This post is from psychologist Magie Donlon, PsyD. I was going to edit it for length, but there are so many great ideas in here, there’s something for everyone, so I didn’t want to pick and choose. Stick to a routine. Go to sleep and wake up at a reasonable time, write a schedule that …
This article originally appeared in The National Psychologist, February 4, 2020 Binge eating disorder (BED) is the most common eating disorder among adults in the United States. More than 8 percent of American adults meet some or all of the criteria for binge eating disorder at some point in their life, more than all other …
What is emotional eating and how does it differ from binge eating disorder? Emotional eating is a general term for a type of disordered eating that’s characterized by obsessive thinking about food and unwanted, compulsive eating. The behavior is often a response to psychological stressors, especially those related to dietary control. Binge eating disorder (BED) …
A patient once told me that she wanted a taste of her daughter’s ice cream, but resisted. At first, she felt proud of her self-control, but later she binged. When I asked why not have a taste of ice cream if she wanted it, she reacted with horror: “Because I can’t go around eating ice …
Would you prefer to be free as a wolf in the wild, free to roam, or secure on a dog-sled team, safe and well-fed, with purposeful work? I came across this beautifully filmed short documentary called Vargsamtal, which means wolf call in Swedish. It’s about a dog sledder, Sven Engholm, working in the extreme north …
For many years, the long-term success rates for those who attempt to lose excess body weight have hovered around 5-10 percent. In what other disease condition would we accept these numbers and continue on with the same approach? How does this situation sustain itself? It goes on because the diet industry has generated marketing fodder that obscures scientific …
New medical advances marking the end of a long reign for ‘diet wizards’
In the Winter of 1944, World War II was ending and there were horrific stories of widespread starvation across Europe. The American government would soon be responsible for a massive refeeding project overseas, but there were no medical guidelines for how this should be done. Ancel Keys, a professor of physiology at the University of …
When January comes to an end, New Year’s resolutions often do as well – especially if it’s a resolution to diet. Although you’re sincere in your commitment to lose weight, if you’re on a diet you may find that with each passing week, you’re increasingly likely to come up with reasons to make an exception. …
I’m often asked by patients and friends if I recommend keeping a food or activity diary. I have to admit that I’ve always been very ambivalent about this. I know that for people who enjoy tracking and recording things, it can make them more mindful about their choices and can often have a positive impact …
Our struggle with controlling our behavior has a long history. The first recorded diet long pre-dated Jenny Craig or Weight Watchers; when God told Adam and Eve to avoid eating from the Tree of Knowledge, their freedom to make their own dinner plans was indeed somewhat restricted. Unsurprisingly, they responded the way most people respond …