I Never Eat On First Dates For These Very Important Reasons

Some women might avoid eating on a first date because they don’t want to look greedy for ordering the chocolate mousse after a big meal, but that’s not why I avoid food when I first go out with a guy. Here are 10 reasons I’d rather not check out the menu.

1. I don’t want to be tied down. The thought of sitting down for a meal and dessert makes me break out in a cold sweat. I want to know I can make a quick exit if I discover that my date is a total freak and I don’t want to be around him anymore. I really don’t want to have to sit down and force a smile because the food’s just arrived and I’d look crazy to bolt.
2. I want to talk. It’s not always easy to talk when you’re both pigging out the whole time. Plus, is there anything worse than being asked a question that requires more than a nod in response when your mouth is full? Your date ends up watching you while you try to chew and swallow as fast as possible. As someone who’s pretty self-conscious, that’s a total nightmare for me.
3. I want to avoid weirdness surrounding the bill. When the check arrives for our meal, I don’t want the awkwardness of who gets to pay. I’ve had guys expect me to shell out for their dinners, which has put me off going to dinner on a first date.
4. It’s easier to pay and get out of there. If I haven’t had the courage to excuse myself to leave the date, I’ll be asking for the bill ASAP. It’s so much easier to detangle myself from the date if we’re walking in a park or we just ordered coffees to go. The bill has already been sorted so I can run for the hills instead of waiting for a busy waiter to come bring us the bill.
5. I want to get a quick taste of the date. I don’t think it’s a good idea to spend hours together on a first date. It’s much better to have a short date and then leave something for a second one instead of exhausting topics of conversation. That means no sit-down dinners on a first date.
6. Dinner feels way too intimate. I mean, come on, we barely even know each other. Now we’re forced to sit down and eat and chat like we’re on a romantic evening out marking a relationship anniversary. No. It just feels like way too much. Plus, there’s something special about saving those romantic candle-lit dinners for when we’ve reached a more connected, intimate stage in our relationship. Then we can make the most of them.
7. I don’t want to get spinach stuck in my teeth. Heck, even if I avoid the worst foods to eat on a date like spinach and garlic I can still end up with something stuck in my teeth. That’s so gross, and I speak from personal experience here. I once moved in to kiss a guy after a first date and there were bits of avocado lodged between his teeth. Eek!
8. I don’t want such intense eye-contact. Making good eye-contact on a first date is a must, but I don’t want to feel like we’re staring at each other over a table the whole time. It can make me feel shy and nervous. I’d much rather we do a first-date activity so that we can look at each other but also at other interesting things. It takes the pressure off.
9. I’m fussy about food. Confession: I’m a bit fussy when it comes to food. Not only do I avoid eating meat because I’m a vegetarian but I avoid quite a few other foods that I just don’t like. Eating out can be a pain, so choosing a restaurant that has what I want on the menu isn’t always easy. I’d much rather avoid all that drama on a first date because I don’t want to give my date the impression that I’m difficult. Of course, if the guy’s vegetarian, that does make it a little easier, but still.
10. It’s expensive. I like dates that don’t cost much and that can be filled with fun. I’d much rather try something creative than do the cliché dinner at a restaurant thing. Plus, the latter can be expensive. I’m not sure if I’m ready to invest so much in something that might not even get to the second date.
11. I don’t want to see how they wrestle with the salad. I once went on a date that put me off first-date food for good. The guy ordered a salad but it was so leafy he ended up chewing like a farm animal and getting it all over his face. It was so off-putting to see him like that and it put me off eating food. Let’s stick to seeing each other’s weird habits until after we’ve got to know each other. By then, maybe they won’t be such a big deal.