Synopses & Reviews
Overeating is often thought of as a lack of will power, nutrition knowledge, or access to healthy foods. This approach is often unsuccessful, or only successful short term, because of the truth that psychology of eating expert Karen Koenig confronts head-on: People often misuse food because they dont know how to manage life any other way. Of course food doesnt really help anyone cope with stress, sadness, or fear, but in the moment it can blot out those real issues with pleasure and comfort. As Koenig shifts the focus away from food and onto life skills, readers learn, perhaps for the first time, to establish and maintain functional relationships, take care of themselves physically and emotionally, think rationally, and create a passionate and meaningful life. When these behaviors are in place, behaviors that become automatic over time, food again becomes what it is simply one of lifes many pleasures.
Review
Praise for Outsmarting Overeating:In Outsmarting Overeating, once again Karen R. Koenig engages the reader with new twists on critical issues like handling emotions, eating 'normally, and reaching goals. She clearly presents practical, accessible, and effective life skills for taking care of yourself.”
Leigh Cohn, MAT, CEDS, editor in chief of Eating Disorders: The Journal of Treatment and Prevention
Essential self-care skills are usually the missing component of problematic eating. Outsmarting Overeating shows you how to effectively navigate life by focusing on key life skills that we all need for decision making, problem solving, critical thinking, communication, and coping with emotions and stress. Readers will appreciate Karen Koenigs friendly writing style. I highly recommend this book.”
Evelyn Tribole, MS, RD, coauthor of Intuitive Eating
Outsmarting Overeating does more than offer a solid, step-by-step approach to building a healthy relationship with food and eating. It offers a thoughtful, compassionate, effective path for healing your life, emotions, and relationships. Highly recommended!”
Donald Altman, MA, LPC, author of One-Minute Mindfulness and Art of the Inner Meal
If you find that your relationship to food and eating is a problem and you want to find a way to change it without dieting, Outsmarting Overeating is sure to add some wonderful tools to your toolbox. Karen R. Koenigs newest book elevates the self-help genre to a whole new level of writing that will benefit every reader!”
Megrette Fletcher, MEd, RD, CDE, cofounder of The Center for Mindful Eating and coauthor of Eat What You Love, Love What You Eat with Diabetes
This is a nurturing, realistic system for developing healthy life skills and then applying them to eating behaviors.”
Anna Jedrziewski, Retailing Insight
Praise for Karen R. Koenigs Previous Books:
What [The Rules of 'Normal Eating] offers is a perspective on working through some of the many misbeliefs and setbacks that prevent many of us from eating a 'normal diet. Karen outlines what each rule would look like in real life, and gives practical advice for how to start to change lifelong habits into healthier ones.”
Rebecca Bitzer, The Nutrition Experts, EmpoweredEatingBlog.com
Using humor, plain talk, examples from her clinical experience, reflection exercises, case studies, and homework, Koenig lets troubled eaters know that their yo-yo patterns of eating and self-care are due to conflicts. She shies away from easy answers and, instead, provides hope and concrete actions to developing a permanent, positive relationship with food.”
Midwest Book Review
Since women, at least those of us in the Western World, are socialized to be pleasers, Karen Koenig has written a wonderful book to help us save ourselves from ourselves....[Nice Girls Finish Fat] is deceptively simple and chock-full of stories to help readers see themselves in the lessons she teaches. She is a master clinician.”
Dr. Beth Erickson, author of Marriage Isnt for Sissies
What Every Therapist Needs to Know about Treating Eating and Weight Issues is a wonderful tool for therapists to gain more insight on the occasional eating and weight problems in clients.”
International Journal of Psychotherapy
Synopsis
Use Life Skills, Not Willpower, to Stop OvereatingThe reason you turn to food when youre stressed or distressed is that you dont have better ways of managing lifes ups and downs. According to Karen R. Koenig, an expert on the psychology of eating, you can transform your eating habits — and your life — by developing effective life skills. When you have enhanced skills, you wont need to turn to mindless eating to make it through the day and will get the best out of life rather than letting life get the best of you. With Koenigs guidance, youll learn how to establish and maintain functional relationships, take care of yourself physically and emotionally, think rationally, and create a passionate, joyful, and meaningful life. When these behaviors take root and become automatic, food becomes what it is meant to be: nourishment and one of lifes many pleasures.
About the Author
Karen R. Koenig, LCSW, MEd, is a psychotherapist with private clients, educator, eating coach, speaker, and expert on the psychology of eating. For the past 30 years, she has successfully treated people with major, long-term eating and weight problems. The author of six previous books, her writing has also appeared in social work journals (including Social Work Today and Eating Disorders Today and major newspapers (including The Boston Globe. She is frequently quoted as an expert in popular magazines and major newspapers. A founding member of the Greater Boston Collaborative for Body Image and Eating Disorders, she served on the Professional Advisory Board of the Massachusetts Eating Disorder Association. She has taught seminars and lectured at Simmons College School of Social Work, Boston University School of Social Work, Massachusetts School of Professional Psychology, the National Organization for Women, the University of South Florida Department of Social Work, and the Manatee Womens Resource Center. She lives in Sarasota, FL.
Table of Contents
Introduction 1
Life Skills Preassessment 5
Chapter 1. The Definition and Purpose of Life Skills
Is Excelling at Cleaning My Plate a Life Skill? 11
Chapter 2. Wellness and Physical Self-Care
You Mean My Bodys Not Like a Self-Cleaning Oven? 29
Chapter 3. Handling Emotions
I Thought Thats What a Spoon and Fork Were For! 47
Chapter 4. Living Consciously
Im Conscious Only of Wanting to Go Unconscious! 67
Chapter 5. Building and Maintaining Relationships
I Already Have a Great Relationship...with My Refrigerator! 85
Chapter 6. Self-Regulation
Theres Something Besides an On-Off Switch? 103
Chapter 7. Problem Solving and Critical Thinking
Is Critical Thinking Different from Thinking Critically about Myself? 123
Chapter 8. Setting and Reaching Goals
What If I Cant Get There from Here? 141
Chapter 9. Balancing Work and Play
All Work and No Play Makes Jack . . . Crave a Snack! 161
Life Skills Postassessment 182
Chapter 10. Integrating Life Skills into Eating Normally”
I Get It Gain the Life Skills, Lose the Food Problem! 189
Acknowledgments 203
Notes 205
Index 209
About the Author 217