My Life as an Eating Psychology Coach: Jenny Berk

What made you want to become an Eating Psychology Coach?

I have always been fascinated by who we are as eaters. I loved noticing as a child, for instance, what my friend’s proclivities were toward different foods and ways of eating. Some were volume eaters, some were bingers, and still others were grazers or meal skippers. I had also always struggled with my weight and body image and relationship to food myself and wanted to explore much more about this in a comprehensive and academic way.

What do you love about being an Eating Psychology Coach?

I love being able to help people in such a unique and effective way. I love being able to challenge client’s long held beliefs about themselves as eaters, as dieters, and about their bodies to be able to enact real change; especially with those who have never found peace and happiness before in this area of their lives. It gives me a tremendous amount of fulfillment to play a role in their healing and success.

What does your practice look like?

I am very lucky to be able to have a hybrid practice. I have an office space once a week in a wonderful wellness center with like-minded and complementary practitioners in a calm and inviting setting. I also travel to client’s homes, plan meetings in public but private spots like libraries, and also do plenty of phone and Skype calls as well. I specialize in kind and gentle weight loss and binge eating cessation. I have a 3 or 6 month program that I call the Beyond Weight Loss method™. I also offer online courses in emotional, stress and binge eating cessation.

How did your education at the Institute prepare you to work successfully with clients?

While I had already had 13 years of experience as a health coach, the Institute allowed me to explore this other, deeper place of psychology and science with respect to eating, mood, stress and immunity that I have parlayed in many ways with the work I do with clients. The sections on how the stress response affects our assimilation of nutrients and ability to lose weight, as well as the concept of macronutrient balance have been incredibly useful for me and have helped my clients immeasurably.

What was your favorite aspect of the Training?

I enjoyed it all! I loved the format of having lectures that I could listen to while I was taking a walk or have the flexibility to listen and watch with PowerPoint visuals as well. The accompanying materials have been a great resource, which I utilize often in my work with clients. I also really loved having a peer coach. The relationship that I developed with my peer coach as well as other participants online in the Facebook group provided a lot of support and value to me.

How has being an Eating Psychology Coach impacted your professional life/financial well-being?

It has changed my life! In less than one year I’ve gone from leaving a job I had been at for 13 years to building my own robust coaching practice. I have 18 full time clients, have built a community online and continue to develop programs and hone my skills every day as a practitioner. It’s all incredibly fun, meaningful, and also very hard work! Financially, I have made more money in my first year than I ever dreamed would be possible. I’ve even been able to raise my hourly rate by 20% due to the demand I’ve seen. This work is extremely important and I’m so honored to be doing this!

How has being an Eating Psychology Coach impacted you personally?

It allowed me to stop bullying my body in relentless ways to be thin. It allowed me to accept and even appreciate my appetite, to find pleasure in food again and find peace in my own skin. It’s allowed me to be vulnerable and write about this personal journey in my blog articles and in videos. It’s made me humble and appreciative of everything my body is capable and how I’m now facile in creating a new story and envision a more sustainable and happy place around food and body and self. I cannot say enough about how it’s helped me.

What do you see for yourself in your future as an Eating Psychology Coach – where is your work evolving towards?

I see my practice continuing to grow and evolve. I’d like to scale my business in order to help more people. This is why I’ve been developing online courses in order to reach a wider audience. Too many people are hurting and need guidance around eating psychology and body image. I’d like to create more live group coaching opportunities and do more speaking engagements.

Why Would You Recommend the Training to Others?

I would recommend the Training because it’s so different and cutting edge than anything I’ve seen in this field, yet incredibly accessible and steeped in science. It’s empirical yet spiritual at the same time. It takes a deeper dive than any program of its kind and in the most effective way possible.

Anything else you’d like to share?

I say to anyone who is considering this program – go for it! I love being on the cutting edge of a field that is still just in its nascent form yet has all the tools and elements to help create incredible and effective practitioners to support people with this very pervasive and challenging problem. It’s a privilege for me to do this work and to have had this experience in my training.

NAME: Jenny Eden Berk, MSEd
BUSINESS: CEO/Founder, Jenny Eden Coaching
WEBSITE: jennyedencoaching.com

BIO: Jenny is the founder and owner of Jenny Eden Coaching – a coaching practice devoted to help men, women and teens create a more healthy and sustainable relationship with food and their body image. She is an Eating Psychology Coach, a mindful eating instructor, and health and wellness blogger. She specializes in kind and gentle weight loss, unique binge eating cessation techniques and mindful eating practices.