Karen R. Koenig is a therapist and educator with over 30 years of experience specializing in the psychology of eating. She teaches chronic dieters and overeaters how to use the skills that "normal" eaters possess naturally to maintain a comfortable, healthy weight for life without dieting. Her work focuses on the how and why of eating, rather than the what. She is an international author and a recognized expert in the psychology of eating.
This book offers a new paradigm for doctors and health care providers treating patients with eating and weight concerns that replaces a failed, moralistic focus on weight and weight-loss with one of fostering health, well-being, self-efficacy, and effective self-care.
Seven Keys to a Permanent, Positive Relationship with Food
Focusing on the internal conflicts that arise when behaviors clash with intentions, this book guides readers to explore their subconscious beliefs and fears hindering their health and fitness goals. It addresses the challenges faced by disordered eaters through seven essential areas: creating lasting change, making conscious choices, feeling deserving, self-comforting, understanding sufficiency, managing intimacy, and cultivating a healthy identity. This comprehensive approach aims to empower individuals to overcome obstacles and achieve their desired well-being.
Focusing on clinical strategies, this book equips practitioners with techniques to address clients' emotional relationships with food and body image. It highlights the interplay between food and weight issues with psychological and medical conditions, illustrating challenges across different life stages. Rich in insights and practical advice, it guides clinicians in helping clients achieve harmony with food, manage their weight, and foster a balanced approach to nutrition and exercise for a healthier lifestyle.
An extraordinary, powerful connection exists between feeling and feeding that, if damaged, may lead to one relying on food for emotional support, rather than seeking authentic happiness. This unique workbook takes on the seven emotions that plague problem eaters — guilt, shame, helplessness, anxiety, disappointment, confusion, and loneliness — and shows readers how to embrace and learn from their feelings. Written with honesty and humor, the book explains how to identify and label a specific emotion, the function of that emotion, and why the emotion drives food and eating problems. Each chapter has two sets of exercises: experiential exercises that relate to emotions and eating, and questionnaires that provoke thinking about and understanding feelings and their purpose. Supplemental pages help readers identify emotions and chart emotional development. The final part of the workbook focuses on strategies for disconnecting feeling from food, discovering emotional triggers, and using one’s feelings to get what one wants out of life.
A Commonsense Approach for Dieters, Overeaters, Undereaters, Emotional Eaters, and Everyone in Between!
Focusing on the four fundamental rules of instinctive eating, this book guides readers toward healthier relationships with food. It emphasizes eating when hungry, choosing satisfying foods, practicing mindful eating, and stopping when full. By employing a cognitive-behavioral approach, it helps individuals reframe dysfunctional beliefs and manage emotions without resorting to food. The engaging tone, combined with practical techniques, fosters the development of new habits that align with natural sensations of hunger and satisfaction, making it beneficial for all eaters.