The preoccupation with dieting and overweight/obese conditions is a national endeavor which acquires more participants each year. With each passing week, new groups of individuals decide to work at correcting their weight problems, and put forth major efforts toward this goal. Legions of health care professionals devote their careers to problems of weight loss and weight control as well. These professionals obtain training in the treatment of overweight conditions, and establish clinics and private offices in which the focus is helping the overweight or obese person. Dealing with weight problems has also become the focus of major business enterprises, as new weight control programs, centers, spas, gymnasiums and other exercise facilities proliferate at a faster rate than ever before. In 1998, the year of publication of this book, over 3000 book titles devoted to diet and weight loss are in print in English, and even more unpublished programs are available and marketed privately.

In the midst of all this furious activity devoted to weight control, some obvious questions arise. Why is all this activity necessary? Do all of these programs really work, and if not, why do the persons behind them continue to sell them? Of what true benefit are these different approaches?

Weight loss programs continue to be sold because there is money to be made in their sale. Exercise club memberships fees continue to be paid because of the profit to be had. There is no other case in which a major health problem and the individuals afflicted by that problem have become the target of every individual, group, and corporation that wishes to make a profit.

In case the reader should be wondering "What's wrong with making a profit?", I have an answer ready. However justifiable making a profit may be, when the basis for that profit is the exploitation of suffering people, then the profit has lost its justification. There is no doubt in my mind that the financial success of many weight control programs is based on the program's exploitation of the emotional and psychological problems which are the cause of the weight problem in the first place. These programs, instead of really helping the overweight person, capitalize on the person's hidden emotional problems, to the profit of the program's owners.

A great irony in this professionalized and institutionalized con game is that the perpetrators of this injustice are generally unaware of the exploitative aspects of their activity. Their exploitation of overweight persons is based not in a conscious desire to manipulate and exploit the fat person, but in ignorance of the real causes of weight problems.

With such a plenitude of guides and books for the overweight person, the obvious question becomes "Why does the world need another one?" The book in your hands is different from others available in that it avoids the errors of most weight control programs, formulas, and diets. It does not provide, recommend, or endorse a single method for losing weight. In fact, this author believes that the method for weight loss to be used is considered to be irrelevant, as long as it is medically safe. Further, the existence or availability of an effective method has never made a person lose weight - only the person himself or herself can do that. The individual person is the cause of effective weight loss and control, regardless of the program used. Any sound program, when used by a person with the right motives and awareness, will be effective. No program, no matter how well researched or proven, will work with a person who lacks the proper motives and awareness.

The greatest defect of diets, exercise, and weight control programs as they currently exist is that they fail to cultivate the proper awareness and motivation. In my experience, the necessary awareness and motivation are usually not present at first in most persons who request help with losing weight. Also, the workers who end up administering large weight control programs, as well as authors of books on diet and exercise, generally avoid these topics. When they do attempt to discuss awareness and motivation, they are likely to make statements which are incorrect, naive, or totally inapplicable to the emotional issues which are really at stake. This book is designed to provide the individual with information which can lead to the development of the appropriate motivation and awareness, and to thereby help correct the defect which most approaches have of ignoring the psychological and emotional factors involved in overweight conditions.

This book is reading therapy, which is also known as bibliotherapy. It presents interpretations of overweight conditions, and some of the many psychological problems which are associated with weight problems. It is mostly a book of interpretations, rather than of solutions to the problem. It is designed to be a supplement or addition to any sound approach to weight loss, and to provide the psychological ammunition needed by the individual to lose weight and to keep it off. The use of this book therefore fits in with and enhances any weight loss approach.

The most effective use of the book may be for individuals who are receiving psychotherapy as a treatment for a weight problem. Therapists may usefully recommend this book to help aid the overweight person in learning about the psychology of his or her condition, and to provide useful material for discussion during the therapy hour. Therapists who know little about overweight conditions may use this text as a source of information for their patients or clients, as well as for themselves. The level of complexity of the book, however, is geared to the non-psychotherapist.

It is important to note that most persons using this book will probably not be receiving psychotherapy, as a relatively small percentage of persons seek psychotherapy for overweight conditions. Persons who are participating in approaches which are strictly medical, or focused exclusively on diet or exercise, will find this book fills in a crucial gap within these approaches. My belief is that unless the psychological factors involved in overweight conditions are addressed in a weight control program, that any success in losing weight is likely to be temporary only.

Finally, persons who are not currently involved in a formal weight loss plan or strategy, but who wish to lose weight, may find the reading of this book to be a powerful stimulus for losing weight successfully. The individual can discover that weight loss is often easily accomplished, once the reasons for the weight problem are better understood. Persons who live with an overweight spouse, child, or other overweight persons may also benefit from this book through an understanding of the factors which maintain overweight conditions, and which defeat the person in his or her attempts to lose weight.

Assumption 1: Eating is voluntary behavior. That is, eating behavior is behavior which is under the control of the individual. And, since eating behavior is under the control of the individual, then it is possible for the individual to modify his or her eating behavior, and to lose weight if this is necessary or desirable. As voluntary behavior is under the control of the conscious mind, then the individual can, with conscious effort, control his or her food intake, and control body weight.

In asserting that eating behavior, and therefore one's body weight, is under the control of the individual, the author does not wish to disregard a vast body of psychological research which has identified a number of important factors which influence eating behavior and body weight. These findings have contributed much to our understanding of overeating. However, methods of weight control derived from these research findings have not been as successful as had been hoped. While this research is not strongly emphasized, it is nevertheless believed that the research is important. These findings are reviewed in a non-technical way in Chapter Y.

It is believed that understanding these research findings can be helpful to the individual in his or her attempts to control or reduce body weight. Research has also been conducted which supports a purely physiological determination of food intake and body weight. These physiological research positions assert that physiological factors exist which exert a homeostatic control over body weight. Proponents of this physiological point of view do not believe that the individual can determine his eating patterns or his weight. Therefore, my first assumption is in opposition to current physiological theories of the cause of obesity and overweight conditions, which are often referred to as "set-point" theories. Set-point theory will be discussed in Chapter Y.

I do not deny that homeostatic regulatory mechanisms control eating behavior and weight. I take the position that while there is substantial evidence for such homeostatic mechanisms, there is little evidence to support the idea that these mechanisms are physiological rather than psychological. Psychological regulatory mechanisms are seen by this author as being the main determinants of eating behavior and body weight. Further, I believe the research available may be interpreted as support for either physical or psychological homeostatic mechanisms.

Assumption 2: Overweight and obese condition are, in most individuals, the product of psychological causes. That is, the causes of excess weight are "intrapsychic"(intra-, meaning within, and psychic, referring to the psyche or mind). The causes of excess weight are within the personality or psyche of the individual. Therefore, understanding of these intrapsychic causes is necessary in order for weight control efforts to be successful. Programs which teach about nutrition, eating patterns, diet, and exercise have the implicit assumption that it is ignorance about these topics which leads to weight problems. Approaches which focus only on these issues also have the implicit assumption that psychological factors are not the cause of weight problems (which I believe constitutes a grave error). Assuming that the causes of obesity and overweight are psychological does not deny that there are some physical conditions which lead to excess weight. However, physical problems which cause excess weight are actually rare, accounting for no more than 5% or 6% of all obesity, and accounting for even fewer of the milder cases of excess weight which are so common. The issue of biological and physical causes of overweight is discussed at length in chapter X of this book.

Assumption 3: For any individual, there are multiple psychological factors associated with being overweight, rather than a single psychological cause. The question"Why do I overeat?" has little value as compared to the question "What are the many psychological and emotional issues associated with my overeating?"A number of frequently encountered issues associated with overeating and obesity are presented in the chapters of this book. It is not suggested that each of these interpretations applies to every overweight or obese person. It is up to the individual to read each section and to decide whether, and to what extent, the interpretation applies to himself or herself. Also, it is generally true that the different psychological issues associated with overeating in any one person are interlocked or interconnected to each other in a highly specific and individual way. The individual reader has the task, along with a therapist (if one is available) of identifying how the reasons are interconnected. Illustrations and examples of these kinds of interconnections are provided throughout the book.

Assumption 4: Overweight conditions and obesity are not the primary problem that the individual has. Excess weight, whether it has been present for six months or for a lifetime, is considered to be symptom of other emotional or psychological problems. This is not intended to convey the idea that all overweight people are "crazy". Instead, this idea asserts the powerful role that one's thinking, personal history, and awareness have in shaping and controlling one's health and functioning in a wide variety of areas. It is often stated, in my opinion truthfully, that unrecognized psychological problems are rampant and epidemic in our society, and are the cause of numerous health problems, including the so-called "stress" disorders, substance abuse and alcoholism, sexual problems, and weight problems, the focus of this book. Many of the emotional and psychological problems which lead people to overeat also lead them to drink alcohol excessively, etc. Further, few persons have obesity as their only problem or symptom. Obese and overweight persons have relationship difficulties, problems on the job, and numerous health problems. Extreme obesity is frequently associated with a worsening of other major health problems. In fact, extreme obesity is such a serious health factor that it is often correct and reasonable to say that the individual is committing a slow suicide in being obese and doing nothing about it. So, to refer to excess weight as a symptom does not deny that after a time, the excess weight becomes a primary problem in its own right.

Assumption 5: In order for weight loss and weight control to be effective and permanent, the individual should endeavor to understand the intrapsychic factors associated with his or her overeating and overweight condition. This idea should seem to be one which would be readily adopted by most psychotherapists. Psychotherapy is generally oriented to helping the individual understand and correct his or her difficulties. However, some approaches to psychotherapy do not value the development of insight into one's difficulties. In fact, some approaches to therapy suggest that it may even be harmful to aid an individual in understanding his or her difficulties. Further, these therapies believe that the therapist can promote changes in the individual without interpreting any of the underlying factors. These therapies are often referred to as using an indirect approach. Users of such an indirect approach may feel that direct interpretation of the intrapsychic factors related to obesity is not recommended, as such interpretations and the resulting insights are of little value.

I would remind practitioners of the indirect approach that all indirect approaches are offshoots of hypnotherapeutic approaches. I suggest that this book embodies principles of hypnotherapy and hypnosis in both direct and indirect forms, and that the interpretations of overweight conditions included herein are accordingly worded. If, after reading the text, the practitioner of the indirect approach disagrees with the tone of the book, then the therapist should not recommend its reading to the patient.

As this last assumption asserts the value of promoting insight, the remaining 10 chapters of the book are devoted to helping to promote accurate insight into the intrapsychic causes of overweight and obese conditions.

In summary, the assumptions used as the starting point for the discussions within this book, are:

1: Eating is voluntary behavior, under the control of the individual.

2: Overweight and obese condition are, in most individuals, the product of psychological causes (intrapsychic causes).

3: For any individual, there are multiple psychological factors associated with being overweight, rather than a single psychological cause.

4: Overweight conditions and obesity are not the primary problem that the individual has. Excess weight is understood to be a symptom of other emotional or psychological problems.

5: In order for weight loss and weight control to be effective and permanent, the individual should endeavor to understand the intrapsychic factors associated with his or her overeating and overweight condition.

I feel certain that some readers will notice immediately that these assumptions tend to overlap to a certain degree, rather than being "mutually exclusive". I agree that these assumptions do overlap, and are quite closely interrelated. Taken collectively, these assumptions form the backbone of a conceptual framework which, if understood, can transform the weight loss experience from one of frustration to one of slenderness and personal growth.

To admit that overeating and overweight conditions are mainly produced by psychological and emotional factors, means that the person's level of potential control over overeating can skyrocket instantly! No longer burdened with illusions of unknown and mysterious fat-producing diseases, the person can settle down into losing weight with great confidence. Confidence occurs because we all know intuitively that it is very hard to change a disease of the body, but much more feasible to change a problem of the mind and emotions. Attitude change is much more reachable and achievable than cellular or genetic change.