You know the drill. Whenever you feel sad, lonely, or even just empty inside, you start emotional eating and reach for food. Food provides a comfort, allows a brief sense of fullness, and for a moment you no longer are focusing on whatever emotion you are feeling at the time. Yet, you never are satisfied.…

Bouncing back after binge eating begins with an acceptance of our imperfection. It also requires a belief in our ability to recover. Living fully, striving for improvement, means we must risk imperfection. So, for example, one of your goals might involve recovering from an emotional condition or self-harming pattern. A self-loving perspective allows for the…

You’ve been hiding the food wrappers, the take-out boxes, and the truth for too long. Food has become an obstacle. A secret. An outright enemy. You need help for binge eating now.   Here are six solid ways to get help for binge eating and create the peace of mind you need to eat well…

The old potato chip ads said, “’bet you can’t eat just one!” It’s true that some snacks are designed to tempt us into eating them (and maybe overeating them). And many of our best social situations and holidays revolve around eating large amounts of food. These can be okay on occasion and part of normal…

Emotional eating refers to eating food when not hungry, often in response to or to cope with feelings such as boredom, stress, shame, anger, sadness, and anxiety. Emotion-driven eating also occurs when sleep deprived, fatigued or burned out, or emotionally and physically depleted. Emotional eating is not only about eating when experiencing negative emotions – exciting,…

  Susan works hard. This past week in particular was taxing; she juggled more projects and meetings than she really had time for while unanswered emails steadily filled her inbox. “If I can get through this week,” Susan told herself, “I’m going to treat myself.”   Researchers at the University of Illinois suggest that most…

Jennifer has long been told by friends, family, magazines, and movies that to be beautiful is to be thin. Jennifer’s sister has never struggled with her weight; growing up, Jennifer listened to countless friends and family members remark how pretty and put-together her sister appeared. As Jennifer’s sister seemed to float effortlessly over all of…

As a parent, you want the best for your child. Particularly when it comes to the arena of food. You don’t want your child to struggle with obesity or an eating disorder and want him/her to have a natural, intuitive relationship with food. What can you do to help your child have a healthy relationship…

Do you struggle with food cravings or overeating? This man’s story sheds some insight into how blocked or unprocessed emotions can contribute to a cycle of food cravings and negative feelings. We often block, repress or push down painful or difficult emotions that we don’t want to feel, but are a part of us. When…

Recently, Amy Wrzesnieswski and Barry Schwartz wrote an article in the New York Times titled “The Secret of Effective Motivation.” They studied two types of motivations: internal and instrumental.  Internal motivation or sometimes known as intrinsic motivation is a desire that is based on the actual activity. For instance, a student wants to study in…

Do you find yourself saying, “I feel fat”? What does that really mean to you? Negative body thoughts are often a way of talking to yourself about other issues in your life or feelings that bother you. Learn to decode these messages and stop the negative body thoughts. There are often psychological factors that affect…

Compulsive Eating Signifies Imbalance Do you ever find yourself compulsive eating? That is, feeling “compelled” to eat when you’re not really hungry? What is out of balance in your life? Read through some of these steps and see if you can identify with any of them. Identify one small thing you can do this week…

National Eating Disorder Association’s 20 WAYS TO LOVE YOUR BODY!! Compiled by Margo Maine, Ph. D. Think of your body as the vehicle to your dreams. Honor it. Respect it. Fuel it. Create a list of all the things your body lets you do. Read it and add to it often. Become aware of what…