https://www.amazon.com.au/dp/B07DT6YTR3/
What inspired you when writing Beat the Binge?
The book idea came after we designed an online course on our website.
Beat the Binge
https://impulsivity.com.au/product/course-beat-the-binge-control-your-impulsive-binge-eating/
We wanted to share the core ideas from the course and to help people on their journey to manage their impulsive and mindless overeating.
People often underestimate the importance of impulse control and self-regulation and acquiring other necessary skills when attempting to improve our eating habits. And for some of us, when we have never experienced a loss of control – it is difficult to imagine what it feels like to not be able to stop after eating just one cookie, one slice of pizza or just one donut.
What will readers get out of your book?
Beat the Binge is a workbook designed to help you to understand your eating patterns, identify triggers, and address unhelpful thinking and patterns of eating. Filled with practical advice and handy templates, Beat the Binge shows a new way forward. Regain control of your eating with practical strategies and self-care tips that will change your relationship with food for good. Stop the shame game and feel more confident in your journey to better health.
How did you come up with the ideas in Beat the Binge?
As a part of my doctoral degree, I investigated dysfunctional impulsivity. Impulsivity is a personality characteristic that potentially has crucial consequences for the development, maintenance, and treatment of obesity. And with 1.9 million people overweight globally and nearly 42% of Americans considered obese, you're not alone if you struggle with overeating.
So, what is impulsivity in eating?
Basically, it means:
You don’t really think about what you do (you don’t plan, you just act)
You might pick up a Danish pastry or a muffin at a staff meeting even though you are not hungry. You might experience a trigger, like seeing your favourite food, and you eat impulsively instead of thinking about your decision to pick up this food and checking if you are hungry (or simply bored or frustrated).
You focus on immediate small rewards instead of larger later rewards despite negative consequences
You can’t wait to get what you want, such as fitness and health. However, you might prefer an immediate small reward such as your favourite food now rather than a larger reward later.
You can’t resist your urges. You feel out of control
You act as soon as you experience an urge or impulse even though it consistently leads to negative consequences. For example, you put on weight, feel embarrassed, and fail at diets. But again and again, you choose that croissant or chips over a fit, healthy body.
Day after day, we engage in the same impulsive overeating but don’t think about our actions. We don’t question ourselves. So, it makes us feel powerless, weak, and ashamed due to the lack of control over our impulsive behaviours.
What part of the book did you have the hardest time writing?
Not sure how to answer this question. There is some material we didn’t include as we wanted this book to be a practical guide, a workbook, which is meant to be used.
Can you tell us a little about your background?
Beat the Binge, written by clinical psychologist Dr Yuliya Richard, explores the relationship between overeating, impulsivity and you. Examining common triggers and contributing factors, Dr Richard gets to the heart of why most diets fail and how impulsivity plays an important role in binge eating.
Where can readers find out more about your work?
Readers are welcome to visit our website www.impulsivity.com.au and learn more about impulsivity and its role in the development and maintenance of other conditions, such as overspending, binge drinking, and explosive anger, among others.