‘Yeah, I’m kind of like just watching what I eat

[KLPNO]

Hello everyone,

From the book Choose Your Story, Change Your Life by Kindra Hall.

The level of detail Cori could recall was also shocking. “I remember, when we were older, being at that same cousin’s cabin and going out to a bar that has these amazing nachos. And I was like, ‘We should order the nachos!’ And skinny beautiful cousin said, ‘Yeah, I’m kind of like just watching what I eat.’ And I thought to myself, She weighs like five pounds, and she’s watching what she eats? And then I wondered if I should watch what I eat. So, instead of ordering the beer that I wanted, I ended up ordering like some sad vodka soda cocktail.”

Does the bolded phrase mean that Cori's cousin agreed to order and eat nachos?
Or does it mean she refused?
The "Yeah" at the beginning of the sentence sounds ambigious and confusing to me.

Thank you.

 

[tedmc]

Obviously her answer was in the affirmative even though she said was conscious of her diet.

 

[probus]

I disagree with Ted in this case. Here "yeah" is not an affirmative but merely a discourse marker like "well". The cousin does not want to order nachos and has explained why.

 

[Skrej]

I agree with Probus - she is declining to order the nachos. Otherwise she wouldn't bother explaining why.

We also sometimes preface a comment with 'yeah' to acknowledge an idea or suggestion, even if we disagree. I think that's the case here.