[Leroy]

I was trying to give us some food for thought, but wound up thinking of food...(awkward silence as no one laughs)...Anyways I was wondering if my weird eating habits were characteristic of INFP's or just me. When food is put in front of me I generally tend to chomp down on it as fast as possible. I just can't stand to see it sit there when I could be experiencing the most glorious taste of my life. It gets annoying sometimes because I'm always the first one done at the table. As for food tastes I'll eat pretty much anything. The thing is I never know what to order so anything I order or make for myself is generally pretty bland (e.g. the traditional cheeseburger, plain pizza, grilled cheese, ect). But at the same time I'm always the scavenger that tries to grab everything no one else has eaten, and have gotten to try some random things in the process. If it's communal food I generally just let everyone else decide what they want because I'm rarely disappointed in what I eat (taste wise).


I never realized how much of a fatass I was till just now...

 

[obz900]

Haha that sounds just like me. When I'm hungry, I eat anything and everything as fast as possible just because it tastes so damn good. I don't really value variety much when I'm eating out, so I usually just order something I've had before that will fill me up quick.

 

[starflower]

I don't pay much attention to food. I don't like to eat. I eat, because I have to. The only food I can't stand is sweet and sour. I don't like other foods (eggplant, lima beans), but I will eat them if they are served. I cook simple meals for my family. I used to have a real passion for all-natural, organic, 100% nutritious meals for my family. Now, as long as they are fed, I'm not too concerned. Sometimes the kids will eat a box of cereal for supper.

 

[Ectoplasm]

Yes that's like me too. I gobble all the food down if I see it, get indigestion and desire more. I need to stop myself and have trained myself in a way to resist temptations and allow others to decide if they want it too. If they don't then I'm straight for it again :happy:

I don't know if I idealise food in a way. At one point when younger I made a utopian vision in my mind of a mountain sized pile of sweets, cakes, food, coca cola, lemonade the lot. Though if I ever tried to eat it then I would be full long, long before I make a dent and all the nice food would go to waste.

I should be a fatass myself from the sheer quantity I sometimes eat, but I have a high metabolism and only weigh twelve stone (I'm six foot tall so my bmi is average to perhaps even below average!) so I've been trying to curb my food cravings when young so when my metabolism slows when I get older I won't be forced to suddenly adapt. How well I am doing I have no clue as I don't regard myself with having much willpower.

 

[Blackbeard]

I'm a shy eater, I hate for people to see me eat. If I am around people while eating I take baby bites or don't eat at all. Save for restaurants, I mean that's the whole point I'm there right? But I don't like people seeing me mash on food because I eat like a caveman naturally haha, they might get frightened by the sight.

 

[heartturnedtoporcelain]

ahaha you guys are like me! I eat like incredibly fast. If something tastes good, I can't really slow down and savour it.

 

[Lad]

Ya, I eat pretty fast myself -- not terribly picky either.

However, when I'm with groups of unfamiliar people where I can't eat like I'm on the Simpsons then i'm usually the last person finished .

 

[Nasmoe]

If I'm at home and have something that I've been wanting for awhile, I kind of psych myself up for a delicious meal, find something good to watch, think about stuff, and then when I am all settled in I wolf it down. I try to savor it as much as I can too. And when I am in a social situation I just pick at my food a little, but I'm too anxious to even have an appetite so I hardly touch it.
In my choices of food I am incredibly picky. I stick to what I like and I like to have things a certain way.

 

[Drea]

I eat incredibly slow. Mostly because I can only eat while multitasking. I'm just used to being caught up in reading or being in a family conversation while I eat. I'm also used to eating during class. It can take me 45 minutes to eat 2 poptarts.:tongue:

 

[Matchbook]

I was just thinking about asking this question earlier, and now you have done so - great! Pardon me if I go into a detailed examination of INFP eating habits.

As a child I became a very, very picky eater, mainly because I learned I could always get my way if I tried hard enough, which led me to think, "Why shouldn't I just eat what I like most and leave it at that?" This childish naivete led to some good eats, but a lack of appreciation for the subtle beauty of natural and complex foods. I also never comprehended the value in eating temperately. I was done eating when the idea of eating became sickening. Pretty sad. If not for my blazing metabolism I would have paid for that habit with some serious poundage.

Here I am, now 25, and my eating habits changed a lot.

By age 23 I became a vegan for health and ethical reasons, and it's actually a pretty satisfying way of life. My family is vegetarian, so I was always vegetarian, and this made the transition a little easier I am sure. Without the satisfying creaminess of dairy upon my palatte, and also a diet with almost no refined sugar, I have adapted and learned to not only tolerate but enjoy almost any kind of natural food out there. It has been a path of discipline for me to refuse my gluttonous instincts, and eat the right amount.

INFP Theory: Like most of you, I eat fast. I think it may be a Fi thing? Instead of enjoying my food on a bite-by-bite basis, examining the textures and the wisps of subtle flavors of each bite, I naturally eat for the feeling it gives. The flavors and textures produce a chemical response in my brain that imparts a particular feeling, depending on the variation of flavor and texture. The actual flavors and textures are not directly examined, but rather the unique imparted feeling is felt and esteemed. Therefore, to perpetuate the feeling, or the flow of varying feelings as other dishes are tasted, I will naturally tend to keep a steady amount of food in my mouth by taking frequent spoon or forkfulls. If the continuity is interrupted, I have noticed I will get restless. This is because the cherished feeling has halted, and my unconscious is telling me it must be resumed, that is, unless I have accepted that the meal is over. It's irritating when at group dinners people talk after the main meal for 15 minutes or more before dessert - it's nothing short of torturous!

Questions:

Do you eat for the feeling or for the flavor?

Have you tried eating each bite slowly, without distractions, taking in and identifying the particular qualities of the food?

Do you have highly-valued nostalgic foods that you go to to feel good and experience nostalgia (for me it's cereal)?

 

[Ehre]

We INFPs seem to be quite the fast bunch of eaters, and I hold true to that aswell. Add in low variety, and that's me.

Now, I have to add another dimension to this: do you graze through the day, eat 3 squares, midnight snack? etc
I eat throughout the day myself. From when I wake up to when I go to sleep, food is always an option, and it suits me better than eating meals because I always find 20 minutes after a meal I'm hungry again.

 

[heartturnedtoporcelain]

Another question: most people who have answered that they stuff their face have been guys (except for me :tongue. So I wonder if this is a teenage/younger adult thing that mostly guys do rather than an INFP thing? Maybe it's a combination of the two?

 

[A Better Tomorrow]

I'm a vegetarian...yum.

 

[Leroy]

Well in high school people used to claim that no one had ever actually seen me eat and supposedly if you did...you'd wind up on my plate.

As a child I became a very, very picky eater, mainly because I learned I could always get my way if I tried hard enough, which led me to think, "Why shouldn't I just eat what I like most and leave it at that?" This childish naivete led to some good eats, but a lack of appreciation for the subtle beauty of natural and complex foods. I also never comprehended the value in eating temperately.

Yeah this sounds a lot like me as a kid. It wasn't till I joined boy scouts and was forced to eat whatever was being made that I realized the value trying new things.

 

[rowingineden]

I have Asperger's and I have to sort of force myself to vary my diet at all; I have been known to want to eat the same thing at every meal for weeks, and it is not uncommon for me to have the same lunch every day for several years.

When I sit down to eat, I always eat one thing at a time in the order of (1) when it is served and then (2) what I think I am most likely to enjoy eating.

I'm a vegetarian, too.

I tend to stumble about a lot, end up making a mess, and it's not uncommon for me to spill my drink or even someone else's.

Uh, what else about eating? Oh, I don't like to let other people spend money on food for me, or get up and make me or grab me any food. I just don't want to cost them any time, money, or energy on something I could do for myself.

And uh, if other people pray, I will sometimes try to make it look like I'm bowing my head and maybe even like I'm closing my eyes for the sake of not offending anybody, but I will never, ever pray, because it seems quite like lying, being that I am an atheist and all. I don't want to say things that are untrue, utter words that I don't believe in.

Oh, I'm usually one of the first people done eating, waiting for everyone else to finish up. Sometimes I end up the last and then I realize that and I'm like, "Oh!" :crazy:

In school, the people who were anorexic would give me all their food and I would trade each item of food from home to the highest bidder, too (whomever gave me the most food which I actually enjoyed). I ate a LOT, but then, I was always having crazy growth spurts. I'm like 5' 11", and I have been since I was 14 or something like that. I have had a fat phase. I do tend to eat when I'm depressed, anxious, stressed, etc. My body looks pretty good now. But, my eating habits, due to a medication I'm taking, are not really very good, effectively bulimic. (Cannot eat for several hours into the day, then I eat a ton starting sometime in the evening, just really binge, then I take my medicine, go to bed, and wake up vomiting, and the cycle begins again.)

 

[Tunesimah]

I tend to eat slowly. I'm a fairly picky eater also. I'm sensitive to certain textures. I have a problem eating cooked vegetables, the mushiness really nauseates me. I like raw vegetables though.

I tend to eat average to above average portions, but I often can go long stretches without eating. If there is food around I'll eat it... like snacks sometimes... it's almost a compulsive thing... stimulation... not because I'm hungry or want to eat. But if there is no food around I can go without eating.

 

[Angel1412kaitou]

I'm trying to be a vegetarian... And I eat either incredibly fast or ridiculously slow. No in between. I'll either be the first one done or take 4 hours to finish a meal. I'm generally multitasking too, since there's a lot of work/ PLAY that needs to be done! Food is nice, and I like it, but it's interruptive and rather dull after a while. Probably since it takes me 4 hours to eat a single rice bowl.:sad:

 

[Zeta Neprok]

I'm with the "I eat very fast" crowd. I also tend to do most things very fast. Maybe I should really slow down and take my time... :dry:

 

[Paradigm]

I eat slowly and always end up being the last one done. It's mostly just that I chew fairly slowly rather than not having food in my mouth all the time :tongue: I'm not really a snack person... I like eating meals instead. But I might grab a slice of cheese or a carrot once in a while.

Like Matchbook suggested, I eat for the feeling. But it's mostly just because I have a slight case of hypoglycemia and eating is the only thing that makes the symptoms (shakiness, dizziness, nasusea) go away. I also sense what my body needs in terms of nutrients: I don't get cravings of chocolate or whatever, but instead of whatever food I might need. Yesterday, it was a banana, probably because of potassium. It's sometimes fruit, sometimes meat, sometimes diary... etc. It's basically an internal awareness.

I prefer to eat while multitasking. It doesn't really matter what it is, be it reading, talking, watching TV, working... just doing something else. I sometimes don't actually like eating when I get caught up in something!

I'm also a picky eater. I don't like most veggies, seafood, or nuts, for example. But I will try new foods at least once for almost everything. For a lot of things, it's the texture or the combination of textures; for other things, it's the taste. For fresh cherries, it's both (yes, I did freak out eating cherries for the first time when I was 20), even though I like canned cherries.

Summary: slow, eating = feel better, multitasking preferred, picky.

 

[MilkyLatte]

I hate eating at a table with other people. I want to sit by myself with my food and just eat it. My appetite is weird; I can be hungry as hell, yet unable to eat a single bite of anything. If I'm hungry, but too lazy to make food, the laziness wins (though my hunger always takes over later on).

I can eat strange stuff. I like brown cheese (cheese made from goat milk) with nutella. There's not much I wouldn't eat (basically only pineapple and mushroom).