Eating in public.

Just wondering, anyone out there have serious problems eating infront of people? I feel very uncomfortable eating infront of people (i only feel OK eating among a some people, actually more like certain people. for eg, i don't even feel comfortable eating more than something like a salad infront of my dad). Do you feel that if you're eating, people will look at you and judge you? At first i thought it was a minor problem, but it really kind of gets into the way of social events. Do you feel like hiding away and not be seen when you're eating?

Just wondering if you could tell us a little bit more about yourself so we can give better advice. Age, stats, etc.

alright,

i'm 17, haven't taken my height for quite a while but it's ard 5'4", don't have access to a weighing scale 24/7 but it's around 90 pounds (might be a bit more? been eatin quite a lot the past weeks :/). i usually go to the gym 3 times a week.

oh yes, and a vegetarian too, became one last year :) trying to go vegan though but things like scones, babyfood and chocolate, stuff like that get in the way haha.

Just thought i'd start with saying:

At 90lbs you'd have a BMI of 15.4

At 99lbs you'd have a bmi of 17.

It is generally suggested not to have a bmi of less that 18.

Secondly, prhaps you could give us a few more facts, do you like your body? Are you comfortable around food on your own? How many calories do you eat in general?

Weeeell... not to scare you or anything, but this used to happen to me and I ended up having obsessive compulsive disorder and a semiconsecuential restrictive eating disorder. When my OCD got bad, I was eating the same thing every day, and very specific health food (like my midmorning snack of 1/2 cup Fiber One, 5 pecans and 6 almonds) and it was embarrasing, both to be eating that stuff (even though there wasn't really a good reason to feel embarrased about that) and simply to be eating. I was sure everyone was watching and judging me.

Generally if some behaviour you have interferes with your daily life, it's likely to come from some type of disorder - not necessarily, but yeah, usually.  Just to know, what is your goal? Lose, maintain, gain, tone up? If you feel people wil judge you, it probably means you aren't comfortable with yourself. (Heh, sorry to sound preachy, I'm just a squirt like you, 18 years old) :)

You do have a very low BMI, but maybe you have a very slim body type?

I am the same way.  I'm not saying it's normal, but I just cannot eat in front of other people.  I think it developed from when I was working, every time I would try to have a snack, some nosy customer would lean over the counter and make comments about what I was eating.  Now I have almost a phobia of eating in front of people.  I can sympathize with what you're saying, though I'm sorry I can't be any help.

ok happy to hear all this i added to a post in another thread and i was told it was "sad" i had this problem...and i was looking for support and like minded people,  I go through stages very similar to r newt.  I have a **** anxiety disorder and it is greatly stressed in food/eating out situations/  it has to do with people watching judging/ me watching and judging unable to enjoy my food/ and not being able to choose exactly what i want..how much oil, all that stuff.  at one point i was stressed to the point about this is was unable to eat with my family and hid in my room ate the ames things everyday at the same time.....to go through my rituals alone as much as possible...like i said i bounce in and out of it monthly it really depends on my other stresses.  my big problem now is if i will be eating infront of people i must go to the gym for an hr before i must or else i can not eat at the restaurant i am too scared....So these i think are pretty messed up and antisocial things...i dont want to see you do this as well, its annoying as well cause jesus Its Only Food.  ahhhh  I dont know how to help you either i just want other people like us to know they are not "sad" or "strange" and i hope you get help for it.  good luck

thanks for the replies, at least i know i'm not the only one. yes ratinhat88, it's like a phobia of eating infront of people :/ maybe i'm really not comfortable with both myself and my body..

also, if i do eat infront of people. it sounds ridiculous but i will try to 'match my eating pace' with them. so that i don't end up finishing my food before them and feeling like a pig. or if the person doesn't finish up their food, i won't want to finish mine either..

even though i try not to let it bother me, i don't like eating in front of other people either, mainly work collegeues. even though they sit around and snack on things pretty often, i'm sure they'd just think i was a little piggy if i did the same. it's awful when i'm sooo hungry that it hurts though... i just try and wait for lunch time, but it's hard... 

refering to your "matching their pace", i understand what you mean. but now, i really try to eat slowly, put my fork down after ever few bites etc, so i can enjoy what i'm eating and not look like a greedy guts at the same time

if i may say something i guess it depends on your relationship with your body,and how healthy it is,ive always been thin but in my house they eat really healthy,when i became vegetarian,6 years ago,i hated goig otu with my friends to restaurants or anyhting that involved eating beacuse they would be either saying ''off course if you dont eat (lets say butter or something of the sort) thats why your so skinny'' or ''so if you dont eat meat what do you eat?",i stil get that a lot but people is less ignorant nowdays about vegetarian eating so they dont ask that much,now i practically say the second or third time i meet someone new that im vegetarian so ill avoid the stupid questions,but still unconfortable,even in front of my family it happens soemtimes

Wow...I thought that I was the only one suffering with this...I'm glad that I'm not alone.  Well I'm a college student, and I really don't like eating in front of other people. If I'm with my friends, that's fine, but when it's someone I don't know...then I'm totally paranoid.  It gets to the point, that I will actually hide whatever I'm eating if someone walks into the room, just because I know that they are judging me...I know that's odd, and I shouldn't be doing that, but I can't help it.  Even when I'm eating something healthy I do the same thing.  I have to go to lots of conferences because of my major, or lots of different programs, and I almost never get anything to eat there because I know that everyone is looking at me and I'm being laughed at.  If I'm with a group of people who I don't normally eat with, I refuse to eat even then.  Even when I'm at a family gathering, I dont' eat, because I know someone is going to talk about me when I leave...If I do get something to eat, I usually pack a small to go plate, just to say if some ask me if I got something, that I did, and then go eat it at home.  When I'm in a resturant, I do the same thing, like if its buffet, and when I walk back to the table, I've sorta got my plate "undercover" and walk as quickly as I can to the table, so no one can see...I just feel like EVERYONE is looking at me and they are all thinking that I shouldn't be eating what I have on my plate.  If I'm in the car, and I'm eating, I don't chew or put anything in my month if I know there is a car that this about to pass me or if I'm at a light and there is a car beside me.  I just don't do it....I have to pretend that I'm not eating anything, and when they are gone, I'm back to eating again...I know...very odd.  Sometimes, my dad, who has a VERY VERY BIG SWEET TOOTH, and doesn't gain a ounce I might add, asks me to go to a little convenient store for him and get him a candy bar or some type of dessert before I come home.  Do you know what I do?  Well I go and get it, and the next time he ask, I go to a totally DIFFERENT store, and get whatever he wants, until I have gone to enough stores in the surrounding area, that I can begin at store 1 again, and not feel like people are thinking that I'm the one eating that stuff....I know...I might have some serious problems, but this is just something that I can't seem to shake...So yes, I ALWAYS feel that I need to hideaway, so know one can see me eating....

livingall_4_god,

i feel exactly that same way!

i'm afraid that if i keep buying food from the same place often, the owner would think i'm a pig. i always try to hide the food i buy too. people are always judging, they always stare at the food or grocery bag in your hand. i get sooo uncomfortable. also, if i'm seen eating by someone, i make sure i do not get seen eating by that same person on the day.

it gets hard sometimes..

I was going to say this thread doesn't apply to me, but now I realize I am guilty of just a bit of it. Generally I don't care if strangers see me eating. However, I do get a little uncomfortable if I'm with someone I don't know well (but are kind of acquaintances with?) and I'm 'pigging out' on something not so healthy. That doesn't happen so much anymore though, since I try to plan my meals ahead of time, but I do remember the days.

The one thing in this thread that I am compleeeeetely guilty of is store cycling. I had a lot of calories left for the day so I decided to pick up some Chinese. All I got was some soup, but still! I went back to the same place 2 days later. THAT meal lasted me like 3 days, because I only had small portions of it. However, I felt like I couldn't go to the same Chinese take out restaurant 3 times in 2 weeks, because it was always the same extremely skinny Chinese woman working there! So I drove an extra 8 minutes to go to a different one! =P

I'm also a huge Subway fan, and there are 3 subways within 10 minutes of me. Yes, I do rotate them, but never TOO regularly; sometimes I have to mix it up so they don't think I have to get my 'subway fix' every x number of days!

It's so psycho.

i'm 5'6'' and 140 (i know, not obese) and i feel very uncomfortable eating around people. i feel like everyone is looking at me and thinking i shouldnt be eating that. especially if i envy someones body in the room

on the bright side it does help me stay on my diet

I get that feeling too sometimes. And I know why as of last week. I shared with my desk neighbour at work that I was doing a clean eating challenge for 1.5 weeks which also included no sweets and no candy as a rule. I couldn't resist having a small piece of carrot cake, she goes: "Oh I thought you weren't eating any sweets all sweek and now eat a WHOLE piece of pie?" I would've loved to strangle her. A it's carrot pie, carrot = vegetable, icing was minimal and it probably weighed about 80g in total I wouldn't call that a full piece of pie.

But then if I'm eating something that's good for me and I know I'm in my calorie range for the day I couldn't care less about people sitting around me when I eat.

Original Post by ahmad:

livingall_4_god,

i feel exactly that same way!

i'm afraid that if i keep buying food from the same place often, the owner would think i'm a pig. i always try to hide the food i buy too. people are always judging, they always stare at the food or grocery bag in your hand. i get sooo uncomfortable. also, if i'm seen eating by someone, i make sure i do not get seen eating by that same person on the day.

it gets hard sometimes..

Hey....I do the exact same thing...definitely don't be seen eating in front of the same person more than once in a day...haha!