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Masticate and spit: good diet strategy or bad diet strategy?

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Stahsky

A passionate embrace, a beautiful memory lingers.
What in the hell? It's an eating disorder. Don't fucking work around it. Stop it before you screw yourself.
 

Zaptruder

Banned
Danneee said:
Of course he's not going to admit it's an eating disorder, why people are still arguing with him about it is what really baffles me.

An excess of such behaviour is what I'd definetly consider a disorder.

Just like an excess of any behaviours, including exercising, abstaining from food, drinking alcohol, smoking, etc.

Some excesses are more harmful than others.

In the context of limited behaviour, this is probably grosser than most with a good dash of social taboo thrown in (ask why the taboo exists, and ask yourself if its applicable in this situation or even in todays world), but is otherwise pretty benign... as far as these sorts of things go.
 

Goldrusher

Member
Just stop eating chocolate altogether, you're not worthy. Spitting it out ffs.

Unless you're eating pounds of the stuff, chocolate isn't unhealthy. At all.

Unless Australian chocolate is different from the stuff here in Belgium.
 

Stahsky

A passionate embrace, a beautiful memory lingers.
Goldrusher said:
Unless you're eating pounds of the stuff, chocolate isn't unhealthy. At all.

Unless Australian chocolate is different from the stuff here in Belgium.


It's made of spiders.
 

WrikaWrek

Banned
Zaptruder said:
An excess of such behaviour is what I'd definetly consider a disorder.

Just like an excess of any behaviours, including exercising, abstaining from food, drinking alcohol, smoking, etc.

Some excesses are more harmful than others.

In the context of limited behaviour, this is probably grosser than most with a good dash of social taboo thrown in (ask why the taboo exists, and ask yourself if its applicable in this situation or even in todays world), but is otherwise pretty benign... as far as these sorts of things go.


Well you do know that people who suffer from eating disorders always defend themselves in the same way you are.
 

Zaptruder

Banned
Goldrusher said:
Unless you're eating pounds of the stuff, chocolate isn't unhealthy. At all.

Unless Australian chocolate is different from the stuff here in Belgium.

It's mainly sugar.


Thinking this over, the amount that I spit out on a daily basis is pretty small, and as such probably not even worth the hassle.

The irony is that I am able to taste the stuff more when I do the whole chew but don't swallow thing... means I should probably just improve my chewing/swallowing habits in general.

In the context of the cheat to lose diet that I'm doing, it makes some sense... it's a phase cycle system... 2 days low carb/protein, 2 days low gi, 2 days higher gi and 1 day cheat day and repeat.

Except I get sugar cravings often and cheat myself a little everyday (in fact, I'd been swalllowing up until I watched the "Sugar: The Bitter Truth" doco), then some more on the cheat day. I figured that the whole chew and swallow thing wasn't a bad way to control those urges.
 

BowieZ

Banned
Masked Man said:
I did that for a while. D= I've always had body image issues, though--or at least since middle-school, I suppose.
Same.

I used to count kilojoules. Literally, every single food item I tallied it up so that I was, say, 1,000 or so below the daily recommended. So, so stupid, and it never works out in the end. But at the time, you think nothing of it, and you self-justify it: "this is normal, this is what people do or should do, I'm being healthy!" but like many things in life, you lack the perspective to see how damaging and psychologically unhealthy what you're doing is.

It's an eating disorder when you are going to obsessive lengths to control your body image. And you might think counting every calorie is obsessive where spitting out a few candied goodies is not, but as everyone else has assured you in this thread, and a GP will too, doing that at all is very obsessive.

Zaptruder said:
Thinking this over, the amount that I spit out on a daily basis is pretty small, and as such probably not even worth the hassle.
 

Masked Man

I said wow
BowieZ said:
Same.

I used to count kilojoules. Literally, every single food item I tallied it up so that I was, say, 1,000 or so below the daily recommended. So, so stupid, and it never works out in the end. But at the time, you think nothing of it, and you self-justify it: "this is normal, this is what people do or should do, I'm being healthy!" but like many things in life, you lack the perspective to see how damaging and psychologically unhealthy what you're doing is.

It's an eating disorder when you are going to obsessive lengths to control your body image. And you might think counting every calorie is obsessive where spitting out a few candied goodies is not, but as everyone else has assured you in this thread, and a GP will too, doing that at all is very obsessive.

Yeah, I don't make sure I'm that far below the recommended level, but I definitely keep track of how much I'm taking in, and I try to avoid having too much rice at breakfast/dinner, and I just don't eat it at lunch. (The problem with living in Japan for a year, lol.)
 

BowieZ

Banned
Masked Man said:
Yeah, I don't make sure I'm that far below the recommended level
(Well, I can't remember how much it was, it was a good 5 years ago, but it was enough to make me dangerously thin over time. I'd post pics, but I don't want to freak anyone out and it's not like the point is getting through to Zaptruder anyway.)
 

Zaptruder

Banned
BowieZ said:
(Well, I can't remember how much it was, it was a good 5 years ago, but it was enough to make me dangerously thin over time. I'd post pics, but I don't want to freak anyone out and it's not like the point is getting through to Zaptruder anyway.)

You're such an ass.
 

mrkgoo

Member
If sugar (sucrose) is the problem, you can always get no sugar chocolate.

Chewing and spitting, as everyone says, is an eating disorder, or the start of a serious problem.

The act of swallowing and other things actually satiate your appetite. Fooling your body is not a good thing, as biology will fight you back. There is no easy way to health.
 
The fact you're even trying to justify it to yourself means you have a problem. Seek professional help(not help on forums) before it spirals out of control.
 

mrkgoo

Member
Zaptruder said:
Clever. Alas, I'm no word smith. Had to look up expectorate.

I learnt 'expectorate' from Disney's Beauty and the Beast. Gaston: an example to live by (eat 5 dozen eggs).
 

ianp622

Member
Zaptruder said:
An excess of such behaviour is what I'd definetly consider a disorder.

Just like an excess of any behaviours, including exercising, abstaining from food, drinking alcohol, smoking, etc.

Some excesses are more harmful than others.

In the context of limited behaviour, this is probably grosser than most with a good dash of social taboo thrown in (ask why the taboo exists, and ask yourself if its applicable in this situation or even in todays world), but is otherwise pretty benign... as far as these sorts of things go.

Ok, we've shown you the risks, that it actually IS an eating disorder, but you refuse to stop. You can't really blame us for thinking that trying to change your ways is futile.

Instead of eating sugary foods and spitting them out, just cut them out all together. If you start drinking water and remove sodas, candy, desserts and everything from your diet, eventually you won't crave them anymore. I replaced drinking soda with water 2 years ago, and now I don't even like the taste of soda as much. I almost exclusively eat dark chocolate, because it's good for you and not that sweet. Sure, I have days where I might eat candy, but I don't eat it like I used to. And usually I'll eat a banana instead.
 

Zaptruder

Banned
ianp622 said:
Ok, we've shown you the risks, that it actually IS an eating disorder, but you refuse to stop. You can't really blame us for thinking that trying to change your ways is futile.

Instead of eating sugary foods and spitting them out, just cut them out all together. If you start drinking water and remove sodas, candy, desserts and everything from your diet, eventually you won't crave them anymore. I replaced drinking soda with water 2 years ago, and now I don't even like the taste of soda as much. I almost exclusively eat dark chocolate, because it's good for you and not that sweet. Sure, I have days where I might eat candy, but I don't eat it like I used to. And usually I'll eat a banana instead.

On one hand, I want to keep my pride and say fuck you guys, this isn't an eating disorder. You don't know the details. But given that I'm wont to provide any more details, I won't attempt to justify myself too much further.

On the flip side, I have considered the things been said in this thread, and weighed it against my own knowledge and information... and those that are saying this could develop into an eating disorder are right. At this point in my weight loss, this kind of behaviour is pretty far from unhealthy, given how much I do weigh, and how much I do this... but at the same time, once I've lost the weight, and I still maintain this habit, things are going to start getting ugly then. Especially if its something that does spiral out of control in intensity... turn into an addiction so to speak.

While I'd like to say that I'm stronger than that, and I should be able to rationally control it and turn it off, I know that's just too slippery a path to take. That's the kind of justification that leads men into the abyss.

Real weight loss is about a lifestyle change; changing the lifestyle helps with the weight loss. Would I consider this kind of behaviour part of a healthy lifestyle that is able to maintain an optimal weight? I would have to say no.

So given that rationality... yeah, I'm changing my mind on this one.
 

nomster

Member
There was an episode of Intervention about this. This lady carried around a spitting cup with her and did it with pretty much everything. It was nasty
 

BowieZ

Banned
Zaptruder said:
You're such an ass.
Look, all of us here are trying to help -- me included, and me being an ass doesn't preclude me from also trying to be helpful -- but everything you've been saying has indicated that you don't want or don't think you need help.

So why waste our time asking a question if you are just going to argue your answer over and over?

If you went and saw a GP about this, your GP would be absolutely horrified without any question, and would probably try to talk you into seeing a psychologist with a referral letter. For your own health, I'd like to see you come back here and prove us otherwise.

At this point in my weight loss, this kind of behaviour is pretty far from unhealthy, given how much I do weigh, and how much I do this... but at the same time, once I've lost the weight, and I still maintain this habit, things are going to start getting ugly then. Especially if its something that does spiral out of control in intensity... turn into an addiction so to speak.
Again, the point is, even if you're able to lose the desired amount of weight (which is what, exactly?), and even presuming you keep this spitting habit to a minimum, you are not solving any of your craving issues, you are just delaying the inevitable -- most of your original weight (if not more) -- is highly, highly likely to return.
 

Stahsky

A passionate embrace, a beautiful memory lingers.
Put aside pride when it comes to your health. Do the right thing, pal.
 

Stumpokapow

listen to the mad man
Zaptruder said:
Hmm.

Reading that, I'm inclined to think that it could develop into an eating disorder... but as with many things in life, moderation is required.

Is moderation required with vomiting your food back up?

No, a single instance of forcing yourself to vomit is considered crossing the line.

Negotiating boundaries to make their behaviour seem acceptable is an essential part of being an addict or having mental illness. "Oh, I'm not addicted to smoking, I only smoke on the weekends" "Oh, I only smoke a cigarette a day" "I'll stop purging when I reach 120 pounds, I don't look like Skeletor so it's not an eating disorder". "I'll go to the Doctor when I start doing this for a full block of chocolate".

You have an illness.
 
Zaptruder said:
So given that rationality... yeah, I'm changing my mind on this one.
Glad to hear it, man. My family just recently went through a battle with an eating disorder. Had to send that person off to Arizona for several months to undo the damage that had been done. So, I wouldn't want to see you or your family go through that.
 
This pretty much sounds like bulimia, only difference being that you spit out the food immediately instead of letting it go down your esophagus.

I'm working on my weight, too, and there are far better ways to manage cravings than this. Every time you get a craving, drink a glass of water or chew a stick of sugarfree gum. Also, try to eat several smaller meals throughout the day instead of three huge ones. Get some healthy, tasty snacks to munch on - my personal favorites are almonds and baby carrots. Starving yourself only slows down your body's metabolism, so don't do it.

Just use common sense. What you're doing is not healthy, and will inevitably lead to something far worse.
 

kylej

Banned
Just count your goddamn calories and move your body for 30 minutes a day. Stop all this dumb bullshit, get some self control and deal with a real diet. Chewing and spitting food out is what a 3 year old does.
 

EYEL1NER

Member
After reading this topic and OP replies, I was close to suggesting we let him continue and see what happens, but if you are in fact reconsidering, good on you.

It does not sound like it is healthy , be it physically or psycologically healthy or whatever. It does seem to have the signs of an eating disorder.
And it also seems like a waste of time. Why do it? Youve got your day you can eat shit food, right? Eat the shit food you like on that day. Dont gorge yourself on chocalate, but that is what that day is for. That temptation is going to be there, but that day is what keeps that constant temptation in check for the rest of the week until the next day.
Be strong-willed. It sucks when I ask (and then beg and plead) some of my coworkers to go out and eat dinner or something with me and they say no, because they wont let themselves. It sucks because it is less time I get to hang out with them, but I do applaud them for maintaining their diets and not caving in, for going and running and doing sprints when I try to talk them out of excersing and going into town or something. Fuck, they're in better shape than I am. I cant squat 500+ lbs...
 

dudeworld

Member
Eventually, when you start getting lazy or this "spitting out" becomes too much effort and an inconvenience, you'll just start swallowing the chocolate and start putting on the pounds again.

Best is to avoid it so that you don't crave it.
 

Koomaster

Member
I'm not sure I agree with most that it's necessarily wrong or will lead to a full blown eating disorder. Could be, could not be.

However it sounds like the amount you are chewing/spitting is so small, it wouldn't make any difference to your overall weight gain/loss. If you want to induldge in a piece of chocolate everyday, you should be fine.

Sounds like you are trying to eat healthy otherwise and exercise; so why do this to yourself?

One thing you are probably doing though is chewing long enough to really get the flavor of the chocolate. This is actually a good behavior, chew your food longer in the future and enjoy it more before you swallow. You'll feel more satiated, and enjoy what you are eating more as you'll have time to enjoy the flavors instead of rushing to get it to your stomach.

Anyway, don't stress OP. Keep with normal diet/exercise and you'll get to where you want to be. There isn't any magic secret or shortcut to losing weight; so no need to try out stuff like spitting out perfectly fine food. :)
 
Glad to hear to you changed your mind op! (Does not really happen that often in GAF advice threads I have noticed. )

Good luck in your weight loss. It is worth all the hard work, believe me, so keep at it. (I lost quite a lot of weight a year back or so. I did some stupid shit along the way but it worked out in the end. )

This thread has some tips if you are looking for some.
 

Zaptruder

Banned
BowieZ said:
Look, all of us here are trying to help -- me included, and me being an ass doesn't preclude me from also trying to be helpful -- but everything you've been saying has indicated that you don't want or don't think you need help.

So why waste our time asking a question if you are just going to argue your answer over and over?

If you went and saw a GP about this, your GP would be absolutely horrified without any question, and would probably try to talk you into seeing a psychologist with a referral letter. For your own health, I'd like to see you come back here and prove us otherwise.


Again, the point is, even if you're able to lose the desired amount of weight (which is what, exactly?), and even presuming you keep this spitting habit to a minimum, you are not solving any of your craving issues, you are just delaying the inevitable -- most of your original weight (if not more) -- is highly, highly likely to return.

But you been an ass by presuming and in a veiled manner attacking me (or even simply trying to get me to admit fault; that's not what a person that needs help wants to hear) isn't helping the discourse. More often than not, all it does is allow you to feel an air of superiority, while under the guise of 'helping', while causing a lesser minded person to /ragequit the conversation (to use an internet colloquialism).

Luckily for myself, I have some pretty well developed ideas about body, health, nutrition and as a result have managed to square an incongruent behaviour with the rest of my beliefs and understanding. With some help from some gaffers.
 

Koshiba

Member
I saw a TV show about this once. The girl had an eating disorder and used to always chew her food and just spit it out in a cup. So probably not a good habit..
 

Zaptruder

Banned
Koomaster said:
I'm not sure I agree with most that it's necessarily wrong or will lead to a full blown eating disorder. Could be, could not be.

However it sounds like the amount you are chewing/spitting is so small, it wouldn't make any difference to your overall weight gain/loss. If you want to induldge in a piece of chocolate everyday, you should be fine.

Sounds like you are trying to eat healthy otherwise and exercise; so why do this to yourself?

One thing you are probably doing though is chewing long enough to really get the flavor of the chocolate. This is actually a good behavior, chew your food longer in the future and enjoy it more before you swallow. You'll feel more satiated, and enjoy what you are eating more as you'll have time to enjoy the flavors instead of rushing to get it to your stomach.

Anyway, don't stress OP. Keep with normal diet/exercise and you'll get to where you want to be. There isn't any magic secret or shortcut to losing weight; so no need to try out stuff like spitting out perfectly fine food. :)

PuppetSlave said:
Glad to hear to you changed your mind op! (Does not really happen that often in GAF advice threads I have noticed. )

Good luck in your weight loss. It is worth all the hard work, believe me, so keep at it. (I lost quite a lot of weight a year back or so. I did some stupid shit along the way but it worked out in the end. )

This thread has some tips if you are looking for some.

EYEL1NER said:
After reading this topic and OP replies, I was close to suggesting we let him continue and see what happens, but if you are in fact reconsidering, good on you.

It does not sound like it is healthy , be it physically or psycologically healthy or whatever. It does seem to have the signs of an eating disorder.
And it also seems like a waste of time. Why do it? Youve got your day you can eat shit food, right? Eat the shit food you like on that day. Dont gorge yourself on chocalate, but that is what that day is for. That temptation is going to be there, but that day is what keeps that constant temptation in check for the rest of the week until the next day.
Be strong-willed. It sucks when I ask (and then beg and plead) some of my coworkers to go out and eat dinner or something with me and they say no, because they wont let themselves. It sucks because it is less time I get to hang out with them, but I do applaud them for maintaining their diets and not caving in, for going and running and doing sprints when I try to talk them out of excersing and going into town or something. Fuck, they're in better shape than I am. I cant squat 500+ lbs...

Thanks for the positive words gaffers (and for reading and comprehending).

These are just one of those brain waves where you're thinking... it can't be quite right*; although you can't find the reasons for it.
*hell it almost seems right! (... or does it?!).


The struggle of the will is one of the biggest factors concerning any diet. I mean, I've lived for 25+ years without much of a care about this stuff... I'm basically like many of my generation weaned on sugar. It's an addiction. Understanding that it's harmful for me is one thing... exercising the will to reject it without compromise is another entirely more tricky thing.

The ability to discuss this kinda stuff freely, and without hopefully too much judgment (which would cause people to shy away from discussion), helps a person become more informed, helps them take on additional angles of thought that they may not have considered, or may have slipped them, and ultimately helps make better decisions.

Making this kinda thread, you have to be quite thick skinned. The internet (and GAF for the most part) loves to dogpile, and provide barbed advice, like I said so that they can feel a little better about themselves while putting down someone else. But if you can sift through it, there's plenty of decent discussion to be had.
 
Zaptruder said:
Thanks for the positive words gaffers.

These are just one of those brain waves where you're thinking... it can't be quite right*; although you can't find the reasons for it.
*hell it almost seems right! (... or does it?!).


The struggle of the will is one of the biggest factors concerning any diet. I mean, I've lived for 25+ years without much of a care about this stuff... I'm basically like many of my generation weaned on sugar. It's an addiction. Understanding that it's harmful for me is one thing... exercising the will to reject it without compromise is another entirely more tricky thing.

The ability to discuss this kinda stuff freely, and without hopefully too much judgment (which would cause people to shy away from discussion), helps a person become more informed, helps them take on additional angles of thought that they may not have considered, or may have slipped them, and ultimately helps make better decisions.

I don't think anybody in their right minds would go uppity and aggressive to you on an internet forum, but you really should get as much information as you can. And maybe some outside advice if you are still not sure about things.
 

sammy

Member
sounds rad, hey it's dieting so figure out what works for YOU.

my solution back in high-school was to not take my $$$ to school so i couldn't buy lunch, and it sure as fuck made me not fat anymore
 
Personally, this sounds like torture to me.

If I'm not gonna eat it, I don't want to see, taste, or smell it.

You're jerking to the point of climax...and stopping.
 
I've done this before, but I've never made a habit out of it. Mostly I would just be eating something and feel really guilty about it so I spit it out.

Feels like an eating disorder, :lol

DonMigs85 said:
What a terrible, terrible waste of food. Just don't start doing this with meats and more expensive snacks.

Eating excess food that makes you fat is a waste of food.
 

agrajag

Banned
Liara T'Soni said:
Personally, this sounds like torture to me.

If I'm not gonna eat it, I don't want to see, taste, or smell it.

You're jerking to the point of climax...and stopping.

That's true too, doesn't sound like a very satisfying practice.
 
agrajag said:
That's true too, doesn't sound like a very satisfying practice.
Yup.

I feel like if you've got the willpower to "masticate and spit" than you easily have the willpower to just avoid the food and even better save your money by not buying it. It would take me a TON more willpower to spit that chocolate out than to avoid it completely.
 
It seems like it is bound to fail. You need to wean yourself from the endless desire for food and constantly shoveling it in might make you want food more.
 
Dude, this is an eating disorder for sure. I'd recommend you quit this habit while it's still a habit as you say.

I suggest gum, as it's the only food meant to be enjoyed this way.
 
Liara T'Soni said:
Personally, this sounds like torture to me.

If I'm not gonna eat it, I don't want to see, taste, or smell it.

You're jerking to the point of climax...and stopping.
Well . . . isn't that what tantric sex is all about?
 
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