Serious Eats - seriouseats.com

Not exactly a medical condition, but once as a kid I pretended to be sick so I didn't have to eat a bologna and butter sandwich. Tried to make myself throw up, the whole nine. 25 years later, I still shudder when I think about the thick spread of butter on the Oscar Meyer bologna. Eesh.

@BangieB: Bolonga and butter-- the word combonation even sounds horrific. Haha.

"I don't eat sweets."

The real truth is I adore sweets--good ones. However, when I've been at a party or office where people bring in supermarket croissants, Dunkin' Doughnuts munchkins, cheap salt water taffy or those awful little hazelnut gold-wrapped chocolates bought at a drug store, I pretend to be a much healthier eater than I am. Ditto at my stepmother's when she serves her favorite dessert--traditional Greek Jell-O.

Not lying, but I've also come back from the dentist and just had my teeth cleaned and made a reference to 'dental work' implying something much more painful to avoid said bad dessert calories.

I'm really a vegetarian but sometimes I pretend to be much more strict about consuming animal products to get out of eating bad cheese, breads, and so forth.

AMEN Cassandra!!!!! thats it exactly, they are being highly rude by pressing you, so give it back to them! I refuse to lie to someone or fake an apendisitis to get out of eating something i loathe (long story) .

@dbcurrie - ha! Maybe you could go straight for inventing a "religion" forbidding any food with the word "surprise" in its name?

@HeartOfGlass - I am totally with you. I go off sugar for months at a time, but even when I'm technically allowing myself to eat it, I only want the high-quality stuff.

The one good thing I've found about having a reputation for being a "health nut" is that nobody questions my purported dietary restrictions of the moment!

A quick note about people pressing someone to eat. Yes, the GREAT majority of them are Food Pushers.

However, that said, I've come across a situation in which it turns out that at least three offers is the standard, polite thing to do. This was in South Wales, and I was at a friend's daughter-in-law's home. I finally succumbed (because I did want it, and was trying to either diet or not appear piggish, I can't remember which). Later discussion with friend, and verified through two other sources, one of which was a foreign business ettiquette book, that three offers is the polite thing in the UK. Maybe this is honored more in the breach than in the observance these days, but this was a particularly "well brought-up" young lady, and that was the standard.

However, we're mostly talking the US here. And to answer the original question, not that I recall at the moment. I can be pretty firm in my ability to say no, thank you. (I can also eat about anything, at least a small quantity.)

I'll lie about a food allergy in a second. Usually, it's melon. My dad lies about his "allergy" to melon, so I suppose it's genetic.

The worst is when it's family serving the unpalatable food. They usually know the allergies, so it's difficult to fake. A couple of years ago, my grandparents made dinner for my parents and me. Usually my parents will insist on cooking to avoid this kind of thing. We ended up eating a meal of charred chicken, burnt to the point of being comical. My absent-minded-professor of a grandfather only serves food from the grill that is either dangerously undercooked (his usual MO) or this. We also had overboiled asparagus. And red wine that was very warm. It was like torture. And there was no getting out of it.

I'm a fan of "I can't have sugar" in relation to unwanted sweets and the like pushed by coworkers. That and eating my lunch elsewhere.

Usually I'll say that i already ate. Or maybe just try a little, and say that I'm watching my weight.

Biggest issue with unwanted food right now involves chef BF. At the end of the night, he brings home the most fantastic things- raw sockeye salmon or veal that I can sear off for lunch the next day. The bad part is that he always brings a ton of risotto. I hate risotto. Especially when it's cold and congealed and loaded with chevre. Have not found my way around this yet, but I must have thrown away 5lbs of the stuff by now.

Probably. Nothing sticks out in my mind but I'm sure I used the "I'm too full excuse" at some point even though I probably could have eaten more. I don't think I could use an allergy as an excuse. Maybe in a really sticky situation but definitely not on a regular basis. If it was something I didn't like, like red velvet cake or peach pie, I would be honest and say it in the kindest way possible.

My mom saved me a few weeks ago at a relative's house. My cousin made a fabulous meal (fall-apart-on-your-fork brisket and killer dinner rolls) with brownies for dessert. I'm not eating chocolate right now so I was squirming in my seat. I didn't want to seem rude and I was wondering how I would get out of it. Mom helped serve and asked if I wanted brownie and ice cream. I replied "just ice cream please" and gave her a look so she added "the baby doesn't like chocolate so just ice cream for jo". I still felt bad but I have the brownie recipe so I can at least make them for us later and fawn over my cousin for finding such a great recipe!

Oh, dear. Yes. Often. To spare someone's feelings. Desserts made with gluten free flour usually have a gritty taste and I'd rather skip the calories anyway. I say I'm full. Occasionally, I'll take a sliver to be polite and occasionally it's actually great.