Expert: Joanne - 12/26/2006

Question
Last year, I had a thyroid problem that manifested itself into an eating disorder. I have gotten to a better weight, but now I feel like I am huge and in order to not let my mom notice that I am not eating, I have been chewing and spitting. The only problem is, we do not have a scale after my eating disorder, so I am not sure whether I have lost or gained weight. Can I gain weight from chewing and spitting out food? I don't do it with large quantities of food just with normal meals, will I gain weight or will I lose weight?  

Answer
Well you shouldn't really gain weight if you are spitting everything out, but there is a chance that you are swallowing a small amount everytime you do it.  But if you are doing this with normal meals as well as extra food, I wouldn't imagine that you should be gaining weight.

I think that you should consider seeing someone about this however, this is still an eating disorder!  You may not be anorexic, or bulimic, but you still have disordered eating patterns which need professional intervention in order to help you overcome this!

Please talk to your parents or someone that you feel yo ucan trust!  You need to get help!

Holly