Sick of comments about how I eat :( does anyone else do this?

[upstairsdownstairscardboardbox]

I will start by saying I am a size 8, 5 foot 2 woman with no ED and no issues with over or under eating at all. I am very healthy at 50, and happy but am looking for others similar so I can better understand my eating.

I grew up in a very large family by usual UK standards. I was the only girl with 14 brothers. Food was basic, nutritious. A lot of boiled floury potatoes and bread and butter etc. Treats were few and far between but arrived all at once in abundance. So no fruit for months then 30 unripe peaches my dad snagged from a farmer type of thing, or the raspberries we grew came to fruit all on one day. Never any sweets or chocolate bought in but I'd make a cake and we'd eat it before it cooled etc. We were ravenous and constantly looking for opportunities to blag food, we'd even take our cute youngest brothers all clean and smart with picked wild flowers to the neighbours to blag kitkats and jaffa cakes -god what must they have thought 😂

Does anyone else struggle to eat slowly and put the cutlery down between bites, chatting and well, being civilised. I do this, of course, but feel like I am being restrained and I do not really enjoy meals as a consequence.

If I eat alone or have a sandwich in front of the TV with DH or DC I eat really quickly and then I thoroughly enjoy it. My fav is to put whole things in my mouth and this has started to attract bemused comments from adult DC who have apparently never need another living sole (other than my bros) put a whole chocolate in their mouth at once or eat a whole profiterole in one. A bag of crisps eaten politely I always refuse, but alone, when I can stuff them all in my mouth in 3 goes I enjoy little more.

I know I am odd, it's ok, I am happy as I am and make myself behave well enough to get invited to fancy restaurants and parties, but I think this eating came from my competitive childhood and wondered if anyone else had the same?

Thanks for reading my waffling on!

I can totally understand OP.
I was very much controlled by abusive parenting withholding food (not the same as your situation of course) and as a result I only really enjoy food if I eat on my own. Not because I eat any faster, just because I got used to secret eating.

Your speed of eating wouldn’t bother me a bit of we were out for a meal. Actually I find the opposite annoying and am mildly irritated when going for a meal with somebody who eats really, really slowly or just picks a tiny amount.

Had to roll my eyes at the standard MN advice to get “counselling” and the blame being directed to your parents.

I’ve been thinking about it and I don’t know if I’m just massively unobservant but I don’t actually know any really fast or really slow eaters. I eat out a fair amount with friends, and we often host friends and family at our house, and I genuinely can’t think of anyone who eats anything but at a ‘normal’ pace. Loads of people on here seem to know loads of people at both ends of the spectrum!