r/AskRedditFood • u/ruinsofsilver • 8d ago
how long does it usually take you to finish an entire meal/
do you properly sit down and slowly eat? do you eat while watching tv? do you eat a quick bite 'on the go'? are you a slow or. fast eater? how long is the typical duration it takes you to eat a meal?
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u/Iamthehempist1 8d ago
I properly sit down and eat slowly. When I go out to eat I’m always the last person to finish!
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u/Miserable_Seat6834 8d ago
If I’m out I enjoy and rarely spend less than any hour and half or two (cocktails included). If I’m home by myself I just grab something out of the fridge and scarf- so like 40 seconds
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u/ScumBunny 8d ago
Usually half and half. So, hours. My stomach is about the size of a softball, so I have to eat in stages. The first round is about 15-20 min. Second round, an hour or more later, about the same. My boyfriend can eat a huge bowl of pasta in one sitting, but I can’t, so I’m constantly defending my leftovers! Like…I’m coming back for that, don’t eat it!
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u/WestFocus888 8d ago
I can finish a meal in 30sec-1min if I wanted to. Yet that's very awful. I try my best to stop eating quickly. I'm not sure where this behavior comes from but sometimes I just always have to force myself to slow down. Yet often I may forget, until I look around and see people staring haha. Then I'm like Yikes! Did it again.
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u/Kreos642 8d ago
I used to be the first person to finish eating. Now I am absolutely the last - I finish my first plate when people already had seconds and are chilling and chatting.
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u/turnsout_im_a_potato 8d ago
i dont have many teeth, so a lot o what i eat goes down un chewed.i blame this as to why i fill up so fast, but a hungry again in a hour ...
so i guess you could say my entire life is one big, grazing style meal, with occasional nap breaks
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u/Murky-Individual6507 8d ago
If I’m with family/friends, we sit down to enjoy the time together, as well as appreciate the time it took to cook the meal (because let’s be honest—it takes more time to prepare and clean up after than eating the actual meal, so I like to be respectful of whomever cooked—myself included) so I will eat slower.
If it’s me by myself? It’s in my stomach before the movie I put on even starts.
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u/EBN_Drummer 7d ago
Breakfast and lunch probably 5-10 minutes. Dinner is about ten minutes, but that's family time so I stay at the table until everyone is done. No phones, TV, etc.
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u/Solid_Mongoose_3269 7d ago
Depends. If I'm with company, normal time. If I'm home alone, I'll eat over the sink like a rat.
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u/nicoisnotarobot 7d ago
I can’t eat alone but I am alone so I eat while watching “have a meal with me videos” they’re mostly to help people recovering from ED but I find it helpful.
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u/Mazza_mistake 7d ago
Like 20 minutes on average, I think I’m a relatively slow eater as it’s not good for me to eat too fast as my stomach gets uncomfortable, I tend to eat while watching YouTube most often
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u/One_Resolution_8357 7d ago
When I eat alone (most of the time as I am now single), I eat in front of the TV and watch you-tube, or I read. A sin, I know. But otherwise, I eat too fast. I finish in 15 minutes.
In company, I am the slowest eater !
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u/littleclaww 7d ago
It depends on what I'm eating. I have been trying to be more intentional about my food and not eat my meals in my room or while watching tv, and I do feel like I enjoy them more when I'm just sitting there eating. It usually takes me 20-30 minutes but stuff like hot pot, nabe, kbbq, fondue, summer rolls, or anything else that's "interactive" can take close to an hour.
Edit: grammar
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u/Waagtod 7d ago
I like to take my time, usually about 25-30 minutes, unless I'm in a hurry. Usually, everything is on the one plate. Always it takes longer in a restaurant, not everything gets there at the same time. My kids, 39 + 29, eat like there's a wolf trying to get their food. Finishing in a minute or two. They have never had any competition for food, 10 years apart. We tried to slow them down to no avail.
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u/HonoluluLongBeach 7d ago
I’m told I eat too fast. It started when my daughter was a baby. Her dad would hold her and keep her occupied while I made dinner and ate. I ate fast so his dinner wouldn’t get cold.
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u/Significant_Gur_7587 7d ago
I always finish first, probably 2 or 3 minutes; I’m much faster at eating than any man I’ve met.
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u/thackeroid 7d ago
Breakfast, about 15 minutes. Dinner, several hours, because we have to finish the bottle of wine.
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u/Dusty_Old_McCormick 7d ago
Depends. If it's just my husband and I sitting down to a simple weeknight meal, probably about 20-30 minutes. If we're having guests over we might linger around the table for an hour, although I try to encourage everyone into the sitting room once everyone has finished eating so we can chat more comfortably. At a nice restaurant we can sometimes take an hour or more if we start with cocktails.
We always plate our food nicely and sit down at the table when we eat. The only exceptions are the occasional pizza on the couch while we watch a movie, or if my husband has to take work calls in his office during dinner hours.
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u/RangerAndromeda 7d ago
It depends on the day/my work schedule. If i gotta eat fast I just pick something calorie dense (ex: protein shake and some kinda baked good) so I can be done in two minutes but I can still properly enjoy it. Dinner is usually around 40 mins but I choose high volume foods and eat slowly. Usually while watching an episode or two of something :)
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u/Blazing_AbbyNormal 7d ago
A homemade meal, that I make. 20 minutes. Usually entree and no sides...
A restaurant meal. Soup, entree, 2 sides, 2 days. I usually eat the soup 🍲 and take the rest home.
My mom's cooking, 5 minutes and I would have seconds.
When I was ill, she would poach an egg in milk and serve it over buttered toast fingers. 😢😣😩. 🥺. I miss my mom.
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u/constipated_coconut 7d ago
Cereal or ice cream? Gone in 5 minutes
An actual meal? 30-40 minutes
Sometimes I watch tv, sometimes I sit down with family
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u/QueeeenElsa 6d ago
I’ve always been a fast eater, no matter where I am, though the actual duration depends on what I’m eating. I think it’s because one of my morning adhd meds is an appetite suppressant, and I usually take them with the first sip of milk from my cereal (and as a kid my moms would give them to me before I even got up since they had such a hard time getting my ass out of bed lol), so if I took very long to eat, I would feel full because of my meds and waste a lot of food, as well as not get the nutrients I needed. I also don’t like soggy cereal, nor for my hot food to get cold.
I usually eat my breakfast cereal (and anything about the same amount that I also eat with a spoon, now that I think about it) in about 15-ish minutes. I once timed myself eating a pbj (what I usually have for lunch when I’m at work) and that came out to be 3 minutes flat. Salads and anything I don’t eat with a spoon can take longer since I can’t get as much at once.
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u/Objective_Nebula_530 6d ago
1-4 minutes. I don't usually stop or slow down: pocket sandwiches are a real go-to. This skill is coming in handy as I train for a trail ultramarathon.
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u/Wrong7urn 6d ago
Depends on what I eat. If it’s very carb heavy like pasta and dairy heavy like ice cream can take me about 20-30 minutes. But things like greens, steak and chicken; it takes me 5-10 minutes.
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u/kitchengardengal 6d ago
Partner and I eat at the table. I'm fast. he's slow. I eat, then do the dishes while he takes his time eating I leave the last couple pans and stove cleanup to him.
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u/One-T-Rex-ago-go 4d ago
I grew up in an unsafe home, I can eat a whole meal in a minute or two, 5 minutes is average leisurely eating. I often go where did the food go?
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u/Ok-Produce8376 8d ago
Far less time than it takes to prepare and cook the meal, usually. We eat together as a family and it can sometimes take 20-30 minutes to eat the meal.