Rose, I’m no expert, but it seems to me you’ve taken a break from NT before this dinner. My experience tells me if you eat according to your body’s needs, it doesn’t really matter how much food is in front of you, your body just doesn’t want it.
When something like this happens to me, I realize I’ve been famining one way or another before.

Oops, sorry I wasn’t clear enough, what I meant was I didn’t feel like eating, but I forced myself to anyway because I was worried what people thought.  Thanks for the advice though!  That’s so true what you said, that you could be surrounded by food, but seeing it doesn’t make you feel hungry if you are eating according to your needs.  That is a very new feeling for me.

eating on a full stomach

Everybody has to decide what is important to her in life.  If other people’s opinions of you are at the top of the list, then your life will be very different from a person who usually makes choices regardless of what other people think.  Personally, I had to learn a long time ago not to eat (or avoid eating) for other people.  Body controlled eaters (naturally thin people) generally ignore external circumstances when deciding whether, when, and what to eat.
It is abusive to eat food only to please others, without hunger.  It is ludicrous, when you think about it.  Of course, we don’t wish to offend people, but what about offending our bodies?
In these situations, if I am asked why I am not eating (is it anybody’s business?), I smile and say, “Because I have just eaten and I am stuffed to the gills.  (I say stuffed to emphasize how repulsive eating is to me at this moment.)  Why do you ask?”  Perhaps they’re hoping you’ll reveal some newfangled diet they want to hear all about, or suspect you have an eating disorder they can later whisper around the neighborhood or church.
Of course, if they’ve gone to a lot of trouble preparing the food, it is important to acknowledge this, admire the presentation and the wonderful aromas, etc.  And perhaps, if they are extremely saddened by your inability to partake, they would put a sample plate together for you to taste later, when you are hungry at home.
As a naturally thin person, I simply cannot eat anything if I am not hungry.  If you can, perhaps, as Hendanie suggested, make-up eating is involved.
Sincerely,
Jean Antonello

Wow, I never thought of it that way before, thanks for the reply…It’s true, I shouldn’t care about people’s opinions to the point that I would abuse my own body.  It’s sort of like agreeing to do drugs because of peer pressure.  I have to remember this next time I’m in that kind of situation.  I guess in the past I felt like I didn’t have much status or seniority or whatever the word is, so I should just do what was expected of me.  But if normal naturally thin people don’t eat that way, it is just messed-up thinking for me to think that.

I know I’ve been guilty in the past of asking people why they aren’t eating, but it was just out of curiosity.  Ever since I started eating this way, though, I don’t ask people, because I’m so tired of people asking me.  My parents think there is something wrong with me because of the way I eat now, LOL.  Actually, sometimes I’ve seen someone not eating in this kind of situation, and at some point somebody always asked them why, and usually they responded that they were on a diet.  And the way people reacted, it was like it was a perfectly acceptable answer.  I remember one time a guy said he wasn’t eating much because he had eaten recently and he wasn’t that hungry, and people just looked at him kind of confusedly.  (As in “why would someone eat beforehand when they knew they were going to a dinner”).  So it’s kind of sad the way we have it all backwards.

idea for "why aren’t you eating?"

Rose, you could always say something like, “I’ve finally stopped dieting and discovered that when I’m full, I really don’t want to eat anything.”  That would be honest, but watch out, it could start a barrage of questions about NOT dieting What do you mean, you’ve stopped dieting?  Who ever heard of such a thing?  And who in her right mind would actually attempt to DO such a thing?  Are you CRAZY? etc.  You may not be up to the reaction.  I personally do not enjoy getting into this topic at parties.  It’s just too much for a casual conversation.
Good luck!
Sincerely,
Jean Antonello

Ha ha, yeah, I can just imagine…

I just made a discovery:  I realized that before these events, I’d usually be busy & stressed out about things, so I wouldn’t feel any hunger signals and usually wouldn’t eat.  So, I guess I was famining in a way.  All this time I was thinking that I just wasn’t hungry.  I am finding all this very interesting…

stress and hunger and make-up eating

Rose, you are making some very important discoveries.  Stress does naturally depress the appetite—it’s adaptive.  So, when you are stressed, you are inclined to avoid food because your appetite is low or absent.  This is a famine, a natural one.  Should you eat anyway to avoid this famine?  No!  Never eat without hunger.  But, knowing how well your body adapts to famines with make-up eating and weight gain, it is important to avoid getting this stressed.  Give youreself plenty of time to prepare for an event.  Eat especially well the day of the event.  Take breaks and relax as you prepare, so your body will have a chance to let you know what it needs.  Then you won’t find yourself eating without really feeling hungry and/or eating poor quality make-up foods.
Sincerely,
Jean Antonello

Oh a natural famine, that makes even more sense.  I had thought that I was just missing the hunger signals.  Thanks so much for the advice, I’m hoping the next time will go much more smoothly!