I have done this bizzare behaviour for years, coupled with anorexia, bulimia and alcoholism, and I put all these disorders down to being emotionally imbalanced. When any of these addictions are active, you don't have to feel it is like having an emotional anesthetic. I am now in recovery from alcoholism and haven't had a drink since 2001. But when I am stressed or in emotional pain, the eating disorders can raise their ugly head

My 23 year old daughter has been chewing and spitting for about 7 years now. Other than all of the other reasons for stopping, here is her real life reason:
Her teeth are corroded, breaking and falling out. She needs root canals in all of them and eventually will require implants or more cost effective: dentures.

Why: Because unlike bulimics, the corrosive acid, from letting the chewed food sit in her mouth, then the spitting, has deteriorated her teeth below the gum line, which is virtually impossible to repair. Also, infections in the nerve and jaw are common.

STOP this self destructive behavior. And remember, if much of the reason for doing this is about your self image, picture yourself with dentures at 23. I beg all of you to stop.

I NEED HELP :( I'm only 16 years old. I could relate to everything Brittany said about C/S disorder. (Minus the fact that my mother does not know.) I don't know where too go. I suffer from this horrible chew-spit "disorder." It's become an obsessive compulsive habit and I can't seem to shake it. Help me.

I've just started chewing & spitting biscuits. It seems pretty good as I can have the taste without the calories? Is there a danger in this?

ive been overweight, healthly weight, underweight, anorexic, chewer-spitter, binger, binger-purger, over-excersizer, low-fat, low-carb, starve, yo-yo dieter, you name it ive done it!! lowest weight 90 , highest weight 130
not to mention, sleep disorder, depression, social anxiety, 7th grade drop out, math dyslexia, very ugly teeth, puffy face, stretch marks!!
but guess what: you would see a young white female, brown hair/eyes, 5 ft, 95lbs, who seems very nice & normal (looks can be deceiving) ;)
moral of the story/my 2 cents/lesson learned: stop now - enjoy life mad facts: if it seems too good to be true its because it is, chewing & spitting (lots of calories are absorbed in the mouth), bulimia (90% of the calories are absorbed before you puke), anorexia can cause terrible health problems, all food disorders should be avoided

I'm 18 years old and I've been chewing and spitting for at least 2 or 3 years now. I can't remember when it started. It's all a big blur. I didn't realize that other people were also suffering from chew spitting. I thought I made it up. I do believe it is an eating disorder, even though some say its not. I believe it is a mixture of both anorexia and bulimia, and I have lost a lot of pounds but not too much where people start to notice that you have a problem. I do it everyday. It is second nature to me. I don't binge like a lot of other people who suffer from chew spit. I just eat like normal. I don't think that I can get help. I think chewing and spitting is the worst ED there is.

I have been a chewer/spitter for 8 years now. Former anorexic in and out of eating disorders clinics, never could make myself sick but after getting to a normal weight I thought I'd found a "way" to enjoy the taste of fattening sugary food without getting fat. Wrong.

No matter how hard I excercised, I couldn't get to a size 8 and my teeth are now full of cavities, stained and got missing ones and crowns.

I thought I was the only one who did this till typed it in to Google! I would be mortified if anyone found out what I do, But I can't stop.

I brush my teeth after a big session but still paranoid of not being able to lose weight.Plus I can't afford to keep up my dental care.

I am 29 and am scared to death am going to end up having no teeth and diabetes after reading the articles.

Is there anything long term c/s sufferers can do to reverse damage done?

I have been c/s'ing for some years now... I used to be anorexic. Despite now being at normal weight, anorexic thinking and food cravings never stopped, so I started the c/s'ing.

So far I haven't notice anything too bad with my c/s behaviour. My dentist never said anything, so I think my teeth are fine. I haven't gained weight because of c/s. The worse thing to happen so far is I feel thirsty, which is easily amendable.

It scary to hear all of you have such terrible experiences with c/s. I think it all depends on what you c/s. I don't like junk food so I just c/s with plain bread and occasionally plain crackers. I probably swallow a little bit of it, but I eat too little already so a few calories will probably do me good.

I'm not promoting the goodness of c/s. I nearly died because of anorexia, and I just see c/s as my only coping mechanism because I know I'll never truly recover from my eating disorder. You can all blame me for saying how c/s doesn't do much harm, but it's painful for me to admit: comparing c/s to anorexia, c/s is just the lesser of the 2 evils... I actually have a functioning life now, whereas when I was anorexic, it was the most miserable existence.

I'm stuck in this rut and I need help. I think I knew about the side effects b4 i read this article, but not before I started. I stopped 4 a while and then started again. I have slight OCD which makes it difficult to stop.

Hi ,I had bulimia for many years. I have it under control now for at least 8 years. I have been chewing my food and spitting it out, mostly sweets like chocolate. It consumes me. I do it every single day .....i was wondering if this can cause hairloss. I was diagnosed alopecia. Now I'm really upset and do this more. I just can't stop on my own . ruthie

Hi,
I also thought I made this up! I just recently realized that other people do it. I just don't know how to stop because i love chocolate and chips and cheese and muffins and things so so much but they are all so fattening! It may sound sad but I am not willing to quit this habit. Just wish i had never " discovered" it

I do this constantly. I sneak into the kitchen and do this when my husband isn't around. I do it at work all of the time. It is a sickening habit that I can't control, much less stop. I am very addicted to chewing and spitting. It is so satisfying to taste something, but not have the guilt of swallowing it.

I am 44 years old and have been chewing and spitting since I was about 20 years old. This is the first time that I have googled the disorder and found out that I am not alone. All these years I knew that I couldn't be the only one with this disorder, but it sure felt like I was. In my early years of chewing and spitting, I was totally obsessed. I would stop once or twice on the way home to buy food. It took over my life and nobody ever knew. I was much to embarrassed to let anyone know. I think over the past 24 years I may have told one or two people, but not that I still continue to spit and chew. My husband of 19 years does not even know of my horrible habit. Even though I am not totally obsessed with it anymore, I still do it almost daily without even thinking. I wish more than anything that I could stop.

I I just started doing this about 3 days ago, and after researching it I am currently of the opinion, that if done correctly, it should result in weight loss. This was practiced by Archie Moore a famous boxer http://books.google.com/books?id=VwRkoa7EVhcC&pg=PA139&lpg=PA139&dq=archie+moore+weight+loss&source=web&ots=Jr-xqKoer5&sig=bM3yZc2CWmgtq7eUhdCd-knKhXQ, apparently with some success.

Like everything moderation is the key. There are 3000 calories in pound. If you eat 400 less calories per day then you burn you will lose about a pound a week, a reasonable target. The good doctor makes some valid points, lets address them.

Do not plan on losing 12 lbs a week or any crazy thing like that, as stated you need nutrients. You must still eat almost normal, just 400 less calories per day. By chew and spit the "empty calories" or the junk food you can swallow quality food and get all the nutrients your body requires. And, as on any diet plan, a one a day multi vitamin will not hurt.

The doctor is correct about insulin, thus to chew and spit on an empty stomach is not wise. The time for this then is right after your nutritious meal where you swallow your food, your body is already producing insulin in response to your normal meal, and your stomach acids are doing their work. Once you have finished your normal meal is the optimal time to chew and spit. Eating for pleasure for an additional 15 minutes or so should do the trick and let you eat less at your normal meal. I suggest hard to digest foods high in fat such as nuts or chips, both taste good and should leave you feeling very full, and being “humongous” don’t look so bad in a cup. Some have speculated that simple sugar foods will absorb in the mouth and this is the reason for some people gaining weight during chew and spit. I do not think that this is the case, as there is no mechanism for the lining of the mouth to transfer glucose to the blood stream and most every source I have read talks about digestion being completed in the intestine http://www.healthypinoy.com/health/articles/diet/carbmetabolism.html the only exception might be honey. Weight gain is more likely linked to individuals eating 10,000 calories and not paying attention and swallowing 1/20th of that or 500 calories. If you plan to chew and spit you have to spit 100percent, else there will be some caloric gain.

If you are getting jaw pain, I think that is a fair indication that perhaps you have gone a bit overboard. Again 15 minutes per meal (assuming 3 meals a day) is way way more then enough. Anyway this is just my opinion, like anything you can abuse it but its kind of odd that when Archie Moore does it its called “a family secrete passed down through generations on losing weight” and when some 15 year old female does its called “a serious eating disorder”.

Also I think it would be constructive to address the possible pitfalls of this kind of diet and find a way to work around them instead of just claiming that because it is usually overdone and thus harmful, it should never be done.

I don’t even remotely understand all this talk about “shame” or “someone might find out” or “hiding bags of spit out food”. You are engaged in a logical weight loss regime to increase your attractiveness and prevent obesity related health problems, what is there to be ashamed of? Spit into a cup and then pour the contents into the toilet (or on some plants as I am sure its good fertilizer) – what’s the problem? If you have seen pictures of gastric bypass surgery, you won’t call spitting in a cup gross.

Note from Trisha Gura: I'd love to hear more comments on this line of thinking...

I guess after only 3 days, it's hard to be an expert on the subject, don't you think. I don't believe that there is a 'correct way' of spitting and chewing. Like other addictions or disorders, and I believe that is what C & S eventually becomes for many people, it is extremely difficult to stop. There is no moderation, for many, after they have started. If you think that you can choose to end your chewing and spitting sessions after just 15 minutes, you're wrong. I thought chewing and spitting would be a great way to enjoy the taste of food and that after doing so I would be satisfied and go on with my day. But I can tell you that Eating and Chewing took over my life for about 2-3 years when I was in my early 20's and even after becoming less obsessed with it and continuing to do if for the past 20 some odd years, it has become a part of my everyday life. It is not something that I wish to continue doing and it is not something that I have a way to stop, because believe me if I could stop, I would have a long time ago. Yes, it would be nice to say that I will stop after 15 minutes, but in reality it doesn't happen that way. Many people, like myself gain weight from spitting and chewing so often and from swallowing too much of the food that you have chewed. I, unlike others, do not have rotting teeth, but my dentist once told me that he couldn't believe how worn my teeth were. I knew right away why, but I certainly wasn't going to tell him, because regardless of what anyone thinks, it is embarrassing to chew and spit out your food. Perhaps you should try watching yourself in the mirror. I have only told one or two people in my lifetime about my disorder and when I did, I acted as if I didn't have the disorder anymore. But I do, and I don't see it ending any time soon. People who have this disorder do go overboard and until you have been doing this for a long time, you will never understand! This is not a logical weight loss regime! It is not normal! Often it can't be controlled and it is very painful to live with this disorder in secrecy. I have spit into a cup and flushed it down the toilet. I have even thrown it out the window when I am driving, all in an attempt to hide it. I find it very upsetting, that someone who thinks they know so much about this disorder because they have done a little research on the internet and have been chewing and spitting for a mere 3 days, could write about it as if it were no big deal. It is a huge deal for me and for so many others. You just don't yet understand. If anyone is reading this and is considering to begin this so called form of weight loss, DON'T!!! It never helped me to lose weight. I am now at my heaviest weight ever. It is very addictive and leaves you with great feelings of guilt and shame. Don't start and if you have, please seek some help and don't suffer in silence like I have for 23 years.

Well of course no one is an expert on anything after 3 days. But I have had no trouble at all stopping after way less then 15 minutes. But I limit it to after my main meals. Archie Moore apparently was also able to keep weight off with chew and spit, and loose a lot of weight.

http://bxhof.tripod.com/moorea.html

“But after visits to doctors and his improving fitness Moore decided to keep boxing. That was also the year of his Australian travels and the secret diet that Moore contended allowed him to balloon in weight and then, miraculously, shed the pounds. The key, he liked to say, was chewing meat and extracting the juices but not the fiber. He spit that out. He claimed that he saw the aborigine eating beef jerky that way. "Have you ever seen a fat Australian?" Moore would ask rhetorically. There was another strange component to his diet. In the morning he drank sauerkraut juice flavored with lemon juice.”

You have had very bad results and are wise to advise others of potential pitfalls. But if I were to fall off a ladder and break my leg should I suggest to others that they should not use ladders?

Also your own experience confirms that the weight gain is not from abosoption of calories in the mouth: “Many people, like myself gain weight from spitting and chewing so often and from swallowing too much of the food that you have chewed” and in fact you are not “chewing and spitting” when you are “chewing and spitting most of it and swallowing some”. Myself I close my eyes when I do this to concentrate on the flavor and make certain I don’t swallow anything. Also I am very busy on other hobbies or projects, I don’t think about food much because I am engrossed in other activities.

I've done this for a long long time. But I already have diabetes type 1. Its only since then have I become obsessed with food.

I agree that if done CORRECTLY, then this method is a great way to loose weight. Not just on it's own of course! Here's what I do: I consume and swallow 1200-1400 calories a day, which is about 300-500 less calories than I should consume in a day. As the previous poster stated, AFTER, or DURING the consuming of regular and healthy foods, I will chew and spit only ONE serving of an unhealthy food. This could be 3 oreos, or a hot dog at most. And, I actually only do this once or twice a day.

OK...I'm sorry, but chewing one serving of oreos and a hot dog in a day will not give me cavities. I used to eat MUCH worse before I was concerned with my health, and I have only had one cavity in my life, and my teeth are perfectly white. I also am careful not to eat foods that CAN stain my teeth, and I mostly crave salty junk food anyways, so cavities are less likely. I always brush and floss too after each chew session.

People who overindulge in this activity of COURSE will have poor results! But the problem then doesn't lie within the technique...it's within the person's HEAD! People who go crazy and obsessive over this obviously have other mental health concerns. While a lot of people become alcoholics, most people can control their addiction and only partake of alcohol occasionally.

Also, note that most of the people warning against this have had bulimia or anorexia before which is a sign right there that they have many more issues than chewing and spitting!

In moderation, this method will work properly! Is it embarrassing and private maybe? YES! But a lot of diets are embarrassing. No one really wants anyone to know they can't have a piece of birthday cake at their friend's party because they're counting calories. If you have self control, don't be completely scared away by all the other posts. As someone else said, it's better and healthier in every way to spit out those french fries (IF don't properly) than to swallow them!

Chewing and spitting, of the eating disorders, are a lazy and ridiculously unhealthy way of losing weight. Have some will power and stop chewing and spitting out sweet candy (which you do still absorb some calories from) and eat healthy and get on an effin treadmill and lose weight the healthy and safe way. I'm so tired of seeing girls who are being admired for being skinny and getting to "eat" all the sweets they want and seeing girls who are slowly losing weight by diet and excersize, the healthy way, get no praise at all. This is not an overweight girl either, I'm 5'5" 125 pounds and I am that way because I excerize and eat healthy. And when I want some candy, I chew and swallow it and just work a little harder my next work out. SO STOP BEING SO FREAKING LAZY!

OMG!!! i also thought i made this up! i cant believe how many people are doing it. Ive been c/s ing for more than 10 years... i also suffered from anorexia when i was 15 but was able to stop before it got really worst.

Does anyone have a url to support the contention that you will absorb calories from sweets while they are in your mouth? A lot of people say that this is so but I am having a lot of trouble finding any hard medical information on it.

Well yes its lazy but when you consider 120 pound woman, 30 minutes of elliptical exercise: 310 calories, well that not a lot of calories burned for 30 minutes of work, seems to me better to not eat 310 calories then to eat it and work 30 minutes to take it off.

I kinda don't see how this is "ridiculously unhealthy", could you elaborate a bit. By doing this in moderation, and only during or after regular meals there seems to be very little or no health downside.

I agree that you can't be an expert on this unless you have dealt with the negative sides of this terrible disorder. People that say this isn't an eating disorder and is a great way to lose weight are just fooling themselves. I have been chewing and spitting for about 12 years. It becomes obsessive and I even end up spitting out things that are good for me like rice cakes or fruit. It really becomes hard to swallow. It is shameful and a terrible disease, and has all the obsessive feelings as anorexia and bulimia. I have suffered from both of these, and thought my chewing and spitting was a way out from my disease. I have had 22 cavities as a result and even with intense therapy, have not been able to stop yet. If you think this is a great way to lose weight, please don't start this. It isn't a diet, it's a disease. You can't just do this for under "15 minutes" or only with certain foods. It will overtake your life, and like many of us said you will wake up chewing and spitting your whole day and not even be able to realize how it got this bad.

This eating disorder is called an eating disorder because it is crazy unhealthy! Why would it be a disorder if it didn't have negative side effects? Read up on it and you will find all the things that go wrong with your body when you "fake it out" by not swallowing. And the fact that you actually get most of the calories shows that its not even worth it! Eat some delicious fruit or just have an occasional sweet treat if you need a fix. It's all about moderation when it comes to anything with dieting! I promise that if you just stop chewing/spitting and switch to healthy food you will lose weight. Every extra 3500 calories (that is calories we do not burn off or naturally metabolize) turns into a pound of fat. Find out what works for your body and what calorie intake will be enough to nourish you and also help you lose wieght. Also, if you're hungry, grab an apple, banana, or any kind of fresh fruit and vegetable. They are delicous and they are also low in calories and they give you the nutrients you need. If you chew and spit all your food you are not getting the nutrients you need! I wish you all the best of luck. Trust me-you can lose weight the healthy way. Don't expect instant results--but they will come. Eat healthy, excersise and have the body you always dreamed of (inside and out).

I don't understand how you could possibly absorb most of the calories from your mouth. Your body absorbs protein, fat, carbs,ect in different parts of your digestive track. This means the food must enter the stomach for further break down so that the body can absorb the nutrients. I don't chew and spit often but I am thinking about switching from bulimic tendencies. I lose days of my life because I am hiding at home cooking food and eating it and then proceeding to purge it. I am soo embarassed and frustrated with how my life is so restricted because of my ed. Oh and I don't buy into that your body will hold on to 90% of calories that a bulimic purges. From personal experience from days of eating and purging 1000's of calories I really haven't gained more than a pound. I think it is just a trick people with ed's tell themselves to try and stop the binge.

I've been doing this for the past 6 months. I'm 16 and I am an insulin dependant diabetic. I've always ahd issues with my weight and I've always felt a lot bigger than everyone else, and I've tried loads of diferent diets, I'd never heard of Chewing and Spitting, it just sort of happened one day when I was eating a something and I realised I didn't need it and just spat it out. Recently my diabetes has become really bad and I'm starting to think this has something to do with it. I've also started to have really bad stomache ache, could this be related?
I want to stop it's just very dificult.

I am laughing cause I can not believe anyone else does this.A few days ago it just came to me and because I eat mostly for taste not hunger.Why does it matter if the food goes in or out.I eat normal meals but the in between things I love to eat just for taste I spit out.I can't see how it would hurt your teeth.When you eat any food you chew it.We chew gum does our body release insulin when we chew gum?

The mistake chewers and spitters make is to
fail to eat a healthy meal immediately after
chewing and spitting a delicious but unhealthy
meal.  If you fail to do this then you will get
stomach ulcers, but if you always eat a healthy
low-calorie meal right after chewing and
spitting, your stomach will not get fooled
because it will then have something to digest,
which is exactly what it expects.

Chewing and spitting an unhealthy delicious
meal followed immediately by eating a less-
appetizing but healthy meal helps your psyche
learn that it isn't the quantity but the
quality of the food that is most enjoyable. It
especially teaches you that a little bit tastes
just as good as a whole lot.  That teaches you
to take smaller helpings.

So ALWAYS eat a healthy low-cal meal
immediately after chewing and spitting a hi-cal
meal.  Yeah I said the same thing too many
times, I know, but I'm enthused!
J
Edwin McCravy
AnlytcPhil@aol.com

I do it because I have type 1 diabetes and just about everything is unhealthy for me. I am in my mid 30's and have had diabetes since I was 14. I have missed so much good food, I couldn't even begin to describe it - food really is a simple pleasure in life. I remember, when I first decided to C&S, I had a piece of chocolate cake and it was sooo delightful - definitely worth it - 100%. It's difficult to ask anyone healthy or not to go on a diet and drop 15-20 pounds.

Think of how many times you start and fall off when you go to lunch with friends or a birthday party or just because you decide you want that cheeseburger - or even when social drinking.

I agree if C&S is done in moderation - before or after a healthy meal, no damage could be done - I think the trouble surfaces when we start to do it too much (chewing TOO much or by bingeing and C&Sing together) or by doing it with foods that can damage our teeth.

Although some may think it's gross, I think C&S is a good way to avoid high fat, sugary and unhealthy foods when you are craving them. Those foods do more damage than good when we eat them anyway - we end up getting fat, get high cholesterol, high blood pressure, high blood sugars and a number of other issues.

To the girl who posted doing it for 15 minutes after each meal - that's a lot! That sounds more like bingeing & C&Sing together which may not be as healthy.

Bottom line... We should all eat in moderation and C&S when we "have" to, not when we "want" to. That way there shouldn't be any problems.
We just do it sensibly.

You can't. It becomes impossible to just do it with a serving of food you just "can't resist" after eating normally and healthily. It gets worse the longer you do it. I went from chewing and spitting just a few bites of random food a day, to jars after jars full of chewed food in only an hour or two. Bucket after bucketfuls of food. I've gotten a cavity recently, for the first time, and I'm positive it's from this behavior. Not to mention a burning, painful pain in my stomach usually during, or right after chewing and spitting.

"You have had very bad results and are wise to advise others of potential pitfalls. But if I were to fall off a ladder and break my leg should I suggest to others that they should not use ladders?"

This is ignorant. It isn't like that. This is not a diet, or healthy, no matter how you do it or how much you do it. It will get worse. This is part, or will become a part, of a life consuming problem. You don't understand, and that is fortunate. Please, do not do this.

I do this as well, not all the time, just when I eat something that I know is unhealthy. I think its better that purging the biscuit or piece of cake. But doing after a healthy meal thats good advice, if I need to do it, I'll try to remember that. Might as well do it as healthily as you can

I, like others, thought I was the only one that did this and am tired of doing it and looking for help. if someone does want to get help, how do they go about doing so?

I wish I could meet everyone who has posted on this board so far. I really really do. I have been C/Sing for far too long. Finding this huge page with all these comments makes me want to cry. Especially when I realize some of these people are younger, some are older....and all sound as confused and helpless as I feel. :(

The ones on here who are saying it's healthy and that it won't mess up your teeth - YOU ARE WRONG. You either haven't been doing it long enough OR you're lying. Period.

Do this long enough and you will f*ck up your insulin regulation, your insides, and yes, your teeth.

Thank God, all my showing teeth are alright. They're pretty & white and I get compliments on them often. BUT the ones toward the back have started to break/chip and they are PAINFUL.

I'm 28. Have held a lifelong struggle with a myriad of eating disorders, from anorexia to bulimia, compulsive overeating, compulsive eaxercise, laxatives, etc, etc, etc.

All of these things will hurt you in the end. If you live that long.

Anyone who needs a friend, please email me.... I need one, too.

OH MY GOODNESS...I am absolutely APPLAUDED at all of you who would EVER support this behavior.

I have been SUFFERING from this horrible disease, alternating with b/p, for 4 years now. It is a terrible, controlling, all consuming form of OCD with which I struggle daily. It is not something I want to do, it is something from which I cannot escape.

I HATE MYSELF. I look in the mirror and want to shake the person that is looking back at me, tell her she is beautiful and worth so much more than the disgusting habit that she supports but I cannot.

This is an EVIL DISEASE. EVIL, EVIL, EVIL.

PLEASE, PLEASE do not start. YOU WILL NOT BE ABLE TO CONTROL YOURSELF. It is the devil controlling you.

Wow. That's terrible. Jars and jars of food. Bucketfuls? Life consuming? I never thought of it that way. I have just started a work out routine and am going to try to stop this before it gets worse. I've been doing it off and on for about 4 months now and notice it is slowly getting worse.

C&S seems like a good way to not gain weight but when you hear this other side and you end up c&sing bucketfuls of food, that's horrific. Maybe I'll think again.

By the way, I previously read that the stomach pains you are having are because your stomach acid is trying to break down food that never makes it to your stomach. When you put food in your mouth and your silvary glands are activated and sends a message to your stomach that says to produce stomach acid to break the meal down. Salivary glands and stomach acid work together. The active stomach acid in an empty stomach causes the pain. I've read that several people eat a healthy meal (like a bowl of broccoli) prior to c&sing.

You scared me though. I am going to try to stop this today...

I too have been doing this off and on for years. I was never able to throw up, it was to difficult for me. I used to limit myself to less than 1000 calories, less than 10 grams of fat, and then worked 800 of them off. I am 5' 9" and weighed 118 lbs. at the time. I started c/s as a natural compliment a few years later to what I was already doing and now when I am super stressed I will c/s. I am older now, so the things I used to do don't work like used to, It takes more to lose weight and keep weight off. I am depressed to learn that this is harmful. I thought taking a bite of doughnut, chewing it, and spitting it out had to be better for me than eating a whole doughnut- and quite frankly I still think it is.