Stop Eating Your Heart Out. Meryl Hershey Beck

      Foreword

      WHEN MERYL HERSHEY BECK ASKED me to write the foreword for her new book, I was ecstatic. I must tell you that I absolutely love Meryl Beck! I have treated eating disorders for nearly twenty-five years, including twelve years as the CEO of Mirasol, an integrative eating-disorder treatment program. During that time, I've had the pleasure of working with Meryl and sharing a common interest in energy psychology.

      When I'm with Meryl, the room is full of light. And now Meryl has written a book that illuminates the true path to recovery from compulsive eating. She is a recovered individual who has survived the ups and downs of living life on life's terms and has survived the emotional journey of those who seek that often elusive true path to healing.

      Every morning millions of people get up, go into the bathroom, and say, “Good morning, Mr. Scale.” Mr. Scale is the one who determines if they're going to have a good day or a bad day. Bad scale days are damaging to self-esteem and emotional well-being. Billions of dollars are spent in the diet industry every year, yet people are continuing to get fatter.

      This last year alone, obesity rates rose in seventeen states, and obesity is now contributing to most of our healthcare costs. Currently one-third of all Americans are obese, one-third are overweight, and the rest are of a normal and healthy weight. The majority of the people in this country are told they should lose some weight. This includes not only adults but, sadly, children and babies as well.

      I remember growing up in an overweight family that was always on a diet. I remember when my parents would come home from the grocery store, all smiles as they brought in the grocery bags. All of a sudden, everything in life was wonderful. We all breathed a sigh of relief because we had an abundance of food in the house. Happiness in my house was a full refrigerator. When my mother died, my brother and I walked through her home and found four refrigerators and three freezers, all full. Both of my parents were heavy and died relatively early deaths due to heart disease. Of course, what they really died of was compulsive eating.

      There are many books about binge eating, but few are written with the openness, clarity, and authenticity of Stop Eating Your Heart Out. Meryl begins with a quiz to help you determine whether or not you have a problem. Then, ever so gently, she leads you into a provocative twenty-one-day program that teaches the difference between food and feelings. The focus of the program is not about weight loss but about learning to recognize when you're engaging in emotional eating, which Meryl believes is at the core of a binge eating disorder.

      Most experts agree that eating disorders are caused by a combination of biogenetic, psychological, and socio-cultural factors. Meryl teaches us how to live in recovery. No matter what caused the disorder, what matters now is finding peace with our bodies, forming new identities, and becoming acquainted with our true selves.

      Stop Eating Your Heart Out provides a step-by-step path to wellness using strategies that are designed for the real world. Humorous anecdotes sprinkled with wisdom and informational insights help add new dimensions to our thinking.

      I would suggest that you read the book a little at a time—as you would savor a good meal—and slowly begin to integrate Meryl's suggestions. Whether you're living in recovery or just beginning the journey, this wonderful book will add tremendously to your knowledge. You'll see why I love Meryl Beck! And why I love the path to recovery she has chosen.

      —Jeanne Rust, PhD CEO and Founder, Mirasol Eating Disorder Treatment Centers Tucson, Arizona