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Original poster

‘That’s me done for food today’ after a 3 course lunch

350 replies

Offred2 · 19/12/2019 16:23

I went to a restaurant with four friends for a Christmas lunch a few days ago. We all ate 3 courses and had a glass of wine each (none of us are big drinkers). The portions were decent-sized but not ridiculously big.

As we were finishing one of my friends said something along the lines of ‘that was lovely, I wont be needing anything else to eat today’. Following this all my other friends nodded/agreed.

While I didn’t say anything I was thinking that this is not the case for me at all! After that lunch at 1pm I ate beans on toast at around 7pm. I think of myself as someone with a pretty normal appetite, but if my friends were being truthful I ate a substantial amount more than them that day.

I remember a few years back my MiL making a similar comment after a restaurant lunch, that she wouldn’t need to eat anything else that day. However as we happened to be staying with her at the time I know she later ate sandwich and soup at dinner time.

So - my friend’s comment got me thinking. What do people actually mean when they use this phrase? Is it literal, as in ‘after this big lunch I will not eat any food until tomorrow’? Or do people simply mean that they won’t need to have a big evening meal, but might have eg a sandwich? Or is it something some people (women!) say without meaning it, to indicate they have a small/delicate appetite, though they may have every intention of eating something else that day.

For what it’s worth all of my friends in the restaurant are healthy weights, and as far as I know no one has any history of disordered eating.

OP posts:
TheReluctantCountess · 19/12/2019 16:48

My mum says it all the time. It’s never true.

victoriashleigh · 19/12/2019 16:48

I would never say it personally, even if were true because Hmm But if someone said it to me, I’d probably guess they didn’t mean they weren’t going to eat a single thing for the next 9/10/11 hours, I’d assume they just meant not another big cooked meal.

Pfefferkuchen · 19/12/2019 16:48

What do people actually mean when they use this phrase? Is it literal, as in ‘after this big lunch I will not eat any food until tomorrow’?

Yes.
But appetite is a pretty irregular thing isn't it? Some days I eat more than others, so I might be full whilst I would be pecking 2 hours later after the exact same meals.

After a big lunch, I am usually happy with just a cup of tea in the evening when I come home.

copperstrike76 · 19/12/2019 16:48

I don't think I would be hungry after a 3-course meal at lunchtime. That doesn't mean I wouldn't eat a little tea, though! Even if not hungry, I'd prob have some toast or a nice fish finger sandwich because why not?

Fallstar · 19/12/2019 16:50

I don't eat after 6pm (a combination of gastro issues and 16:8) so if I wasn't hungry again by late afternoon, I wouldn't eat until the next day. I probably wouldn't announce it, though.

BloodyCats · 19/12/2019 16:50

Since losing weight I would eat that lunch and have that as my food that day. Before I lost weight I would be planning on what else I could fit in.

My body doesn’t need a lot of food, a 3 course meal would do me fine. If I ate more than that I would put weight back on.

Dinosforall · 19/12/2019 16:50

My problem is that I can't 'stock up' so I wouldn't be able to do justice to 3 courses and would then be hungry later.

MIL is like this, I have to take snacks to her house to avoid the hanger.

EsselGruntFuttock · 19/12/2019 16:51

It’s not something I would have said but I wouldn’t have eaten again after a three course lunch as I wouldn’t have been hungry. Everyone’s appetite is different. We were out for large lunches both days last weekend and I never ate until mid morning the following days. It’s not competitive under eating with me it was simply that I wasn’t hungry.

ohtheholidays · 19/12/2019 16:51

If I say it I mean it,alot of the time I can't manage any more food for the rest of the day if I've had a 3 course meal at lunch time,I think I most probably could when I was younger but my appetite does seem to have dropped quite a bit within the last couple of years.

PrettyShiningPeople · 19/12/2019 16:51

I wouldn’t make an announcement.
If I was hungry later after a big lunch I would still eat, but I’m often still too full so I wouldn’t just eat for the sake of it.

managedmis · 19/12/2019 16:51

I've just stuffed my face with a cheeseburger, big poutine and a coke. It's almost noon where I am. For dinner I'll have soup and cheese.

I'd struggle to have supper after having a 3 course lunch.

NameChangeNugget · 19/12/2019 16:52

I’d have some fruit maybe.

WorraLiberty · 19/12/2019 16:53

I tend to eat dinner at 5.50pm every day (one course) and then don't eat again until about 11am-ish the next day.

So If I ate 3 courses for lunch, I probably wouldn't be hungry again until the next day, albeit possibly a bit earlier.

People are different, always have been and always will be.

LaurieFairyCake · 19/12/2019 16:53

I don't eat anything after a decent lunch

But I'm dieting and on 1500 calories a day Hmm

WorraLiberty · 19/12/2019 16:53

That should say 5.30pm - not the more precise time of 5.50 Grin

ScreamingValalalalahLalalalah · 19/12/2019 16:53

I think it's an 'oooh, I have such a tiny appetite' boast. It may be true, but why announce it? Who cares whether they're going to eat anything else that day or not?

cantfindname · 19/12/2019 16:54

I find lunchtime a peculiar time to eat a big meal. It really upsets my internal time-clock and I feel over full after it. Frequently think I will eat no more that day.

But it gets to regular dinner time and I usually need something. Just a simple sandwich or even a lump of cheese and bit of fruit.

I guess competitive under-eating plays a part with many but I can understand why anyone would feel and think they would want no more that day.

Lampan · 19/12/2019 16:54

I might say it cos at the time I would probably feel so full that I couldn’t imagine ever feeling hungry again.
However I’m also a greedy pig so would definitely eat something later on.

Danascully2 · 19/12/2019 16:54

The person I know who regularly says this (including when telling me about meals I wasn't present at) definitely has an unhealthy relationship with food.

WorraLiberty · 19/12/2019 16:55

There's nothing 'boastful' about having a small, medium or large appetite. It's just an appetite.

People are allowed to mention these things. The op hasn't said her friend made it into an 'announcement'.

Zaphodsotherhead · 19/12/2019 16:55

It's astonishing (and probably accounts for why so many people are overweight) how many people don't count two Kit Kats or a pile of buttered toast as 'eating'. Because it's not a meal, because it doesn't contain meat and two eg, it's not 'eating'. It's 'having a snack' - which, apparently, despite consisting of food going in, mouth moving and food being swallowed, isn't the same as 'eating'.

mencken · 19/12/2019 16:56

usually said by the type of woman who I don't tend to associate with because they are as dull as a shopping trip. And that's really, really dull.

just file under airhead babble and ignore.

Hirsutefirs · 19/12/2019 16:59

Eat when you’re hungry; drink when you’re dry.

It’s the code of the West.

Mumdiva99 · 19/12/2019 17:01

I wouldn't eat again.... because if it was a special occasion for 3 courses likelihood is I'd have drunk a bottle of wine and will be fast asleep within a few hours.

ElbasAbsentPenis · 19/12/2019 17:02

After a three course lunch I’d probably have dinner. I certainly wouldn’t feel the need to announce my eating intentions for the rest of the day to the group though. It’s hardly riveting conversation. You wouldn’t say, after returning from the toilets, ‘well that’s my penultimate wee of the day done and dusted!’