The Red Meat chew & spit
 

ok, I brought this up in another thread so here it is for discussion itself.

My mom still tells a story of a woman who was on a diet but (I guess) couldn't give up red meat (steak). Her doctor told her what she could do for her weightloss efforts was to chew the steak in order to get what's good for you from the meat but when you hit the point where you're ready to swallow you spit it out instead and this will be better for your body because it doesn't have to digest the actual fat and meat and you don't get the clogged arteries and all that other horrible stuff that happens when we actually eat food.

Have any of you tried this method?
I've been considering this myself (with the exception of doing it at restaraunts on with exceptionally good cuts of steak, which let's face it we don't eat an exceptional cut "every" time we eat steak, at least not most of us, I eat steak so often that I certainly don't get the best cuts 'every' time).

Thoughts, arguments, result stories, etc.?:

I have never heard of anyone trying that. I don't think I actually could either. I mean if we eat things like this in moderation, I see no harm in actually eating and digesting the food. It's all about moderation.

I believe this is considered as part of eating disorders.

eta: just meaning that depending on the person, it could lead to worse things.

You would still be getting some of the food value from the meat. As you chew tiny particles and fluids and mixed with silva and swallowed. All red meat is not terrible. You have some nutrients that are only available in red meat.

Dolly Pardon use to say she did that with cookies

There is a television show about addiction called "Intervention" and they featured a woman who did this. It was gross. She carried around a cup and would spit all her chewed-up food into it.

I have cut way back on red meat, but if I'm going to spend good money on a steak, I'm going to eat it!

That is gross and sounds mighty close to an eating disorder. Spit it out or throw it up ?

That is EXACTLY the image that came to mind when I read this.... exactly the same show with the girl carrying around her spit cup. Sorry, it turns my stomach, and I think it goes to show not to believe everything every doctor says.

Yeah, it's a stomach-turning thing and she did it in public, proudly as if it were a good thing. It was weird and strange. To the OP--if you want red meat, just have a very small serving and EAT it. There are easier and healthier ways to lose weight than flirting with eating disorder behavior.

To me it seems like such a huge waste of money. If I am going to buy something I am going to eat it. Not spit it out.

I've done this, and it was during a disordered eating phase of my life. I wouldn't recommend it, because disordered eating patterns do tend to spiral.

I don't do "slab o' meat," eating very often, despite trying to eat relatively low-carb. When I'm eating the way that I feel the best, and lose the best - Volume-wise, I'm eating mostly non-starchy vegetables. Calorie-wise, most of my calories probably do come from protein sources, but that doesn't mean only, or even primarily red meat.

I've never been much of a fish fan (it was ok, but I only liked rather fatty preparation methods). Then I married my Wisconsinite husband and we moved to WI, and I tasted really good fish. My absolute favorite is the spicy tilapia at a local thai restaurant. The owner (and only main cook) and I have become friends, and she knows that I am trying to lose weight. She's very tiny and has lost 40 lbs herself (on WW, I think), so she will gear me towards lighter dishes, or will adapt them for me. She suggested, for example that in the viatnamese soft spring-rolls (not fried) she could substitute bean sprouts for some or all of the rice noodles.

At home, I also "dilute" my ground beef, by mixing it with dry, granulated tvp (textured vegetable protein, sometimes called tsp or textured soy protein). I brown the two together with onion, garlic and other seasonings and then add water or broth to reconstitute the tvp. It still tastes like ground beef (and is even die-hard meat-eater hubby -approved).

I don't get why you would bother. I still eat meat -- red meat and steak and ground beef and fairly often -- and am still losing. Doesn't seem worth the ick factor and well, it just seems like something you shouldn't do.

I'd say get lean cuts of red meat and don't go overboard with quantity or seasoning, including sugary BBQ sauce.

It was big in Victorian times, I've seen a documentary on it. I certainly couldn't do it in public, ewwww, and I agree, I'd rather buy a small bit and eat it!

I've never done that and I've only seen shows on TV talking about eating disorders where people did this. It just seems gross to me... :/ I'd rather eat my steak and do extra exercise than spit it out

Yuck

Yeh.... what windchime said :)

I appreciate all the feedback on this one! The idea of doing this has been a very uncomfortable ponder for me BUT I'm so tired of everyone telling me that if I want to lose weight I HAVE to give up red meat. I LOVE steak, I won't give it up, to me it's probably the healthiest thing I can afford to eat aside from chicken and canned veggies. I can only afford the poor man's diet, hot dogs & spaghetti is the choice most nights.

The last thing I want to do is develop an eating disorder, I'm already not a very big fan of food, my selections are limited because I can't afford foods and because I'm afraid to try things and because I absolutely loathe seafood! As of late I'm trying hard to get past my hang ups about seafood (the sight of it, the feel of it in my mouth, the smell) because I know it is very healthy. I've been trying to force it on myself lately by taking pieces of salmon or shrimp at the buffets, or stealing from the boyfriend's plate.

I've never heard anyone say you have to give up red meat in order to lose weight. It doesn't even make sense. Red meat has a lot of health benefits and eating a little bit each week is not going to hurt you. It surely isn't going to keep you from losing weight. If you don't like salmon and shrimp, move on to something else. I hate shrimp. It's disgusting and I can't stand it. But I love tuna, tilapia and flounder (i like salmon too).

One thing you do have to learn is not to listen to "everyone," because if you do, you'll be completely confused. One person will say you can't lose without giving up red meat, and another person will say you can't lose unless you do eat meat or that you must give up something else (and there are tons of conflicting opinions on what you should or shouldn't eat).

As a person who has found that only lower carb eating works well for me,
I've not found red meat to be a weight loss deterrent. But, I won't tell anyone that they need to eat low carb to lose weight. While it works for me, that's all I can say - it works for me. I understand that many people, especially people who like me are insulin resistant or diabetic also find low carb dieting effective, but that doesn't mean it's right (or wrong) for anyone else.

If you've got kidney problems, protein can be a problem. There's conflicting evidence though as to whether a high protein diet, especially red meat is harder on healthy kidneys, and if so to what degree.

It's a bit like the aesop's fable about the father and son taking a donkey to market. If you don't know the story, here's a link:

http://www.pagebypagebooks.com/Aesop...Donkey_p1.html
.

Well, I mean, you couldn't expect to do this when dining with others. So it would lead you to eat in isolation just so you could do it.

Absolutely minging!!

Better to be overweight than lacking in basic decorum and good manners!!

I am a diet veteran and have NEVER heard that you need to give up red meat in order to lose. That is absolutely false. I wouldn't recommend that you fry your steaks but you can certainly eat red meat many ways and still lose weight.

Chewing and spitting is a very common problem in anorexics. It's usually viewed as a safer method than induced vomiting or laxatives.

Why not substitute all ground beef for ground turkey & enjoy your occasional steak? :)

Count me in on the "oh iiiiiick" side. Have a smaller portion and eat it; get a doggybag if you must

That reminds me of the 'tragedy' of the wine-tasting club. Sip, swish, spit? I think not!

I thought of the Intervention episode too..... and hers was an eating disorder--- she would not allow herself to swallow.

I think the moderation thing is the key.

I saw this on an episode of sex and the city - except it was a guy.

Teetering on eating disorder behavior....definitely wouldn't recommend it.

I saw that on Sex and the City. Miranda's date did it, and she thought it was weird.

I saw the Intervention episode. It was very sad. Definitely a form of eating disorder. I felt so bad for that girl and she would do it out in the open even at a picnic and when people were around she just didn't care. That's how bad off she was. The doctor needs his license revoked to say that such behavior is okay. No doctor worth his education would ever say such a thing unless he is one of those guys who calls himself "doctor" and is one in his own mind. It's scary the type of information we receive. I have eaten it througout my weight loss and am already down 80 pounds plus. That is false information you received. You can eat red meat and still lose weight. Granted don't eat a whole 8 or 12 oz steak or a really high fat cut. You can have lean sirloin or some other lean cut of meat and enjoy!

Isn't there also a problem that the stomach thinks food is on it's way and then the digestive juices that get produced (by the chewing and saliva) don't have any food to work on, and that can damage the stomach lining?

Vile.

When I was a kid, the Schick Shadel addiction hospital used to advertise on tv that they could help you kick food addictions. My mom's friend went and told me that for one of their "treatments" to get rid of your cravings, they would have you chew your favorite foods, spit them out, then make you eat them again. That image stuck in my head for 30 years and STILL makes me sick to think of it.

Apparently, they still have an eating disorder clinic - let's hope their methods have improved.

I have done this sometimes, but not in a pre-planned manner. Sometimes, without thinking, I put something in my mouth like my daughter's leftover cookie/cheese sandwich etc, fried fritters that I made for my hubby etc. When I realize I shouldn't be eating it, I just spit it out in a paper towel & throw it away.

I've never done it in public.

Sounds like they might have caused some of their own business.

I understand that! I have done that too...mindlessly putting something in my mouth...then the brain kicks in and say Uh No dont eat that! What are you doing? Again never in public.