ABSTRACT
When clients seek help to lose weight, mental health professionals need to know how to respond in a way that supports physical and emotional well-being when it comes to food and weight, and that does not cause harm. This chapter presents the definitions of Binge Eating Disorder, disordered eating, emotional eating, attuned eating, and mindful eating. It explores the backdrop of diet culture and the messages that lead clients to believe they must pursue weight loss in order to live happy, healthy lives. This chapter provides the details of the diet cycle, including negative thoughts, restrictions, deprivation, rebound or binge eating, and shame, and then analyzes why diet failure occurs for the vast majority. It includes the values underlying the diet mindset and attuned eating and concludes with a preview of frameworks to help clients heal their relationship with food.
