Balancing Eating & Weight
- Do you struggle with maintaining healthy eating patterns?
- Do you feel as though food and your weight rule your life?
- Do you eat when you are stressed out, worried, bored, lonely?
- Is food like a friend or companion you rely on to help you get through hard times?
- On the other hand, do you view food as “the enemy” and something to avoid or restrict?
These are indications that you may engage in emotional or compulsive eating or that you possibly struggle with an eating disorder. A healthy pattern can be described as eating when you are hungry, stopping when you feel satiated and eating a few meals a few hours apart throughout the day. Many people have a different relationship with food that involves overeating (or undereating) during times of emotional difficulty and compensating with periods of restrictive eating, excessive exercise or other ways to make up for the initial overindulgence.
In my practice I work with people to help identify unhelpful patterns of eating, thinking, feeling and behaving. We investigate the reasons why the person is eating, when they tend to eat/overeat/undereat, how they eat, as well as what types of food the person is eating. When appropriate, I collaborate closely with clients' nutritionists and physicians in order to coordinate treatment and offer the best possible treatment continuity to clients. Identifying and treating issues related to eating and weight is a sensitive process. People often feel a mix of feelings such as shame and guilt, frustration and depression about their continued problem. Working with a psychologist who specializes in this area can be validating and liberating as the person moves toward compassion of one's own struggles and moves toward real behavioral change.