I just watched Geneen Roth on Oprah, discussing her new book Women, Food and God. Bravo to Oprah for addressing the real reason people struggle with weight and eating. Finally she is getting off the diet roller coaster and getting to the source of the problem.
I just read this book last week. It was a very enjoyable read. I’ve long loved Geneen Roth’s work, as she has written many books on the topic of overeating. She declares this book to be the culmination of the message she has been trying to convey for years.
While she does not address her ‘guidelines’ throughout the book, she slips them in at the back of the book for reference. The meat of the book is really looking at why we use food. Food is the drug of choice for many people in this country, largely due to the fact that it is not actually an illegal substance, so we can easily get away with using it to alter consciousness.
She doesn’t discuss how food makes us feel better, but anyone who has used it for reasons other than hunger knows its effectiveness all too well. There is an actual neurological response to food that promotes feelings of calm and pleasure. It can activate Serotonin in the brain (just like Prozac), as well as endorphins, etc. So it actually is an effective tool for soothing ourselves. Except when it becomes the primary method of doing so, which often leads to weight gain and self-loathing.
Her guidelines are as follows:
- Eat when you are hungry.
- Eat sitting down in a calm environment. This does not include the car.
- Eat without distractions. Distractions include radio, television, newspapers, books, intense or anxiety-provoking conversation or music.
- Eat what your body wants.
- Eat until you are satisfied.
- Eat (with the intention of being) in full view of others.
- Eat with enjoyment, gusto and pleasure.
Someone commented on my last post that I just seem to bash all healthy eating advice, but offer no solutions. Actually, I have written extensively on my main website, linked to this blog, about the non-diet approach I use with my clients and in my own life. I do bash typical healthy eating advice since it does not seem to be helping anyone. In fact, as the traditional healthy eating chatter has grown louder, there has been a steady increase in obesity as well as eating disorders of all kinds. That makes it pretty bash-worthy in my book, and to do otherwise would be unethical.
Ms. Roth is one of many voices of the non-diet movement. Early adopters included Jane Hirshmann and Carol Munter in Overcoming Overeating and Elyse Resch and Evelyn Tribole in Intuitive Eating. This approach is the only effective treatment of eating issues I have seen either in research or in practice. This method allows people to normalize their relationship with food, which greatly decreases binges, overeating, and non-hunger eating. This can allow the gradual process of the body moving toward its set-point weight. Weight loss is not the focus or the goal, but rather it is the relationship with food that is the problem to be solved.
I can tell you that there are many days where I still marvel at the fact that I can (and do) eat whatever I want, and my body maintains a stable, natural set-point weight. I do not have to think about food, weight or my body. I can enjoy the pleasure of eating, but it does not rule my world. In the past I was certain (because of the pervasive message in our society) that I would have to actively manage my weight for my entire life. I thought my body was some untamed beast ready to spring out of control with exponential weight gain if I lost vigilance for even a moment.
I didn’t know this was a problem, and I lost many years to this belief. Those years were lost because all thoughts were about food and body. I couldn’t enjoy being present in my world. It was only when I woke up to the idea I could trust my body that I found the freedom to really live again. I am constantly grateful for this liberation, and I work passionately to help others liberate themselves. So a great big, juicy Thank You to Geneen Roth and the power of Oprah to spread this word to the masses.
