Shrink Yourself: Break Free from Emotional Eating Forever

by Roger Gould

Studies show that the reason why many people gain weight—and keep it on—is emotional eating, not physical eating. Now Dr. Roger Gould, a psychotherapist and a leading authority on emotional eating, shows how to overcome fear, anxiety, and other stresses and stop using food as an over-the-counter tranquilizer that can cause weight gain. With 12 practical ways to stop emotional eating and an eight-session program, Dr. Gould helps you become your own eating therapist and shrink yourself for good.

Genres: Self Help, Health, Nonfiction, Psychology

288 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2007

Reviews

[Alex · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an excellent book dealing with the emotional part of weight issues. It's not a diet. I found this book a fascinating look at not only why I overeat when I don't want to but also why I don't follow through on other areas of my life that are important to me (you know you have yours!). A straight forward look at impulses and arrested development in certain areas of our lives, Gould (a psychologist at UCLA) wrote a book that would be good for those of us overeating, overdrinking, overbuying, over-whatever. The idea is to get what you want in line with what you are doing, and to be honest, being your own parent. BTW, I've lost almost 20 lbs. since reading this book and am having no problem keeping it off. I'm the size I always wanted to be and feel great. So there's your testimonial! Enjoy.

[Terri · Rating 2 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this weightloss book...until the end. It left me hanging... It went through all the reasons "why" people lose control over their hunger, and its not just because of hunger...it's whats going on inside your head. I felt like the whole book was written for me!! I was so excited to get to the end to find chapters to tell me what to do, and give positive solutions, but they never came.

I am only giving this book 2 stars, because apparently you have to go to the doctors websight and sign up for his program for a small fee of $130 to go through an online course. Gee, what a disappointment. I didn't sign up. It was more of a gimmick to me.

[Natalie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ths took me forever to work through but it was worth it - it was a soul searching journey & I'm glad I read it & did the exercises. Maybe now I can beat my ED.

[Charlie Malolo · Rating 5 out of 5]

Easily one of the best books on eating and living healthy. I have already bought two copies of this book and will probably keep buying more as I meet friends that want to experience this great book that gets at the heart of addiction and emotional maturity.

[Jamie · Rating 5 out of 5]

totally dig self help books, knowledge is power people. i loved that this book dealt with why we eat, not what we eat and why that is making our nation fat.

[Laura Skladzinski · Rating 1 out of 5]

I started out loving it and then it stopped being interesting and started being obvious, and I had to force myself to finish. Not very enlightening.

[Linda · Rating 3 out of 5]

Honestly, if you really struggle with your eating in any way - reach out to a professional. A book will only ever supplement whatever a dietician, doctor or therapist can provide.

[Mark · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very helpful! A little on the long side, but very effective. I had been on the email tips a few years ago when it was available and recently bought this book on Kindle.

I had lost over 100# in a year's time, and this info was a BIG part of it. (yes readers, that was a pun!)

I recommend this if you want to lose weight and are having a hard time doing so because it gets to the REASONS why we overeat and how we can manage ourselves better to avoid it.

[Cristy · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good, well thought out book. You can tell that Dr. Gould has actually spent real time with emotional eaters. He pegs every excuse we give ourselves to continue in this distructive behavior. Too much to digest in just one read.

[Crystal · Rating 1 out of 5]

the beginning hit nerves.. i thought maybe thats because it was all very true and i was hoping to maybe find some insight.. i didnt.

and this book made me feel depressed like i was taking on all those feelings. ick. im glad im done.

[Melissa Dally · Rating 3 out of 5]

The beginning is great, you're really drawn in, this guy really seems to get it. The second part is a little weak, you feel it's a little rushed...because in the end, the point is signing up for the $$ website. Ah well.

[Ruth · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is for people with serious food addictions

[Dana Smith Minor · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm really enjoying this book. It is certainly enlightening. It is definitely having a positive affect on my views of feelings and food.

[Erinn · Rating 1 out of 5]

Great points, but organized in a manner that makes it difficult to perform the exercises when reading a digital version due to the need to reference prior passages.

[Melissa · Rating 4 out of 5]

I hate the title of this book - it speaks to a desire to avoid dysfunctional emotional eating cycles, while ironically playing into fat panic and the overall cultural emotional dysfunction of wanting to "be skinny." The assumption is that all people who eat emotionally are overweight, or that the main goal with breaking the emotional eating cycle is to fit into smaller jeans, which is complete nonsense. I get that there's a play on words here with psychological shrinking, i.e. boiling things down to base issues, but it's still a terrible title, probably created by the publishers with the intention of baiting readers.

The content of the book is pretty good though; for the most part it is a decent examination of why we eat the way we eat, and how we can be more thoughtful and considerate eaters. So I think the author has many useful things to say, but the title makes me cringe.

[Rene · Rating 3 out of 5]

I found the author's tone to be smug, condescending, and self-congratulatory at times. I also disliked that he seemed to think that the trauma that causes emotional eating could only happen during childhood. For this reason, I had to struggle to equate many points of the first section of the book to my own situation. That being said, I think the exercises at the end of the book were very helpful in helping me see the pattern in my own (relatively mild) emotional eating and start to develop tactics for identifying and addressing the emotions that really trigger me to want to eat when I'm not hungry. I also got a lot out of the anecdotes from other emotional eaters by being able to recognize my own feelings in their stories.

[Amanda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Self help book divided into two sections: the philosophy of the approach and the exercises. I appreciate that this book doesn't provide an easy answer to what is a lifelong coping mechanism. Don't expect to read this book and be fixed. The real work starts when the reading is done, but the books provides enough information and stories to help you uncover your own triggers and the roots of your emotional eating habits so that your understanding of the problem is deepened and you have gained tangible new alternatives.

[Hanaa · Rating 3 out of 5]

I finally got rid of my problem with food but I didn’t need to dive so deeeeep into my psyche. Actually I don’t have any problems deep in my psyche that cause my problems with food. Or that cause my severe chronic depression truly. My psyche is crystal clear people.

[Tara Garner · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have discovered that yes...I am an emotional eater.

[Megan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Super good advice and things to work on for those who want to or are currently losing weight.

[Ursula S · Rating 3 out of 5]

I may never finish this book, but it is still next to my nightstand. I hope I will eventually finish it.

[Natalie · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book really seems to hit home for me.

[Vvvvv · Rating 2 out of 5]

Exploring deeper reasons for overeating. Could be useful for some, but it just never "clicked" for me.

[Elizabeth Black · Rating 4 out of 5]

Has some awesome insights I will carry with me from now on. Though it is geared toward overeaters/ compulsive eaters, anyone who grabs a pint of ice cream after a bad day will profit from this one.

[Jennifer · Rating 1 out of 5]

Couldn't get through it