Mindfulness-based eating awareness training (MB-EAT; Kristeller, Baer, & Quillian-Wolever, 2006; Kristeller & Hallett, 1999; Wolever & Best, 2009) was developed specifically for treatment of binge eating disorder (BED)

and related issues. BED is marked by use of food to handle emotional distress (Goldfield, Adamo, Rutherford, & Legg, 2008), along with disregulation of interoceptive awareness, appetite and satiety mechanisms (Sysko, Devlin, Walsh, Zimmerli, & Kissileff, 2007), and reactivity to food cues (Sobik, Hutchison, & Craighead, 2005). Even if familiar with nutritional recommendations for healthy eating, individuals with BED generally report frustration and a sense of inadequacy using such guidelines. Eating, food, and body weight typically play a disproportionate role as aspects of selfidentity (Dunkley & Grilo, 2007). Rather than being a nurturing process, the relationship to eating and food is experienced as an internal struggle marked by intense approach and avoidance.