at resteraunt.

Olive Garden salad is so yummy--last time we were there, I got the whole big bowl to myself. Ask for no croutons (or push them aside) and the salad dressing on the side---they put to much on IMO, plus it makes the salad soggy! And extra parmesan cheese...now that is Atkins friendly.

we can eat alfredo? i had no idea! thought it had sugar in it for some reason

Alfredo depends. you can make your own. Also ther eis a Ragu four cheese sauce which is fairly low carb. All the alphredo I've seen commerically is higher carb, but homade can be very LC.

Try it at a resteraunt at your own risk. I've become so paranoid about resteraunt eating I just have plain whole foods without sauces. Sugar is a cheap and easy way to make people enjoy the meal and come back for more. Starches and other carby fillers are also a cheap way for resteraunts to make more money on meals. Even with the whole foods the sodium levels of eating out ususally mean some water retention for me.

i make my alfredo sauce w / butter, garlic, heavy cream and parmesan - *I use alot to thicken it good! YUM!