Project and content management for Contemporary Authors volumes
WORK TITLE: Helping Patients Outsmart Overeating
WORK NOTES: with Paige O’Mahoney
PSEUDONYM(S):
BIRTHDATE:
WEBSITE: https://www.karenrkoenig.com/
CITY: Sarasota
STATE: FL
COUNTRY:
NATIONALITY:
http://eatingdisordersblogs.com/authors/karen-r-koenig/
RESEARCHER NOTES:
PERSONAL
Born 1947.
EDUCATION:Boston University, B.A.; Antioch College, M.Ed.; Simmons College School of Social Work, M.S.W.
ADDRESS
CAREER
Psychotherapist, motivational speaker, and author. Greater Boston Collaborative for Body Image and Eating Disorders, cofounder. Teacher of seminars at several institutions, including Simmons College School of Social Work, Boston University School of Social Work, Massachusetts School of Professional Psychology, National Association of Social Work, Massachusetts Dietetic Association, National Organization for Women, Multiservice Eating Disorder Association of Massachusetts, Lee County Hospital Systems, and University of South Florida Department of Social Work. Advisory board member, Massachusetts Eating Disorder Association.
WRITINGS
Contributor to periodicals, including Attitudes, Boston Globe, Boston Herald, Equal Times, Newsletter for the Society for Family Therapy and Research, Positive Change, Sarasota Herald-Tribune, Single Living, Social Work Focus, Social Work Today, and West Roxbury Transcript.
SIDELIGHTS
Psychotherapist Karen R. Koenig specializes in writing about eating, dieting, and the unhealthy relationships that many people have with food. “No matter how successful, talented, brilliant, creative or kind-hearted you are, when you’re obsessed with food and the scale, you never feel quite as happy or successful as you could be,” Koenig wrote in an autobiographical statement appearing on her website. “I’ve been there—calorie counting, nibbling and noshing my feelings and the hours away.” She is the author of The Rules of “Normal” Eating: A Commonsense Approach for Dieters, Overeaters, Undereaters, Emotional Eaters, and Everyone in Between!; The Food & Feelings Workbook: A Full Course Meal on Emotional Health; What Every Therapist Needs to Know about Treating Eating and Weight Issues; Nice Girls Finish Fat: Put Yourself First and Change Your Eating Forever; Starting Monday: Seven Keys to a Permanent, Positive Relationship with Food; and Outsmarting Overeating: Boost Your Life Skills, End Your Food Problems, and the coauthor of Helping Patients Outsmart Overeating: Psychological Strategies for Doctors and Health Care Providers.
The Rules of "Normal" Eating
Koenig’s writing career grew out of her occupation—although, she says, she always had an interest in pursuing a career as an author. “I had been trying to write screenplays and novels,” the author and psychotherapist told Angela Lauria in an interview for the Author Incubator website. “I did have an agent, and she said, ‘Why don’t you write what you know?’ … I’m a psychotherapist and I’m an eating coach, and I’ve had my own eating problems, so I said, ‘Okay, I’ll give it a try.'” In her first book, The Rules of “Normal” Eating, Koenig looks at the problems of people who are driven to diet constantly and who obsess over their calories. She postulates four rules that regulated eaters consciously follow: eat when you are hungry, eat foods you like and enjoy, be conscious of the fact that you are eating, and recognize when you are satiated. “Negative thinking and unhealthy habits follow from ignoring them,” remarked a Bookwatch contributor.
The Rules of “Normal” Eating “is for people who I call dysregulated eaters,” Koenig said in her interview with Lauria. These dysregulated eaters, the author continued, “eat either too much, they’d eat too little, they go back and forth—they’ve been dieting a lot, and it’s a book about how to reclaim and to reconnect to your appetite with four simple rules—for hunger, using foods you like, staying aware while you’re eating and stopping when you’re full and satisfied.” The author told Lauria that focusing on weight is the wrong approach because “weight isn’t the problem, eating is the problem. … It’s focusing on the eating that helps.”
The Food & Feelings Workbook and Nice Girls Finish Fat
Once The Rules of “Normal” Eating had opened the door to a discussion of Koenig’s profession, she found more aspects of her work that deserved to be communicated to others. “Through … my clinical practice, I realized that people couldn’t really follow these rules because they were emotional eaters, and they didn’t know what to do with their emotions, so I wrote a second book, which is The Food & Feelings Workbook,” Koenig explained to Lauria. “And then … I realized that [these] people—particularly … women, were just so nice, it was hard for them to manage stress without food, because they were overdoing and they were … people-pleasers and perfectionists, so I wrote Nice Girls Finish Fat.“
Nice Girls Finish Fat “is the type of book that a lot of women can easily relate to,” assessed a contributor to Diets in Review. “This book gives some great tips on how to overcome behaviors that may be imbedded from early in your childhood. The book does not suggest that you completely neglect everyone around you. Instead it teaches you how to properly undo years of overly nice behavior and make the changes that your body and mind need.” In Starting Monday, stated a Small Press Bookwatch reviewer, “Koenig lets troubled eaters know that their yo-yo patterns of eating and self care are due to conflicts.”
Outsmarting Overeating and Helping Patients Outsmart Overeating
In Outsmarting Overeating, Koenig takes a preventive approach to the problem of overconsumption. “Koenig begins the book by discussing life skills and how they are developed,” Lynne Trevisan said on the Metapsychology Online Reviews website. “We gain skills by repeatedly doing something that builds the skill. Our first teachers are our parents, who may themselves have a skillset that supports dysregulated eating. Koenig’s work helps the readers understand what healthy skills are and that it takes time to learn those skills and put them to use.” The psychotherapist suggests that the only truly effective way of developing the kind of self-awareness needed to control appetite, is to practice healthy eating on a regular basis until it becomes a habit. “Outsmarting Overeating is more than a diet plan,” enthused a California Bookwatch reviewer, “and even more than another lifestyle change guide.”
As a follow-up to Outsmarting Overeating, Koenig worked with Paige O’Mahoney to write Helping Patients Outsmart Overeating. Candace Smith in Booklist highlighted the “savvy” authors’ advice to clinicians that “the goal should be improved health rather than weight loss,” and she praised the writers’ “insightful suggestions.” A Publishers Weekly reviewer appreciated the “caring manner” with which Koenig and O’Mahoney depict “the psychological issues behind dysregulated eating habits.” The reviewer concluded that the book is a “solid guide.”
BIOCRIT
PERIODICALS
Booklist, December 1, 2016, Candace Smith, review of Helping Patients Outsmart Overeating: Psychological Strategies for Doctors and Health Care Providers, p. 20.
Bookwatch, May, 2005, review of The Rules of “Normal” Eating: A Commonsense Approach for Dieters, Overeaters, Undereaters, Emotional Eaters, and Everyone in Between!
California Bookwatch, April, 2015, review of Outsmarting Overeating: Boost Your Life Skills, End Your Food Problems.
Publishers Weekly, November 21, 2016, review of Helping Patients Outsmart Overeating, p. 103.
SciTech Book News, March, 2009, review of What Every Therapist Needs to Know about Treating Eating and Weight Issues.
Small Press Bookwatch, July, 2014, review of Starting Monday: Seven Keys to a Permanent, Positive Relationship with Food.
ONLINE
Author Incubator, https://www.theauthorincubator.com/ (January 16, 2014), Angela Lauria, author interview.
Diets in Review, http://www.dietsinreview.com/ (September 6, 2017), review of Nice Girls Finish Fat.
Karen R. Koenig Website, https://www.karenrkoenig.com (September 6, 2017).
Metapsychology Online Reviews, http://metapsychology.mentalhelp.net/ (August 4, 2015), Lynne Trevisan, review of Outsmarting Overeating.
Pecan Valley Centers Website, http://www.pvmhmr.org/ (August 4, 2015), Lynne Trevisan, review of Outsmarting Overeating.
Professional Experience
Karen R. Koenig, LCSW, M.Ed., is a licensed psychotherapist, motivational speaker and international author who has specialized in the field of compulsive, emotional and restrictive eating for more than 30 years. She received a B.A. from Boston University, an M.Ed. from Antioch College and an M.S.W. from Simmons College School of Social Work. She lives, teaches and practices in Sarasota, Florida.
She is a co-founder of the Greater Boston Collaborative for Body Image and Eating Disorders and a former member of the Professional Advisory Committee of the Multi-service Eating Disorder Association of Massachusetts.
During the past three decades, she has taught and made presentations to venues such as the adult education centers of Sarasota, Florida and Boston and Brookline, Massachusetts, Manatee Memorial Hospital, University of South Florida School of Social Work, National Organization for Women, Center for Disordered Eating, Bayside Center for Behavioral Health, Boston Women Communicators, Women on the Scene, American Business Women’s Association, Florida Writer’s Association, Minnesota’s Breast Cancer Awareness Association and Lake Austin Spa.
She has conducted professional trainings for the Multi-service Eating Disorder Association, the National Association of Social Workers, the Massachusetts Dietetic Association, the Massachusetts School of Professional Psychology, T.W.I.C.E. Educational Seminars, Simmons College School of Social Work and Feeding Ourselves.
Among other publications, her essays and articles have appeared in Social Work Today, Social Work Focus, The Newsletter for the Society for Family Therapy and Research, Positive Change, Attitudes Magazine, The Boston Globe, The Boston Herald, The Sarasota Herald-Tribune, The West Roxbury Transcript, Equal Times, and Single Living. She has been quoted in The Wall Street Journal, Ladies' Home Journal, AARP Online, Women’s Health, Shape, Self, Berner Zeitung and OK magazines. Among three of her books, there are 10 foreign-language translations.
Struggling with food and weight can color your whole life. No matter how successful, talented, brilliant, creative or kind-hearted you are, when you’re obsessed with food and the scale, you never feel quite as happy or successful as you could be. I know, I’ve been there — calorie counting, nibbling and noshing my feelings and the hours away, binge-eating and scale-hopping as if it was the most natural behavior in the world. Which, it is not. Since overcoming my own eating problems more than 30 years ago and acquiring a degree in social work, I’ve been counseling, teaching, coaching and writing about dysregulated eating to turn people just like you into “normal” eaters.
If you’ve been struggling with eating and the scale for years — what you should and shouldn’t eat, what you ate yesterday, what you hope or fear you’ll eat tomorrow — and are yearning for a permanent, positive, peaceful relationship with food and your body, it’s time to reprogram your brain and your body to become a “normal” eater.
If you’re ready to recover from your troubled relationship with food once and for all, you’ve come to the right place.
I am a psychotherapist, educator, international author, and an expert on the psychology of eating--the how and why, not the what, of it. For more than three decades, my mission has been to help people with eating and weight concerns learn to eat "normally" and develop a positive, healthy relationship with food and their bodies. My therapy practice is in Sarasota, FL and I also do tele-therapy in state. As a recovered chronic dieter and binge-eater, I meld my personal recovery wisdom with my professional knowledge and extensive clinical experience to resolve eating problems.
My books are: Helping Doctors Outsmart Overeating, Starting Monday, Nice Girls Finish Fat, The Rules of "Normal" Eating, Outsmarting Overeating, The Food and Feelings Workbook, and What Every Therapist Needs to Know about Treating Eating and Weight Issues.
Visit my website--www.karenrkoenig.com.
Read my blogs--www.karenrkoenig.com
Try out my free Facebook app, APPetite--http://apps.facebook.com/app-etite.
Join my Facebook Nice Girls Fan Club--http://www.facebook.com/pages/Nice-Girls-Finish-Fat/114097795301428, and follow me on YouTube-- http://www.youtube.com/user/KarenRKoenig and Twitter--http://twitter.com/KarenRKoenig
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Karen R. Koenig – Book Journeys Author Interview Transcript – Jan 16, 2014
Book Journeys Author Interview – Jan 16, 2014
Dr. Angela Lauria with Karen R. Koenig, author of The Rules of “Normal” Eating.
“I’m always marketing. I don’t go out in a cocktail dress with a little purse without putting my business cards … in it. I carry books in the trunk of my car. … Because you never know when you’re gonna have connections, you never know when people are gonna be interested in your topic.” ~Karen R. Koenig
Angela:
Well, hello, everybody, and welcome to Book Journeys Radio. My name is Dr. Angela Lauria, I am the founder of the Author Incubator and creator of the Difference Process for Writing a Book That Matters. Today – in – on Book Journeys Radio, we have Karen Koenig, Karen is the author of The Rules of “Normal” Eating, and – Karen, we’re really excited to have you here today. Let’s start off by talking about your book, what’s the book about?
Karen:
The book is for people who I call disregulated eaters, they eat either too much, they’d eat too little, they go back and forth – they’ve been dieting a lot, and it’s a book about how to reclaim and to reconnect to your appetite with four simple rules – for hunger, using foods you like, staying aware while you’re eating and – stopping when you’re full and satisfied.
Angela:
And – so, I know this is – this isn’t your first book, right? You’ve written – have you written other books?
Karen:
No, it is my first, my fifth was just published so –
Angela:
Wow!
Karen:
– this – the Rules of “Normal” Eating was published in 2005.
Angela:
Okay. And – so, let’s talk about that journey. So, your first book, you wrote in 2005, and since then you’ve written four books. Did you know – did you know, when you wrote the first one, it would be the beginning of something?
Karen:
I did not. I had been – trying to write screenplays and novels and – I did have an agent, and she said, “Why don’t you write what you know? “ ‘cause – I – I’m a psychotherapist and I’m an eating coach, and – I’ve had my own eating problems, so I said, “Okay, I’ll give it a try.” And – so, I wrote my first one, and I thought, “Well! I will help people reconnect to appetite –“
Angela:
Mm-hm.
Karen:
– and then, through my – my clinical practice, I realized that people couldn’t really follow these rules because they were emotional eaters, and they didn’t know what to do with their emotions, so I wrote a second book, which is The Food and Feeling Workbook. And then – I’ll get the order straight – then – I was fortunate that – W. Norton asked me to write a book for – the general therapist, on how to handle eating problems, and then I realized that people – particularly – most of my practice is women, were just so nice, it was hard for them to manage stress without food, because they were overdoing and they were pr – people-pleases and – p – people-pleasers and perfectionists, so I wrote Nice Girls Finish Fat, …
Angela:
Mm-hmm.
Karen:
– and then – I realized that a lot of the issues that disregulated eaters have, a lot of the reasons they go from what I call “great self-care” to “I don’t care” –
Angela:
Mm-hmm!
Karen:
– is because they’re feeling mix – mixed feelings about – giving up food, about being healthy, about changing their identities, so I wrote my latest book, which is – called Starting Monday- Seven Keys to a Permanent Positive Relationship with Food, and I actually just sent it – my – what I think is my last eating book – to my agent – for her to find a – a publishing home with it. So – it – they’ve evolved as I’ve seen a need, and as I’ve learned and grown in my own practice, see what people really do require to overcome eating problems.
Angela:
So, was writing the first book easier or harder than writing the subsequent four books?
Karen:
No, that one was fairly easy, because it – was, I would say, the least complex.
Angela:
Mm-hm.
Karen:
My last book, Starting Monday, is much more deeply psychological and clinical –
Angela:
Mm-hmm.
Karen:
– and so, that was more difficult, the workbook was – also difficult, ‘cause I’d never written a workbook before.
Angela:
Mm-hmm.
Karen:
And – so, the first book – well, I – I guess, you’re saying – in comparison to your other books, I don’t know, it’s probably – I – I don’t have kids, but it’s probably like having kids, the – they’re ea – each one is easy and hard in their own way.
Angela:
Yes! Yes, so, what were some of the things that – would getting your first book, I would think, is a – is a big accomplishment. Once you’ve written your first book, you’re an author, that’s – … you can be a two-time author, a three-time author, but you can never go back to not being an author.
Karen:
Yes.
Angela:
So, what were some of the things that you had to overcome to get the first book done? What did you ha – what were some of the big lessons you had to learn?
Karen:
Well, probably the same ones that most authors deal with. “Can I really do this?” “Do I really have anything worthwhile to say?” “Is this any good?” I – I’m pretty fortunate that – I – I think I have the happy genes, so I really don’t get caught up in ruminating and a lot of anticipating, I’m pretty much in the moment, and – I really enjoy writing, it’s one of my favorite things to do. So, whenever those thoughts – I sit down in the morning, and there’d be – blank computer screen, I would remind myself, “Oh, I filled it up yesterday, so I’m gonna be able to fill it up today.” So, I – I think, just the – the insecurity of it –
Angela:
Mmm.
Karen:
– “Is it going to be any good,” and “Can – am I really a writer,” and well – you call yourself a writer – when – just ‘cause you’re writing a book, or are you only a writer afterwards?
Angela:
Mm-mm.
Karen:
So – I thought a lot about those things, but I – I can’t say it really got in the way, and I had time, I was very fortunate that I had – quit a full-time job to open my own practice, and it was very small at first, I had plenty of time to write.
Angela:
Well, so, what was your writing schedule like?
Karen:
I would get up in the morning, I have exercise equipment at my house, and – big on mats, so I would – have breakfast, exercise, write for couple – hours, maybe two or three, have lunch, if I had clients I would see them whenever – I have them usually in the afternoon or early evening – maybe go out and do some errands in the afternoon, write a little more, have dinner, and then – write after dinner, again.
Angela:
Mm-hm.
Karen:
I really, now that I’m sixty-six, I have a lot of trouble writing in the evening, but back then – even though it wasn’t that many years ago – nine years ago, it was – I could write ‘til eleven o’clock at night … make sense.
Angela:
And so, you would have multiple writing sessions a day. What would you do if you didn’t feel like writing? Did you have some – some rules, or some games that you put in place?
Karen:
No.
Angela:
‘Cause every time … you aren’t necessarily gonna want to write.
Karen:
Yeah, I – it was – well, I did other things, for instance, I was also in the winter, when I was writing that – I w – I w – I was a downhill skier, I lived in Massachusetts then, I live in – Sarasota, Florida now, but –
Angela:
Hm!
Karen:
So, if it was a great ski day, I would drive up to New Hampshire and skate.
Angela:
Mm-hm!
Karen:
And that was not a writing day. I – I’m not a “should have to / must finish” – I like writing enough, and I’m goal-oriented enough, and I was really curious to see what I had to say –
Angela:
Mm-hmm.
Karen:
– and how the book would come out – I had a – a rough outline, so that was enough to motivate me. I was really – fortunate that, for the most part, when I sat down, I knew I – something was going to come out of me.
Angela:
Wow.
Karen:
So, … to use any of those stre – tricks.
Angela:
Mm-hm!
Karen:
It’s probably a – I w – I’m pretty driven. Once I have an idea, I wanna get it out of me.
Angela:
And so, with this book, ‘cause this was your first one – how – did you have the agent before you started writing it?
Karen:
No – well, yes, I – I did. It’s not a simple answer, I was taking screenwriting classes –
Angela:
Mm-hmm.
Karen:
– at the Hilde Center in Boston, and so, I was taking them from a – a woman who was an entertainment lawyer who was teaching at Emerson College, which is a college of the arts. And – so, she was – I hired her as a consultant to look at my screenplays. And eventually – not that they weren’t – good, but – I tried to write some novels, and she said, “Well, why n –“ that’s when she said, “Why don’t you write what you know?” At that point, she was an entertainment lawyer, and she could function as an agent, and eventually she gave up doing the other stuff and now is a full time agent, so that’s why it was a little complicated to answer, but I have the connection beforehand.
Angela:
I see. So – so, then, tell us about your – your actual publishing journey. When did you start thinking about how you would publish, was it while you were still writing, did that – that hookup, that agent – help inform your decision, how did you decide how to publish?
Karen:
Well, again – I was really fortunate that there – is an eating disorder publisher that’s been around since – the eighties, Gurze Books, and so, they would be – they’d – it just made sense that we would approach them. And – my – my agent did, and they liked it. So, they were the agent for my first book, my second book –
Angela:
And did that lead to a publishing contract?
Karen:
Yes. Yes. And – I do – do remember – that – that whole journey of, “Well, they seem to like it, are they gonna offer me a contract?” In – and I – I remember, I was – a member of a – a professional group of eating – disorder therapists, and I was driving there, and I had just gotten word that – the contract was signed. And I was just screaming the whole way to the meeting, and I – it – I couldn’t have gone to a better place to share information – with them –
Angela:
Hm.
Karen:
– because they were my colleagues in the field. So, that – that was really exciting, there is nothing like – well – and then, I remember when they were first del – when they were delivered to – the house, and I opened the box, and there they were – and, so, that was tremendously exciting. And they liked me, and I had a bre – relationship with them, so when I had another idea for a book, we went back to them and they – they changed the format a lot, and – but then, they gave me a contract for the second book.
Angela:
And so, what was that experience like, working with a publisher? How much did your book – how much did your book change, how did the publisher influence what the book – what you thought it would be like, and what – what it ended up being like?
Karen:
Well, there were some – and the ft – it’s the ft – the first book – w – they had me keep away from the weight issue and just focus on eating –
Angela:
Ah!
Karen:
– that – that it’s really an eating problem, and – and I – I – I … been practicing like this now for – for years – that weight isn’t the problem, eating is the problem.
Angela:
Mm-hmm.
Karen:
So … – you’re not gonna get anywhere, it’s focusing on the eating that helps. And so, they helped me really – codify that in my mind, and understand that. In my second book, I had written it very differently, and – that was the hardest book, it was hard writing – I chose seven emotions to write about, so that was just – difficult, it was very complex, complicated writing, to put clinical stuff in the way that people would understand, plus – I’m – known for – I always have funny subtitles, and there’s a lot of humor in my book –
Angela:
Mm-hmm.
Karen:
– and … hard to make emotions funny – to engage people and to not take the whole thing seriously, so I think that the most input I got was on that second book, where we just totally revamped and reformatted it, I never thought that one was ever gonna get out.
Angela:
Mmm.
Karen:
That was hard writing. And then, I had two other publishers – in between, and – but I’ve kept up a great relationship with – Gurze, and so, when I approached them for this, my – my fifth book, it was a couple of years ago, it was right – after the – during the recession, and publishing was tanking, and – the book was – the way I’d written it was very heavy, and they said, “Well, work on it and come back to us in a while, and we’ll consider,” and they did. I reworked it, the economy got a little bit better, and they bought it. And they did …
Angela:
Hmm! So, what advice would you give somebody who wants to work with a publisher? Did you have – was there something in your proposals that you thought was part of the key, was it relationships?
Karen:
Well, when you say, “work with a publisher,” you mean with a specific publisher, or you mean in general – get a publisher?
Angela:
Just with a traditional publisher, as opposed to self-publishing.
Karen:
… there’s a way to do a proposal, and my agent helped. She’s terrific, and – so, do you want to do a really – up-to-date, thorough marketing analysis, and so, I think that’s really important. For a first book, of course you don’t have sales, but you maybe have other things you’ve written, and I’d – I’d written some newspaper stuff, and – I had just been writing all my life, so –
Angela:
Mm-hmm.
Karen:
– I’m sure they’re interested in that, and these days, more than ever, they’re interested to know on – to know about how you’re gonna market a book. So, for instance, in pitching this sixth book of mine – I included the marketing plan for – the book that just came out. And – I’ve also – over the years, I’ve worked with different PR firms, I – I now have had one, a couple of years, who do – public relations and social media and they’re terrific.
Angela:
Mm-hm!
Karen:
So, I think publishers are very interested in that, they – if you’re an author today – unless you have a huge fluke of events bestseller, you’re gonna go out and peddle your wares.
Angela:
Mm-hmm.
Karen:
And, so, for – I … my – my agent has said to me, ‘cause I’m – I – not that I always liked doing it, but I – I do push myself, and I – I try to do talks and workshops and any interviews that I can do – that, she said, a lot of writers, they just – they’re only comfortable with writing.
Angela:
Right.
Karen:
And – I am, I’m sure, you have heard this a lot, but if you are going to write these days – it pays to push out of your comfort zone and do some of the – the marketing stuff and let the publishers know that you’re willing to do it.
Angela:
Mm-hmm. So, let’s talk about marketing. Most people, when they write a book, they’re thinking pretty hard about how to write the best book possible, how to provide a solution, how to help people, how to tell interesting stories, and they usually aren’t thinking at all about marketing, … they’re kinda thinking, they’ll find a publisher and their publisher will sell their book for them. So, what are some – yeah, so that’s not exactly how it goes. So, what are – some of the things that you have found to be – most – most crucial, most important to know, maybe skills you should develop even before you finish your book, in terms of book marketing?
Karen:
The first thing is – what you said, just to know that y – you’re going to be doing it.
Angela:
Mmm.
Karen:
That’s – it – it is a myth. It’s not that the publishing companies don’t do anything, they certainly do, and I’m lucky because Gurze has a website – of eating disorder books, and – a catalogue that goes out to hundreds of thousands of people.
Angela:
Mm-hm.
Karen:
But – it’s really think – get – getting a book out of a library, buying a book on how to market your book, and there’s plenty of those out there, now. And – I – I recommend that people put – marketing ideas in three categories. One that – “I would definitely do” – maybe it’s give a talk, go – at the library, or – there are open markets here – farmer’s markets, maybe somebody’s comfortable going and selling their books at a farmer’s market or joining a writing – marketing club. Then, the middle ground of things,”Well, I’m not really comfortable, but yeah, I suppose I could push myself to learn how to do these things,” and – for instance, maybe talking in front of large crowds, or e-mailing all your colleagues.
Angela:
Mm-hmm.
Karen:
… sort of shy, and then that third category is, “You know what? I – this is just something I really doubt I’m ever going to do.” And then, they can be clear with themselves, clear with their agent, and, actually, clear with the publisher.
Angela:
Right.
Karen:
So, that has helped me.
Angela:
I think that’s great advice. And so, then – in terms of the commitment you make – you talk about your schedule writing a book, where you were – writing multiple – multiple hours a day for – for weeks – it was a significant thing in commitment. How would you compare that to the commitment you make promoting your book?
Karen:
That’s a really interesting question. I guess I would say I do what has to be done – which is maybe the same thing as writing. If you’re gonna write a book, you’re gonna have to sit and – and do the actual imagining, thinking, writing, editing –
Angela:
Mm-hmm!
Karen:
– and – I’m – I’m – although I’m somewhat driven and goal-oriented, I’m – I’m really not a big planner, I don’t – think a lot ahead about things, … well, okay – when I was doing my own marketing – gee, what – what newsletters, like alumni newsletters, could I send an announcement about my book – or what places in town might wanna hear me.
Angela:
Mmm.
Karen:
And I would just brainstorm and wide – wide net, cast a really wide net. Lotta places would say they’re interested and not get back to me, so – multiple phone calls – unless you’re a born salesperson, which I sure am not, it’s the stuff that writers find really yucky. But if – if – you either do it yourself or you hire people to do it or it doesn’t get done. And I have a number of writer friends – one friend in particular who’s written – lovely – memoir, and – for a number of reasons – she hasn’t – been able to market it, and – so, I don’t – we talk about it, and we get ideas from each other, so sometimes it’s even getting support, and certainly helping each other.
Angela:
Mmm.
Karen:
I don’t know if writers – I don’t know how many people do that, but people have sent me, “Oh, I saw a place where –“ or, “I met with some people who might be interested in hearing about your book,” and I will do the same – for other people, ‘cause it’s a lonely job –
Angela:
Yeah.
Karen:
– to do writing and the marketing. Wherever possible –
Angela:
Yeah, I think that’s a great piece of advice.
Karen:
Yeah, well, like in Sarasota, that – we have – Sarasota Fiction Writers – we have the Author’s Connection, which is strictly for self-published people, and they do a lot of stuff on marketing. It’s probably harder if you live in a small town, but there’s online networking, and –
Angela:
Right! Absolutely.
Karen:
So, it’s really taking advantage of those things, and thinking of marketing as equal to writing, you’re not done when you finish the book, you’re not even done when you get the contract.
Angela:
Yeah. I think that’s a big lesson that a lot of people just don’t realize, they put the last word on the paper and they think that means they’re done, but it’s a journey, and it doesn’t – it doesn’t stop ‘til you want it to – you – your book came out, what, almost ten years ago, now, eight years ago?
Karen:
’05, yeah, nine years ago, yeah.
Angela:
Yeah, and it’s still a – a big – a big part of your – your whole package.
Karen:
I’m always marketing. I don’t go out in a cocktail dress with a little purse without putting my business cards, and I have little cards with my books, in – in it.
Angela:
Yup.
Karen:
I carry my books in the trunk of my car. I – I’m almost always – I’m primarily a psychotherapist and – and eating coach, but when people ask me what to do, what I’d do, I always say, “I’m a writer.”
Angela:
Mmm.
Karen:
Because you never know when you’re gonna have connections, you never know when people are gonna be interested in your topic.
Angela:
Right.
Karen:
So, it’s wearing your marketing hat all the time, except perhaps when you’re sleeping.
Angela:
Mm-hm! Yeah, well, I definitely hear that, so, why don’t you tell us, ‘cause all this marketing stuff sounds hard, so, why don’t you tell us about some of the – tell us “before and after” stories, what are some of the good things that have come out of being an author for you in the last nine years?
Karen:
Mostly, the – I would say, being a writer, more than being an author. I just have grown to love writing, which is – I blog twice a week, if I had more time, I might even blog more. I can feel the dopamine going –
Angela:
Mm-hm!
Karen:
– … in my brain as soon as I – I sit down to write, so that has just been the – the greatest gift, to find something that – I derive so much pleasure from. Now, that doesn’t mean that every moment of writing the book, when I’m sitting there, saying, “How am I gonna say this? I’ve tried twelve times!”
Angela:
Mmm.
Karen:
Not every moment is fun, but, overall – tremendous pleasure. I – started writing silly poems when I was – maybe pre-adolescent, adolescent, so I’ve always been interested in writing, so it’s kind of nice to feel – “Oh! I’ve followed that through, all along, and I’ve gotten better o – on it,” – but – but, for me, because my writing is so tied to my work, I can’t see every disregulated eater in the world, but I can sure write for them.
Angela:
Mm-hmm!
Karen:
And so, it’s part of my mission, of teaching people, stop dieting and binging, and to – learn how to eat normally, and I’m also fortunate that – three of my books have been translated into different languages –
Angela:
Mmm.
Karen:
– so – that’s been great, because I’m part of – an intuitive eating movement, and there’s really nothing better than spreading the word than writing a book that people are interested in reading and will learn from. So, that’s been … gratifying.
Angela:
And are there – are there alternate – are there – opportunities that you have had – I don’t know – maybe speaking opportunities, or things that you think you wouldn’t have done if you weren’t an author.
Karen:
I – yes, I think so, I think it really gives my whole practice a credibility –
Angela:
Mm-hmm.
Karen:
– that I have – I’ve spoken at different conferences, and – the fact that I’ve written books to back up what I do just makes me a more attractive package for speaking.
Angela:
Mm-hmm!
Karen:
And – so, that – that’s been really positive.
Angela:
And are –
Karen:
And – let me tell you, fun senior – I’m looking at my books, it’s – it’s just sort of fun! Just – just, “Hey, I’ve written a book!”
Angela:
Mmm. Yeah.
Karen:
I think we’re supposed to not feel that way –
Angela:
Uh-huh!
Karen:
– “Oh, my gosh!” but – it is – it is fun.
Angela:
Yeah, for sure. And so, if you were to give a piece of advice, and maybe this happened to you at a – a cocktail party or something, or somebody has said, “Oh, I’ve always wanted to write a book.” If somebody came to you and said they wanted to write a book, it’s something that they ha – it’s a goal they haven’t been able to accomplish, despite trying – for some amount of time. What advice would you give them?
Karen:
Well, I took a writing class once, where the – the – the instructor, who w – was an author, sai – when people said that to her – “Oh, gee, I – I wanna write a book,” if they said it in an offhand way, they – they would say it, such as, “Well, anybody can sit down and do that,” and so she would look at whatever they do and say, “Well – I’ve always wanted to be a surgeon, too.” There really is that aspect of it, people like the idea of being a writer –
Angela:
Mmm.
Karen:
But I’m not sure everybody who says they want to write a book really wants to write a book.
Angela:
Mmm.
Karen:
So, the first thing would be – “Do you really wanna write?” And, if not – be – being a wr – you’re probably not destined to be a writer. But, that said, if someone really wants to write – I go back to – Anne Lamott and Bird by Bird –
Angela:
Mm-hmm!
Karen:
– … book that talks about sh*tty first draft. Just sit down and write.
Angela:
Right.
Karen:
And now, what I do, when I write, is, I take a week off from my practice, and that’s my job, to write a sh*tty first draft.
Angela:
Hm!
Karen:
And – not – not care much about it, and – I’ve been able to – to do that – it takes me longer, now that I’m older – but – to – to – to write and play, it’s – if it feels like work, I don’t – I don’t know. I don’t like to do a lot of things that feel unpleasurable –
Angela:
Yeah.
Karen:
– so, I think that’s really a key. Enjoy it! If not, maybe it’s – yeah, go ahead.
Angela:
Yeah. Well, I think that’s – yup, I think that’s terrific advice, I – the best books come out of that place of play and getting the sh*tty first draft done is – is a big part of it, so, thank you so much, Karen Koenig, for being here – you can find out more about Karen at karen, k-a-r-e-n, rkoenig, it’s k-o-e-i-n-g at –
Karen:
n-i, ac –
Angela:
n-i-g.
Karen:
n-i-g. k-o-e-n-i-g.
Angela:
.com – so, karenrkoenig.com, Karen, thanks again for being our guest today.
Karen:
Thank you so much for having me, it was a great interview, I appreciate it.
Angela:
No – we appreciate you, and we’ll be back next week, changing the world one book at a time.
Outsmarting Overeating
(Apr. 2015):
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2015 Midwest Book Review
http://www.midwestbookreview.com
Outsmarting Overeating
Karen R. Koenig
New World Library
14 Pamaron Way, Novato, CA 94949
9781608683161, $16.95, www.newworldlibrary.com
Outsmarting Overeating: Boost Your Life Skills, End Your Food Problems belongs in any health and wellness collection and many a self-help gathering as well, and comes from an expert on the psychology of eating who shows readers how to change eating habits by transforming one's life and developing new life skills. With these skills, mindless eating impulses are thwarted. Using these abilities, overeaters will gain a better understanding of not only why they have uncontrollable impulses to indulge, but how to hone other skills to get through the days. Chapters examine all facets of physical and emotional health with an eye to considering the 'trigger points' where overeating impulses kick in, and how to redirect these points to healthier routines. From building relationships and support groups to handling emotions that are typically translated to the fork and knife, Outsmarting Overeating is more than a diet plan and even more than another lifestyle change guide, but draws specific connections between food and emotions, making it a powerful pick for psychology and self-help readers looking to make changes.
Source Citation (MLA 8th Edition)
"Outsmarting Overeating." California Bookwatch, Apr. 2015. General OneFile, go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?p=ITOF&sw=w&u=schlager&v=2.1&id=GALE%7CA410904408&it=r&asid=e93572686080e1a745888f0ed4dd679a. Accessed 10 Aug. 2017.
Gale Document Number: GALE|A410904408
The Rules of 'Normal Eating'
(May 2005):
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2005 Midwest Book Review
http://www.midwestbookreview.com/bw/index.htm
The Rules Of 'Normal Eating'
Karen R. Koenig, LICSW, M.ED.
Gurze Books
PO Box 2238, Carlsbad, CA 92018
0936077212 $14.95 www.gurze.com
There are four 'rules' that 'normal' eaters follow instinctively: negative thinking and unhealthy habits follow from ignoring them: thus maintains psychotherapist and educator Karen Koenig, who has over 20 years experience on eating and body image issues to contribute to Rules Of 'normal' Eating: A Commonsense Approach For Dieters, Overeaters, Undereaters, Emotional Eaters, And Everyone In Between! Chapters discuss and contrast rational and irrational beliefs, the impact of these beliefs and emotions on food choices and eating patterns, and how to develop better eating programs. An essential guide for a wide audience, from young adults and those newly on their own to caregivers and students alike.
Source Citation (MLA 8th Edition)
"The Rules of 'Normal Eating'." The Bookwatch, May 2005. General OneFile, go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?p=ITOF&sw=w&u=schlager&v=2.1&id=GALE%7CA132527794&it=r&asid=dcaf059c46bde052faa3c43774b2509c. Accessed 10 Aug. 2017.
Gale Document Number: GALE|A132527794
Helping Patients Outsmart Overeating: Psychological Strategies for Doctors and Health Care Providers
Candace Smith
113.7 (Dec. 1, 2016): p20.
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2016 American Library Association
http://www.ala.org/ala/aboutala/offices/publishing/booklist_publications/booklist/booklist.cfm
Helping Patients Outsmart Overeating: Psychological Strategies for Doctors and Health Care Providers.
By Karen R. Koenig and Paige O'Mahoney.
Jan. 2017. 236p. Rowman & Littlefield, $36 (9781442266629); e-book, $35.99 (9781442266636). 616.85.
According to the savvy pediatric-eating disorder clinician team of Koenig and O'Mahoney, the focus should be on how and why rather than what we eat, and the goal should be improved health rather than weight loss. The authors begin by comparing doctors' and patients' complaints and challenges when discussing issues of high weight. Doctors, they claim, may be dealing with issues of weight bias and can be frustrated with a patient's seeming noncompliance. Patients are often oversensitive to lectures and shamed by their failure to get control of their eating. Diets can kill motivation, and self-care may be the key to help "dysregulated" eaters, who eat when not hungry or already full, to become normal eaters. Each chapter lists specific strategies and has occasional sidebars, called brain food, that list open-ended questions for additional discussion. Although technically aimed at health providers, these insightful suggestions will help both patients and doctors to collaborate more successfully on these issues.--Candace Smith
Smith, Candace
Source Citation (MLA 8th Edition)
Smith, Candace. "Helping Patients Outsmart Overeating: Psychological Strategies for Doctors and Health Care Providers." Booklist, 1 Dec. 2016, p. 20+. General OneFile, go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?p=ITOF&sw=w&u=schlager&v=2.1&id=GALE%7CA474717374&it=r&asid=9d141471b94ed091df5b49d7c8197b9e. Accessed 10 Aug. 2017.
Gale Document Number: GALE|A474717374
Helping Patients Outsmart Overeating: Psychoiogical Strategies for Doctors and Healthcare Providers
263.47 (Nov. 21, 2016): p103.
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2016 PWxyz, LLC
http://www.publishersweekly.com/
Helping Patients Outsmart Overeating: Psychoiogical Strategies for Doctors and Healthcare Providers
Karen R. Koenig and Paige O'Mahoney. Rowman & Littlefield, $36 (236p) ISBN 978-14422-6662-9
In a caring manner, psychotherapist Koenig and physician O'Mahoney provide insights into the psychological and physiological barriers to weight loss faced by both doctors and patients. This introductory work begins by acknowledging the frustration that medical providers feel about their often limited success in this field. One key issue, according to the authors, is that medical students are seldom trained in how to compassionately approach patients who are struggling to lose weight. A listing of common patient complaints about the medical system's failings, presented in a balanced manner, will help medical professionals understand that this is more than a matter of patient noncompliance. Discussions of the process of weight loss, insights into the psychological issues behind dysregulated eating habits, and the dangers of yo-yo dieting are supported with cited research. Care is taken to acknowledge that medical providers need support in helping their patients resolve issues that interfere with healthy living. The authors carefully lay out the information (in text that can feel repetitive) and end most chapters with useful tips. Health professionals will find this a solid guide; the material is also accessible to non-professionals. (Jan.)
Source Citation (MLA 8th Edition)
"Helping Patients Outsmart Overeating: Psychoiogical Strategies for Doctors and Healthcare Providers." Publishers Weekly, 21 Nov. 2016, p. 103. General OneFile, go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?p=ITOF&sw=w&u=schlager&v=2.1&id=GALE%7CA471274006&it=r&asid=e668f1e718603b2b233dccf16b575b11. Accessed 10 Aug. 2017.
Gale Document Number: GALE|A471274006
What every therapist needs to know about treating eating and weight issues
(Mar. 2009):
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2009 Ringgold, Inc.
http://www.ringgold.com/
9780393705584
What every therapist needs to know about treating eating and weight issues.
Koenig, Karen R.
W.W. Norton
2008
240 pages
$25.00
Paperback
RC552
Two-thirds of adult Americans are overweight or obese, and the majority of women consider themselves overweight. From the perspective that food and weight problems are not separate from a client's other issues, a Florida-based eating psychology specialist with a personal history of disordered eating presents her approach to help clients reach realistic goals. Koenig discusses related health problems, treatment options, and specific types of therapist-patient relationships (e.g., an underweight therapist-overweight client). Chapters include questions to ask clients and reflection questions for therapists.
([c]2009 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR)
Source Citation (MLA 8th Edition)
"What every therapist needs to know about treating eating and weight issues." SciTech Book News, Mar. 2009. General OneFile, go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?p=ITOF&sw=w&u=schlager&v=2.1&id=GALE%7CA195025196&it=r&asid=baff99e8d5e613a0e62d05e32b252cee. Accessed 10 Aug. 2017.
Gale Document Number: GALE|A195025196
Starting Monday
(July 2014):
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2014 Midwest Book Review
http://www.midwestbookreview.com
Starting Monday
Karen R. Koenig
Gurze Books
5145 B Avenida Encinas, Carlsbad, CA 92008
www.gurzebooks.com
9780936077789, $17.95, 280pp, www.amazon.com
Synopsis: "Starting Monday" is based on the simple premise that when our behaviors don't align with our expressed intentions, we've got a conflict going on, often outside of our awareness. Author Laren R. Koenig helps her readers dig deeply into their psyches to figure out what mistaken beliefs and needless fears are holding them back from achieving their health and fitness goals. The polarized feelings for disregulated eaters to identify and resolve fall within these seven key areas: 1) create lasting change, 2) making conscious choices, 3) feel deserving, 4) how to comfort themselves, 5) know what's enough, 6) manage intimacy, and 7) developing a healthy identity. "Starting Monday" first helps readers unearth their mixed feelings in these seven areas, then teaches them how to change their beliefs and behaviors to resolve them. Using humor, plain talk, examples from her clinical experience, reflection exercises, case studies, and homework, Koenig lets troubled eaters know that their yo-yo patterns of eating and self care are due to conflicts. She shies away from easy answers and, instead, provides hope and concrete actions to developing a permanent, positive relationship with food.
Critique: Informative, motivational, exceptionally well written, organized and presented, "Starting Monday: Seven Keys to a Permanent, Positive Relationship with Food" is especially recommended for anyone wanting to improve their mental and physical health through a more nutritional and balanced approach to meal time decisions. Very highly recommended and instructional reading, as well as an invaluable addition to community library Self-Help and Health/Medicine collections, "Starting Monday: Seven Keys to a Permanent, Positive Relationship with Food" is also available in a Kindle edition ($9.99).
Source Citation (MLA 8th Edition)
"Starting Monday." Small Press Bookwatch, July 2014. General OneFile, go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?p=ITOF&sw=w&u=schlager&v=2.1&id=GALE%7CA377776371&it=r&asid=087fe92624f7053961a6d35e7e8c9316. Accessed 10 Aug. 2017.
Gale Document Number: GALE|A377776371
Eating Disorders
Review of "Outsmarting Overeating"
By Karen R. Koenig
New World Library, 2015
Review by Lynne Trevisan on Aug 4th 2015
Karen Koenig, author of Outsmarting Overeating, focuses her work on the life skills needed to overcome using food as an emotional crutch. There are several questionnaires in the book to help the reader identify places of strength as well as areas of personal weakness. By participating in these quizzes, the reader can learn where they are successful and where they need to continue working in order to see a change towards healthier living.
The first third of the book addresses common sense items. These are the things we have all heard before: eating a diet that has a variety of healthy foods and include appropriate amounts of fruits and vegetables, exercising, and seeing the doctor regularly. Specifically, Koenig addresses "wellness and physical self-care, handling emotions, living consciously, building and maintaining relationships, self-regulation, problem solving and critical thinking, setting and reaching goals, and balancing work and play" (Koenig, 2015, p. 12).
Koenig begins the book by discussing life skills and how they are developed. We gain skills by repeatedly doing something that builds the skill. Our first teachers are our parents, who may themselves have a skillset that supports dysregulated eating. Koenig's work helps the readers understand what healthy skills are and that it takes time to learn those skills and put them to use. It is also helpful to understand that the skills improve with repetition, and this does not occur over night.
The second third of the book addresses how to handle emotions, living consciously, and building and maintaining relationships. Dysregulated eaters look to food to sooth emotions and/or address boredom. This book looks at the myriad of emotions people experience and addresses coping options. Koenig covers topics such as trusting others in order to have an honest relationship with them and accepting honest feedback. She helps the reader recognize what events need support from others as well as life occurrences that may bring out poor behaviors that are often seen as needy by others. This segment of the book covers building one's own emotional competence in order to distinguish when sharing is needed versus over-sharing.
In the section titled Living Consciously, Koenig shares examples of how people live on autopilot and/or the past or future, and then helps the reader live in the here and now – consciously. When we have no idea what the conversation was during a period of time, or are deeply focused on that argument with our spouse, or are worried about something that might happen, these are all signs of living outside of "now."
In the Building Relationships section, Koenig asks pertinent questions about the reader's past to help identify relationship patterns. Again, she shares skills and methods of developing those skills in order to have successful, honest, fulfilling relationships with others.
The final third of the book provides reasons commitments to diets don't work. Koenig also helps the reader learn how to change self-thinking and perception, find value in healthy eating and movements. Throughout the book, Koenig provides examples of how people can deviate from the path of normal use of food and then addresses methods of overcoming those deviations. She provides an excellent example of how to measure progress by considering duration, intensity and frequency changes when considering times of overeating or binge eating.
At the end of each chapter, there are skill booster sections that contain critical thinking scenarios and questions. At the end of the book is another self-quiz that is identical to the initial self-quiz. It gives the reader the opportunity to identify areas of emotional growth and physical/mental health. She closes the book by reminding readers to be gentle with themselves during this journey.
This author recommends multiple readings of the book. While the information appears to be relatively simple on the surface, there are many subtle yet important messages within the writing that need to studied several times in order to be fully absorbed. The language used in the book is in layman's terms and is an easy read. Koenig is also the author of other books related to dysregulated eating.
Nice Girls Finish Fat
Find out how to take care of yourself first, stop emotional eating and lose weight.
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Top Rated Diets of 2017
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QUICK FACTS Start the Diet Now Advertisement
Established: 2009
Founder: Karen R. Koenig
Accessibility: Book, Online
Diet Type: Emotional Eating
Gender: Female
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BACKGROUND
Nice Girls Finish Fat: Put Yourself First and Change Your Eating Forever is a book written by Karen R. Koenig that discusses women, people pleasing and emotional eating. This book delves into the link between weight gain and women trying to juggle taking care of everyone else around them while neglecting self. Author Karen Koenig is a cognitive-behavioral therapist and she has written four books on eating and weight. Nice Girls Finish Fat is for women that may have tried several different diet and exercise plans but haven’t dealt with possible emotional issues that might be beneath the surface. These issues have to be dealt with before weight loss can occur, and this book allows you to do that. The definition of being a nice girl applies to those that put others needs and responsibilities ahead of their own on a regular basis. Nice Girls Finish Fat deals specifically with how some women might use food to mask aggression, anger and guilt in an effort to be nice.
Through this book you can learn to first love yourself, so that you can make the changes you want to your body. Some of the chapters in the book cover overcoming perfectionism, taking care of family, taking care of friends and finding substitutes to eating. This book isn’t about common courtesy or being pleasant, it’s about putting your own needs first without feeling like that’s a bad thing.
image: http://www.dietsinreview.com/images/icons/link.png
PRO
Encourages putting yourself and your health first
Deals with emotional issues that may be keeping you from losing weight
Practices are based on decades of therapy
Helps you overcome the idea of perfectionism
Offers tips on how to undo certain behaviors
Includes exercises that help you understand what you need to do to make changes
Includes a total of 50 tips for recovery
image: http://www.dietsinreview.com/images/icons/link.png
CON
Targets women only
image: http://www.dietsinreview.com/images/icons/link.png
DIET and NUTRITION
Nice Girls Finish Fat deals more with the underlying issues that keep you turning to food in the way of binge eating and unhealthy habits, rather than outlining a specific diet to follow. This book speaks candidly about why diets don’t work for you when you are caught up in people pleasing and neglecting yourself Nice Girls Finish Fat includes a Nice Girl Test to tell you if you are in fact a nice girl, tips for recovering from this self-sabotaging behavior and offers ways to find substitutes to eating. The book includes a total of 50 tips for overcoming the nice mentality of constantly putting others first. Some of those valuable tips include:
List three ways that being nice gets you into trouble with friends, family and at work.
Say no without giving a long, boring, detailed explanation. Simply stop talking after you get your point across and see if the other person “gets it.”
Ask someone for help – then let them help you without lifting a finger.
Say no to a friend’s cry for help if he or she wouldn’t do the same for you.
Leave work on time and refuse to feel guilty.
image: http://www.dietsinreview.com/images/icons/link.png
EXERCISE
Although exercise is not a main focus in this book, you are encouraged to get plenty of it which is an important part of taking care of yourself. Nice Girls Finish Fat focuses mainly on dealing with emotional eating that is triggered by years of putting others needs ahead of your own.
image: http://www.dietsinreview.com/images/icons/link.png
CONCLUSION
Nice Girls Finish Fat: Put Yourself First and Change Your Eating Forever is the type of book that a lot of women can easily relate to. This book gives some great tips on how to overcome behaviors that may be imbedded from early in your childhood. The book does not suggest that you completely neglect everyone around you. Instead it teaches you how to properly undo years of overly nice behavior and make the changes that your body and mind need. This book provides several helpful tools, as well as some answers to help you start putting yourself first.
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Common Misspellings
nice girls finish fast, nice girls finsh fat, nicer girls finich fat, nice gils finish fast
How Does Nice Girls Finish Fat Compare?
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User Rating
Easy to follow
Cheap Price
Fast Results
18 Shake Diet
(Editor’s Choice)
97/100
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High Protein Diet
91/100
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Dukan Diet
89/100
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Paleo Diet
87/100
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Plexus Slim
77/100
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Nice Girls Finish Fat
/100
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Read more at http://www.dietsinreview.com/diets/nice-girls-finish-fat/#hAzwyAsgsqFV5XkR.99
Review - Outsmarting Overeating
Boost Your Life Skills, End Your Food Problems
by Karen R. Koenig
New World Library, 2015
Review by Lynne Trevisan
Aug 4th 2015 (Volume 19, Issue 32)
Karen Koenig, author of Outsmarting Overeating, focuses her work on the life skills needed to overcome using food as an emotional crutch. There are several questionnaires in the book to help the reader identify places of strength as well as areas of personal weakness. By participating in these quizzes, the reader can learn where they are successful and where they need to continue working in order to see a change towards healthier living.
The first third of the book addresses common sense items. These are the things we have all heard before: eating a diet that has a variety of healthy foods and include appropriate amounts of fruits and vegetables, exercising, and seeing the doctor regularly. Specifically, Koenig addresses "wellness and physical self-care, handling emotions, living consciously, building and maintaining relationships, self-regulation, problem solving and critical thinking, setting and reaching goals, and balancing work and play" (Koenig, 2015, p. 12).
Koenig begins the book by discussing life skills and how they are developed. We gain skills by repeatedly doing something that builds the skill. Our first teachers are our parents, who may themselves have a skillset that supports dysregulated eating. Koenig's work helps the readers understand what healthy skills are and that it takes time to learn those skills and put them to use. It is also helpful to understand that the skills improve with repetition, and this does not occur over night.
The second third of the book addresses how to handle emotions, living consciously, and building and maintaining relationships. Dysregulated eaters look to food to sooth emotions and/or address boredom. This book looks at the myriad of emotions people experience and addresses coping options. Koenig covers topics such as trusting others in order to have an honest relationship with them and accepting honest feedback. She helps the reader recognize what events need support from others as well as life occurrences that may bring out poor behaviors that are often seen as needy by others. This segment of the book covers building one's own emotional competence in order to distinguish when sharing is needed versus over-sharing.
In the section titled Living Consciously, Koenig shares examples of how people live on autopilot and/or the past or future, and then helps the reader live in the here and now – consciously. When we have no idea what the conversation was during a period of time, or are deeply focused on that argument with our spouse, or are worried about something that might happen, these are all signs of living outside of "now."
In the Building Relationships section, Koenig asks pertinent questions about the reader's past to help identify relationship patterns. Again, she shares skills and methods of developing those skills in order to have successful, honest, fulfilling relationships with others.
The final third of the book provides reasons commitments to diets don't work. Koenig also helps the reader learn how to change self-thinking and perception, find value in healthy eating and movements. Throughout the book, Koenig provides examples of how people can deviate from the path of normal use of food and then addresses methods of overcoming those deviations. She provides an excellent example of how to measure progress by considering duration, intensity and frequency changes when considering times of overeating or binge eating.
At the end of each chapter, there are skill booster sections that contain critical thinking scenarios and questions. At the end of the book is another self-quiz that is identical to the initial self-quiz. It gives the reader the opportunity to identify areas of emotional growth and physical/mental health. She closes the book by reminding readers to be gentle with themselves during this journey.
This author recommends multiple readings of the book. While the information appears to be relatively simple on the surface, there are many subtle yet important messages within the writing that need to studied several times in order to be fully absorbed. The language used in the book is in layman's terms and is an easy read. Koenig is also the author of other books related to dysregulated eating.