Do you eat fast?

I'm usually a fairly slow eater, always have been.
And logging some of my meals as I eat them hasn't helped things (that's only at home though)

On the other hand, watching my portions means that I will eat no seconds or very little, so I might catch up with others that way.
And if it's a large social gathering I might finish early too, simply because I don't talk as much in large groups as other people.

I'm an only child, I've never been in competition with siblings: perhaps that explains it, but I'm slow in other things to (for example getting ready for work), so I think it's just a general tendency. I hate eating in a hurry! (Well, I hate hurrying in general )
And aside from that, there is probably a cultural aspect: in my corner of the world (not anglo-saxon) we tend to take a bit longer eating our meals, especially in social settings.

Growing up I always ate slowly. When I joined the military, boot camp radically changed my habits: you were given just 5 minutes to eat a meal, and anything not eaten by the end of that time goes in the trash as you are out the door for more training.

My first couple days, I barely got in a few bites of food before having to move on. By the time week 3 rolled around, I could polish off an entire plate of food and sometimes a second plate as well. This pattern of wolfing down food lasted for a few years after boot camp ended, until I was married with multiple kids. I'm the family chef, and had to scramble to prepare a meal after getting home from work, plus cut up the food into bite size pieces for my kids, pour drinks, etc, so by the time I sat down with my own food I was not in the mood to continue scrambling. Consequently this plus the fact my family were often done eating before I even sat down, my average time spent eating increased dramatically, to where I luxuriated in simply sitting still for several minutes to actually taste my food. (After having reheated it in the microwave, of course.)

Now my kids are all older and able to serve themselves, cut their own food, etc. But meal time remains a time for me to relax, often as a butt of my family's jokes about how long it takes me to eat. Never ceases to amaze them then when I wolf down a meal in under a minute when circumstances warrant.

I work to slow down my eating. One way I do this is half way through dinner I will often get up and start doing cleanup.

I lost weight effortlessly during USAF Boot Camp for several reasons: the food was so terrible I didn't want to inhale it, it was mandatory to consume two glasses of water before getting up from the table, so I had to prioritize that, which helped to fill me up, and there were only the three meals and no snacking.

Are there any recent Boot Camp grads here? I'm curious if there is still no snacking or if they've put in vending machines or something.

kshama2001 wrote: »

I lost weight effortlessly during USAF Boot Camp...

Funny, I gained 10 pounds during boot. This was 24 years ago, and in talking with recent grads (I'm a civilian contractor working with the military) I haven't once heard about "vending machines" as part of boot camp.

I hadn't considered the difference in eating at home vs eating out. I realize now I'm actually the fastest to finish in a restaurant, so I have to ask myself how much of finishing last at home is a product of being slow, and how much due to being last to actually begin eating after taking care of everybody else?

@ninerbuff I had a ½ hour for lunch. If I wanted to drive home it was a 24 mi round trip. I would drive as fast I could go and come screaming around the corners on 2 wheels. I did that on many aday and could wolf my food as fast as a freight train. Old habits die hard.

This topic reminds me of an old dinner blessing I learned from a friend of the family (who was a Roman Catholic priest, btw ) : In the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, he who eats the fastest gets the most!

Slow eating only child here

I am a fast eater. (Youngest of 4 kids, so I ate fast to keep up.) My husband has always been a very slow eater, especially now that Parkinson's has slowed his movements down a lot and made chewing food well a necessity to prevent choking. Dinner lasts at least an hour and a half, sometimes longer. We stopped eating at the table because I got impatient waiting for him to finish, and that's not fair. It's easier if we're watching TV and I'm not watching him chew and chew and chew. Years ago, when we were backpacking and eating out of a single pot, I very consciously made myself slow down and wait my turn to get the next bite, but that slow down didn't last.

I didn't grow up as a fast eater, but became one because of my profession.

I work in live events, and production days are long and unpredictable. There are no set meal breaks, so you just eat when you have the opportunity. You learn to eat quickly because you could be pulled away at any moment.

I unfortunately have brought that habit home with me, as has my husband (who is in the same industry).

I really have to consciously work to eat slower. When I get together with my sister, I work extra-hard at it. She's a slow eater, and I try to reduce the time that I'm awkwardly sitting, done with my meal, while she's still eating.

I've always been a slow eater. In fact, I sometimes have to zap my food in the microwave for about 30 seconds halfway through a meal because it's gotten cold while I take forever to eat it!