[pixelllate]

Maybe its because I like my alone time and my social time in general? I do like to catch up with people, but when college came, I finally got a chance to eat alone (I would mix it up - sometimes eating with friends, other times alone) and I found that I really like to eat my real meals alone. Doesn't matter if the meal is healthy or not. A small snack, some coffee/tea and talking is great, but my real eating, I like to do it by myself. I don't feel lonely because I just get to hang out with people before or after. Anyone else like this...? My sister says that I should try to like eating with people more instead. but...I tried doing that for over 20 years! lol

[liliesinmycereal]

I like eating alone because it's no pressure. I can just enjoy the food. I can try my science experiment meals in peace.

[StephanieM]

I used to get really bad anxiety eating infront of others, probably why I was so thin in high school!

Now I'm better, but I feel weird eating in front of new people. I feel so much more comfortable eating alone.

[pixelllate]

Originally Posted by liliesinmycereal

I like eating alone because it's no pressure. I can just enjoy the food. I can try my science experiment meals in peace.

LMAOOOO thats what my meals are like too!! Sometimes they are good other times they are...well nutritious at least LOL. As tasty as healthy meals can be, my dad was a chef (Chinese - he knew all about that MSG) and sometimes you can't replace the super bad super tasty stuff!

[abejune23]

i like eating alone too! i can go at my own pace, and when i'm done, i don't have to wait for anyone, and no one has to wait for me! there's no "where-do-you-want-to-eat-oh-i-don't-know-where-do-YOU-want-to-eat" business. plus, i don't have to feel guilty when i bring home-made food, because oftentimes my friends purchase from the food court. i'm so rude when i eat with people anyway, they're horrified i talk with my mouth full :/.

[ValRock]

I totally like eating alone!!! I don't like people scrutinizing what I'm eating and I just like to enjoy my meal with no distractions.

[glittergation]

I like to also but mostly when I'm eating poorly. Which, unfortunately, I find myself doing a lot lately. I guess I'm just ashamed.

[sontaikle]

I love eating alone, but then again I love just being alone in general.

I wake up early so I can eat my breakfast alone and read the morning paper. I don't go into the faculty room at lunch because I want to eat alone and just read on my computer (see a pattern, I guess? )

When I'm alone I find I can really enjoy the food more. I don't have to concentrate on conversations or keep up appearances. I can just relax and eat.

[lifehouseluver]

I love eating alone too!!! I agree that it simply takes a lot of the pressure off. I work at a fitness center, and whenever people see me eat they ALWAYS comment on what i'm eating whether it's healthy or unhealthy. If it's unhealthy i'll get comments like "this is the gym! you shouldnt be eating that." and then when i'm seen eating something healthy, i get all the questions like "how did you make that? how many calories?" blah blah blah!

So yes, whenever I get to eat by myself it's like, my "me" time. No interuptions, no sarcastic comments, I love it.

I had a history of eating alone in a more negative way. Before 3FC I was in the 160s. (Highest I saw on the scale was 158.6 but I stopped going on it because I didn't want to see the 16something happen!) I was going through a horrific breakup and I had started this birth control pill that made me look just SOOO bloated. I would just binge eat by myself in my room because for some reason I felt like people were watching me eat and thinking "look at the chubby girl eat!" Probably completely irrational, but when I was gaining weight and out of control, it's how I felt. :-/

Long story short, I was able to get back in control after a refreshing summer back at my parents house. I then finished school, and I still had some emotional eating ups and downs along the way, but then when I started my job I made better choices.

Like I said, now when I eat alone it's peaceful. I no longer eat alone out of shame and fear like I used to.

I guess what I want to say is as long as you get joy out of eating alone, I see absolutely nothing wrong with it.

[Riestrella]

I don't mind too much either way, but I know for sure I hate hearing the sound of others eating! My Dad literally looks like a cow when he eats, it's disgusting. I would much prefer to eat alone because of that! I also have this weird thing where I have to be watching something on TV while I eat at home...very bizarre.

So no, it's definitely not weird wanting to eat alone! We all have our quirks!

[Ryler832]

I like to eat my meals alone as well. I hate when people question me about what I'm eating, especially when I'm eating oriental food cooked from home. I go to my car to eat when I'm on my lunch break at work. I know it's weird but I like my quiet time.

[liliesinmycereal]

Originally Posted by pixelllate

LMAOOOO thats what my meals are like too!! Sometimes they are good other times they are...well nutritious at least LOL. As tasty as healthy meals can be, my dad was a chef (Chinese - he knew all about that MSG) and sometimes you can't replace the super bad super tasty stuff!

lol! Very true! I am about to test out some new experiments with super vegetables. I think eating with people might poison the well a little.

[guacamole]

I love to eat alone! That's how I gained over 80lbs! I am a loner by nature and love to go on solitary walks, read, watch TV/movies at home, listen to music alone. When I started using food for comfort, and to replace some old relationships in my life that were over, the weight piled on. Food really was my best friend. For awhile, I felt like it was the only thing I had to look forward to. I would plan out going to a take-out restaurant and bringing back my loot to gorge on alone at home in front of the TV. I would plan my grocery shopping trips with treats for me to have as a reward after I unpacked everything.

In front of everyone else, I ate a normal SAD diet (Standard American Diet). Not particularly healthy, but no different in content and portion size (too much) than everyone else at the table. If the only food I was eating was the food I ate with other people, I probably would have stayed the weight I am at currently - still overweight, but not morbidly obese. However, it was all the "secret" eating I was doing when no one else was around that packed on the real pounds.

Interestingly, I still like eating alone, but now I am making sensible choices about what I eat and how much. I probably eat larger portions and more off plan foods when I eat with other people today as opposed to engaging in secret binge eating alone in the past. However, if I am going to eat off plan, I prefer it to be in front of others, because the shame factor prevents me from REALLY pigging out! When I ate fattening foods alone, there was nothing holding me back from two-fisting the food into my mouth!

My husband is still very overweight, and sometimes at the table he will shovel the food in so quickly that he chokes. I admit that sometimes it kind of sickens me. It sickens me because I recognize that in myself. I never ate like that in front of other people, but I used to eat like that alone. I would gobble up the food on my plate so fast that I would cough, sputter, choke, and have to take a moment to try to open my throat muscles as wide as I could to get down that lump of whatever (usually some kind of bread or bagel). I hated that feeling, but I was helpless to stop doing it. I feel sad when I see and hear my husband doing the same thing. I don't know how to help him if he doesn't want to help himself.

[krampus]

I prefer eating alone though I can eat with others with zero anxiety and have never had a problem either way. No one to judge (not like they do anyway), no time frame to be on, I can take as long as I want to finish however much or little I want.

The worst is when people comment on your eating, as in "that's all?" (leads me to eat more to prove something, how dumb) or "you're STILL eating?" (leads me to eat more so I don't have to watch them eat).

[Em123]

Nothing wrong with it whatsoever! When I'm at college I prefer to have my meals alone too, but the reason is more because I want to stay focused on going back to study after I finish, rather than talking (but sometimes it's the opposite, I want to eat with friends so I can get my mind off studying and take a break).

Just do what makes you happy... I don't see how it harms anyone... also eating main meals by yourself sounds quite peaceful.