The Hunger Within : A Twelve Week Guided Journey from Compulsive Eating to Recovery (Paperback)

by Marilyn Migliore (Author) "I'd like to begin by introducing you to someone I hope you get to know much better in the weeks to come: you..." (more)
Key Phrases: compulsive eating, compulsive eaters, nondominant hand, Hungry Child, Problematic Parent, Loving Parent (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
Every year, a new diet fad or quick-fix weight-loss plan comes out on the market. The endless array of shakes, powders, pills, and regimens available to dieters owes its very existence to one overwhelming truth: Most people who lose weight put it back on. Finally, here is a book that takes the focus off food and guides dieters through an intensive psychological program that includes daily writing exercises to help them get in touch with the hungry child within.

Based on Marilyn Migliore's twenty years of experience with eating disorders and her highly successful treatment program at St. Luke's-Roosevelt Hospital, The Hunger Within encourages readers to discover how their individual struggles with eating and weight mirror deeper psychological dilemmas in their lives. This concrete, lucid, step-by-step guide explores the core reasons that lead to overeating, identifies the triggers that precipitate bingeing, and breaks the vicious cycle of yo-yo dieting.

Most people who struggle with weight know that at some level the problem isn't about food or dieting. Finally, The Hunger Within offers a proven course to the individual who has tried every diet and is ready for the necessary insight to keep weight off permanently.

From the Inside Flap
Break the binge/diet cycle today!

Based on Marilyn Migliore's highly successful treatment program, which she designed at St.  Luke's-Roosevelt/A University Hospital of Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons in New York, The Hunger Within offers a twelve-week program for compulsive overeaters that provides real hope for lifelong weight loss.

If you've struggled with weight your whole life, chances are you know that diets don't work, and that most people who lose weight put it back on.  Finally, here is a book that takes the focus off food and guides dieters through an intensive psychological program that includes daily writing exercises to help the compulsive eater get in touch with the hungry child within.

The Hunger Within shows the yo-yo dieter how his or her individual struggle with eating and weight is a response to feelings of emotional deprivation that are established in early childhood, when the ways we're soothed and punished are established.  This concrete, lucid, step-by-step guide explores the core reasons for overeating, identifies the triggers that precipitate bingeing, and helps readers to break the vicious cycle of yo-yo dieting.  Each week, the reader listens in on three fictional program participants, and is encouraged to do the weekly exercises as if participating him- or herself.

If you've wanted to join a group or treatment program to help you lose weight, or if you're a last-ditch dieter, The Hunger Within offers a guided course that you can do in your own home and at your own pace.

Filled with:


Motivational Sayings
Guided Weekly "Sessions"
Exercises to Help You Stay on Track
Hunger Awareness Diary
Vicious Cycle Worksheet
Weekly Food For Thought

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Product Details

• Paperback: 224 pages
• Publisher: Main Street Books (December 29, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0385487584
• ISBN-13: 978-0385487580
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 7.5 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars See all reviews (15 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #241,090 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

81 of 82 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Truly An Excellent Book !!!, March 14, 1999

By	[e-mail] (Brooklyn, N.Y. U.S.A.) - See all my reviews

Truly An Excellent Book !!! The Hunger Within By Marilyn Migliore puts down on paper Marilyn Migliore's successful methods of treatment that she has used with me. And, I for one, can tell you it works. Up until 2 years ago (6/15/97) I was a size 32W-XXXL, and for most of my life I have been morbidly obece. Today, after losing more than 130 pounds, I am a size 10-12 and have been this way for the last 7 months. After trying every diet on the market, finally The Hunger Within, focuses you on the real reasons why we eat, allowing food to become a source of nourishment and not self-destruction. To all of my fellow readers with the courage to read this book, my most heartfelt wishes for your success.A GREAT BOOK.

33 of 34 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The hunger within: A twelve wee self-guided journey, August 9, 2000

By A Customer

I am a social worker who works with patients who suffer from compulsive eating. This book has been the focus of our sessions. It offers many avenues for motivating and developing positive eating habits while gaining insight into the behavior. It touches the soul and brings peace to ending this compulsive disorder . I highly recommend this book!(Go Blue!)

79 of 90 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Disappointed, October 25, 2002

By A Customer

Unfortunately this book didn't tell me anything I didn't already know. After 12 weeks of self guided revolting exercises such as eating whilst looking in the mirror, keeping endless food diaries and having role plays with myself I was no more enlightened as to how to solve the problem. The authors solution is to learn to make your "adult"(sensible) voice in your head overule your "child"(the one thats eats to make itself feel better). How you do this other than by sheer willpower and self talk is still a mystery to me. The book will be useful for those who don't understand why they eat compulsively and it will offer you some ways of coping. It will also make you see that you are not alone. My advice would be that if you really have an eating disorder you need to seek professional, human form, help in order to overcome it, this book is no substitute.