i dont think its all that bad on occassion. i think doing it at work all the time means its time to find a decent snack.

Exactly. If salty is what you are craving, how about some pork rinds or pork cracklings? Salted peanuts or almonds would also be a good choice after induction (you can even suck the salt off them and then chew them! ). Pepperoni is very salty as well. Want that pepperoni crunchy? Microwave it between paper towels for about 30 seconds. Another legal salty snack would be to make little piles of shredded parmesan cheese on a foil-lined, greased baking sheet and back them until browned. Let cool and voila! Little parmesan crackers! These are foods that are not only salty, but you don't have to suck the salt off them and then spit them out to remain on plan.
For those that are engaging in the chew/spit method, please reconsider what you are doing as it can lead to more serious problems down the road if the behavior becomes a habit.

With all due respect, the path to a full blown eating disorder is a slippery one, and you may be on your way. The method of cheating you use is counterproductive for many reasons, such as:

1. Digestion begins in the mouth, so you are getting some of those sugars and starches whether you know it or not.

2. By feeding you cravings, you are not letting yourself kick the sugar addiction. (btw, you are definetly addicted to sugar, if you find yourself resorting to chewing and spitting out your food even semi-regularly). Its like a smoker that cuts down to 1 cigarette a day, you prolong the agony and never kick the addiction.

3. This behavior will almost certainly lead to more drastic behavior in the future (i.e. binging, binging/purging, or eating all your food in a like manner to help weight loss in a bind). It is most certainly a gateway to places you don't want to be.

4. Its bad for your ego. There is no sense of accomplishment for "keeping on track" in this manner. I doubt you ever feel good about yourself after "binging and spitting", and its easy to see how this type of behavior can erode self confidance.

5. It is a terrible waste of food, time, and energy. I don't think this needs any explanation.

Some people reason that "whatever it takes to keep you on plan is fine. Atkins discouraged sugar alcohols (intermittently), but said that if it helps you stay on plan, go ahead and endulge. Others believe in cheat days or cheat meals, and some even totally shun their veggies and or vitamins. While each of these can be justified in certain circumstances, I don't see how your method of "cheating" can be justified or rationalized in the slightest bit.

I hope you'll at least consider giving up this and sticking to your plan as closely as you can. If you can pull of 2 weeks (1 week in my opinoin) or clean induction, you will have no need to use such insidious tactics. In any case, good luck to you, and good health.

I just read that you are dropping the habit, so sorry for beating a dead horse. I'm glad you stopped, and I hope that others that do that same thing are likewise deterred. Good for you!!

By the way, the last post was just gonna be a pad to get my first steak icon, I didn't plan to write a treastie on ED. Oh well...

I have been doing this for years! Back in 2001 I used to make my kids cookies and they smelled so good I had to have one ( that was back before all the LC desserts) anyway I would chew one and stand by the sink ( how gross is this) and spit it out. and rinse my mouth too. It wa that my brain wanted it my mouth wanted it but my stomach didin't.

Hello? Anyone out there care to share another cute antidotial story regarding chewing your food up and spitting it back out? This one time, in band camp............This is almost getting freaky, like visiting an Anna site. Look, just because there's more than one of you who have practiced this, doesn't make it any more healthy. (My goodness, I sound just like a parent, I'm shocked so many adults are doing this tho)
Here's a few litmus tests for you.
1. Would you do this in front of strangers?
2. Would you do this in front of your child?
3. Would you want your child practicing it?

Good questions.

Ick.

How would doing this be medically any different than chewing gum? I don't see it.

Now are you are gonna tell me that chewing gum is a sign of an eating disorder?

Hmmmm...sounds like that episode of Sex and the City where Miranda sees a guy she used to know who was overweight, but when they saw eachother, he lost tons of weight and they went to a fancy dinner and ordered the best steak on the menu, and he would take a bite, chew it all he could, and spit it in his napkin. Miranda got totally disgusted and left. I thought of that when I read this post!! LOL

Gum was meant to be chewed and spit out, although I know some people do actually swallow that stuff. Food was meant to be chewed and swallowed. The chemical composition of most food is also quite different from chewing gum causing the release of pre-digestive enzymes that gum doesn't stimulate.
Chewing and then spitting out food is considered one of the warning signs of Anorexia and is considered a disordered behavior: http://www.pediatricplanet.com/zam2.asp?i=3 The one behavior in and of itself does not mean that the person has anorexia, but it still is not considered a normal behavior for anyone to engage in and could indicate a thought process that may put the person engaging in such behavior at risk for developing further ED problems.
BTW...if you ask your dentist, they will most likely confirm that the jaw action of chewing gum is very different from chewing food. I never actually thought about this until I developed traumatic TMJ disease and my dentist discouraged me from chewing gum because the action of chewing the gum aggrivates the condition (eating normally does not).

I knew a woman in college who did this. She developed sort-of a sleep/eating disorder. She would chew up Milk-Duds (carmels) in her sleep and spit them out all over the room. When she woke in the morning she'd find them all over. A friend tried staying in the room with her to see what was going on and found that she'd laugh hysterically while she was doing this in her sleep.

The other thought that comes to mind is that this is how wine tasters taste wine. They always spit it out. I wonder if it leads to problems.

Frankly, I'm with the you'd-better-be-careful camp. I've read that this is a form of bulimia.

wine tasting is for a totally different reason - I'm pretty sure it's so they don't get drunk

There are low-carb pretzels out there -- I've had them and they're awesome and VERY salty -- could be just the ticket.

Also, to add to the salty foods (and very low carb/low cal - more than nuts or cheese chips) dill pickles and olives! YUM!

I don't think that people posting that they have done or still do this are doing it to brag or "join the club" it could be a confession of sorts and to help the original poster to not feel like a "freak" and that they're not alone and the only person that has done this.

I agree... it seems more suprise to find someone ELSE does it than "everyone should do it" by FAR. It's good we can all discuss things like this.

The "purging" part of binge-purge, by definition is ridding the body of the offending food. IMO, the only difference between the chewing/spitting and induced vomiting is location.

What I'm concerned about with a thread like this (especially from those who enthusiastically endorse this behavior because it is seemingly harmless for them) is that it will encourage this behavior for those who are desperate to try anything to lose weight. Believe me, this is not harmless at all. It can quickly get out of hand. See thread below as an example:

http://www.healthboards.com/boards/...hewing+spitting



Serre

Maybe now would be a good time to move this thread to the Emotional Issues and Body Image forum? There might be quite a few people who read that forum but not the Atkins one and who have more experience/advice/information on this subject.

EmmaB