chewing food and spitting out?

[LisaO]

I am on my 4th day of a juice fast/feast. As I was making my families dinner I wanted some of the food so bad. I put a piece of the food in my mouth, chewed it around, sucked on it (i know sounds pathetic) and then spit it out into the sink. I did this 3 times with different parts of the meal.
Has anybody else ever done this? What do you think?
Would this technically count as "breaking" my fast?
Would this be a "good" solution for the times when food cravings are high?

[Aleesha Sattva]

There is actually an eating disorder where people do this. They chew and spit.

But... with fasting two things can happen:

If you do this you can make fasting waaaay harder on your body. Digestion starts in the mouth so your tummy will awaken and want food.

It may assist you to stay on your fast.

I don't suggest you do it... but it's your fast and your body. Only you can make the decision. :)

[katchmoleen]

I have done this a couple of times when I was cooking for my family and need to adjust seasonings. But I felt like I was in control of the situation, not doing it because I wanted desperately to eat.

[LilacLavender]

Sounds like an eating disorder to me. Either fast or don't. Chewing food and not swallowing is kind of like breaking your fast, anyway...it gets your digestive system flowing thinking that something's coming for it to break down...and then there isn't anything really there.

[spicyfull]

I Love to do Apples this way. It doesn't wake My Stomach up. It has saved me when I had No Juice ready. I am chewing the Apple releasing the Juice and spitting out the Fiber. I don't do any cooked food. Anyway its your Fast and ALL the RAW Police are Gone.

[Aleesha Sattva]

Sounds like an eating disorder to me. Either fast or don't. Chewing food and not swallowing is kind of like breaking your fast, anyway...it gets your digestive system flowing thinking that something's coming for it to break down...and then there isn't anything really there.

actually no that's not true. i totally forgot about this till i read your post.

angela stokes - on her 92 day juice feast (it's in her book) chewed and spit to create juices for herself. she was somewhere that she couldn't use a juicer (jungle/forest type place) and so she just grabbed an orange and chewed.

i do this when i'm fasting sometimes as well.

i would hesitate to do it with 'cooked foods' though... cause you are working on releasing those addictions and in my head, that wouldn't help release them...

but... there are no fasting police and you can do whatever you wish. find what works for you (or doesn't) and then make alterations. that's what life is all about... learning and experiencing.

[LilacLavender]

It's a fine line. If you're honestly doing it because you don't have a juicer, then it's your ball game and your own call. However, the OP talks about doing this with food only because she couldn't resist the temptation to eat her family's food, and so she tasted it and spit it out instead. And that sort of habit can lead to eating disorders. I personally know someone for whom this was the case. Ironic even more, she'd do this while fasting simply because the temptation of the taste of food was too much. If you do not have the willpower to fast, I say don't do it. Otherwise we are flirting with psychological problems.

[rawlight]

Actually, there was something on tv about this a couple of weeks ago. It is a form of an eating disorder as a way to cope with the PTSD of childhood sexual abuse.

However, in the way Spicyfull and Aleesha and Angela Stokes used it as a way to juice without a juicer, that's a whole different thing than someone using cooked food this way.

[Thick]

It is a form of an eating disorder as a way to cope with the PTSD of childhood sexual abuse.



People use food to deal with a lot of issues--and chewing and spitting is not neccessarily linked with only sexual abuse. I think that most people who chew and spit just really like/addicted to cooked foods and the guilt makes them spit it out--then it becomes a habit..

I hope it doesn't become a habit for you Lisa!!

[rawlight]

People use food to deal with a lot of issues--and chewing and spitting is not neccessarily linked with only sexual abuse. I think that most people who chew and spit just really like/addicted to cooked foods and the guilt makes them spit it out--then it becomes a habit..

I didn't mean to imply that and I thought I made that clear in my post. If you mean by 'most people' who are raw foodists who do that for specific reasons, like not having a juicer at hand or wanting the taste of cooked food without eating it, that is one thing. But the point I and some others are trying to make is that it *is* or can lead to eating disorders.

[Aleesha Sattva]

honestly i don't think every thing we do becomes a disorder. i'm quite sure there are many people out there who may 'taste and spit' food and it doesn't become a disorder.

:P

after all... there are wine tasters, coffee tasters... etc etc etc...

[SimplyFabulush]

It's a fine line. If you're honestly doing it because you don't have a juicer, then it's your ball game and your own call. However, the OP talks about doing this with food only because she couldn't resist the temptation to eat her family's food, and so she tasted it and spit it out instead. And that sort of habit can lead to eating disorders. I personally know someone for whom this was the case. Ironic even more, she'd do this while fasting simply because the temptation of the taste of food was too much. If you do not have the willpower to fast, I say don't do it. Otherwise we are flirting with psychological problems.

Eating disorders are very seriously psychological problems, merely choosing to "chew and spit" a few times isn't going to cause one ;) If it does, she had these psychological problems all along.

Lisa, you are your own person and only you know what is good for your body. If chewing and spitting this time helped you from truly breaking your fast and binging on food, and made you feel better, then you should do what makes you happy. Like Aleesha said, it MIGHT make things harder for you, or it might not. If you do this a few times during your fast, and by the end you still feel awesome, who cares? This is your journey, and your decisions. Don't beat yourself up over anything that certain people think you "should" or "should not" do. :)

[LisaO]

Thanks everyone for your posts. I found the whole association with an eating idsorder very interesting. I am happy to report, however, that I don't think I have an eating disorder. :) Just trying so hard to get past cooked food and finding the temptation stronger while fasting and trying to survive the "moment".

The thought of "chewing and spitting" a piece of fruit is interesting though. Sometimes I just want to chew on something or feel textures in my mouth while fasting.

Thanks again for all your input.

[rawfigure]

This is a practice used among female bodybuilder in pre contest dieting and when I started doing it. I did off and on for 4 yrs and I found it very annoying practice. When I was competing I did cause I was so starving and deficient in nutrients and my body craved food I could not eat so I waould start to eat realize I could not and then spit it out. I continued the practice into RAW for last two years but find it too be very infrequent and usually it is when I start to eat absent minded and I go OH I don't want to eat that ! I did see it as a disorder for 4 yrs but now see it as a sad/bad habit (for me) and a waste of food someone else would gladly have, so now if I have a food I am not eating (bought for a party or company) I give it away!