On Eating

by Susie Orbach

'Eating is pleasurable, eating is delicious, eating is sensual' says Susie. But for so many of us eating is associated with anguish and abstinence. From the first page this little book shows us how to think and feel differently about what we eat. So that we eat when we are hungry, eat what we want to eat to satisfy us and stop when we are full. Each page contains an easily absorbed bite-sized statement to transform eating that hurts into eating that nourishes and calms. This book isn't magic but it feels as if it is.

Genres: Nonfiction, Psychology, Health, Feminism, Self Help, Food

128 pages, Paperback

First published December 9, 2002

About the author

Dr. Susie Orbach - the therapist who treated Diana, Princess of Wales, for her eating disorders; the founder of the Women's Therapy Center of London; a former columnist for The Guardian; a visiting professor at the London School of Economics; and the author of 1978 best-seller Fat is a Feminist Issue - is, aside from Sigmund Freud, probably the most famous psychotherapist to have ever set up couch in Britain.

Reviews

[Aneta · Rating 1 out of 5]

The book is a summary of Fat is the Feminist Issue (FiFi) book, which trailblazed disordered eating theories and treatment.

I don't recommend this book if it is your first SO read: the advice she gives is stripped of context and experience she shared in FiFi and Bodies. For a BED sufferer, this may appear as a set of rules which is counter-recovery. Her take on intuitive eating is sliced down to the initial concept of it -eat when you are hungry and stop when you are not- which gives no substance or direction to anybody seeking to apply it. It's much better to start off with FiFi followed by HAES by Linda Bacon to systematise intuitive eating and learn why dieting is an anti-feminist concept.

Ah, yeah. Susie does not touch feminism here, she summarises the strategy she teaches but without that important aspect she misses a big chunk of sound argumentation that made her a pioneer of new eating disorders therapy - the fact that food control and ED are inherently linked to female roles in the society and spurred on by mass media and beliefs rooted in traditional role models. For that only, I would not read this book.

In overall, I gave it one star- not because it is bad but because it cuts corners where it should not.

[Linnea · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the most unbiased books on the topic

[Mehmed Gokcel · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’ve never had an eating problem. I never really care for food, I eat when I want to and do it quickly. It’s a nuisance to have to eat most of the times. That’s why I’ll just eat whatever’s accessible and most of the time it’ll be the same few favourites on repeat.

However, I understand that eating can be a big concern for people. Whether it’s related to their weights, or health states, people will associate eating with certain anxieties. Food can also be seen as a cure, for some, food will be associated with moments of sadness, anger or loneliness and it will be necessary to eat to relieve them. This book addresses some of these issues relating to eating and really demystifies it with short, easy to follow key rules. I thought I didn’t need any rules regarding eating but I’ve really benefited from this radically new (new to me) approach to eating.

My favourite rule was “Taste every mouthful.” And it follows as: “Taste. Notice. Enjoy every bite… If you aren’t tasting the food 100 per cent, you don’t need it and it’s doing you no good. Don’t waste even one mouthful of pleasure.”

I appreciate that treating food as a delicacy rather than a necessity requires a degree of privilege. But for what it’s worth, as the privileged audience, we may need to remember some basics to escape the current culture relating to food. Upon reading this book, as a practice, I will try to eat only when hungry, stopping when full, and really concentrating on the flavours and feelings invoked by the food.

[Ieva · Rating 3 out of 5]

Manau, kad daug vertingiau skaityti “Intuityvų valgymą”. O ir vertimas bei redagavimas kėlė klausimų.

[Lina · Rating 2 out of 5]

Arba vietomis su vertimu kažkas supainiota, arba autorė prieštarauja pačios prieš tai išdėstytoms mintims.

"Niekas geriau už Tave nenuspręs, kas tinka Tau. Nesikliauk nei dieta, nei gydytoju, nei treneriu, nei kokiu nors planu." Tokio pobūdžio rekomendacijos skamba gan įtariai ir gali turėti žalingų pasekmių atsižvelgiant į galimas įvairias sveikatos būkles ir asmens žinių kiekį, nes kalbam ne apie tabula rasa asmenį, kuris nuo gimimo susiformavo teisingus intuityvaus valgymo įpročius. Tokiu atveju tam žmogui šios knygos ir nereikėtų.

[Caroline Perera · Rating 1 out of 5]

The worst book I’ve read. When I initially bought this book I was expecting research backed theories on which foods you should and should not eat. Having read books like UPF, Digestion, I found this book so basic and boring. I just could not relate to it. Fair enough it is targeting a different audience, but there was nothing about what foods you should eat. Just that you should “enjoy” eating and stop feeling guilty. Again I cannot relate to it. I’ve been thin all my life, it would’ve been nice to have more background and stories, or advice on that. Also “is fast food really that bad for you”, the authors answer to this was “the important thing to work out is which fast foods agree with you” ~ what kind of crap is that?
If I could rate this 0 stars - I would!

[Austėja Abramavičiūtė · Rating 3 out of 5]

Suzinojau kazka, bet lievoka,labai viska kartoja ta pati per ta pati

[Laia · Rating 5 out of 5]

I truly loved that book!! It is short and very straight forward, but on the same time it has a really powerful message. It really changed my perception about food, and made me realize that what we percive as healthy, often times might be truly unhealthy.
I would recommend this book to EVERYONE who wants to have a healthy relationship with themselves and food.

[Natasha Holme · Rating 4 out of 5]

I felt quite startled that it never occurred to me to eat only what I like. Silly me.

So true: if you don't know whether you're hungry or not ... you're not.

[Jodie Gale · Rating 4 out of 5]

A must-read for anyone struggling with food and body image issues.

[Marija Milasevic · Rating 3 out of 5]

Knyga primenanti, kas valgyti reikia kai esi alkanas. Jei valgai, kai nesi alkanas, vadinasi yra kitu priezasciu. Knyga kaip meditacija, taciau jeigu jau esi sioje temoje, nikeo naujo nesuzinosi.

[Inga Narijauskienė · Rating 5 out of 5]

Labai trumpai, paprastai ir aiškiai. Be svarstymų ir išvedžiojimų. Man patiko.
Daug kas atrodo žinoma ir savaime suprantama, bet čia tiesiog sudėti "akcentai", surašytos tik pagrindinės mintys - trumpam ir greitam žinomų dalykų pasikartojimui.

* Tai, kaip ir ką mes valgome, parodo, kaip jautriai elgiamės su savo poreikiais. Be to, būtent valgymas labai akivaizdžiai atskleidžia, koks yra mūsų santykis su pasauliu, ir, visų svarbiausia, su pačiu savimi. Šis santykis formuojasi nuo pat gimimo. Kai kūdikystėje mus maitina mama, tėtis ar kitas artimas mums žmogus, ji ar jis kiekvieną kartą peržengdavo mūsų asmeninę ribą. Tad labai svarbu, kaip ta riba buvo peržengiama - rūpestingai ir atidžiai? O gal skubriai ar net šiurkščiai? Neįsisąmoninę pirminio santykio su pirminiu maitintoju, dažnai negalime laisvai rinktis, kaip traktuosime kiekvieną prieš save padėtą valgomą daiktą šiandien.

* Pats geriausias maistas yra gebėjimas nusakyti jausmus, kuriuos slepia noras valgyti, kai nesi išalkęs.

* Valgyk, kai išalksti

* Valgyk maistą, kurio norisi. Valgyk tik tai, ko tikrai nori. Nėra nei gerų maisto produktų, nei blogų.

* Išsiaiškink, kodėl valgai, kai nesi alkanas.

* Jausk kiekvieno kąsnio skonį

* Kai tik pasisotini, daugiau nebevalgyk

* Jeigu nenori būti alkanas, bijai to jausmo, ir valgai dar nepajutęs alkio arba jo nepaisai, gali būti, kad vaikystėje:
- neturėjai pakankamai maisto
- turėdavai viską suvalgyti, nors ir nebenorėdavai
- mama būdavo neparenkibta, jeigu sakydavai, kad dar neišalkai
- valgymas buvo bendra šeimos veikla

[Justė Navalinskė · Rating 5 out of 5]

𝐀𝐩𝐢𝐞 𝐯𝐚𝐥𝐠𝐲𝐦𝐚̨.

Kažin ką jau čia naudingo surašysi į 142 psl. nedidelę knygelę tiek formatu, tiek apimtimi, tiek turiniu?
Ogi ogi 1 val. gero skaitymo paplūdimyje sujudino mano pamatus, ant kurių stovėjo valgymo įpročiai ir matymo kampas. Verčiau puslapį vieną po kito, ir tarsi gėriau į save - dar, duokit dar ir dar. Ir jei tokio užmanymo nebuvo, psichoterapeutė Susie Orbach taikliai ir paprastai sudėliojo patarimus nepatarimiškai iš savo ilgametės darbo patirties.
Jaučiuosi, lyg atsivėrė dar vienas požiūrio kampas į mano valgymo įpročius, kultūrą, jausmų slopinimą, nuobodulį ir kt.

[Heather · Rating 5 out of 5]

How can I really say I’ve finished this book if I’m regularly turning back to it? I open it for the reminders, the kind but firm instructions, and the truth it holds. I greatly appreciate this book and thank Orbach for putting it into the world to help those who are on the slow path to listening to their own hunger cues and fixing their relationship with food. It’s not a magic cure but it’s been a wonderful resource.

[joanne jones · Rating 4 out of 5]

Insightful teaching in how to enjoy food....

Practical, non-threatening read about overeating. Just what I needed to see my
Issue with food for what it is. Eat when you're hungry. Stop when you are full.... ..what emotion are you trying to feed? Basic principles with insightful teaching showing how to enjoy food again, less it's emotional dependency.

[Jurgita Videikaitė · Rating 3 out of 5]

Viskas žinoma, bet kaip mokykloje mokė "kartojimas - mokslo pagrindas" :) Vis mokausi susidraugauti su daugybe savo klaustukų ir mityba yra ta tema, kurią periodiškai vėl ir vėl krapštinėju.
Knyga - meditacija. Lėtam gromulavimui kasdien po pora sakinių.

Sudėtinga vertinti tokius skaitinius literatūros kontekste, tai visgi 3 - gera forma, bet visiškai ne naujas turinys.

[Sammy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Having read both parts of Fat is a Feminist Issue, this book flowed very naturally on Susie Orbach's mindful eating ethos. I can really see where Geneen Roth took her inspiration in her own writing and I loved connecting with Orbach's message of learning oneself and one's needs and meeting them in a satisfying way.

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

wonderful for what it is: a concise review of Orbach's points and practical components included in FIFI, broken down in an accessible format, meant to be revisited for the reader who is actively working on their eating and body journey.

[Aiste · Rating 2 out of 5]

Knygos "Intuityvus valgymas" santrauka. Nieko naujo ar originalaus. Temos vos paliestos ir neišplėtotos.

[Sigyte S · Rating 4 out of 5]

Trumpa, aiški, konkreti.

[Dirk · Rating 4 out of 5]

‘Scales are for fish not for people’

[Iona Craig · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent.

[Anthony Avedissian · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is about the human relationship with food. The author is a therapist - so it's underlying narrative is somewhat self-helpy and psychological.

It's an incredibly short read and doesn't go into too much detail. It's a bit of a touchy/feely wishy/washy book which is cool... but I'm an analytical person that likes to really get deep into the weeds of things... and this only covered the surface of the topic. Which - for me - also did and does serve a purpose. So it's a good book overall. And I'm glad I read it. It leaned on the feminist and body image side of things a little too much for me personally, though.

I'd recommend this book to anyone looking to deepen their understanding of their relationship with food and perhaps has some eating disorder or challenge with mindless/mindful eating.

[Tina · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is mindfulness as applied to eating. The five "keys" are very simple, and easy to understand, and are based on listening to your body. There are many obstacles society and life can put in the way of this approach, and Susie Orbach give hints at how these can be overcome. I found the fifth key of stopping eating the moment I was full the most useful, after years of always feeling I must clear my plate.
Practically, though, things have been more difficult. When I explained the book to my family, they all decided they may not be hungry at mealtimes, or want to eat what was made for them, and so our lovely social family mealtimes have become anarchic events! I can imagine if you live alone, this way of eating would be much easier.
All in all though, a very useful and interesting book.

[Lize · Rating 3 out of 5]

Een beetje raar om een boekje te maken waarin "maar" 5 adviezen zijn maar het zijn volgens mij wel goede adviezen en ook de tips zijn interessant, zeker als je zelf een eetprobleem of -stoornis hebt.
De 5 adviezen of sleutels zoals ze in het boek genoemd worden zijn: eet wanneer je honger hebt, eet waar je lichaam trek in heeft, zoek uit waarom je eet wanneer je geen honger hebt, proef iedere hap en stop met eten zodra je genoeg hebt. Ik denk wel dat Susie gelijk heeft en dat je gezonder kan leren omgaan met eten als je meer en beter naar je lichaam luistert en jezelf niet te veel regels op legt.

[Tina · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read it in 30 minutes haha.
Most of the things she talked about I already knew from therapy but I still think it's very helpful. I just don't really like how she promises your "life will change"...it gives quite some false hope as she can't know every single situation.
But still this is a good, easy read.

[Heather Minter · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brilliant. Challenging. Enlightening.

[Annerieke · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this book. It's about the psychological side of eating. Very clear and concise.