Question:
Is it bad to chew food in your mouth just for the taste and then spit it out?

I'm almost 4 weeks post-op (distal RNY) and the terrible cravings I was having in the beginning have greatly subsided (with the arrival of severe nausea), but sometimes I get my moments of weakness. Today is a good example. My church had a dinner today and there was alot of food left over. They packed some of it up for my husband & me to take home. During the dinner, I think I may have eaten alittle too much. I mean, it was soft foods and I chewed really well, and I ate very slowly, taking 1 1/2 hrs. or so to eat it. But I think it was a little too much. Well anyway, later on in the evening at home, I went to the fridge and was tempted by the ziti, potato salad and peach cobbler. Even though I still felt full from when I ate at the church, I quickly scarfed down a few ziti noodles and within a few minutes I threw it up. I didn't learn my lesson and I went to work on the potato salad. Threw that up as well. But I still HAD TO have a taste of the peach cobbler, so I put a little bit in my mouth, chewed it up & then spit it out. Is this OK to do? Also, if you know you swallowed something that you know you shouldn't have, and you don't get the urge to throw up, is it bad to MAKE yourself throw up? This isn't bulemia or anything, is it?    — lalasmommy (posted on June 16, 2001)

June 16, 2001
please watch yourself... you are going back into bad habits and YES making you vimit is a bad thing either if its anorexia or bulimia. you will get into big trouble if you do that too often. from being obese you will fall into eating desorder witch is as bad as being obese ! dont ruin your life
   — [Anonymous]

June 16, 2001
Chewing to taste something and spitting it out might be OK. But dont get into a habit of over eating and throwing up. Its tough on your new tummy and might lead to a mental disorder. I would speak to your surgeon about this ASAP.
   — bob-haller

June 16, 2001
Alexandra, I think chewing and spitting is not uncommon amongst WLS patients. I've seen this here before. However, I'm more concerned about your willingness to eat while you are admittedly full and after you've already thrown up - particularly since you are only 4 weeks post-op and are still healing. <p> Remember, one of the tools of this surgery is behavior modification. We need to recognize the feeling of satiety and not fullness as our signal to quit eating. Generally, this accomplished in the first few weeks after surgery under the assumption that no one likes to throw up and will do everything to avoid it. On the contrary, you are teaching yourself to become comfortable with vomiting. <p> Hey, as far as I'm concerned, there is nothing wrong with a bite of this or that, but save it for when you are hungry! There is a trade off here, but I still believe it is better to make one small OCCASIONAL meal of ziti, potato salad and peach cobbler instead of protien, rather than eating that on top of pouch that is already full to capacity. <p> Please allow this surgery to work for you! Good luck and God Bless.
   — Allie B.

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