Page 6 | Can you eat three course meals anymore?

Arlanymor · 2024-04-17T10:55:43+00:00

I used to be able to, but these days no way would I manage both a starter and a pudding and sometimes I can’t even finish my main. I don’t have any dietary issues and I’m not watching my weight (although probably should be!) but I just can’t manage it anymore. I tend to eat tapas more and more because then I don’t run the risk of wasting anything. But even if I am really hungry, I just can’t manage much more than one course, unless the starter is a salad or something similarly light. I’m 45.

Original poster

Arlanymor · 17/04/2024 16:27

CharlotteBog · 17/04/2024 16:26

Mostly I think this thread has shown that 1) portion sizes have grown, which we all know and 2) as we get older we need fewer calories.

I think women are mostly saying 'yeah, same for me' and pondering why it might be.

Show quote history

That’s the conclusion I have drawn too. I think others are jumping on this for no apparent reason.

OP posts:

Original poster

Arlanymor · 17/04/2024 16:26

ArseInTheCoOpWindow · 17/04/2024 16:24

I’m 60. I’ve noticed no desire to eat less or scarf less cakes.

This thread is the salad thread by another name.

One roast potato😂

My mum also asks for one roast potato and she’s 75. Sorry if it’s outside of your realm of experience!

I wasn’t here for the salad thread so no clue what you’re talking about. I just wondered if it was just something I was experiencing with age because I used to eat like a horse (hence I mentioned my age in my OP), much in the same way that I would ask about other perimenopausal symptoms.

OP posts:

CharlotteBog · 17/04/2024 16:26

Arlanymor · 17/04/2024 16:21

Is it? I’ve said I’m overweight and this change in appetite isn’t leading to any weight loss? And I’m not the only one. It’s interesting to see how things have changed for people as they’ve got older. Lots of people seem to be in the same boat as me and none of them have talked about lettuce leaves…

Show quote history

Mostly I think this thread has shown that 1) portion sizes have grown, which we all know and 2) as we get older we need fewer calories.

I think women are mostly saying 'yeah, same for me' and pondering why it might be.

5128gap · 17/04/2024 16:25

No. But I'm a 54 year old fairly sedentary woman who is 5' 4" and 9 stone. So a meal suitable for my appetite and requirements would leave all the tall, active young people served the same amount starving, so I'd not expect to be able to. Its nothing to do with performance under eating, and everything to do with different people having different capacity and need for food based on size, sex, age and lifestyle. Nothing to be proud of or shamed by. Its a nuisance though, as I do want the different foods in the 3 courses, but hate food waste. It would be good if you could routinely get half portions on request.

ArseInTheCoOpWindow · 17/04/2024 16:24

I’m 60. I’ve noticed no desire to eat less or scarf less cakes.

This thread is the salad thread by another name.

One roast potato😂

Original poster

Arlanymor · 17/04/2024 16:21

tobee · 17/04/2024 16:05

This thread is close to competitive under eating.

Is it? I’ve said I’m overweight and this change in appetite isn’t leading to any weight loss? And I’m not the only one. It’s interesting to see how things have changed for people as they’ve got older. Lots of people seem to be in the same boat as me and none of them have talked about lettuce leaves…

OP posts:

ArseInTheCoOpWindow · 17/04/2024 16:19

Comedycook · 17/04/2024 16:10

I'm just so teeny tiny...I'm only 3mm tall and I'm absolutely stuffed after eating a crumb of bread and licking an ice cube. My dd is the same. Obviously my strapping husband and giant sons eat enough to feed a small nation.

I couldn’t even manage the breadcrumb tbh.

IClaudine · 17/04/2024 16:19

Comedycook · 17/04/2024 16:10

I'm just so teeny tiny...I'm only 3mm tall and I'm absolutely stuffed after eating a crumb of bread and licking an ice cube. My dd is the same. Obviously my strapping husband and giant sons eat enough to feed a small nation.

I am really not a teeny tiny. I wish. BMI 25 right now, so slightly over weight.

I am getting on a bit and my ability to enthusiastically eat three courses genuinely is no more, unless the portions are small. A lot of older women on here have said the same thing.

I can still drink plenty of wine though. God is good.

NewGirlinClass · 17/04/2024 16:18

Restaurant:
Starter Pud and a decent wine please.

TheTempest · 17/04/2024 16:17

I’ve had a gastric sleeve so no. I generally get a starter and a dessert, which works great for me. DH eats all 3 courses and generally finishes anything I haven’t eaten though so it works well!

Comedycook · 17/04/2024 16:10

I'm just so teeny tiny...I'm only 3mm tall and I'm absolutely stuffed after eating a crumb of bread and licking an ice cube. My dd is the same. Obviously my strapping husband and giant sons eat enough to feed a small nation.

fieldsofbutterflies · 17/04/2024 16:09

Comedycook · 17/04/2024 16:04

This thread is hilarious. All the teeny tinies desperately trying to outdo each other. I can barely even manage a cube of cheese I'm so tiny 😂

It's batshit - nobody in real life has a solitary roast potato

tobee · 17/04/2024 16:05

X post with @Comedycook

tobee · 17/04/2024 16:05

This thread is close to competitive under eating.

Comedycook · 17/04/2024 16:04

This thread is hilarious. All the teeny tinies desperately trying to outdo each other. I can barely even manage a cube of cheese I'm so tiny 😂

fieldsofbutterflies · 17/04/2024 16:02

I can, but I often feel uncomfortably full afterwards.

I prefer starters to desserts though so I'm happy to just have a coffee or something while everyone else has cake/pudding.

elevens24 · 17/04/2024 16:01

No, but I've never been able to. If out with dh and dc we usually share starters and desert.

CactusMactus · 17/04/2024 16:00

I can only eat a child portion of sunday lunch in a pub now - which works out fine as my teeny, tiny daughters can eat a huge adult portion! And finish off my yorkies...

Comedycook · 17/04/2024 16:00

I can easily eat three courses but I rarely do. Last time I did, I had a charcuterie board to start, then a chicken dish and pudding which was creme brulee. I left the restaurant and honestly still felt peckish.

JosiePosey · 17/04/2024 15:59

I probably can eat a 3 course meal if I tried, but I've found I can eat less and my appetite is ever so slightly decreasing, I'm 43 this year. I haven't been anywhere for a 3 course meal for fucking ages though 😂

paintingvenice · 17/04/2024 15:58

CharlotteBog · 17/04/2024 15:12

South Italian wedding! About 15 courses, each one very small and the whole thing went on for hours and hours. You get to taste so many different things, have lots of time between and really, really enjoy the whole thing.

Some places these days - the dessert alone can be a meals worth of calories. I used to love the mini dessert in Prezzo where you got just enough to satisfy the desire for something sweet after dinner. I'm not sure why they haven't reinstated that after the pandemic.

Dunno what’s happened to Prezzo since the pandemic. Food is shit, menu choice not as good, can’t find decent offers anywhere. Used to go twice a month, no wonder they closing round me like mad- never go anymore

SmudgeButt · 17/04/2024 15:56

Just back from a cruise where there was too much food. And I mean like really too much. So you could have 5 courses at ever meal and likely 3 courses for the in between meal snacks of which there were a lot.

I didn't eat it all because I don't think waddling is a good look. But I had no trouble doing fruit/yoghurt/birchermuesli then eggs and bacon then tiddle pain au chocolat for breakfast. Skipped elevenes. Lunch was salad then roll with freshly roasted meat then bit of cake. Missed afternoon snacks, ice cream, hot chocolate with baileys. Said no to the crisps and nuts with cocktails but happily, for dinner, had the bread and butter, then starter, then sorbet, then main, then dessert, then cheese and fruit, then coffee with little cakes/biscuits. No to the late evening buffets.

2 weeks on board and I gained 5 pounds which I lost in the week after getting back. Mostly due to the cocktails on board I think as I never normally drink anything sweet.

BobbyBiscuits · 17/04/2024 15:53

@JohnPrescottsPyjamas tell your flubby hubby to shut his cake hole about your diet! He's probably jealous and trying to make out like your starving yourself to justify his presumed gluttony? It's really rude to moan about the size of other people's portions.

AmethystSparkles · 17/04/2024 15:51

BarrelOfOtters · 17/04/2024 12:01

I kind of know what you mean and I think it's age. I prefer now having a lighter starter and lighter main and rarely have pudding unless it looks particularly lovely (though I've never really had a sweet tooth).

But just check out the symptom checker for ovarian cancer

There are often no obvious signs of ovarian cancer, however you may have one or more of the following symptoms:

abdominal bloating.
difficulty eating or feeling full quickly.
frequent or urgent urination.
back, abdominal or pelvic pain.
constipation or diarrhoea.
menstrual irregularities.
tiredness.
indigestion

You suspect ovarian cancer because some can’t eat three course? Don’t become a GP!!

Epli · 17/04/2024 15:38

More high end restaurants that serve smaller portions - Yes
Casual dining - no way. I rarely eat more than main.