Why Can't I Stop Eating: Recognizing, Understanding, and Overcoming Food Addiction [Paperback]

Debbie Danowski (Author), Pedro Lazaro (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 9, 2000

"Why can't I stop eating?" If, like millions of others, you often ask yourself this question, you may be addicted to food. The food you eat may be precisely what makes you crave more . . . and more. This straight-talking book puts the widespread problem of food addiction into clear perspective and points the way to a life free of the obsession with food. Debbie Danowski, whose food addiction nearly ruined her life, and Peter Lazaro combine forces to give readers a full understanding of this debilitating condition: its sources, patterns, consequences, and physiological underpinnings. Unlike fad diets and drugs with their side effects, hidden costs, and infamous failure rates, the program outlined in this book goes to the root cause of chronic overeating and puts the tools for a lifelong cure into the hands of anyone willing to accept responsibility for a healthy, happy future.

 

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

As more and more Americans discover that crash diets and diet pills don't work, they are turning to self-help books that stress taking responsibility for one's weight and eating more healthily. Why Can't I Stop Eating? focuses on understanding how addictive substances, such as carbohydrates, sugar, and caffeine, react in the body. Danowski and Lazaro, a recovering food addict and a medical director of three addictions hospitals, respectively, believe that carbohydrate addiction is the main reason why 50 percent of Americans are overweight. The authors cite research illustrating physiological reasons for food cravings (especially carbohydrates) and downplaying the effectiveness of weight-loss drugs like Fen/Phen. They also provide exercises that clarify which foods trigger overeating and diets that emphasize low carbohydrate intake. Jeffrey and Norean Wilbert, a food therapist and a registered nurse, respectively, suggest that "fattitudes"Dself-defeating behavior that causes overeatingDare the main obstacles to maintaining ideal weight and present helpful exercises to identify them. This book's philosophy is that even people genetically prone to obesity have emotional (perhaps unconscious) reasons to be overweight. Because both of these titles are clearly written and will appeal to general readers, they are recommended for larger public libraries.DLeAnna DeAngelo, Springfield, MI
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

About the Author

A recovering food addict, Debbie Danowski, Ph.D. has maintained a weight loss greater than the amount she now weighs for more than 12 years. As an alumnus of a food addiction treatment center, Dr. Danowski has consistently used the recovery program outlined in her first book, Why Can't I Stop Eating? to enjoy a 166-pound weight loss without the dangerous health risks. Professionally, Dr. Danowski has written more than 100 articles for national and local publications, including First For Women, Woman's Day, and Seventeen Magazine. She has also spoken at countless meetings, seminars, and conferences about food addiction, including Food Addiction 2000, the first national conference held on the disease. Additionally, Dr. Danowski was employed by the food addiction unit of a national treatment center, to educate mental health professionals about food addiction recovery. Currently, Dr. Danowski is an assistant professor of English at Sacred Heart University in Fairfield, Connecticut and a member of the University's Eating Disorders Prevention Team. Dr. Danowski earned her Ph.D. at Capella University in Minneapolis, Minnesota where she studied food representation in film. Dr. Danowski also has a Masters Degree in Public Communications with emphasis in television, radio, and film from Syracuse University.

Pedro Lazaro, M.D., is a former medical director of three addiction hospitals. He currently maintains his private practice in Tampa, Florida.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 312 pages
• Publisher: Hazelden; 1 edition (March 9, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1568383657
• ISBN-13: 978-1568383651
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.4 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (29 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #466,614 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

129 of 138 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars This book could have been so much more, April 2, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: Why Can't I Stop Eating: Recognizing, Understanding, and Overcoming Food Addiction (Paperback)

I read this book with high hopes that it would finally give me the tools to understand why I binge and what to do about it. However, it seemed to me that most of the book was devoted to telling the reader that she is not to blame for her food addiction. That is true, of course, but a couple sentences about it would have been sufficient. I wanted more of a scientific explanation of why I'm addicted to certain foods, but there really wasn't any.

Most of the book is spent building up to creating your own food plan, but when you get there, it's just a very strict meal plan with pretty much no suggestions on modifying it. The authors insist that you won't be hungry following this plan. I have eaten exactly the same breakfast they suggest, and I have rarely made it past 3 hours without feeling ravenously hungry; they insist that you must wait 4-5 hours between meals.

The authors do not seem to take variations in activity level into account. I made a rough calculation of the calories allowed, and it looks to me like there are about 1700 calories/day for women. This might be fine for someone who does only the 30 minutes of walking 3x/week as is recommended in the book. I, however, exercise fairly intensely for about an hour 6x/week. I need more calories. No recommendations are given for adapting the meal plan for this kind of situation.

The meal plan includes a nighttime snack, which consists of cereal, milk, and fruit, and is intended to prevent middle-of-the-night binging. That meal is one of my favorite binges - if anything, it's going to make things worse! No alternative meal arrangements are suggested. And besides, I have never once gotten up in the middle of the night to eat, but the authors seem to think that all food addicts do this.

On the positive side, I did appreciate that the book validated my belief that I am physically addicted to sugar and refined carbohydrates. It also opened my eyes to the possibility that I am addicted to wheat, refined or not.

64 of 71 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Traditional 12 step approach, October 11, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: Why Can't I Stop Eating: Recognizing, Understanding, and Overcoming Food Addiction (Paperback)

After I read the book and was very disappointed, I went on-line to write this review. I find myself agreeing completely with the reviews that gave this book a low rating. It is yet another attempt to espouse the virtues of the 12 step Overeaters Anonymous program. While I think there are good aspects of the 12 step program and that it may help some, there are many that the program simply wouldn't work for, including myself. Mainly, I think, because it mandates that you cut flour, sugar, and other foods completely from your diet. I feel that this sets a person up to fail because one ends up feeling deprived, which leads to binging. In fact there is a whole chapter in the book that talks about case studies and nearly every person mentioned has relapsed and is valiantly trying to get back to abstinence and lose the weight yet again. I would suggest that instead of working a program that obviously isn't working, they should perhaps seek another solution, maybe in the form of professional counseling. I would recommend "The Solution" by Laurel Mellin, which is a comprehensive support solution with groups and pyschologists around the country practicing the methods given in the book. I have found this method much more helpful than Overeaters Anonymous ever was. If OA is working for you, then I think that is great, but if you are like me and do not find that it fits you, I encourage you to look elsewhere. The Solution is a great place to start, and if you want to check out the website go to WWW.Sweetestfruit.com.

43 of 48 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars A disappointment, August 11, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: Why Can't I Stop Eating: Recognizing, Understanding, and Overcoming Food Addiction (Paperback)

What a disappointment! The authors answer to binge-eating is simply eliminating all sugar, flour, fat, caffeine, or whatever your trigger foods are from your diet. Not only that, but they insist you must weigh and measure your food all the time for the rest of your life. Thats hardly what I consider freeing yourself from obsessing about food. They actually recommend keeping an emergency food kit in your car to be sure you always have measuring cups, a food scale, and several cans of safe food available to you at all times. Perhaps this is wise advice for people who are morbidly obese, but for those of us who are at a normal weight, or only slightly over, and are looking for some insight and realistic advice on dealing with compulsive/binge eating, this book is NOT the answer!