Chewing and spitting is a lesser-talked-about eating disorder behaviour. So often when clients tell me about it, they usually start by saying “I don’t know if you’ve ever come across this before but…”
Despite how it is perceived, it’s far more common than many realise.
For those who have lived with an eating disorder for years or decades, chewing and spitting can feel like a “middle ground” — a way to experience taste without the “consequences” of swallowing. But in reality, it’s another form of restriction and disconnection from your body’s needs.
If you’ve found yourself stuck in this cycle, I want you to know this: you are not weak, broken, or beyond help. This behaviour is a symptom — not your identity — and just like all eating disorder behaviours, it can be changed.
In this article, we’ll explore why chewing and spitting happens, its emotional and physical toll, and some concrete steps you can take to stop it, so you can reclaim a life of food freedom.
Chewing and spitting is the act of chewing food to taste it, then spitting it out before swallowing.
People often use it as a way to:
While some might view it as “harmless” compared to bingeing or purging, it carries serious risks — both physical and psychological.
Many individuals use chewing and spitting as a perceived “safe” way to enjoy taste without gaining weight. This is rooted in diet culture’s false promises and the eating disorder’s voice, convincing you that swallowing equals “loss of control” or a “binge.”
Chewing and spitting may serve as comfort, distraction, or as emotional numbing. It can become a ritual that temporarily soothes difficult feelings. In fact, clients often notice that it increases during times of increased stress or challenge.
Rigid food rules — like “I can’t eat bread” or “I’m not allowed dessert” — often trigger chewing and spitting episodes when those foods are present.
Some in recovery use chewing and spitting as a “bridge” — reducing more severe behaviours (like vomiting) but still avoiding full eating. Unfortunately, it still keeps you stuck in partial recovery.
Many symptoms occur with eating disorders due to the body getting into a low-energy state. Here, I want to look at the symptoms that are explicitly connected to chewing and spitting.
Digestive issues — Your body releases enzymes and stomach acid, expecting food, that never makes it into the stomach. This can cause bloating, nausea, and discomfort.
Metabolic confusion — When the body tastes food, it anticipates that this will then reach the stomach and the rest of the digestive tract, to be turned into energy. So when this doesn’t happen, it can disrupt hunger and fullness signals.
Jaw strain and mouth sores — The likelihood of this occurring increases with the frequency of chewing and spitting.
What I’ve seen from working with clients is that chewing and spitting is rarely the only eating disorder behaviour that is going on. It’s usually just one part of a collection of behaviours, all connected to restriction and will often include over-exercise, delaying eating, mostly eating “safe” foods, amongst other things.
This means that recovery from chewing and spitting is done in conjunction with many other changes. But for this section, let me look at a few ideas connected explicitly to chewing and spitting and how to stop it.
For most people, chewing and spitting follows a pattern. It may not happen at every single meal or with every single food, but will depend on the circumstances.
Awareness is, therefore, a helpful starting point, and this can involve tracking for a few days or a week, to see what you notice. You can include:
When does chewing and spitting happen (time of day, setting)?
What foods are involved?
What are the emotions or thoughts before it starts? What are they like afterwards?
Awareness is your first tool for change, so becoming more knowledgeable about your patterns with it is essential.
Chewing and spitting can feel like control, but it’s actually the eating disorder controlling you. Do some journaling on this. For example, write down how it limits your life: social events skipped, foods feared, joy diminished. Seeing it on paper can often help to weaken its grip.
Eating disorders are anxiety disorders and all anxiety disorders are about avoidance. This can be avoidance of specific thoughts, feelings, sensations, events or situations.
Chewing and spitting is a way of avoiding, whether it be avoiding weight gain or sitting with the guilt of having eaten a full meal.
The opposite of avoidance is exposure and this means doing the thing you are afraid of. And so much of the challenge of doing this is because of all the “what if” fears that the eating disorder generates. So nothing happens because you believe these eating disorder thoughts.
But what I’ve discovered with clients is there can be a big gap between what the eating disorder says will happen compared to what actually does happen when someone makes a change. Which is why it’s so important to take action.
A way of helping to reduce some of the fear is to treat it as an experiment. This change is about running an experiment to get some new data. So set yourself a goal of not doing the chewing and spitting for two weeks and see what you notice.
Yes, you can plan to not engage in chewing and spitting, but this won’t prevent the urges from happening. So it’s essential to come up with a plan for when the urges hit. This could include things like:
Give yourself full, unconditional permission to eat foods you’ve feared — and swallow them. This rewires the brain to trust food and breaks the chew-and-spit cycle. Which, again, you can run as an experiment, to see what you notice.
I’m a firm believer that no one should be doing recovery on their own. It’s a hugely challenging experience, with the eating disorder creating lots of fear, doubt and second guessing…that typically leads to no change or some changes but nothing that fundamentally makes a difference.
As I mentioned earlier, chewing and spitting is usually part of a collection of other eating disorder behaviours. Which means you can work on the chewing and spitting directly, as well as the other issues that are leading to you being stuck in an eating disorder. So working on things like nutritional rehabilitation, developing emotional regulation skills and tools for dealing with bad body image, to name a few (if you’re interested in getting help, you can click here).
Recovery is more than “not doing chewing and spitting” — it’s living without the urge to do it. Signs you’re moving toward full recovery:
If chewing and spitting is part of your life right now, remember: You didn’t choose the eating disorder, but you can choose recovery.
Change is possible — even after decades. I wholeheartedly believe in full recovery, for everyone. You deserve more than a life half-lived in rituals. You deserve taste, joy, and presence — without fear.
Support is the fastest route to freedom. If you’re struggling with chewing and spitting, I’d love to help and you can find out more and apply for a free recovery strategy call by going here.
Q: Is chewing and spitting an eating disorder?
A: Yes. While it’s not a separate diagnosis in the DSM-5, chewing and spitting is recognised as a disordered eating behaviour and can be part of anorexia, bulimia, OSFED or any eating disorder.
Q: How do I stop chewing and spitting?
A: Recovery involves understanding your triggers, building new coping strategies, practicing full permission eating, and often working with an eating disorder specialist.
Q: Is chewing and spitting dangerous?
A: Yes. It can disrupt digestion, affect metabolism, and increase emotional distress.
Q: Can you recover from chewing and spitting after years or decades?
A: Absolutely. Many people recover by addressing the behaviour’s root causes and rebuilding trust with food and their bodies.
I’m a leading expert and advocate for full recovery. I’ve been working with clients for over 15+ years and understand what needs to happen to recover.
I truly believe that you can reach a place where the eating disorder is a thing of the past and I want to help you get there. If you want to fully recover and drastically increase the quality of your life, I’d love to help. To find out more and apply for a free recovery strategy call, you can do so by going here.
Want to get a FREE online course created specifically for those wanting full recovery? Discover the first 5 steps to take in your eating disorder recovery. This course shows you how to take action and the exact step-by-step process. To get instant access, click the button below.
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