This question is from an “older gentleman.” (I’m fine calling myself that—it hurts less than being called it by someone else.)

I’ll answer this one too. If the man doesn’t eat anything at all, I think it makes it harder for the woman to eat as well. And if he leaves food, she may feel like she has to leave some too, so it seems tricky. But couldn’t you just be honest and explain it as it is—something like, “I used to be able to eat more, but these days I feel full after just a little”—and let the woman eat instead?

I’m Saito, a columnist♪ I completely understand where you’re coming from. I’m an older guy who eats out almost every day myself, so there’s no way I can manage a full-course meal. I feel like I’m going to die. lol When that happens, I get around it like this: 1. Ask the restaurant to make each portion half-size. 2. At Chinese restaurants, ask them to adjust the portions when serving the dishes family-style. 3. Bring along another woman who enjoys eating. 4. Choose the most expensive items, but order fewer courses. (At Japanese restaurants, they’ll pack things like the final rice dish to take home, so I give it all to her.) (At sushi restaurants, you can add items at the end, so I have all the sea urchin made into gunkan sushi.) That’s how I manage to get through it.