Wednesday, December 06, 2006

Lunch story the first

What is it with women anyway?

I went to lunch with a group of 11 woman today. Why is it that woman feel they have to hide the fact that they actually eat in front of each other?

"Oh, i'll just have the small cup of soup."

"Just the side salad please, with vinegar."

"Just water. Oh, and may i have a lemon slice for that?"

Believe me when i tell you that some of these women obviously eat SOMETHING other than lettuce and soup.

I knew this was going to happen before i went so i was ready to look like a pig. I ordered an appetizer of bread and olives, and out of 6 women, i was the only one who ate any. Although the woman next to me was having a hard time not drooling on the bread. And then (gasp!) i ordered, and then ATE a FULL SIZED salad, complete with cheese and croutons.

Sheesh.

32 comments:

Anonymous said...

I wonder what we're so afraid of? a good friend of mine has been steadily losing weight over the last 2 or 3 months. I don't usually notice weight losses until they become significant; just an absence of observation on my part, I reckon. when I noticed last week, I told her she looked great. she almost cried and said that I was the FIRST friend who had said anything about it. are we so insecure and unhappy with ourselves, that we can't stand to see other women succeed and look good? does it threaten us? I think so, and I told her that I was jealous, but my happiness for her was stronger.

thailandchani said...

Oh,that whole topic is worth a major rant! I'm so bloody sick and tired of women believing they have to be so tiny that they ultimately disappear completely! There's nothing wrong with curves. There's nothing wrong with consuming more than 300 calories a day. That kind of vanity is annoying. Good on you for eating!


Peace,

~Chani

Lucia said...

I've actually eaten before I've went to meals with friends so I could just nibble without feeling like I wanted more. Pathetic!!

Anonymous said...

I'm a 100% with you gals! Let's be proud of who we are. So much energy wasted over this self-flagellation... .

Anonymous said...

I've spent my first year on a "diet" this year and have ended up not losing weight but putting it on... my theory is that it is the trying to deny yourself and control things that makes you eat even more. I gave up my diet forever last week and man do i feel great for it! And I'm eating less..go figure.

Anonymous said...

I like women with hips and asses. I see women with prepubescent bodies and I wonder, "Why do you want to look like a kid?'

I eat what I want and when I want.

I once was a size 6. Now I'm a 10. 10 is better. It's 4 more than 6.

I wish I could share bread with you, meno.

urban-urchin said...

I eat when I go out for the reason that lauren mentioned. If you deny yourself something you end up resentful and miserable. Everything in moderation ( I can't live without chocolate-not possible)

Mother of Invention said...

Yeah, and then they go home to wolf down a big bag of chips and break open the Nanimo bars! To funny!
I just eat big meals and don't care what they think. I burn off food pretty well plus I take insulin so I have to eat real food!

Girlplustwo said...

dude...

i totally know women like that. and when i am with them, i order the cheesiest, fattiest thing ever. and i slurp it down. and i talk about it while i eat.

food is for eating. we are not in a restriction competition. (unless we are doing our own thing, our own certain thing for ourselves)

yum.

meno said...

holly, maybe you were just the first to notice? I don't usually see those things either, unless they talk about it the whole time they are dieting.

chani, I think women are worse in a large group too. I think there were only three of us who ate like real people.

lucia, ha ha! I mean i know it's not funny, but i did that the other day at my quilting group because i was hungry and i knew that no one else would admit to being hungry for a long time. I usually eat lunch at 11:00 or 11:30 and so then at 1:30 i ate another lunch.

caro, i'm a big tall woman, and i'm happy for it!

lauren, that's what happens to me if i start to fuss about what i'm eating, so i don't.

holly c. Yea, but as i recall you are close to being as tall as i am, so a size 10 ain't so much, because that's what i am and i look fabulous!!! Maybe your book tour will bring you this way.

u-u, and you end up hungry, which defeats the whole purpose.

MOI, i know a few of them must because you don't get to be that size without quite a bit of food.

jen, i do that too. AND i take the last one of whatever too, because they're all too fucking polite!

Lynnea said...

Good for you. My older brother used to tell me that he hated that on a date because he could tell they wouldn't do that normally - say at home or whatever. He once took a girl on a date and she just ordered a salad and he said to her, "Eat some meat!" She looked shocked. Ha.

V said...

See....that's how I can tell if I'm out with someone I will actually like and become friends with or with another big faker. My best friend and I have an agreement...always fully loaded nachos. And G&T. See....true friend! :)

karmic said...

You sound like the Mrs. She will eat when she has to and ejoys it. She won't worry about situations like that. With her WYSIWYG.

Andrea Frazer said...

I am so tired of this skinny woman thing. Come to my house, we'll eat bread, we'll drink some wine, and then we'll take a walk around the block. Combo of everything is the way to go.

Josephine said...

Hahahaha, heheeeeheehe, heehahahah....I'm wiping tears from my eyes, (wo)man, that was a good laugh...

Women: competitive much? Good for you for showing them that you don't have to starve yourself to be a woman.

The other night, G and I were out with another couple, and the thought did occur to me to not go for the third plate of Chinese buffet, but I had run a couple hours before and I was STARVING, so I filled it up with lo mein and sushi and then scarfed it down. Maybe these women just need to move their asses a little more and they'd be too hungry to worry about it.

meno said...

maggie, i like your brother.

v, nachos and a G&T? That is a friend.

sanjay, good for her. I figured out WYSIWYG all by myself. You internet people!

mamap, I'm sick of it too. I'm pretty comfortable with my weight, but if i weren't, i would have felt like i was violating one of those girl rules that i don't understand.

josephine, EXACTLY! Get off you ass and move. Then eat like you enjoy it.

Princess in Galoshes said...

I believe in the "everything in moderation" philosophy. I may only order a small salad, but you better believe it's got bacon bits and hard boiled eggs on it, with plenty of dressing.

Maybe followed up with a small hot fudge sundae.

SuperP. said...

I always eat a lot at lunch, too. I don't care. If I'm hungry and I'm paying, I'll eat whatever I want. I don't get girls who order small to impress me or any one else at the table - that doesn't impress anyone, it looks insecure. I mean.. sure, one girl may have 'already had something', but all of them?

lol

Mona Buonanotte said...

To me, eating is part of celebrating. I had dinner with a girlfriend not long ago, and we PIGGED out...ate and drank and talked. Weeee!

QT said...

I couldn't agree more! If I am in a "dieting" phase, I try my hardest to avoid going to a restaurant, but it I do, I just eat what I want until I feel full and then I stop.

Diets are not things you should force upon people at a social gathering-unless it is a medically necessary one.

Anonymous said...

It's hard to be the only person at a table with a healthy attitude about food. Good for you for ordering - and eating - what you wanted!

Anonymous said...

I recently went out to lunch with a group of Japanese ladies, very tiny ladies, they all ate and ate. It is considered wasteful to leave food behind in Japan, you eat everything on your plate. As for me, I am large and I know it, I also know that everyone else who sees me knows it, so why pretend to be something I am not?

meno said...

Princess, i think ordering a salad and a hot fudge sundae is an excellent use of stomach space.

penny, by lunch time i am usually starving! So i eat alot. Too bad ladies.

mona, exactly. why go to a restaurant and then eat nothing. Stay home.
Sounds like you had a fun time.

qt, it did kind of put a damper on the luncheon.

mrs. chili, i like to eat. I guess i never got the "girl's memo" that told me it wasn't cool.

marsha, that must have been funny. They would have been shocked at my group.

Disgruntled-Owl said...

I don't know if you've done this yet but if you haven't - tag! - see here for details.

I am going to go eat a cup of fluff now :) The marshmellow kind :)

SUEB0B said...

Eating is the new fucking. You, my dear, appear to be a slut. Of course everyone else is screwing the bags of potato chips behind the stadium...they just aren't telling anyone.

Unknown said...

I have a group of friends, and we call ourselves the Sushi Babes. We go out about once a month and stuff ourselves silly with the aformentioned delicacy. We also drink and talk and laugh and usually gain the attention of the rest of the restaurant. We once had a woman come up and say, "God, I wish I could eat the way you guys do." She left and we didn't know whether it was a compliment or an insult.

sari said...

Food.

Yum.

meno said...

d-owl, i haven't done exactly that one, thanks for the tag. I'll do it in a few days! Hope you enjoyed the fluff.

suebob, That is actually a very astute observation. I've always aspired to be a slut!

nancy, i love sushi. That sounds like loads of fun. (Mmmm, maybe i'll take the Mister out for sushi tonight.)

sari, me too!

karmic said...

I figured out WYSIWYG all by myself. You internet people!

You are soo cool!!! :)

Ginnie said...

I don't care in the least what a bunch of females eat while we're dining out. What drives me up a wall is the "separate checks, down to the very penny" thing.

egan said...

When eleven guys meet for lunch, we sit around flexing our biceps. It's a real treat let me tell you.

Anonymous said...

This is classic.

And also, the very core of the truth behind why I go to lunch by myself nearly every day. On purpose.