'I don't eat much'

14 years ago

So said a lovely 90yo lady sitting next to me recently at a birthday luncheon for a 92yo.

I watched her eat, with gusto, a thick dinasaur steak, served with a mountain of salad and an even taller mountain of chips (fries). It was served on what was called a 'plate', but its size qualified it as a 'platter'. I had just a chicken caesar salad, and couldn't get through it, so she finished it off for me. Her neighbour on the other side couldn't eat her second crumbed lamb chop, and no prizes for guessing where that ended up.

In short, she ate the equivalent of a large meal fit to feed at least 4 hefty men! I haven't mentioned the soup and the 2 large bread rolls, either!

Then came the birthday cake, a 4-layer delectable chocolate and cream creation. It fell to me, sitting opposite the guest of honour (my 'other mother'), to serve the slices. Most people asked for 'just a thin sliver, please', but not my neighbour. I slowly moved the knife so that the intended slice became larger and larger, telling her to say 'when'.

12cm or so later (5"), she eventually said 'when'. That slab disappeared in no time flat, and then she came back for seconds, this time just marginally smaller.

As my friend (daughter of the birthday girl) said afterwards: 'Just as well we decided to get the larger cake!'.

What I want to know is this: Where the heck did she PUT it all?? (Nope. No doggie bag! And she's tiny enough that a bulge under her top would show.)

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Comments (8)

noinwi
14 years ago
More power to her if she's 90 and still has that kind of an appetite! And can still be "tiny"! Or maybe she doesn't often get the chance to have that kind of meal. I have a friend in her 70's that I worry about because she does eat like a bird. She says nothing tastes good, but I'm always nagging her to eat more because she really needs a little more meat on her bones.
annie1992
14 years ago
Amanda eats like that, but she's not 90. She's 5'7" and weighs 114 lbs and eats anything she wants, but she must just burn it off. She still holds the school record for eating over 20 pieces of pizza!

Annie
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jessicavanderhoff
14 years ago
Maybe she meant that she doesn't eat often. . . and therefore must consume mass quantities?
rachelellen
14 years ago
20 some-odd years ago (jeepers, almost 30!) in one of my first restaurant jobs, I worked in a Japanese restaurant. One of my favorite couples had to be between late 70's to mid 80's...

The woman only came up to my shoulder. She had been taller in her youth, and in old age had "humped over." She was the sweetest, kindest, most lady like person. She always ordered the combination of tempura and chicken teriyaki.

This restaurant served all meals with a noodle "salad" in a vinaigrette, a small side of salt pickled cabbage and another of sweet simmered kidney beans, a bowl of miso soup, rice, and at the end, a dish of fresh fruit. I was in my very early twenties then, and could not have eaten all of it had I ordered a combination plate. And I had a very, very good appetite.

That little woman ate all of her sides, drank her soup, finished every scrap of her fried shrimp and veggies, the chicken and the huge mound of cabbage salad we served on the plate. She then ate her fruit, and more often than not, her husband's.

Don't know where she put it, or, considering how slowly she moved around, how she burnt it off.

The important thing, I thought, was that she thoroughly enjoyed it.
althetrainer
14 years ago
I wished I could do the same. Unfortunately extra pounds jump on me as soon as I eat one mouthful too much! Got to admire seniors who can stomach all that food. As long as they enjoy the food and their body can handle it, good for them! Al
Daisyduckworth
Original Author
14 years ago
I happen to know that this lady eats exceptionally well all the time, and enjoys every mouthful. And she's extremely disabled, can barely walk with a granny-walker, and can do practically nothing for herself. So not a lot of energy being burned up.

Fortunately, she has the bank balance to cater for such a gargantuan appetite! However, it's her friends, neighbours and family who supply the meals.

She's a lovely lady, but I think she prefers OPs (Other People's).

It's not fair, you know! I only have to LOOK at food and I've gained 5kg!!
dancinglemons
14 years ago
I find the weight that other people lose.

I think it is called metabolism Â what allows some to eat thousands and thousands of calories and not gain a pound. Some people have an extremely high metabolism and can eat, eat, eat! Others folks have digestive tract issues that allow their bodies to digest the food without adding fat to their bodies.

Geeezzzzeee peezzzeee................

DL
sooz
14 years ago
Oh, to have that kind of metabolism ! Amazing, isn't it?

One of my slender elderly neighbors came over for DH's retirement party a couple of years ago, and proceeded to hoover through everything "food."

I have never seen someone eat so much, like there was no tomorrow!!! She ate a couple of days worth of food--not that I begrudged her that because I did not--but just making a commentary about the AMOUNT of food she consumed! Maybe she was channeling her inner hungry lumberjack?

'I don't eat much'

Comments (8)

noinwi

annie1992

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'I don't eat much'

Comments (8)

noinwi

annie1992

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