What's your opinion on chewing YUMMY foods just to get the taste but then spitting it out so your not actually eating it? I mean I know it's yucky if done around people, but when your really REALLY craving one of your favorite (and most fattening) foods, do you think it is okay to at least chew it for a small taste?

Um, that's an eating disorder. it's called chew and spit, something a lot of anorexics do to feel like they're eating, without getting any of the calories.

I don't. In fact, it is considered disordered eating (Eating Disorder Not Otherwise Specified, or ED-NOS). http://www.nedic.ca/knowthefacts/definitions.shtml

lol well im far from anorexic and i dont feel i "have" to do it, i was just wanting to know if anyone else has done it. i think its different for people dieting. The difference is, we actually eat good foods but once in a while (when we have an urge to eat some yummy fatty foods) we just "chew and spit" to get the taste.

You may not feel compulsed to do it, but it is viewed as abnormal behavior and can lead to compulsive behavior. It is defined as disordered eating and therefor not supported at 3FC. I hope you understand.

It starts that way, but can become a compulsion. It's just not a good habit to start, because especially for a dieter that is trying really hard to stay on plan, once can lead to another, and then to sticking your finger down your throat just once. The intentions may be good, but they have the potential to lead to more harmful actions.

On a slightly different note (other than agreement with the ladies above that this is disordered eating behavior), I think that the general attitude that "there are good foods I cannot have because I am dieting" and "there are non-tasty foods I have to eat because I am dieting" is a hard one to acheive permanent weight loss with. One thing I've noticed with nearly ALL of the maintainers is that we've changed our tastes to really *like* healthy foods. That's what we prefer, so that's what we eat, so there's no "on a diet" or "off a diet", we just eat the foods we enjoy and they are also healthy.

Thinking "I am on a diet so the only way I can eat foods I enjoy is to spit them out" is semi-destructive, in my opinion.

I've done this in the past, and it did lead to disordered eating and disordered thinking. I also was far, far from "anorexic" weight, but bulimia can happen at any weight. And in my teens and twenties, my food thoughts and behaviors were quite disordered. Anorexia? No, but bulimia, binge eating disorder, compulsive overeating, purging/fasting, obsessive, disordered, bordering on delusional beliefs and severe food guilt? Definitely, yes!

I knew, for example that I had to be absorbing some of the calories, and I'd obsess over how many that could be.
I'd do "the math" over and over and over trying to guess how many calories I had absorbed.

I also had trouble distinguishing which foods were "ok" to taste/spit. If spitting cheesecake was good, wasn't spitting everything even better?

I had a hard time not thinking of foods as "good and bad." "Bad" foods were to be spit out, and "good" foods weren't. When I think about foods being bad and good, I start thinking of myself as good/bad depending on what I ate. "Best" was eating nothing.

I don't think spitting is necessarily disordered eating, but I think that it is such a risky behavior that it's rarely worth the risk. It's like experimenting with extremely heavy drugs. Some people won't become addicted, but because the risk is so high, it's not the smartest game to play. It's almost a russian roulette.

Also, there's some compelling evidence (read the book, The End of Overeating by David Kessler) that some flavor/texture combinations (especially the combination of sweet/salty/fatty) actually increases cravings, hunger and appetite. So even spitting them, isn't risk free.

I've also found that my taste buds change when I'm not eating very intensely flavored foods. For example, if I'm not eating a great deal of sugar, fat & salt, natural foods taste much stronger, better. Most fruits, for example seem intensely sweet and amazingly wonderful. Veggies taste good too, even without a lot of butter or salt. If I'm eating (or tasting) salty or sugary foods (even in small quantities) on a regularl basis, then the natural foods such as fruits and veggies taste bland or bitter and disappointing.

That being said, there have been times when I've taken a bite of something and realized before swalloing that it wasn't a good idea - and spit the food out, but I know that if I start planning to do that, I could easily fall back into the crazy and disordered thoughts/eating behaviors I went through in my teens and twenties.

It's probably possible for some people to do ok with it, but I had such bad experiences with it myself, I couldn't recommend it in good conscience to anyone. It was so easy to go down a twisted path, I think it's one best avoided.

I am sorry if I offended anyone, I was just curious as to everyones opinions and I really did not know it was an eating disorder when i asked. After reading all of the comments here i agree.... I didnt take the time to completely think it through. Thanks for your honesty!

You didn't offend anybody. We were just worried about the outcome of the thread.

I understand now.

I agree with everyone about chewing and spitting being an unhealthy behavior, but the good news is that there are healthier ways of "indulging." I've only been doing this for a few months, but even now it makes me slightly nauseous to read "fatty" and "yummy" in the same sentence. My tastes are definitely changing so that "yummy" and "healthy" do exist in the same world. I'm not doing an all or nothing diet, so if I want cake or ice cream on occasion I'll enjoy it. Tonight my mom bought funnel cake sticks from Burger King and offered them to me, but I could easily refuse. My mentality now is that if it's not healthy and I'm going to eat it, it better taste so freaking good that I'll never care about the calories. You can still make healthy choices like having a smaller piece of cake, trying Skinny Cow, etc. There are also a lot of resources out there that will help you healthify that cheeseburger or whatever it is you're craving. You can always ask for suggestions. I think we can all be extremely creative in finding that balance of healthy/yummy. It is sooooo important for us to change unhealthy habits and thinking into healthier ways because that is what will make the lifestyle change stick.

One of my major problems with low calorie ice creams and sweets is not being able to stop. I always tell myself that its okay to have just one more and that one more turns into 5 lol. I hope one day soon i will be able to eat just one and then stop. *sighs*

You will get there. Think about all of the things in your life you've been strong enough to endure, to accomplish. Being able to stop after one ice cream is easy compared to that stuff, no? Everyone is different. If you can't have that stuff in the house at all because you can't stop, then don't have it in the house right now. If it would help you, find other options like freezing a whipped yogurt. Find what works for you and make choices you can live with. You will get to a point when healthy becomes much easier.

I sure hope so... Thank you! I feel better.