Afraid to eat in front of people

I don't like eating in front of people.  I feel embarassed or something... like if I'm going to a party, I will eat eveything beforehand or when I get home again just to avoid eating around people.

Does anyone else have that problem?

yes, me too
i'll eat two pieces of low cal toast w/ low sugar jelly
and the total cals are only 95 calories
i feel as though its too much though
or in my set calories i am able to have a pkg of sugar free/ fat free pudding made with 1.5 cups of skim milk, i feel as though that is bad, that it makes me look fat.
Even though i know its okay in my calorie range.
I would definitely say its a problem.

I would do that when I was trying to lose weight, yes, but now I am not anymore, but still no matter what it is I will eat it alone, very asocially and I feel - lonely, even though I chose to be.

now that your not trying to lose weight what do you eat?
i'm not trying to lose, i just am afraid to eat other foods.
like things i don't know the calories for

Is it just food or are you anxious in social situations? 

food related

im like that with my family at functions but thats basically because they notice EVERYTHING i do. I had an eating disorder and had to gain weight and now that i have i know their going to say something about it and mentally its gonna really damage me and eat away at me which is probably going to ruin all of my process that ive made.

I never had an eating disorder, but I have trouble eating in front of people I don't know well.  People I'm comfortable with I can pig out to high hell with though :)

I hate eating in front of people when other people aren't eating! the one time I can remember is me and a bunch of friends went to get ice cream... but then they didn't get anything. So they just sat there and while I ate... it was so embarassing!!

I hear ya Alex, I'm having a very hard time re-adapting myself to a new diet to maintain my wait, and I've been finding myself slowly losing because I'm just not eating enough.

One thing that has helped me, has been logging my meals in advance on Calorie-Count and sticking to it.   I know exactly what and how much I will be eating tomorrow so I'm not afraid to eat what I have to.

I've seen a nutritionist about my problem with food, but she just gave me an "eating plan" and told me to see a shrink, big help there, since I've already been following her "eating plan" for months without having to see a dietician.

As for being afraid to eat foods in which you don't know the calories, I have the same problem.  I won't eat anything, if I don't know how it's been prepared or what the ingredients are, because I'm afraid of miscalculating the calorie amount and overeating. 

I don't know if this is necessarily a bad thing, but I know for sure that my constant calorie deficit is becoming a problem, and I will soon be underweight if I don't stop.... the thing is, it seems that nobody is taking me seriously enough, I'm just told to eat more, but people don't understand how hard that can be for me.  The guilt is unbearable.

I know the feeling!  I used to hide out in the classroom to eat or walk down the hallway to eat.  It took me some time to understand my appetite and learn to be full and not over snack on bad food.  Now that I know that I have a healthy full appetite I am comfortable eating in front of others.  It helps me that I eat foods that are good for me.  I also like to treat myself a couple times a week with candy or a junk food snack because I know I deserve it.  Good luck.  It took me many years to be comfortable eating in front of others.

Just now someone offered me a cookie, I said no, but he insisted that I take the cookie because his wife made it.   Then he said that it was his last one and he promised it to someone else, so I said "That's okay, give it to that person! Really!"  but he still instisted that I take the cookie.

So I wrapped it in a napkin and now it's sitting in the office fridge to be eaten by nobody, it's just a cookie... but it's scary....

that's pretty funny.  I hate it when people are pushy like that.  I went to my great aunt's house the other day, and I refused some cheezy creamy soup that was on the stove. I had just eaten, and it wasn't even her soup, so I wasn't hurting her feelings, but she went ahead and put a bowl in front of me anyway and watched to see what i would do.  I didn't want to make a scene, but I pictured myself dumping it in her face.

i don't feel embarrassed...but i hate hate hate when people stand over me and watch me eat, or scrutinize my food. and i've been driven to the point of eating my lunch at my desk at work instead of in the break room with everyone else because i feel like i'm being judged. people can't seem to grasp the concept that even though i'm already thin, i'm not eating garbage, or a huge amount of food. "oh, chicken and salad? oh, fat free? what are you, on a DIET?", in that condescending, sarcastic kind of way. as if we all work hard to lose weight, then just go back to eating junk! even then, when i'm sitting at my desk eating, it drives me crazy when people come over and ask me what i'm eating, or stand there and talk to me while i'm eating. its none of their business and it makes me uncomfortable!!!!!

But, you're not on a diet.  You're eating healthy.  You're adding years to your life, while they are losing.  You win.

What are you eating?  Food.  That should be your response.

well, most of the time when they say "you don't need to eat that, you're so skinny" it makes me feel like pointing at their pizza/burger and fries/chips and saying "well, if I ate THAT every day, i wouldn't be skinny now would i?." so, i just think it to myself. hah.

don't get me wrong, i do eat pizza and burgers and pasta...but good lord, once or twice a week, not every day for lunch!

one (very heavy) guy here drinks a slim fast meal replacement shake WITH his lunch...which is usually a sandwich, chips, some other side, and apples slathered in caramel!!!! he always has such a huge spread on the table when he has lunch, it looks like the last supper! ha ha ha... i feel like someone should tell him he could save 300 calories right there if he swapped it for a diet soda or water!

people like that make me laugh and make me feel a lot better about my yogurt and fruit and whatnot.

Even when i used to eat what ever i wanted, I would be so nervous to eat in front of anyone...like its just this feeling I get, I hate it!  If i would go out with friends for dinner I would always get fries, they are so easy to eat.  I would, will never eat saysomething like aburger infront of people...

now that i eat crzy healthy I hate it too, cause people always be like..."i dont know how you could eat that", what is it?  Can i try!"  Its like go fack off, wouldya! 


i know exactly what ur talking bout though.  I even have a hard time admiting if im hungry, i feel ashamed or something...

i can't eat in front of people at all which means i cant go owt 4 a meal or anything its horrible and i ahte it but can't get over this phobia,

I have the opposite problem.

I'd prefer to eat with other people. Instead I always eat alone. 

 I'm the same as dm. I can't stand to eat alone it just takes all the umpht out of it. Why cook for just me? Or eat alone. I'd rather just go do something else, or forget about it till someone else is ready. I like company. >_<

for the last 10 years since i was 15 i prefer to eat alone,  i think it comes from i am very anal when i eat, even if its something like pizza sandwhich, really anything but here is an example. i have a **** to eat the toppings first, then the cheese, then the crust then the rest,  If i cant do it that way i might as well not eat it, and it causes me lots of anxiety to show this to other people,  also i prefer to make only what i eat and not what someone else cooks, if i go out to eat with friends I will be nervous all week, about the calories and about people "watching" me eat.  I think its disordered but its been like this as long as i remember now..