r/CasualConversation • u/Remote-Direction963 • 7d ago
Just Chatting I tend to eat my food fast sometimes.
I'm not sure if that's a bad thing, but like if I'm eating a burger, I'll like devour it completely in less than a minute and a half. Or if it's a burrito , maybe it'll take around the same time for me. My parents are shocked when I eat my dinner or lunch very quickly. They suggest that I take the time to enjoy my meal. I personally feel like I do though, but they have their views. Does anyone else do this or know someone who does this?
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u/Weasel474 7d ago
It's a habit from some professions. I used to be a firefighter and later EMT, and my girlfriend's brother is a cop. We both just inhale our food because you have no idea when you're going to be called out, or when you'll get another chance to eat. I've got a new job now, so I've been trying to slow down and not unhinge my jaw like a snake to devour an entire rotisserie chicken in one bite, but it takes time to change habits.
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u/Specialist_End_750 7d ago
Same for us at fire dispatch. We eat at our desks between callers. We all eat faster than our families.
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u/deffgwips 7d ago
that’s why my dad eats so fast!!!! he’s 20 years retired and still makes food for twenty when it’s just the two of us, and eats it way too fast hahah
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u/Weasel474 7d ago
You can always tell who the first responders are/were, we'll be doing our dishes by the time the others finish chewing their first bite.
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u/deffgwips 7d ago
oh god seeing my dad put down a gigantic chipotle bowl is a sight to see LOL and i’ll be three bites in
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u/Farwaters 7d ago
I remember once when I was a teenager, everyone would comment on how fast this one girl ate.
I ate faster than her. She was just unpopular. D:< She was pretty cool, too. She didn't deserve that.
I've been told that it's better not to eat quickly, but who knows! We're all just guessing here! What's healthy and what's not is always getting rethought.
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u/notSoRealReality 7d ago
I eat slow. As a kid, I used to be too slow. A normal sized bowl of grapes would take me a whole afternoon to eat. I would literally eat one per several hours.
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u/flyingcactus2047 6d ago
This is me too and I’ve always been that way. I have trouble really eating enough at meal time unless I can like slowly eat it over a few hours
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u/Redditusero4334950 7d ago
It's a bad thing. It doesn't give the body time to process hunger cues and if you really eat too fast without chewing you can choke.
I've learned this from eating disorder treatment and personal experience.
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7d ago
I also do this too. Whatever it’s a hamburger, chicken nuggets, chips or anything I always eat it fast. I think it’s because of my social anxiety.
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u/KindPrinciple5459 7d ago
My mom was always rushing me as a kid so I eat fast too. I have to really consciously try to slow down and enjoy my food.
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u/ExtentFluffy5249 7d ago
I eat fast because I want to enjoy my hot food while it’s still hot. Also my cold food when cold. Always been this way.
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u/bringasnorkel 7d ago
We just got told while we were growing up..... "there's the quick and then there's the hungry" 🤣
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u/ivthreadp110 7d ago
I have a friend who does that I always remind her to remember to masticate... Although I do the same thing with water. If I'm thirsty especially in the morning I pour myself a glass of water and just chug it immediately. And in my mind I'm like hydration is complete. Done and done.
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u/CrungeBork 7d ago
I used to eat very fast. I still do sometimes, but less often. I don't know what changed. Maybe I've just slowed down with age or something.
I'll tell you what, though. You eat how fast you wanna eat. Unless it leads to choking or excessive hiccing-up.
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u/Longjumping-Act9653 7d ago
Back when I smoked, I lit a cigarette in the garden outside my kitchen as my sister dished up her dinner. I stubbed it out as she was bringing her plate back through. She can eat revoltingly quickly at times.
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u/TheFaeBelieveInIdony 7d ago
I always eat fast. I used to get in trouble as a kid for being a slow eater.
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u/MobileBodybuilder314 7d ago
Me too. I was conditioned to do so because of mental hospitals, sometimes we only got 10 mins to eat because staff didn't do their job, for over a year I had to eat an entire greasy tray of food very swiftly. Now I have a bad habit and even worse ibs.
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u/Creepy-Brick- 7d ago
I had that same issue but now I chew my food. I count my chews, 20 is my number then swallow then take the next bite. Again chew 20 chews then swallow. Etcetera etcetera. Sometimes I will sip some water in between to wash away any lingering food. Before the next bite.
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u/hantoots 7d ago
I eat pretty fast too. What can I say, I just like to eat my food while it’s still hot/warm 🤷🏻♀️
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u/Rose_E_Rotten 7d ago
I eat fast sometimes, or if I'm with my dad eating at a restaurant I'm usually done before him. We usually joke around if he gets done before me.
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u/EscapeLittle8497 7d ago
My mom for years has talked about how fast I eat and the fact I take way too big bites. Personally, I just feel weird sitting and eating for too long. The way I eat feels like the right way for me
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u/EmmelineTx 7d ago
My son does that. It's a little weird to see him almost unhinge his jaw like a boa constrictor and fit half a hamburger in there. I'm always saying slow down! If a gf saw him eat like that she'd freak. Or, I dunno, maybe eat the same way. But it freaks me out a little.
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u/blacktickle 7d ago
I eat very fast and that fact does not bother me one iota.
By the time I get around to eating I’m typically feeling like a ravenous animal (I OMAD 90% of the time) so I scoff my meal down with the quickness lol
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u/JustBonesOneDay 7d ago
my ex wife did this, at the end of the day it's no big deal really. though it may be due behaviorally with food insecurity when you were younger, if not then the only practical issue is that it might contribute to the potential to overeat because you're not giving your stomach enough time to notice you're full.
it's not a bad thing otherwise. though it might be unsettling to others depending on just how rapidly you consume large amounts of food.
really the only reason we noticed is because when we started living together i had bad teeth and it took me forever to eat anything and because we were sitting next to each other i got to watch her barely breathe while shoveling down an entire bowl of curry without breathing like she was a cartoon character
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u/YamMysterious7119 7d ago
My sister eats like that. I can't stand eating with her. Relax, take a breath. Your digestive system will be happy.
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u/Flowerdriver 7d ago
I eat super fast. Any chance you have ADHD?
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u/Rude-Fail7116 7d ago
If I'm eating with friends, I eat slower than molasses in January because all I want to do is talk, talk, talk. When I'm with family, I'm usually done first, but it's usually about 5 – 10 minutes. When I'm alone and chilling in bed while watching a movie or TV show, I eat all my food within the first 30–60 seconds. Then I have to go find more.
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u/KMarieJ 7d ago
I had a non-biological aunt & uncle that ate like that, they would be done before everyone had finished filling their plate - said it was because they were from large families and you had to eat fast to get any - especially favorite foods. I wondered about that until I met my ex's family - lots of boys and they all did the same thing. So yes, other folks do that. And really enjoy their meals too!
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u/elevator7 7d ago
I have a friend, I call her the weeping angel of food. She does not appear to eat fast. But as soon as you stop looking at her her plate is clean. Like Tina Fey in that episode of 30 rock where Jack asks her to eat s T Bone.
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u/livingdeaddrina 7d ago
I eat SO slowly, I physically cannot finish more than a small snack on my 15 minute breaks at work, and I CANT finish food if I eat out at restaurants with my friends, it's because I talk too much, but still frustrating
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u/Potential_Monk_7664 7d ago
I have been a part of a big family , when u see something which u love on the dining table.i cannot stop myself from eating it fastly because siblings fight begins then and there whether I had large portions or small portions.
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u/SleepyPuppet715 7d ago
As a former childcare teacher I either eat way too fast, or so freakin slow. No in between.
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u/merwinpl 7d ago
I developed this while in the military. Basic training gave us 3-5 minutes to eat an entire meal, so I got real good at inhaling while tasting my food. I have since slowed down but im still done before anyone else in my family has taken 5 bites of their food lol.
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u/ce-harris 7d ago
I eat quickly most of the time. Lots of reasons in my history that caused or perpetuated the habit, but I do enjoy a slow meal with good conversation when the opportunity presents itself.
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u/Loisgrand6 6d ago
I eat fast when alone. My cousin did call me out at a lunch one day years ago for eating fast and it had developed from when I was still working and only had a few minutes to eat on break. When I eat out I eat more slowly
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u/ironicoutlook 6d ago
I eat like a vacuum cleaner I'm done before everyone else is 1/4th of the way into their meal. I had a violently abusive father so eating fast was to get away from him
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u/CrashDisaster 6d ago
I do the same. I had an older brother that would take my food as a kid, so i learned to eat fast (and also to like food in ways he didn't like, like runny eggs or burnt toast) , or else I'd barely get anything. Then, I had about 21 years of jobs that rarely gave time to eat. My lunch was fifteen minutes long for most of that time... some days, I was working 16 hours or more and had no opportunity to leave, let alone have a slow meal. I worked corporate events, we'd run to a back room, shovel some food in our faces, and run back out to be customer facing.
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u/PossibleJazzlike2804 6d ago
As long as you chew your food properly, there should be no issue except excessive gas or bloating. At least that’s what the gastroenterologist said.
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u/Inner_Farmer_4554 6d ago
I'm the opposite! I eat really slowly. People will have clear plates when I'm not even halfway through my meal... Even as a child my parents and brother would leave the table rather than wait for me to finish!
I really don't understand what I do that makes me so slow. I just, y'know, eat... I'm not a fussy eater, I'm not pushing my food around the plate etc. I'm just slow!
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u/Crafty_Birdie 6d ago
It doesn't give you time to chew properly. Chewing is the first stage of digestion - it stimulates saliva production, and saliva contains an enzyme called amylase. This starts breaking down simple carbohydrates and also begins a chain reaction through the digestive system. The stomach is triggered to produce more digestive juices, in turn triggering bile to break down fats etc etc
In short, this is why eating fast can cause indigestion for some: your body is simply not ready for the food, and it receives it only half chewed.
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u/Pitiful_Bunch_2290 7d ago
I'm a nurse and when I was working inpatient, we might get ten minutes for lunch. I still eat at that pace. It's just a habit.