Millions of men, women, and children swing back and forth between extremes of indulgence and deprivation in their eating. Ronna Kabatznick, a psychological consultant to Weight Watchers International for nine years, believes that a better approach is the Buddhist path of The Middle Way. The challenge is to "transform the emotional hungers that create eating problems into spiritual nourishment that creates inner peace."
Kabatznick unspools the meaning of the Four Noble Truths as related to eating, calling them recipes for nourishing the heart by changing your mind and attitudes. The Eightfold Path is the "treatment plan" that can lead to lasting satisfaction. She presents excellent exercises on mindful eating, gratitude, generosity and food, dedication of merit, and loving-kindness. Her overall mantra, "Aspire — don't desire," is also good to keep in mind.
