Are you a woman in midlife looking to end your struggle with emotional eating?
Are you frustrated because you want to lose weight, but find yourself eating for all kinds of reasons that have nothing to do with hunger, like stress, boredom, exhaustion?
Do your cravings for sugar and comfort foods feel out of control?
Do you want to be healthier and feel better in your body?
Marla Berns, LISW, Certified Health Coach
Hi there! My name is Marla Berns. I am a Certified Health Coach, and I specialize in helping women in midlife end their struggle with emotional/stress eating so that they can live the vibrant and healthy life they want and deserve. Many of the women I work with are very accomplished in most areas of their lives, but have trouble getting a handle on their eating. They are tired of trying all kinds of diets, because they know from experience that diets don’t work. They just want to feel at peace around food so that they can put their energy into more important aspects of their lives.
My approach
It is my belief that emotional eating is a learned behavior. For whatever reason, you have learned to use food as a way of coping, or you have developed habitual patterns that lead to overeating. The great news is that this can be unlearned.
Most women think that if they just had more willpower, they would stop overeating. Or if they could just stick to a diet, they would get their eating under control. But willpower and diets are NOT the solution. We already know this based on what research tells us, and more importantly, from our own experience. We know that willpower is a finite resource that we can’t depend on long term. We know that 95% of diets fail. Why?
First, diets tell you what and when you “should” be eating. This alone is problematic. Every person is unique and responds differently to food. But even more to our point is that diets don’t address WHY you are overeating in the first place.
Sure, you can follow a food plan, you can do everything “right”, but you will be relying on willpower and it won’t be a permanent solution. If you just change your behavior without changing your mindset, if you just follow food rules without looking at why you feel compelled to overeat, you will eventually revert to your old patterns.
I believe that if you can understand and change your habits around food, you will never need another diet again. The solution lies in understanding why you are eating when you don’t want to be eating and learning how to change those patterns.
Marla is an exceptional coach who helped me create a healthy relationship with food. As a 50-year old woman, I knew I was experiencing physical and hormonal changes that were triggering some old eating issues. I also knew I wanted to feel my best, most vibrant, and fittest as I age. Marla is so knowledgeable and compassionate and really helped me navigate this. I can’t recommend her enough! – Jennifer