“Table for one please”.
I eat alone a lot. It is a choice I made because it is part of my job, I chose this way of life to earn a living however, for those that find it scary to eat alone for breakfast, lunch or dinner it’s not as daunting as you think.
I like food and actually I could just grab something from the local shop or pop into a fast food chain and get a takeaway but I like to have a wonder to see what is about. I use this opportunity to think and clear my head and catch up on all the things I couldn’t do because I was working and of course to eat lots.
What do you fancy? Think about what you want to eat and where. This will instantly make you think about food and not even care that you are alone. You just want to feed those hunger pains or just scoff out like me if you just want some space or perhaps just want to do something.
I bet if you are shopping you would grab lunch mid way through or after, now that doesn’t seem so bad but what about in the evening in a restaurant on your own how does that sound? It’s ok, it is really not that bad every now and again.
You have decided that cool restaurant you wanted to go to. Great, guess what? They have a table for you because there is only one of you and you will be no fuss. Easy peasy for the restaurant, no need to pre book here me lovelies as you will be in and out in no time.
You sit down and paranoia kicks in, people are staring at me? ‘Oh no, they know I’m on my own’ Do they? Have you told that table of 5 you are alone? No, they don’t actually care.
There you are, billy, taking in the surroundings, gathering your thoughts, taking those Instagram flat lays of the table setting and no-one to bug you whilst you are doing so. You don’t even have to make conversation with anyone if you don’t want to. You can just enjoy your own company.
The ordering process will be easy. You won’t have to sit and stare at your meal whilst you wait for two other dishes to come out for your friends whilst in the process your dinner is getting colder by the second. These are the usual statements “Don’t worry about waiting for mine, you eat yours, it will get cold” The majority of responses are, “No, no, I will wait, it’s fine” My belly is in distress at that statement. That issue will be removed. You only have to wait for your meal and once it’s out on your table, it’s straight in your mouth. Result.
Food arrives. Fabulous, you won’t have to share one bit. How great is that? When I am out with friends and family we always have the question “Do you want to try some of mine?” I always say, YES. I do this because I want to be sure I made the right choice for my own dinner, if I didn’t I will totally have food envy so I just do this as reassurance really. So, if like me you want a combination of things don’t worry you can always go back again and try something different next time, or even get a combo platter to help with those sharing/reassuring issues that I have.
Every mouthful you can taste because it is just you concentrating on the food. There are no distractions. I often find when I eat on the go or when I am with people, I don’t actually think about the taste I’m just eating, confused, yeah I am too.
Use this time to think about things that you have wanted to do and plan. Why not take a note pad for after dinner to make notes. Do some people watching, catch up on Instagram and Twitter, the news, edit photo’s, read a book all sorts. If you just want to spend that time by yourself it really doesn’t matter to all those other diners they are there for the very same reason as you. TO EAT.
The one thing I would say from experience is to not do it too much if you can avoid it. Too much time on your own is not great.
I don’t even think about it much now, its normal for me but I do have people say to me a lot, “I couldn’t eat out on my own, it’s scary”. It’s really not that bad when I am getting so much done. For example, I just wrote this post after dinner.
Enjoy the time to relax, eat the food that someone else has made and you won’t have to worry about cleaning the dishes either.
Be brave, try it once.
Just a quick thanks to all those who have subscribed to my website I am totally thrilled you have signed up and sorry to my mate Adam who just reminded me I forgot his birthday today. That’s what happens when you think about food.
Please leave comments below. Mwah.
With Love
Mel x
