quick intro guide - eatingenlightenment.com

Quick IntroGuide to StopBinge Eating

Jared Levenson

Intro Guide To Stop Binge Eating — Eating Enlightenment

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Table Of Contents

1. WHAT IS BINGE EATING? 3

There are three main signs of binge eating: 3

What Is The De�nition Of “Binge Eating Disorder”? 4

Binge Eating Statistics 5

What Factors Cause Binge Eating Disorder? 6

2. TREATMENT 7

Various Treatment Paths 7

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy For Binge Eating 8

The Science Behind Cognitive Behavioral Therapy 9

Why The CBT Food Awareness Journal Works 11

3. FAQS 14

What is Eating Enlightenment? 14

What is Intuitive Eating and how is it related to

Eating Enlightenment? 15

How is Eating Enlightenment different from other

forms of treatment such as counseling / therapy? 15

How is Eating Enlightenment different from

working with a nutritionist or dietician? 16

How long does it take to ‘graduate’ from CBT to

Intuitive Eating? 17

What are the advantages and disadvantages of

working with a coach, instead of a therapist? 17


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What kind of bene�ts can I expect from Eating

Enlightenment? 19

How long will it take to see results? 20

What about weight loss? 21

Who is Jared Levenson? 22

How can I talk to Jared? 22

Where does Jared work? 23

Can you give me some idea about cost? 23

Is this work covered by insurance? 23

Where can I �nd more content on Jared and this

process? 24

What does the Eating Enlightenment treatment

model look like? 24

What is the toughest part about working with Eating

Enlightenment? 25

Is my eating problem bad enough to merit

treatment? 25

What happens if I am not better by the end of

treatment? 25

Who will I be if I don’t have the eating problem? It’s

so much a part of me. I won’t have an excuse for

anything anymore. 26

Do I need to keep a Food Awareness Journal? 26

I have done this before. It didn’t help then, why

would it help now? 27

Do I have to carry the records around with me all

the time? 28


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1. WHAT IS

BINGE EATING?

Let’s define binge eating first shall we?

In my years of listening to people describe their relationship with food, I’ve noticed a

peculiar thing.

Everyone has their own definition of what a binge is.

Some say a binge is where they eat until they are completely and painfully full. Other

people say a binge is where they graze throughout the day and feel guilty

afterwards.

Have you ever felt confused by the differences between words like emotional eating

versus binge eating?

Or compulsive eating versus food addiction?

In this ebook I group all these words together and call them ‘Binge Eating’. As long

as you are overeating too much and like you are losing control (or that you HAVE to

eat) then we’ll call this binge eating.

Let’s nail down our definition of binge eating which we’ll use through the post. Binge

eating in general (not the official Binge Eating Disorder diagnosis I’ll discuss below)

has three characteristics:

There are three main signs of binge eating:


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1. Feel very anxious, like you are losing control OR that you HAVE to eat, usually

like you must ‘follow’ a voice or urge.

2. Eat an amount of food that feels .like too much to you

3. Feel very bad, guilty, disgusted, contemptuous, etc afterwards.

These three characteristics oftentimes (but not always) occur in a well-known pattern

known as the Binge Diet Cycle:

What Is The Definition Of “Binge Eating Disorder”?


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Binge Eating Statistics


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Do you know Binge Eating Disorder is more common than breast cancer, HIV, and

schizophrenia?

Binge Eating Disorder is also three times more common than Bulimia Nervosa and

Anorexia Nervosa combined.

This makes Binge Eating Disorder the most commonly diagnosed eating

disorder by far.

The official numbers are staggering.

According to a national survey, Overall, around 2.8% of people in the United States

will be diagnosed with Binge Eating Disorder in their lifetime.

.That’s close to 9 million people officially diagnosed with BED

What Factors Cause Binge Eating Disorder?


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2. TREATMENT

In this section, I reveal what I believe is the best starting point to heal binge eating.

At Eating Enlightenment we use a CBT-inspired approach in the beginning.

This is where you keep a Food Awareness Journal (see below for more info).

But first you should know that there are other scientific and valid approaches that

also work to treat binge eating disorder.

Various Treatment Paths


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Cognitive Behavioral Therapy For Binge Eating

First I’ll give an overview and then I’ll provide direct links to powerful scientific

articles.

The following therapeutic approaches have all passed a high bar of scientific

scrutiny:

Let’s now explore Cognitive Behavioral Therapy in more depth.

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT): This is where you learn more about the

thoughts and emotions that are running in your subconscious mind and start to

make changes

Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT): This therapy is for when you “emotionally

eat’ all the time. It’s for dealing with intense, stressful emotions.

Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT): This style involves facing painful

emotions and staying flexibly committed to a course of action based on your

innermost values.

Intuitive Eating: This style combines aspects of all the above in a flexible

approach. It’s slightly different from CBT, with more of an emphasis on body

instead of thinking.


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Below are some direct links to compelling scientific articles that demonstrate

tremendous proof behind CBT as a methodology to treat binge eating.

Overview: Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) is the most popular and researched

therapy treatment approach for mental struggles like anxiety and depression in the

United States.

CBT has been extensively researched for eating disorders as well and is a

cornerstone of practical medical advice in treating these disorders.

CBT posits that your , and combine into

. Your behavior, in turn, shapes your thoughts, emotions and bodily

sensation. It’s all interconnected!

thoughts emotions bodily sensations

behavior

The Science Behind Cognitive Behavioral Therapy


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For starters, check out this

. This paper looked at 269 meta-analyses!

meta-analysis of meta-analysis studies on Cognitive

Behavioral Therapy

Most therapeutic approaches, even if they are highly effective, have only a few meta-

analysis studies, but Cognitive Behavioral Therapy is so simple, popular and

effective and has been studied so much that there are over 269 meta-analysis

studies!

One meta-analysis study usually combines around 30 normal studies. So this

number of studies for CBT is insane!

To get more specific, here’s a

.

meta-analysis study on CBT and binging that shows

that 42% of clients succeeded in abstinence from binges after learning CBT

42%!!!

This is what I see in my private coaching and counseling business too. I see

that about 40% of people are fully cured within 3 months, but 60% it takes

between 3-12 months.

Example

Now what exactly are you journaling? Here is an example template of the Food

Awareness Journal with an example entry:

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3584580/

https://click.mlsend2.com/link/c/YT0xNTk1MDA1MTU3MDQzNjA2NTc5JmM9azFxMCZlPTE5MjgmYj00OTYyNjc4MTkmZD16MmE4YzJ3.OqGOFf6dypMmSwr-G3BL0yQ_Of3m9rTF700t7yl3TZo


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Why The CBT Food Awareness Journal Works


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The main benefit of using this food journal is increased awareness. This awareness

in turn leads to food cravings naturally decreasing.

Why do food cravings decrease when you journal? There are several reasons:

Delay of Gratification:

By following this simple rule, ‘journal before you eat’, you will be practicing delay of

gratification. Sometimes you’ll find that by the time you are finished writing down

your craving, you are no longer hungry, or realize how pointless it is to have food at

that time!

Awareness of Triggers:

By writing down what you eat before you actually eat the food, you’ll be forced to

bring some awareness of your triggers.

For example, many times binge eaters binge at specific times or places or have

certain thoughts before a binge.

Therefore, this journal will help you see clearly which triggers and thoughts are

impacting you and causing you to binge. As you see the pattern in writing, you will

naturally start to avoid these situations and triggers.


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Greater Understanding:

This journal will also clearly help you see your food patterns with much, much

greater understanding.

Over time you’ll gain incredible awareness into these underlying thoughts, emotions

and bodily sensations that drive your eating behaviors.

Plus, you’ll also be able to see how skipping meals, getting really hungry, restricting

food and other food intake patterns end up causing negative eating habits at the end

of the day.

This

totally differs from previous food journaling approaches.

Finally, there’s no no mention of amounts, serving sizes, or calories!

Summary: By writing down your ‘why’ before you eat, you’ll be much better prepared

to stop eating before you get too full.

Now that you’ve gotten a feel for binge eating and the CBT science that inspires our

approach here at Eating Enlightenment, let’s answer some frequently asked

questions!


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3. FAQS

What is Eating Enlightenment?

Eating Enlightenment is a unique approach to addressing binge eating, emotional

eating, bulimia, compulsive eating and other food-related problems.

Eating Enlightenment has four different, nuanced meanings:


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Intuitive Eating and Eating Enlightenment are different, but similar.

As stated above, Eating Enlightenment teaches clients Cognitive Behavioral

Therapy methods first.

After gaining food stability and greater awareness with CBT techniques, then a

person is properly prepared for a broader range of food training which is where

Intuitive Eating comes in.

Essentially, Intuitive Eating is the second stage of Eating Enlightenment.

What is Intuitive Eating and how is it related to Eating

Enlightenment?

Unlike ‘feel good’ forms of therapy and counseling, Eating Enlightenment

guarantees measurable reductions in binge eating frequency. For example, you

typically will see binge eating go down from 7 times per week on average to 2 times

per week on average within 2 months for most people.

How is Eating Enlightenment different from other forms

of treatment such as counseling / therapy?

There are a few primary differences between Eating Enlightenment and therapy /

counseling.

Measurable benefits: Most forms of counseling / therapy do not lend themselves to

showing easily measurable results.

For example, reductions in social anxiety, which is a “feel good” goal of many

therapeutic treatment approaches, are hard to measure.


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How is Eating Enlightenment different from working with

a nutritionist or dietician?

There are three main differences between Eating Enlightenment and working with a

nutritionist or counselor.

While there are other differences such as the style of treatment, friendship, and In-

The-Moment Support®, these have already been discussed above!

1. Subconscious Food Beliefs Not Addressed: Oftentimes, sadly, dietitians and

nutritionists do not provide the deep emotional and mental transformation work

that underpins successful recovery from binge eating and bulimia.

For example, oftentimes clients work with many nutritionists who have prescribed

various meal plans.

A client will try to follow these meal plans, but usually will be unsuccessful because

their deepest subconscious beliefs remain untouched and unexamined. Then the

client blames themselves and their binge eating gets worse!

With Eating Enlightenment, you will naturally discover the meaning of regular,

nutritious eating yourself, without a counselor commanding or telling you what to

eat.

2. Very Simple Meal Structure: 3 meals per day, 1-2 snacks, don’t let more than 5

hours go by without eating, and when you do eat your meals be sure to eat a

balanced proportion of carbs, proteins and fats.

Oftentimes nutritionists and dietitians get bogged down on the nutritional details, and

clients are left feeling overwhelmed.

You can think of the above meal structure as training wheels to keep you somewhat

in balance as you do the real, deep work of CBT in the beginning.


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3. No Weight Loss Emphasis: Oftentimes nutritionists and dietitians have an explicit

goal to lose weight. Eating Enlightenment the primary objective is eradicating

binges. This point is discussed further down below as it’s a very common FAQ.

For more information about Jared and his educational and experience qualifications,

.please see his About page here

How long does it take to ‘graduate’ from CBT to Intuitive

Eating?

What’s unique to Eating Enlightenment is putting the relatively more simple CBT

training first, and then moving onto Intuitive Eating once a client has gained

proficient skills.

This process of course varies from person to person, but in general you can expect

15-20 sessions of CBT first before ‘graduating’ onto the Intuitive Eating training.

This is about 2-3 months of coaching and counseling.

What are the advantages and disadvantages of working

with a coach, instead of a therapist?

Let’s get the bad news out of the way first. The primary disadvantage is financial,

because Eating Enlightenment is exclusively a coaching treatment model and does

not accept insurance.

The second advantage is uncertainty. In working with a coach, you may be working

with an unlicensed professional. While there are constraints to working with a

licensed therapist in that therapists are limited in their communication and oftentimes

boxed into certain rigid ways of thinking, at least you know what you are getting.

https://eatingenlightenment.com/about


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In-The-Moment Support® goes a step further, to the moment before a binge when

you can still make a different decision but you are having a hard time actually

making that decision to not binge.

Of course, the other benefits come directly from the five points listed above as to

what makes Eating Enlightenment unique:

With In-The-Moment Support® you can email or text when you are having urges and

have a little conversation in-the-moment. Calling is reserved for the weekly or twice-

weekly sessions.

1. Unique, simple approach

2. In-The-Moment Support®

3. Friendship

4. Measurable results

5. Personalized learning

What does In-The-Moment Support® mean?

Frequent communication is often missing in your typical relationships with therapists,

or your infrequent visits to the doctor.

For example, you meet with your therapist once a week, but what if you need help

during the other 6 days?

Now for the good news. The primary advantage of Eating Enlightenment is that you

get more connected with yourself and this sets the stage for a much healthier

approach to eating and life in general.

By working with a coach, you can have a more frequent communicative relationship.

This is because a coach can and will communicate via text or email in between

sessions.


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What kind of benefits can I expect from Eating

Enlightenment?

Eating Enlightenment prides itself on objective success, primarily measurable

reductions in binge eating frequency.

This one measure is sufficient in and of itself in assessing the effectiveness of Eating

Enlightenment. But then think about all the wonderful consequences!

Let’s remember the proven scientific benefits listed above:

For example, one video testimonial that you can see on my website shows a woman

who had binge eating problems for 40 years. She never had anyone to talk to about

her struggles.

Working with me, for the first time in her life, she could text someone and ask for help

in the middle of a binge. Now she is binge free, after 40 years!

I know this sounds crazy, but that’s only because no one else is doing it.

But it works. Why? The most critical moment in ending binge eating is being able to

catch yourself right before you binge, and to write out your thoughts on paper so that

you can detach yourself from your thoughts.

However, this process is very difficult in the beginning and is much easier if you get

some In-The Moment Support®!


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In addition to less binges and these proven benefits, there are so many harder to

measure benefits:

What would your life look like if you no longer binged? What would your life look like

if all the mental energy you spend thinking about food was redirected towards

creative projects? How would you live if you felt confident in social situations around

food?

Eating Enlightenment clients report many other benefits, in addition to the concrete

measurable reductions in binge eating, such as:

Becoming better parents

Better co-workers

Saving money to pay off debt because they no longer go on crazy binges

Not being shackled by obsessive thoughts

Simply enjoying food with family and friends

Developing a compassionate voice instead of inner criticism

Finding a greater sense of spirituality

Much less depression

Much greater self-esteem and appreciation for life

Overall, the benefit I think that’s most heart warming to me is getting to know

someone and see their true personality emerge over time.

How long will it take to see results?

Usually when someone is trapped by bingeing, they are a shell of their true selves.

Improved cholesterol levels

Lower rates of emotional and disordered eating

Better body image

Higher self-esteem

Reduced stress

Improved metabolism

Higher levels of contentment and satisfaction


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Jared loves the tools of Eating Enlightenment because of how quickly you can begin

to see results. Often within 1 week of food journaling, a client will experience an

‘Eating Enlightenment’. After another week or two of work, binge eating frequency

can go down dramatically.

However, as with any real and deep process, these powerful effects deepen and

spread over time. Clients usually repeatedly access deep parts of themselves they

didn’t even realize existed!

Over time, the effects become even more profound, including easier and even more

consistent access to something Greater (whatever that is for you).

Progressively deepening over time, Eating Enlightenment often shows up in life as a

lightness of being and an opening of the heart and mind that delights you.

Or being able to laugh again like a young child with a giggle in your step. Or just

being able to eat food with your family over the holidays and enjoy the experience!

What about weight loss?

Eating Enlightenment focuses on changing your deepest relationship with food.

If you are anxious, trapped and restricting food, then you will binge. And many

people who diet and binge gain weight.

In contrast, by ending the yo-yo dieting cycle and by reducing binge eating

frequency, you quite naturally lose a few pounds without even trying.

In these situations, weight loss just happens as a natural byproduct of changing your

relationship to food.


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However, sometimes people are thin and yet are terrible binge eaters, or have

bulimia! In these situations, Eating Enlightenment treatment probably won’t result in

weight loss; weight gain may be more probable.

Again, the primary objective measure of Eating Enlightenment treatment is

measurable reductions in binge eating frequency. There are many, many other

benefits like confidence, self-esteem, body image and so forth too – but weight loss

is not being advertised here although it frequently does happen as a natural by-

product.

One last note: In order to change your deepest relationship with food, you’ll need to

be willing to truly examine your fear about gaining weight. Oftentimes this fear of

gaining weight actually causes weight gain!

Who is Jared Levenson?

Hey, Jared is the guy writing these words you’re reading right now.

Here’s my ‘official’ qualifications if you’re curious:

Awarded for Mindful Eating Coaching in

2018 and 2020.

Thumbtack’s Bay Area Top Professional

Master’s In Counseling From Santa Clara University

8+ Years of Yoga Teaching, Certified Yoga Alliance 200 Hour

Certified Wellness Coach with Wellcoaches

Certified Intuitive Eating Counselor

Recovery Counselor at Cielo House Eating Disorder Residential Treatment

Program ( )view on LinkedIn

To read more about Jared, .visit my About Page

How can I talk to Jared?

https://www.thumbtack.com/ca/santa-clara/personal-trainers/mindful-eating-coaching/service/303947991961231454?project_pk=408173301301141508

https://www.intuitiveeating.org/author/jaredlevenson/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/jared-levenson/



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If you are burning to move forward in your life, if you “know” what to do but find that

you really aren’t doing it, if you are ready willing and able to engage in a deep

process now, please click and fill out a quick application form for a

complimentary call.

here

Together you and Jared will go over what you want, and how Eating Enlightenment,

and working with Jared, might help you get there in a real and powerful way.

As Jared works in close communication with a small number of private clients, he

limits his work to people of heart and integrity who are burning to look, feel and be

different inside and out, and want to see results. NOW.

Jared works with clients all over the world; his practice is not location-specific. Most

of his work is by phone or Zoom.

Jared works with his private clients in personalized programs and packages

carefully designed to fit their unique needs.

When you meet with him for a complimentary , you and

he will go over what you need and want and which Private Program works best for

your concerns.

Enlightenment Discovery Call

Jared believes in deep, lasting, meaningful work and does not offer single stand-

alone sessions.

Is this work covered by insurance?

Can you give me some idea about cost?

Where does Jared work?

https://eatingenlightenment.com/book-a-call



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While Jared’s work isn’t covered by insurance, many of his corporate clients are able

to take advantage of their company’s discretionary health payments. Of course, you’ll

need to discuss this with your own tax advisor.

Where can I find more content on Jared and this

process?

To learn more about Jared, head on over to the . About Jared page

And there also is a lot of small, easy-to-digest, thought-provoking content about

Eating Enlightenment and the integration of Eating Enlightenment into your daily life

on his blog.

Plus, you can also check out the podcast ‘Eating Enlightenment’ on iTunes, where

Jared interviewed 43 experts in 2020 alone!

What does the Eating Enlightenment treatment model

look like?

Eating Enlightenment starts very simply. You will be asked to keep a ‘food thought

journal’ and to eat one mindful meal per day without distractions.

A mindful meal can be thought of most simply as a meal without your cell phone or

TV!

The mindful eating and food journaling exercise will bring up subconscious thoughts

around food, which can be brought into the light of awareness.

As you literally ‘see’ your beliefs on paper then you will naturally start shifting your

relationship with food. Intuitive Eating becomes possible then.



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What is the toughest part about working with Eating

Enlightenment?

There are a few incredibly challenging aspects in working through the Eating

Enlightenment approach to food transformation:

Is my eating problem bad enough to merit treatment?

You have an eating problem that is interfering with your life and it has been going on

for some time now. You know this.

If you have seen a doctor who has seen many other people with eating disorders

and this doctor thinks that you would benefit from treatment, then yes. You have a

problem that needs treatment.

Remember, to put it bluntly, we are the experts here.

What happens if I am not better by the end of treatment?

I’ve never seen a patient who doesn’t get significantly better.

Plus, it’s extremely common for patients to continue improving well after treatment!

1. Food awareness journaling: Before you can move onto learning Intuitive Eating,

you must be able to routinely pass this milestone which is being able to journal in

real time right before bingeing what you are thinking, feeling and appraising.

2. Confronting the truth: The food awareness journal will bring to light your darkest,

most embarrassing, distorted beliefs and this process can be painful, but again,

it’s worth it.

3. Improper expectations: If you expect to stop bingeing within a few weeks, you’re

in for a tough surprise. Think more in terms of 3-12 months, depending on your

food history, history of dieting, and childhood.


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Now, if a client did need further treatment, I would help arrange this.

Who will I be if I don’t have the eating problem? It’s

so much a part of me. I won’t have an excuse for

anything anymore.

Such concerns are not uncommon among those with longstanding eating problems.

The main point is that the eating problem interferes with all aspects of functioning

and that without the eating problem, you are much more capable and effective than

you may assume!

It is usual for there to be major improvements in mood, interpersonal functioning and

self-esteem. You may not need an “excuse” for things anymore. As for patients not

knowing “who they will be” if they no longer have an eating problem, there is some

basis for this concern as your true personality may have been masked by the eating

problem.

My stance when faced with this worry is to ask you about how exciting and

interesting it will be to find out what your true personality is like and that they should

look forward to discovering!

Do I need to keep a Food Awareness Journal?

Finally, Eating Enlightenment has a 100% money back guarantee.

Overall though, if you worry too much about when you’ll stop bingeing, you’ll just be

getting in the way of treatment itself. What’s best is just focusing on what needs to be

done to overcome the problem itself!


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Yes. In the beginning CBT part, a daily food journal is mandatory. (See discussion

questions below where various concerns are addressed).

I have done this before. It didn’t help then, why would it

help now?

While you likely have recorded calories, that’s not what we are doing here.

The food awareness journal makes no mention of amounts or calories, and instead

places emphasis on time, place and most importantly, feelings, thoughts and

appraisals.

An appraisal is basically how you interpret a feeling or thought. For example, you

have a feeling of sadness, but then what is your appraisal? Are you allowed to be

sad? What does sadness mean to you? This is how you begin to uncover your

subconscious belief!

Furthermore, this is a real-time journal. This is to be done in real time! Not long after,

but right before you eat.

Won’t the Food Awareness Journal make me even more preoccupied with

eating than I am already?

It is true that starting to monitor in this way increases preoccupation with thoughts

about eating, but this is a constructive and illuminating preoccupation.

As the Food Awareness Journal is such an important step in the beginning, please

familiarize yourself with the introductory concepts.


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It increases patients’ awareness of their behavior and the thoughts and feelings that

accompany it. It is the beginning of their becoming an expert on their eating problem

and starting to understand it. And the preoccupation fades after a few weeks.

Yes. This may be difficult under some circumstances, but it should be possible. The

day’s record can be stuffed into a pocket or wallet, for example. We have yet to

encounter a situation in which recording was truly impossible.

For example, you can use the bathroom in a social situation to jot down notes.

You can also use a note app to take notes too, although physically writing out on

paper is recommended when possible.

Your Next Step

Let's chat!


Do I have to carry the records around with me all the

time?

https://www.eatingenlightenment.com/book-a-call

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