Reviewed By Marilyn Dalrymple

The workbook format of this book is ideal. It encourages one to sit down, define the problems and reasons for these problems and discover what can be done to overcome the troubling situation.  The Binge Eating & Compulsive Overeating Workbook opens with an introduction which discusses what the book offers, how the book is different from others written about the topic and mapping - how to use - the workbook.

“This book presents a unique integrative medicine approach to treating BED (binge eating disorder) and CO (compulsive overeating). Integrative medicine is a healing-oriented discipline that takes into account the whole person – body, mind, and spirit – including all aspects of lifestyle,” Ross says under the paragraph, “How This Book is Different.” And therein is the secret, I think, of a successful book that helps with eating disorders.

Part 1 of the book, “Healing the Body,” defines binge eating and compulsive eating and reveals the causes of these disorders.  This chapter also goes over the nutrition basics.  The reader is guided through the process of finding their BMI, or body mass index, and explains what this is and why we need to know this number, which leads to what the BMI and our waist measurement reveals about health risks.

Part 2 of The Binge Eating & Compulsive Overeating Workbook, “titled “Healing the Mind, covers the explanation of traditional approaches to treating BED and CO.  I found this chapter to be helpful by describing the terms and methods of the various treatment methods. And, I learned about new methods, or treatments I haven’t heard of before. Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) is one I was not familiar with, and found interesting. In this section mindfulness skills are described and workbook pages are offered.

Part 3 discusses, “Healing the Spirit.” Being a sufferer of an eating disorder, myself I feel this is one of the most important and probably least discussed areas of eating disorders. This section goes into stress, depression, trauma and addictions and how these components complicate eating disorders.

Ross ends the book with, “Conclusion: Five Steps to Healing from Eating Disorders,” which encourages self-care and self respect. This is a great way to end this volume.

There are many workbook pages and this causes the reader to really pay attention and dig within ourselves to discover what is going on inside of us. I found the book to be personal – I felt the author was talking directly to me. No shortcuts were taken; each section is thoroughly developed.

When I first opened this book and I saw the chapter on nutrition, I thought, “Oh no. Another lesson on the food pyramid,” but I was wrong. I appreciate the information this book offers and the author’s obvious understanding of eating disorders. She treats the subject as if the disorders are much more than a sufferer being weak or a failure at dieting, and that is so true. Ross makes the reader feel he or she is very much worth the effort to help; best of all – the reader has to make the effort which makes the lessons much more valuable. I can recommend this book without hesitation.

The Binge Eating & Compulsive Overeating Workbook: An Integrated Approach to Overcoming Disordered Eating (New Harbinger Publications, Inc/ Jul 2009) by Carolyn Coker Ross, M.D., MPH

Book Review: Natural Healing Wisdom & Know-How Compiled By Amy Rost

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