The Compassionate-Mind Guide to Ending Overeating

Book excerpt: You know the cycle: you have a stressful day and find yourself snacking or overeating at dinner to make yourself feel better. The ritual of eating becomes so calming, you can't stop-and the guilt and self-criticism you feel can lead you to overeat even more the next day. What you may not know is that simply replacing your negative feelings with compassion for yourself can interrupt this cycle so that you can meet your emotional needs without resorting to overeating. The Compassionate-Mind Guide to Ending Overeating presents an evidence-based program designed to help you grow a deep and abiding love for your body and health that transcends your emotional connection with food. As you work through the worksheets and evaluations in this book, you'll discover the specific reasons for your overeating, find out which foods trigger you to overeat, and then develop satisfying meal plans for getting your eating back on track. You'll also build compassionate-mind skills for dealing with stress, self-criticism, and shame, and establish a balanced eating pattern that will free you from the overeating cycle.