I can understand why it's considered unhealthy, but I've done it. But, not as a strategy, ONLY when I popped that chocolate into my mouth and said to myself WHAT are you doing?! It's much better not to have the chocolate on hand in the first place.
It's not a strategy to lose weight, I'm on a healthy eating plan, but when there are really yummy things around I can't resist them, but I don't want to ruin all my hard work so I spit it out.
There is a difference between chewing and then spitting out regularly for satisfaction versus what Tejas mentioned she has done on occasion- started taking a bite and realizing she shouldn't be eating this. Chewing to enjoy the taste and mimic the process of eating without the intention of swallowing is different from taking a bite and realizing it's not healthy for you to do so and stopping.
Chewing and spitting will not "make you fat" but neither will eating. Eating too much will. Chewing and spitting to avoid eating for fear of getting fat is a sign of a disordered relationship with food.
Perhaps you want to talk to someone about this behavior. It can lead to more dangerous disordered eating down the road.
Chewing food and spitting it out isn't much different from bulimia. The only difference is the timing of the purge. Please don't go down this path. It can seriously harm both your physical and mental health.
You say it isn't a weight loss strategy, but for you to purposely put something in your mouth with the intention of spitting it out..that is definitely disordered eating.
The title of your post worried me, and the OP made my stomach sink. This is something that I used to do at the height of my struggle with anorexia/bulimia. It may not seem like a big deal or an issue right now, and I understand that you're thinking "Well, I want to eat that cake, but I don't want the calories..."
That's exactly what a bulimic thinks. I want to eat this stuff, but I don't want to gain weight from it. So they purge. Chew & spit is the same concept, just because it didn't make its way down your throat and into your stomach doesn't make it that different.
This is dangerous behavior. Take it from somebody who's been struggling with eating disorders for 10+ years, you do NOT want to get started on that path. Please please please don't do it.
I've done it three times. Once with a McD's cheeseburger, once with chocolate cake, and once I can't remember the food.
I don't recommend it, but not because I think that it is gateway bulimia (I don't.) It is just far too difficult to actually spit it out! Also, the goal is to learn not to need this foods, rather than figure out a cheat way to get them.
Chewing food and spitting it out isn't much different from bulimia. The only difference is the timing of the purge. Please don't go down this path. It can seriously harm both your physical and mental health.
as someone who's battled with bulimia and eating disorders in the past, i can strongly say bulimia and 'chewing and spitting' are two very different things.
one deals with forcibly and intentionally gagging yourself to regurgitate food because you're patronized with fear of gaining weight (even going so far as to damaging your throat and still not stopping because you're so fearful), while the other deals with chewing and spitting your food out- and that concept (chewing and spitting) can differ from person to person
ex. some may have their 'uh-oh, what am i doing?' moment and spit the food out while others do it for the sheer fear of gaining weight but wanting the taste satisfaction, like the other posters have said.
now, maybe what you could say is 'chewing and spitting isn't much different from disordered eating.' and, again, it just depends on how far that person is taking their chewing and spitting, and what their intentions are.
simply because food goes into your mouth and out of it doesn't make a 'chewing and spitter' related to a bulimic, or vice-versa.
simply because i like going to the gym with my friends and working out, even showing them how to use the equipment, doesn't make me a qualified personal trainer.
though the two may seem the same on the outside, many other psychological processes differ on the inside. for instance, myself (as many other people i found to be bulimic) would never even dare try 'chewing and spitting' because we didn't want to tease ourselves or lose control, and i'm sure the OP would never even dare try binging and purging because she doesn't want to put her body through the torture.
but, as others have already said, i would strongly encourage against chewing and spitting. while it may seem harmless to just want the taste and not the calories, many other [bad] habits can develop.
it's better to just pull through your temptations and, if you happen to slip up, start over. that truly is the key to building resistance against bad temptations.
It may not seem like a big deal or an issue right now, and I understand that you're thinking "Well, I want to eat that cake, but I don't want the calories..."
That's exactly what a bulimic thinks. I want to eat this stuff, but I don't want to gain weight from it. So they purge. Chew & spit is the same concept, just because it didn't make its way down your throat and into your stomach doesn't make it that different.
i still don't think we should be relating the OP to having thoughts of someone who is bulimic.
i think she genuinely just wanted to know whether or not chewing and spitting would make her gain weight, and she never stated how frequently she chews and spits.
for all we know she may rarely ever do it (hence her saying 'when there are yummy things around' not 'since there are yummy things around'), and only does it when she's feeling tempted.
Chewing and spiting out
