This article aims to understand the underlying social mechanisms of timed eating schedules. Starting from 24 group interviews carried out in Santiago, Chile, this paper postulates that eating meals to a fixed schedule largely depends on the importance that an individual assigns to social norms on eating times, since this norm can be modified when the individual is alone or upon the emergence of compelling bodily, family and productive demands. The results shown in this paper contribute to an understanding of how the time aspect of eating food is subjectively experienced and present an invitation to rethink food de-structure thesis.