The Food and Feelings Workbook

Are you an emotional eater? Need some structure to recover? At last, there's a workbook to help you.

Karen R. Koenig is a licensed psychotherapist, specializing in helping her patients use cognitive therapy techniques to recover from eating disorders and diet addiction.

Not sure you want to make the investment? Check out some of Ms. Koenig's wisdom first, absolutely for free. I asked Ms. Koenig this question on my Diet Survivors message board, and I have excerpted both the question and answer here:

Linda's question:

Karen, I've noticed that binge eating disorder has an addictive component. In your years of experience with patients recovering from BED (Binge Eating Disorder), what is the single most important thing they do that helps them recover? What trait in a patient encourages you that they will get past their disorder?

Karen's answer:
Linda asked an excellent question, which goes to the heart of recovering from any disorder. I'd say the trait that wins out over all others is sheer determination. When I counsel/teach, I know that people who are willing to work hard are going to make it.

Which isn't to say that people don't have mixed emotions, feel confused, have other issues to deal with. But the quality of I'm-gonna-lick-this-no-matter-what really stands out.

If you want to resolve eating problems [such as] binge-eating and all the others, you have to put it before all else--relationships, family, work. You have to want to be better more than:

1. You want other people to be happy
2. You want other people to like you
3. You want to be comfortable

That involves willingness to be confused, scared, ignorant, and uncertain of when and how you're going to turn things around. You have to trust the process above all else, listening to the voice inside that knows what's right for you.

Speaking specifically about binge-eating disorder, the more you can focus on emotions, the faster you'll recover. You binge mostly for emotional reasons, which is different than overeating when something tastes wonderful.

When bingeing, you hardly taste the food. It's all about losing yourself in something, when what is really needed is finding yourself--discovering your feelings, what sets you off.

Linda's comments on Karen's brilliant answer:

I find Karen's answer above fascinating. Here's why. All the right intentions and sheer determination in the world cannot, alone, bring recovery. After all, white knuckling our weight loss efforts never worked, right? Sheer determination without the right tools gets us nowhere, correct?

So why is it that in Ms. Koenig's experience, those with sheer determination succeed? It must be because Ms. Koenig is giving them the right guidance. She must be helping them get to the bottom of their emotional eating and addictions. In short, she must be a really good therapist.

So let's all flock to her town and sign up. We'll pack up and move. No? Ah yes, we can't all do that. But therein lies the beauty of my discovery. This woman, a font of knowledge, answers, and loving help, has written a workbook for all those of you who can't pick up and move to her town.

Let's see. Pack up and move your family to another part of the world? Or buy a book on Amazon. Hmmmm... Think think think. I know which one I'd pick. Not a bad deal, huh?

Look, if I had the time to write the book, I would have. But I met Karen in cyberspace, and am impressed with what she knows. I recommend this book over all other intuitive eating helps (other than mine, of course.) She doesn't just understand intuitive eating. She understands people.

If you're a beginner at intuitive eating, you might like to buy my book as well. They're both available on Amazon.com.

How to Survive Your Diet and Conquer Your Food Issues Forever by Linda Moran

The Food and Feelings Workbook: A Full Course Meal on Emotional Health by Karen R. Koenig