To not finish a meal somebody has bought me?

[Gingersundays]

This afternoon I went out for tea with a friend, today was on them as I paid last time.

We each had a starter and a main.

I got half way through my main and hit a wall, couldn't possibly stomach any more. If I forced it down I would have undoubtedly been sick. I'm pregnant and a bit queasy as it is.

Friend was really shocked I only ate half of the main, made a few light hearted comments like I should take it home and have it in a sandwich later as she she never let's food go to waste.

Was I rude not to finish the meal even if I physically couldn't?

Some of the responses on here are so weird, questioning why you ordered a main etc, how bizarre. You are, you got full, you stopped eating. That's a good example of how healthy eating works 😂. Your friend is BU. It's so rude to comment on how much someone else has or hasn't eaten, pregnant or not! The tiny caveat to this is if you ordered a crazily expensive meal, took a bite and declared yourself full. There are lots of meals where it would be ridiculous to ask for it to go home with you.

@GodolphinHorne PMSL at someone asking to take their 10 chips home from a pub to eat at home! Bizarre.

Why did you order 2 courses if you know that being full has been an ongoing issue? I find that rude tbh, to then leave it. Regardless, of whether you alternate paying or not.

Oh for goodness’ sake no. Your friend was being a twit.

@Nayday no I wouldn’t do that, that’s weird, but someone said ‘you couldn’t reheat chips’ and I want the world to know that you can! I sometimes buy extra chip shop chips so that there are leftovers. Even better heated through again.

Why didn’t you take the leftovers home?

You should eat until you are satisfied, not stuffed. I blame the parents, often when growing up we are forced to finish our plate or we don’t get X. It’s wrong!

Maybe you should have asked if she wanted to take your leftovers home.

In this instance I would have insisted on paying my way.

Personally if I paid for a friend’s meal and they got full I wouldn’t want them to continue until they felt sick! I would want them to enjoy it (even if they only enjoy part of it) rather than force it down.

I order the food I want when I go out. I then eat what I want. Sometimes my eyes are bigger than my belly! Sometimes I take it home but not always. The friend didn’t really pay as such, it was turn and turn about. Op you did nothing wrong, your friend just has a different view

Your friend made some "light hearted " comments and did not link it to her paying from the way you've described.
Think this is a bit mountain out of a mole hill

Not rude at all, but then I don't eat food to be polite so maybe I'm rude. The portions in some places are massive so to just eat what you are comfortable with is fine. I certainly wouldn't give it a second thought if it was my turn to pay.

I would have enquired with the waiting staff about a takeaway box or doggy bag just to soften the blow to my friend, even if I’d no intention of eating it once I got home.

I also wouldn't ever waste food. It's a bad habbit to just think I'll order it and just leave it if it's too much. If I accidentally ordered too much I'd just take it home with me.

If it's my turn to buy lunch I in no way feel I have any say over how much friend eats ..tbh I don't think I would even notice unless they decided to order 2 of everything or something ridiculous! It's just so rude to comment, everyone's appetites are so different. If the friend gets to dictate how much OP 'should' eat, what's the next step, choosing what she should eat?! TBH she sounds tedious, tight and rude and I'd be irritated by the comments about 'putting it in a sandwich' or not being allowed cake.

I don’t order starters as I know from experience that I won’t be able to eat the main course as well. May be good practice for you too. But no one should eat more than is comfortable. I would have done the doggy bag thing out of politeness.

This is why I can't eat starters even though I love them.

As an aside, are you sure it wasn't just a throwaway comment from your friend that you're perhaps overthinking?

I've never been comfortable with asking for a doggy bag TBH!

When I was pregnant with DD I had terrible sickness which meant I was always hungry - but could never eat much. I would probably have just ordered a small main or starter & pudding. But no, YANBU to leave food on your plate.

Your friend was rude. You shouldn't pay for a meal if you can't afford to let the other person order what they'd like and eat however much of it them want!!

Maybe you should have taken the leftovers home but really this is a non issue

I put YABU mainly because you could have taken it home.

YANBU - it's not healthy to eat more when you are full.

To those saying why did you order a starter and a main, perhaps the portions were larger than the OP expected?

We went to an excellent pub recently and I ordered fish and chips. I was hungry as I hadn't eaten much all day. It was huge when it arrived and although lovely, no way could I have finished it all

I can’t recall ever noticing whether someone I was out eating with hadn’t finished their meal. I have certainly never suggested to another adult that they take their leftovers home with them! I’m sure if the OP wanted to take the leftovers home, she would have asked herself.

When someone is full, they are full. No explanation needed.

Well I wouldn’t pay for you again, but that because I would just think it’s a waste of money. But everyone’s different, I would’ve just taken it home and threw it away