[luckystreak]

Everyone else said it.. and I wouldn't continue with the behaviour, even if youre one of those people who do it rarely. What if you're not?

If you want a tiny bite of the brownie, then go for it.. but eat it.

[Dottington]

As someone who's suffered with eating disorders in the past and spent time in treatment I'd just like to say that this is classic disordered eating behavior and something I used to do very often. Fine if it was just a one time thing for you and you never ever plan on doing it again, but it truly is a slippery slope. Its so easy to do and just like with other ED associated practices can become very obsessive. Its such a dangerous line to toe, so I'd strongly urge you to not test the limits because this kind of behavior has a way of sucking you in quickly.

[Candeka]

I've had the odd occasion where I spat something out because I changed my mind about eating it but I have never said "I am going to chew this and spit it out". As everyone else has said, I would stop it before it becomes a problem. It is taking one unhealthy relationship with food and turning it into another unhealthy relationship with food.

[GardenBurglar]

Don't do it! As others have said, its a slippery slope. And it can change the way you look at foods in the occasional treat category for the worse.

Plus you are probably swallowing much more of it than you might think.

I say either eat a brownie, enjoy each morsel, and make it a part of your plan for the day or week without any guilt or don't eat it at all. Anything else could potentially take you places that you don't want to go.

[Porthardygurl]

RED FLAG RED FLAG RED FLAG...

This is how i started out having an ED.. it started with closet eating and spitting food out..I stored bags and bags of food i had chewed and spit out and hid in my closet from my parents so they wouldnt know..then it graduated to binging and purging..

My dear...while it might be a "easy way to cheat your diet"...its not.. It provokes negative habits and negative thoughts...AND... you do digest some of those calories because your saliva begins the breakdown of carbohydrates in your mouth first..so your getting the refined calorie content...

Your better off eating a small brownie once a week... and then being good the rest of the week...or finding a middle ground..but this isnt it.

[ringmaster]

I have mixed feelings about doing that- I think unless you having the eating disorder mindset spitting out food can be a slippery slope. But if you have a healthy mindset and are eating regular healthy meals (that you don't spit out) it doesn't seem like that big of a deal. As long as you aren't doing it all day and just doing it to get past a craving, I guess to me it doesn't seem that bad.

[wiredkell]

I read the title of the post and immediately thought of that episode on Sex & The City where Miranda's guy friend from LA did it at a restaurant with his steak.

I don't want to make it seem like I'm making light of the situation though. I have to admit that I've done it before too, but only when I've eaten a meal, keep having more.. and then realize I'm actually full after I'd put food in my mouth that I don't want or need anymore. And obviously when no one else is around.

I wouldn't make a big deal of it... just don't let it become a habit.

[CandieRae]

So much good advice! Thank you! I honestly have no intention of doing this on a regular basis. But I can see where the concern can come from.

[Kery]

Originally Posted by ringmaster

I have mixed feelings about doing that- I think unless you having the eating disorder mindset spitting out food can be a slippery slope. But if you have a healthy mindset and are eating regular healthy meals (that you don't spit out) it doesn't seem like that big of a deal. As long as you aren't doing it all day and just doing it to get past a craving, I guess to me it doesn't seem that bad.

The problem is, an ED mindset may develop from there no matter what, in a person who otherwise didn't have one (or didn't think s/he could have one). Perhaps not as much as from behaviours like purging and heavily restricting, but it still may. Besides, once a person start veering towards an ED, s/he will often think at first that she still has a healthy mindset, so the frontier between what's a normal behaviour and what isn't gets easily blurred. That's one of the major problem with EDs: when you suffer from one, you don't realize how flawed your logic has become, and your mindset does seem 'healthy' to you.