My friend Meryl Beck knows emotional eating. She’s binged, hidden food and even raided other people’s refrigerators and pantries. Her struggle and honest search for answers has healed her compulsions and brought her life into balance. Her story and the wisdom she has learned as a therapist and energy practitioner are shared in Stop Eating Your Heart Out – The 21 Day Program to Free Yourself From Emotinal Eating.
Meryl provides readers with a logical 21-day plan to help them both understand and overcome emotional eating patterns. Recognizing that it takes 3 weeks to fully integrate a new habit, the book offers readers both resources and a daily assignment for each of the 21 days. She covers many angles — from journaling to meditation, from food diaries to energy self-care, and forgiveness as well as gratitude. All of these ideas invite the reader to a peaceful relationship with their body, emotions and food itself.
As a lifetime member of Weight Watcher’s since 1991, I personally acknowledge that dealing with life changes and emotions are a huge part of the quest for a healthy body. Meryl empowers readers beyond traditional talk therapy, diets and eating plans by integrating energy psychology tools. She includes Emotional Freedom Techniques (EFT), Rapidly Integrated Transformational Technique (RITT), Energy Medicine and WHEE, allowing readers to try these self-care resources for immediate relief.
Perhaps the strongest message within the book comes from the touching epilogue on page 209. Meryl writes, “I finished editing this book’s manuscript around 6PM EDT on October 12, 2011. Little did I know that at approximately the same time, Jonathon, my sweet, loving, thirty-five year old son was finishing too: two thousand miles away, he pulled the trigger that ended his life….. How have I coped with this enormous loss and excruciating pain without the old crutch of compulsive overeating? I have used the tools presented here, over and over again: allowing myself to feel and discharge my feelings, crying and weeping, some days a lot, some days a little; tapping using EFT, RITT and WHEE; praying and meditating; leaning on my support people; asking my spiritual family to send me energy; doing parts work; journaling; recognizing and working with the Inner Critic; forgiving myself and Jon; making amends with Ho’oponopono; trying to laugh at least once a day; focusing, in gratitude on the thirty-five years Jon was with us; choosing (mostly) healthy eating; and sometimes just sitting and remembering to breathe.”
Yes, Meryl Beck has followed her own advice and she thrives. I happened to catch her presentation at the 2012 ACEP Conference in San Diego earlier this month and was treated to a thriving, healthy and joyful soul who lives the words she shares. She is a beautiful and authentic spokesperson for her book.
Stop Eating Your Heart Out is an essential book for practitioners and their clients, as well as any person who seeks freedom from emotional eating patterns for long term health benefits. I’ve already secured one copy for myself and a second for clients to borrow.
You can order the book and claim some wonderful bonus gifts at
www.stopeatingyourheartout.com/book/merylbeck-bonus-gifts
