Breaking Free from Emotional Eating

by Geneen Roth

#1 New York Times bestselling author of Women Food and God

There is an end to the anguish of emotional eating—and this book explains how to achieve it. Geneen Roth, whose Feeding the Hungry Heart and When Food Is Love have brought understanding and acceptance to tens of thousands of readers over the last two decades, here outlines her proven program for resolving the conflicts at the root of overeating. Using simple techniques developed in her highly successful seminars, she offers reassuring, practical advice on:

• Learning to recognize the signals of physical hunger
• Eating without distraction
• Knowing when to stop
• Kicking the scale-watching habit
• Withstanding social and family pressures

And many more strategies to help you break the binge-diet cycle—forever.

Genres: Self Help, Nonfiction, Health, Psychology, Food, Audiobook, Personal Development

240 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1984

About the author

Geneen Roth's pioneering books were among the first to link compulsive eating and perpetual dieting with deeply personal and spiritual issues that go far beyond food, weight and body image. She believes that we eat the way we live, and that our relationship to food, money, love is an exact reflection of our deepest held beliefs about ourselves and the amount of joy, abundance, pain, scarcity, we believe we have (or are allowed) to have in our lives.

Rather than pushing away the "crazy" things we do, Geneen's work proceeds with the conviction that our actions and beliefs make exquisite sense, and that the way to transform our relationship with food is to be open, curious and kind with ourselves-instead of punishing, impatient and harsh. In the past thirty years, she has worked with hundreds of thousands of people using meditation, inquiry, and a set of seven eating guidelines that are the foundation of natural eating.

Geneen has appeared on many national television shows including: The Oprah Show, 20/20, The NBC Nightly News, The View and Good Morning America. Articles about Geneen and her work have appeared in numerous publications including: O: The Oprah Magazine, Cosmopolitan, Time, Elle, The New York Times, The Chicago Tribune, and The Philadelphia Inquirer. She has written monthly columns in Good Housekeeping Magazine and Prevention Magazine. Geneen is the author of eight books, including The New York Times bestsellers When Food is Love and Women Food and God: An Unexpected Path to Almost Everything. Her newest book, to be published in March 2011, is Lost and Found: Unexpected Revelations about Food and Money.

Reviews

[Marci · Rating 4 out of 5]

I just read the following quote today. It's one of the reasons I love reading Geneen Roth's ideas about eating and health.

"When we give up dieting, we take back something we were often too young to know we had given away: our own voice. Our ability to make decisions about what to eat and when. Our belief in ourselves. Our right to decide what goes into our mouths. Unlike the diets that appear monthly in magazines or the thermal pants that sweat off pounds, unlike a lover or a friend or a car, your body is reliable. It doesn't go away, get lost, stolen. If you will listen, it will speak."

So very powerful. And that was only on page 7. Can't wait to read the rest...

[H.A. Fowler · Rating 2 out of 5]

I got through about three chapters before I gave up on this as total crap. There is some wisdom in it about learning to trust your body, but I'm sorry, suggesting that a life-long compulsive eater just "go ahead and eat whatever you want until your body gets sick of it and magically starts to want what's good for it," is... wow, so many negative adjectives to use here! Dangerous, stupid, ridiculous, irresponsible, need I go on?

I don't know, maybe it could help others, but if I went that route, I'd be eating Pizza and Nachos constantly, all day long and by the time my body decided it wanted healthy food, I'd be dead from a heart attack.

[Connie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am devouring Roth's books. 4 in a row and, of course, in accordance with (most of) the Guidelines:
- I read them when I'm hungry for them
- Stop when I'm satisfied
- Read without distraction
- Reading while sitting down in a calm environment
- Love, love, love what I'm reading so I'm ready with gusto, enjoyment, and pleasure
- Reading just what my body/mind/soul craves

This woman is a genius!!

[jenoodle✮⋆˙ · Rating 3 out of 5]

I’m someone who struggles a lot with emotional eating and binging so when I saw this book I took the shot and read it 🤭

I feel like the book understood me in a way, I felt like I connected to certain chapters and parts in ways I couldn’t explain to someone if I tried.

While the book did have beautifully written parts and lots of ways to deal with my eating issues, I felt like the solutions were more of a bandage than something I could handle with long term.

I feel like when you tend to emotional eat or binge any advice will be hard to put into practice unless you REALLY put effort into it, which can really be hard at times if you don’t have the support of motivation to do so.

I feel like there’s lots of videos on YouTube that can help you with that rather than reading this book, since I felt like most of the things written in here I felt like I heard from content creators and articles that were free online.

Otherwise I find this book quite interesting, and if you have lots of free time I suppose you could give it a read if none of the YouTube videos or articles work for you.

But for me, I think I’m going to have to do more research to fix my eating habits on my own 🥰

[Soph · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’ve not read anything like this in a very long time. I have struggled with eating disorders for years, and it’s only now that I have recovered enough to be able to manage thinking about my relationship with food and my body.

I will say that this book is not exactly fat positive, but it clearly tries to be fat neutral. Roth makes it clear early on that she believes it’s okay to be fat, and that not all fat people struggle with eating issues. However there are references to fat throughout the book that veer toward negativity.

What I found most useful about this book is how it talks about pain, trauma, and patriarchy, and the damage that does to our approach to eating. Roth is comfortable criticising the media, beauty standards, capitalism, any structure that she believes disadvantages women. This means that the book is not too ‘self-help-y’ and does a good job of analysing the social and political causes of eating disorders. There is no blame or judgment.

This book has helped me to understand the motivation behind some of my disordered eating, and to reevaluate my approach to choosing what and when I eat. It’s been pretty liberating to read, even though I thought I had ‘recovered’ completely from the disordered thoughts and behaviours of my teen years.

[Abby · Rating 3 out of 5]

I expected something a little different going into this one, and writing this review two months after reading it, I'm surprised to say that I find myself thinking about Breaking Free a lot. My major criticism still holds true: Geneen Roth encourages emotional eaters to embrace their cravings and trust that the body will eventually work things out. This would be fine if it weren't for the fact that so many people crave addictive and harmful substances like sugar and processed foods and alcohol. When I say that I expected something different, I think I was looking for something more evidence-based and concrete. What I've come to realize as an afterthought is that the road to best health is a process for every individual, and for many individuals (including myself) the realistic tone and sensible advice in this book are profoundly helpful in the right context. I will be reading more by Ms. Roth in the future.

[Nancy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Breaking Free goes hand in hand with a book I read previously, Eating Awareness Training. While EAT focuses on learning to hear and trust your own body, Breaking Free gets down to the nitty-gritty of helping you figure out why you eat when you aren't actually hungry for food. I really like this mindfulness and body awareness approach. It is very straight forward. That doesn't mean it is easy, as it can be very difficult to figure out and undo years/decades of mindless and emotional eating.

I find Roth's writing to be clear and generally to the point. I appreciate her openness and honesty. I really want to believe and commit and follow through.

[Alex · Rating 3 out of 5]

I don't really do non-fiction or self-help books but this was recommended by my coach so I gave it a go.
I wouldn't say it was riveting stuff (lack of dragons and smut) but there were some really interesting points in here, and some parts had me relating a little bit too hard haha.

[Jana]

I was looking for a book that would help me understand why I crave sweets when I’m looking for a dopamine hit, and alternatives for that. I didn’t connect with this book at first because it seemed like the intended audience is chronic dieters and people who have shame around eating. That said, it does address “comfort eating” which could be another way of phrasing what I was looking for, and I did find good practical advice on being a more mindful eater - like not eating standing up/on the go, and not having distractions (phone, tv) while you’re eating.

[Molly · Rating 3 out of 5]

Out of all Geneen Roth books I have read, this is my least favorite and I think it is because she offers a TON of tips to help you not eat emotionally. To me, the tips were that of WW meetings and every "diet" magazine article out there. (And they probably borrowed them from Roth) it is just stuff, I have read 3 million times already.

And, I have to admit that I got a little pissy when I read about her being fat at 145. I hope to God she if 3 feet tall if she considers that fat ;)

Toward the middle of the book, I was bored. Skimming ensued. And then we get to the chapters 13-15 and "HELLO NURSE!" The book got interesting again.

I am not sure I would read it if you have experience with Roth's other work, but if not, have at it!

[Bonnie Brien · Rating 2 out of 5]

Well I didn't really read this. Just a few chapters. I learned that my eating "problems" are not severe at all, and so I don't need major intervention. The one helpful thing I learned was to make sure that I'm eating because I'm hungry, and not for other reasons. It was nice to hear from someone who views food in a similar way to me.

[Cathy · Rating 5 out of 5]

A book that everyone needs to read. Whether or not you use food as a drug it allows more understanding on the subject. Like 10 yrs of psychotherapy in a book!

[etherealfire · Rating 4 out of 5]

Kindle e-book

[Dianna · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book can pin point your eating problem in under a minute and the fact that the author is so relatable makes it much more enjoyable.

This book is about eating, even if it is compulsive or a binge eating problem. It shows you that you are not alone in the battle of not eating that damn cookie.

The premise of this book is really simple: ditch the counting kcals, ditch the scale for a while, eat when you are hungry, no food is bad food.

Kinda disagree. Eat only when you are hungry is good advice but if you want to be healthy too eat only proper foods, basically nothing processed.

"Diets do not give you the option of eating frozen peas and mashed potatoes when you are lonely. Diets, based on caloric consumption, do not leave the room for being lonely. Or sad or angry or joyful. Diets exclude our psychological and emotional needs by assuming that we are going to feel the same way about ourselves, our relationships, our lives, on day one as on day six. Diets exclude all feelings except for those of wanting to be thin. Diets remove from us one of the few characteristics that distinguishes us from other animals – choice."


Another interesting quote from the book is:

"A woman in my group said, : I am amazed to discover that after forty years of bingeing on sugar, when I let myself eat what I want, I don’t even like the taste of sweets."

This book is based more on the healing part of your eating journey, like forget and forgive and that’s ok if you search for that. It doesn’t have proper facts and a to do list on how to achieve the body you want to become. But it’s worth reading for the women who tell their story throughout this lecture, including the author. It is a book for the soul and to that level it help you, helps you calm your nerves for awhile until you are ready to step up and show up for yourself on a daily basis.

[Seasy Huang]

felt like a disguised mindfulness practice, 5 stars for content but 3 stars for language and gendered framing

[Angela · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am writing this review one year after having read the book. I try not to wait so long, but sometimes life simply interferes...

After I read this book, I rapidly expanded to the highest weight I'd ever been in my life. Perhaps I took Roth's advice a little too literally. At one point in the book, she talks about the day she made the decision that she would eat whatever she wanted, to satisfaction, and eventually her body would lead her in the right direction. Her example was chocolate chip cookies. My real world experience was... pretty much everything in sight.

I was in the midst of preparations for bariatric surgery (a procedure known as the gastric sleeve, which is a nice compromise between the LAP band and the gastric bypass) and possibly just not at the right time in my life to be taking the advise of a book on my emotional eating issues.

Surgery has helped me control some of my food issues, and exercise has helped even more, but I'm not sure how much help this book was. While it has a lot of GREAT content, the reader has to make sure that she's ready to accept what she's reading and really use it.

[Joanne McCoy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Geneen Roth was one of the first to explore the fact that a pizza is comfort disguised as food-- for those of us who grew up sharing good times and great conversation around the family dinner table while enjoying this Italian classic entree, we will never be able to separate the gustatory pleasure of it from the deep sense of family, love and community it's very aroma evokes. So when times get rough, we don't have to be hungry to dial 662-PAPA and order a couple of large pizzas-- it's the comfort we're after, not necessarily the nutrition. ::::sigh::::: Welcome to emotional eating, and the addictive cycle it engenders. This book is filled with insight and is worth reading many times-- when I'm able to break the cycle of emotional eating based on this book, I'll change my rating to 5 stars.

[Sarah · Rating 2 out of 5]

Some thought provoking points.

The weirdest sentence in this book: “if you walked up to a man and demanded he have an erection, could he do it?” And this was used to compare you demanding your body be different. It was quite a dumb comparison as a man can achieve an erection far easier than we can change our body composition.

There were other weird sexual points.

The worst part of the book is when she recommended women feel better about their extra weight by comparing themselves with thin models and imagining how “boney” they are, not nice to cuddle with? Shouldn’t have to put down smaller bodies to feel good about my bigger one.

[CC · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book had great advice, and asked very valuable questions! I agree with many reviewers that it would function well as a workbook, with spaces to write in your answers, and practice the exercises. Because it's essentially a workbook without the workbook format, it was tedious to read at times. But, overall, another excellent resource from Geneen Roth!

[Olavia Kite · Rating 3 out of 5]

Like many people, I gained weight during the pandemic, which is why I turned to this book. Turns out, a lot of it did not really apply to me, probably because mine wasn't a lifelong problem. However, I found that the author's reflections towards the end on the avoidance of pain were spot on, useful not only for emotional eaters, but for anyone with any kind of compulsion.

[Amber · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book to help with compulsive eating - or any compulsive behavior, for that matter. Lots of helpful insight, and a bunch of activities one can do to help understand compulsive behavior and how to change and grow. Definitely will be a re-read!

[Rachel Kain · Rating 5 out of 5]

Chock full of information. A true guide to helping end the cycle of emotional eating and creating a healthy relationship with food. I highly recommend tracking down a copy of "Why Weight" which is a companion workbook that I'm currently working through.

[Brittney · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was actually life changing.

[Alana · Rating 1 out of 5]

seriously bad & very triggering in recovery from ED

[Toni · Rating 1 out of 5]

As a dietitian working towards a Masters in psychotherapy, I came across this book, and knew nothing about the author, but noticed she wasn't a doctor, psychologist or dietitian, but I wanted to read the book to find out if this was an individual that had really good insights, even though she may not have the proper education to be sharing those insights as if they're coming from a licensed professional.

However, I've found that some professionals have no idea what they're talking about and some individuals have lived enough that their teachings can be very insightful.

I've since looked into information about the author and she is a speaker. An apparently well-known one. Regardless of that, this book is just band aid information and tips and tricks to counteract overeating. it mentions emotional eating quite a bit, almost as if trying to convince you that the information given is truly for emotional eaters. It does not give information on breaking free and glosses over what emotional eating is. It has plenty of stories, like a person talking to a friend, or going to a ted talk, but little else.

For instance, the author talks about ensuring that you are always sitting and not in a car when eating. sitting at a table when you're eating so that you're more aware of how much you're eating and you are present. (more the ideaology around mindful eating). She talks about eating when you're not distracted, so no phones, no cooking, no person talking ( again, more along the lines of mindful eating). However, this doesn't come close to why people emotionally eat, nor helps with them breaking free of it. I don't have to be emotionally eating to nibble as I'm preparing dinner or snacking as i'm talking to my teenage daughter while in the kitchen. These are signs of unconcious eating.

The author takes the premise of emotional eating and confuses it with overeating or unconscious eating. It comes across as if the author doesnt know the difference, so her information is more along the lines of what's worked for her, and what she's seen work for others in the past. But again, it doesn't wholeheartedly relate to emotional eating, or how to break free of it. Every bit of information seems to be geared towards bandaid ways to curb overeating, or how to stop unconsciously eating. This can be triggered by your emotions but it's not the whole story of emotional eating.

If you are an emotional eater and looking for ways to cope. This is NOT the book for you. If you find yourself constantly unconsciously eating or overeating and gaining weight as a result and you are looking for some common, not specific to you tips and tricks, this book gives some ideas.

The narrator wasn't right for this. I think a narrator that can differentiate between reading a novel and a self help book would have been better.

[Monique · Rating 3 out of 5]

I stumbled across this book in a community library and was curious. I read some of Geneen’s stuff a good 30 years ago. It changed my life. The key message I took was to eat when hungry and stop when full (actually since reading this, I should say until “satisfied”). As simple as that seemed I realised how ridiculously disconnected I was from my body and recognising signals beyond “starving” and “stuffed”. I also distinctly recalled the line “if you eat at the fridge, pull up a chair”, with the idea being to eat with awareness and even enjoyment rather than sneakily or guiltily.

These same concepts are in this book. But I have mixed feelings.

I really like the idea of honouring your body’s cravings and satiety signals. The idea that depriving oneself can lead to all kinds of negative consequences (e.g., shame, over indulging, black and white thinking/behaviours).

However, the book was filled with mentions of “fat” and weight that felt low-grade shaming. It’s contradictory that Geneen encourages you to throw out your scales, while frequently citing her various weights over the years. How did she know what she weighed if she threw her scales out?! There’s also a brief section where she discusses a particular a yoga instructor, including her specific weight and height (which would put her in the underweight category by BMI standards), and her body is described in glowing terms. Plus, random food rules are thrown in occasionally, such as only selecting 3 types of foods at a buffet.

It’s pitched as a book about emotional eating and it covers this thoroughly. It raises important questions about our emotional needs and how we get them met.

But is it a diet book too?

[Mariel · Rating 2 out of 5]

Bien niche esta lectura, y no creo que ayude mucho. ⁣
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"Bingeing is a symptom." ⁣
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Es más yo tengo hasta más antojos desde que me lo leí. Es dique cómo dejar de comer emocionalmente, como por ansiedad. Como escuchar más a tu cuerpo, y menos a lo que venden y las comparaciones con otros. Me parece que para quién de verdad lo necesite necesita más que este libro. ⁣
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"...from listening-to-everyone-else to listening-to-yourself. And trusting what you hear."⁣
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Bien self-helpy. Anoté algunos quotes, pero como que ni no ni sí. Si tienes problemas, mejor buscar un profesional.

Sí como dice el libro, a ambos sexos, pero las mujeres con un poco de más insistencia en especialidad en este país, se le tiene una presión de tener un físico en especifico. Se juzga mucho por la apariencia, por el peso, y eso afecta a muchas personas que equivalen su valor al valor en una balanza. Pero poner tu valor en las espaldas de otros es encontrarte en el piso más tiempos que no. Y más en algo como el peso. Otra cosa, esto me acordó también al soma de Brave New World.⁣
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"Therein lies the value of compulsion: removal from discomfort. And therein lies its tragic flaw: you cannot remove yourself from discomfort, without also removing yourself from a large portion of your life." ⁣
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Y me fui en una en un libro que tal vez no merezca tanta introspección. Si tienes tiempo y te interesa el tema léelo, si tienes un problema busca ayuda y olvídate de sólo lectura.

[Michelle Cho · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you struggle with emotional eating or versions of binge eating at some point - this book really made me aware of what relationship I have had with food and myself in an incredibly thought-provoking way. This is the cure to the 'sticky, gross' feelings I get from using the parts of social media (particularly in the message it has towards feminine characters) I know isn't conducive to my wellbeing. This book inspires me to be judicious with my words and to protect the important practice of taking care of myself. I really want to self-reflect more because of it. The only slight criticism I would have of it is its hetero- / cis-gendered perspective of eating disorders, but it is also perhaps due to the fact that the whole issue of emotional eating tends to be a hetero/cis-/fem issue.

How I came across this book:
This semester has been particularly rough for me, and this book is one out of the few self-help books I've recently been invested in. I'm jumping around a bit across all of them hehe but they provide me with the means to create a space in my head for myself. I came across this book with the recommendation through one of Jenn Im's Youtube videos (I like her latest content because of the comfort I've lately been feeling for aesthetic, reflective vlogs). I hope I may be able to become a stronger person with a bigger heart and mind through books like these☀️🌱

[Farrah · Rating 3 out of 5]

Important messages for people who need to hear them. One's relationship with food can be very unhealthy, and some people don't realize that one's relationship with food is symptomatic of a bigger condition or environment.

Here's what I got: the word "enoughness" with food

eating has everything to do with what I look like

most of the time we eat in response to our minds

i knew i was tired of circling but I did't know how to do anything else (pre-recovery)

on binging: when your attention is not present (because of the full sensations in your body or a strong desire to be elsewhere) you miss the experience

i like this logic: i feel like i'm not allowed to eat fattening food so that when i do i feel as if i'm breaking a law or doing what's forbidden. eating what i means indulging, which translates to when i give myself what i need or want, i am doing something wrong

sometimes i'll find myself saying "i need a drink: when what i am really saying is, i need to tune out,,,not be responsible ...a working adult...friend...caretaker..." ask what you REALLY want

[Madli Allikas · Rating 5 out of 5]

Kindlasti soovitaksin kõikidele inimestele ükskõik, mis kaalus või harjumustega. Ma elasin aastaid arvates, et ma toitun normaalselt, reaalsuses mu toitumine keeras mu elu sassi. Kui mu kogenud sõbranna ütles mulle, et see pole normaalne ja seletas miks see suhe mul toiduga on pole normaalne, siis hakkasin otsima head lugemist sel teemal. Terve google soovitas Geneen Rothi (ükskõik, mis tema raamatut), raamat jõudis minuni täpselt õigel ajal. Enne seda raamatut ma polnud lugenud ühtegi eneseabi raamatut, millest ma päriselt nii abi saaksin. Ma polnud veel lugenud eneseabi raamatut nii, et iga lehekülg täielikult tõmbaks mu endasse ning muudaks iga sõnaga minus arusaama. Raamat on täis topitud post-ite, et saaksin tagantjärgi need kõige mahlasemad kohad üle töötada. Raamatus on kirjutatu sujuv, siiras, aus. See sobis mulle nii hästi.