Even though it sometimes might not seem particularly fair, the fact remains that different people of all shapes and sizes have different metabolisms that can affect their diet and eating habits.
OP is a normal sized, healthy young woman who, because of her job that keeps her busy and moving all day, consumes quite a bit of food (sometimes all at once).
This for some reason really irritates her mother-in-law.
I (f27) have been together with my husband Nate for over 10 years and married for 4. I don’t have the best relationship with my MIL as she always seem to police what I eat.
Everyone in my family have fast metabolism.
I am also working with horses so due to this burn a lot of calories (talking about 2.5-3k a day) and usually have rather large meals to get the energy back and I still remain skinny.
On this particular day they were all set to go out to dinner together. Usually OP will make sure to eat something before an event like this to avoid the comments but she didn’t have time.
Now to the event. My in-laws invited me and Nate for dinner last Friday.
I was very busy back then and haven’t eaten since about 6-7am and also didn’t have a chance to have a snack before heading to the restaurant so I was starving (I usually have something to eat before seeing my MIL to avoid her comments).
At dinner she ordered a giant steak dinner. It was not the most expensive menu item and they were all covering their own part of the bill.
Due to this I have ordered a large steak at the restaurant which was meant for 2 people, it also came with prawns, bacon and 2 sides.
Please note it was not the most expensive item on the menu as some of my in laws had significantly pricier dishes and we were all splitting the bill anyway.
Still her mother-in-law absolutely would not let it go, her objections changing from “you can’t eat all that” to “you’re making the men uncomfortable” as the meal progressed.
My MIL started making comments how I shouldn’t be ordering what I can’t eat since even her husband wouldn’t be able to finish the dish, let alone someone my size. I smiled and said I haven’t eaten since early morning and am starving, if I don’t finish the steak I will take the leftovers home.
I have easily finished the steak and was waiting for my dessert, when my MIL flipped.
She said I am attention seeking and was putting on a show, she also said I have made my FIL and BIL feel uneasy and that a woman shouldn’t eat that much, it is unhealthy and something is wrong with me.
For some reason her MIL thought to make her pay the entire bill. She refused, but even though her husband is on her side, her in-laws all think something is wrong with her.
She has then demanded me and Nate to cover the entire bill as she wasn’t planning on “such a big expenditure”.
I said we are absolutely not covering the entire bill since it was meant to be split equally and reminded her of the dishes she ordered, that were significantly more expensive compared to my steak (including her starter).
As a result I was called an a****** who has ruined a family dinner.
Nate is on my side but most of my in-laws are making very passive aggressive posts on social media about it and keep sending me different articles of “what might cause excessive eating”.
This is a bizarre case; let’s see how Reddit handles it!
The top comment says it’s time to pull out a show of dominance.
And this person says there’s definitely a lot of misogyny going on here.
This commenter is worried about the effect on OP’s future kids as well.
Most men don’t have an issue with a big eater at all.
They think OP should start sending over some articles of her own.
Some people really do have all the luck.
Still, I’d totally give OP a high five.