Towels/Sponges pass calories?

jess1992uga · November 2014

Okay so I am in treatment for an eating disorder (see therapist and sparingly see nutritionist since there aren't many available in our area). Was raised by an anorexic mom and have had an ED since I was 6. I have this behavior that has been secret till..well now...and I just want help.

This obsession/behavior started when I got diagnosed with some food intolerances and my doctor told me to cook my things separate to make sure I didn’t get any oils that upset my stomach. So I took this to mean I needed separate pots/pans and also separate clothes to dry them with and separate sponges to wash them with. Then ED came in.

I started to wonder if rags/sponges could spread calories. If they could spread intolerances…why couldn’t they spread calories too. So then I started using one sponge to clean my George Foreman with (the only appliance other than microwave I use to cook food) and one sponge for my food scale and never let anyone use their own sponges on my food. I also have a separate rag to dry hands, a separate one for George Foreman, and a separate one for food scale.

As you can imagine this gets crowded and complicated and I am starting to wonder if this is all ED. I mean what is normal? Do people use one rag to dry hands and dishes and food scale. Or will that spread calories. You know..like if scrap of food from something you wiped off is on the rag/sponge...wouldn't it then get transferred next time you clean something?

I can't stop thinking about it and the more I think, the worse it gets. The more I start to wonder if I should use a different sponge every day and different towel every day. And then how well am I wiping things down...can't scraps be leftover on the food scale/Foreman and again get passed. AS I saw the spiral continue, I decided to stop it and share. I don't want to realize how severe my ED has gotten...but seeing myself slowly turn into my mom who doesn't even allow towels/sponges because she thinks they are unsanitary is scaring me. But this is all I know..but I'm 22 and want to make my own way in life.

So I guess this is my question…what is normal? And can sponges/dish towels spread calories? What is the best way to clean things that can’t go in dishwasher like the food scale and the George Foreman. I’ve been with an ED so long I think I have lost grip of reality. And though I may be eating a meal plan….I want to do more than just consume calories to survive…I want to be truly free.

ValerieMartini2Olives · November 2014

You're joking, right?

mxmkenney · November 2014

??? You can't spread calories... They are not like germs. I'm not sure this is a rational question. It sounds like you have more than an eating disorder, you may have OCD as well and should seek some professional counseling because you are going to make yourself nuts if you continue to think and act like this... Sorry, I'm not trying to be mean, I'm just being real with you.

bwogilvie · November 2014

Two thoughts: (1) calories cannot "spread" from one thing to another. Calories are units of energy that comes from digesting food. The only way a calorie can spread is if you move a measurable quantity of one thing to another thing, such as scooping up some peanut butter from a jar and putting it in your mouth. The kinds of irritants that your doctor was discussing can be irritating in small quantities, e.g., the way your lips can burn if you happen to cut up a hot pepper without wearing gloves, and then you touch your lips. But calories just don't behave like that.

Think of it this way: if you use a rag to wipe up spilled gasoline, it will smell like gasoline pretty strongly (analogy to irritants). But no matter how many times you touch that rag to your gas tank, it won't put any more gas in the car (analogy to calories).

(2) This doesn't sound like an ED; it sounds like OCD (obsessive-compulsive disorder). The questions about how clean dishwashers get things, and hand-washing, are troublesome. I'd ask your doctor about that, and perhaps get a referral to a specialist if these thoughts are bothering you and interfering with your life.

Alatariel75 · November 2014

That's very disordered thinking. Calories don't 'pass' and your behavious appears to be on the OCD scale. You really need to be beinging this up with your therapist.

Having a seperate towel for hands, I understand and do myself, but the seperate sponges for everything is a bit OTT.

lizalouise · November 2014

Hi Jess - Put simply, yes this is disordered thinking, and no you can't 'spread' calories like germs. I would suggest raising this behaviour with your therapist. I know it can be difficult to talk about these patterns of thought, but as you mentioned, you want to be free of this.

All the best.

mjrkearney · November 2014

Please tell your therapist about all of this. The internet does not have a Ph.D. in psychology and it sounds like you've developed some harsh symptoms of OCD that tie into your eating disorder.

Cleaning does not spread calories. If you have a severe intolerance to cooking oils used by your roommates, make sure whatever you use to cook is clean before you use it. Straight soap and hot water will get rid of any cooking oils.

SnuggleSmacks · November 2014

Spread...calories? SPREAD them? Do you, perhaps, mean germs, not calories? I'll assume this is the case.

I use a fresh dish towel when I wash dishes. I use it to dry the washed dishes, so there should not be any real germs on it. The dishes were clean, and the only thing that's getting on the towel is water. I will use that towel to wipe down the appliances and countertops, and then it goes into the laundry. I have a separate towel hanging for drying washed hands, which should also be exchanged for a fresh one every couple of days (or more often if I cook something with more potential for contamination, like seafood.)

jess1992uga · November 2014

Thanks everyone. Yes, I have been diagnosed with OCD and it has gotten worse since I was moved into an abusive household....which is kind of when this obsession started...makes sense that now that I am leaving the abusers...I am wanted to lose the behaviors?

Also, what I meant by "spread" was like if I wash something down with sponge, then whatever was left on the grill/food scale (i.e. juice from prunes, scrap of meat, etc) would then be on the sponge. So next time you use the sponge...wouldn't the cals with that still be there? I know...it's weird...but seeing as I was raised by an anorexic mom and have had an ED of my own since I was 6...I was hoping for some compassion isntead of such judgement.

Also...if there wasn't things "spread" then why was I told by my doctor that for intolerances I should use separate cooking materials? That would denote the food I am intolerant too can pass.

dbmata · November 2014

ValerieMartini2Olives wrote: »

You're joking, right?

No, I don't think she is.

OP - that's not how it works. You can use a single sponge. You might want to talk this over with your treatment team.

CynthiasChoice · November 2014

I know that people with severe allergies to peanuts cannot even touch a surface that a peanut used to sit on, much less wash peanut butter off a dish and use that same sponge to wash other dishes. I don't know if your food intolerances are as serious as this, but if so, it's best to use your own cooking pans, utensils, sponge and towels. If not, don't worry about it, but just use extra care to keep the sponge very clean and change sponge and towels often.

Alatariel75 · November 2014

Depending on the level of a food intolerance, the smallest amount can cause a reaction. I have a friend who cannot drink from a glass which has ever contained milk and can't go to a shopping centre that has a nut shop, because the nut particles in the recirculated air can set him off.

A calorie is NOT the same size as these particles. The miniscule, tiny bit of reside that can set off an allergy could contain less than a hundreth of a calorie, less than the amount you burn off every time you blink. For you to be transferring an actual calorie, you'd literally have to be smearing visible residue of the previous food onto your new food, and if you do that, the calories being transferred is the least of your problem!

Rinse your sponge well after washing the dishes. Use a new dish cloth each time you do the dishes and wipe the counter with it. This helps prevent the spread of germs, but spreading calories in the way you're thinking simply isn't an issue.

ninerbuff · November 2014

Address this issue with your specialist. As mentioned, calories don't spread by just wiping things down.

A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
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Kalikel · November 2014

I use paper towels because sponges and dishcloths being reused to wipe foods...grosses me out. I a bit on the "neat freak" side, though.

I'm not even sure how you'd relate calories to it. You don't eat the sponge, so even if it did pick up calories, it wouldn't make much difference. I'm not sure if you didn't explain it well or if I just cannot understand.

The sponge thing is not typical of an ED, but many people with EDs have other issues to work through, as well.

Absolutely something to bring up in therapy and I bet it's something you can put a stop to!

TavistockToad · November 2014

jess1992uga wrote: »

Also, what I meant by "spread" was like if I wash something down with sponge, then whatever was left on the grill/food scale (i.e. juice from prunes, scrap of meat, etc) would then be on the sponge. So next time you use the sponge...wouldn't the cals with that still be there? I know...it's weird...but seeing as I was raised by an anorexic mom and have had an ED of my own since I was 6...I was hoping for some compassion isntead of such judgement.

Also...if there wasn't things "spread" then why was I told by my doctor that for intolerances I should use separate cooking materials? That would denote the food I am intolerant too can pass.

if theres a scrap of meat on your grill, that gets on to the sponge, and then back on to the grill, you're not going to then eat it, are you? so the calories arent spread? plus the fact that you clean the grill, the meat gets on the sponge, and then you rinse the sponge, don't you?

MachiavelliNZ · November 2014

Theoretically the only possible way to spread calories via a sponge would be to literally fill a sponge to oversaturation with something like orange juice and then drink the orange juice out of the sponge. But I'm with the others, normal household use of sponges to clean kitchenware does not spread calories. I use a hand-towel to dry my hands, a dishcloth to dry my dishes, and a sponge for everything else such as messes and spills; this is simply as a cleanliness thing. If you are already seeing a professional about food issues then I would definitely mention this to them. They may be able to help you through the process of laying aside this anxiety.

paj315 · November 2014

jess1992uga wrote: »

Also, what I meant by "spread" was like if I wash something down with sponge, then whatever was left on the grill/food scale (i.e. juice from prunes, scrap of meat, etc) would then be on the sponge. So next time you use the sponge...wouldn't the cals with that still be there? I know...it's weird...but seeing as I was raised by an anorexic mom and have had an ED of my own since I was 6...I was hoping for some compassion isntead of such judgement.

Also...if there wasn't things "spread" then why was I told by my doctor that for intolerances I should use separate cooking materials? That would denote the food I am intolerant too can pass.

I think I understand what you're trying to ask, I think you're just using the term "calorie" incorrectly.
Yes, if you have an allergy the food particles (not calories) from another food can stay on the sponge and contanimate your food. Such as, If you're allergic to peanut butter and someone uses a knife to spread peanut butter and then wipes the pb of the knife but doesn't clean it and then you use the knife to say butter toast, you could then injest some microscopic amount of peanut butter and have a reaction.

TimothyFish · November 2014

Calories are units to measure energy, so they don't spread. It takes a relatively large quantity of something to have a calorie. But with food allergies, it is a different story. With a food allergy, your body sees certain things contained in foods as harmful to you and the immune system kicks into get rid of it. Just a tiny amount is enough to trigger the immune response.

Duchy82 · November 2014

Ok first, it is a great step toward getting yourself better that you are putting this on a forum well done! that is very brave. Also that you are questioning the rationality of those feelings is a step in the right direction for you, but hun, its not normal and probably a direct result of your ED and OCD. To reassure you, you cannot spread calories by using different cloths/sponges from one appliance to the other.

It is a good idea to have a different cloth to dry your hands with and one to dry your pots and pans but you will have to trust yourself that you have cleaned your pots and pans well enough to use the same cloth for all of them. The same goes for your sponge you should be able to use the same one for all your pots and pans, if you worry about contamination between uses (and I mean in terms of bacteria or food intolerances) you can leave your sponge in a dish of bleach or disinfectant between uses and make sure you rinse it out really well before and after use.

It is definitely worth discussing this with your therapist and also take it slow you don't want to increase your anxiety levels too much at once, maybe start with your dish cloths then move on to sponges.

Good luck!

rivka_m · November 2014

martinecoates wrote: »

Ok first, it is a great step toward getting yourself better that you are putting this on a forum well done! that is very brave. Also that you are questioning the rationality of those feelings is a step in the right direction for you, but hun, its not normal and probably a direct result of your ED and OCD. To reassure you, you cannot spread calories by using different cloths/sponges from one appliance to the other.

+1

OP, your reasoning sounds really familiar to me, I used to struggle with generalized anxiety disorder and it would often manifest itself around cleaning/food, specifically food-borne illness in my case. (I'm actually quite messy/sloppy so I don't know why I fixated on that, it's weird) Definitely talk to your therapist. Even when you recognize that maybe your thoughts aren't rational, it can be a struggle to stop acting on them. Your therapist can help with that.

Towels/Sponges pass calories?

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