Whole Person Integrative Eating: Eat Less, Weigh Less-Without Dieting: The New Science and Ancient Wisdom of Whole Person Integrative Eating

Deborah Kesten is an internationally recognized nutrition researcher and award-winning author who is revolutionizing the way we think about eating and weight. As the founder of Whole Person Integrative Eating® (WPIE), she has dedicated over 25 years to exploring the multidimensional causes of overeating, overweight, and obesity. Her evidence-based WPIE model blends biological, psychological, spiritual, and social nourishment to help individuals transform their relationship with food—for life. Through her pioneering work and new certification course, Deborah empowers both individuals and health professionals to achieve lasting well-being without dieting. DeliveryRank features an exclusive interview.

Deborah, describe the "no-diet" idea behind your Whole Person Integrative Eating program that helps people eat less and weigh less. Without dieting. 

My mission with Whole Person Integrative Eating® (WPIE) is to help people break free from “diet think”—because it’s simply not working for most of us.

Here’s the reality: In the U.S. today, over 73% of adults are overweight or obese. At the same time, nearly half of adults are on a diet right now. And over the course of a lifetime, the average person will try between 55 and 130 diets. And yet... the obesity epidemic keeps growing.

My Whole Person Integrative Eating program isn't another quick fix or set of rigid rules. It’s a science-backed, timeless way of eating, what I call a dietary lifestyle--inspired by ancient food wisdom and verified by modern nutrition research—that helps people treat the root causes of overeating, overweight, and obesity.

The truth is, we’ve normalized a broken relationship with food. We eat on autopilot. We eat when we’re stressed. We eat alone, on the go, disconnected from our bodies and deeper needs. WPIE gives you a path to replacing these “new-normal” ways of eating with a way of nourishing yourself on every level—physically, emotionally, spiritually, and socially-each time you eat.

When you bring these 'whole person' ingredients to the table, something powerful can happen:
With the tradition-backed ingredients of WPIE at your table, you have the tools to re-envision your relationship to food, eating, and weight so you can eat less and weigh less. Without dieting.

The foundation of Whole Person Integrative Eating is based on ancient food wisdom and the perennial principles you discovered. What are they?

The idea to research ancient food wisdom was born in New Delhi, India, where I interviewed clinical cardiologist Dr. K. L. Chopra—father of thought leader Deepak Chopra, M.D.—about an article I was planning to write about yoga and diet. When I asked Dr. Chopra about this, he instantly referred to Hinduism’s 5100+ years old Bhagavad Gita:

“Prana is the vital life force of the universe…and it goes into you, into me, with food,” he said. “When you cook with love, you transfer the love into the food and it is metabolized…”. 

Food and love. The thought wouldn’t let go. My thinking was that if Hindus believe that loving awareness is somehow transmuted into food, then perhaps other spiritual traditions would have discovered this too. And so began what I call my “nutrition journey around the world.”

The perennial food wisdom I unearthed—which is the foundation of Whole Person Integrative Eating (WPIE)—emerged when I studied major world religions (such as Judaism, Buddhism, Hinduism, etc.); cultural traditions (yogic nutrition, Native American food beliefs, and so on); plus Eastern healing systems (Ayurveda, traditional Chinese medicine, and Tibetan Medicine)—for their beliefs and guidelines about what and how to eat.

Here are the seven perennial principles of food that behavioral scientist Larry Scherwitz, PhD, and I identified, which map into four facets of food: Biological Nutrition, Psychological Nutrition, Spiritual Nutrition, and Social Nutrition.

BIOLOGICAL NUTRITION

#1. Eat fresh, whole food in its natural state as often as possible.

PSYCHOLOGICAL NUTRITION

#2. Be aware of feelings and thoughts before, during, and after eating.

#3. Eat in pleasant psychological and aesthetic surroundings.

SPIRITUAL NUTRITION

#4. Bring moment-to-moment, nonjudgmental awareness to every aspect of the meal.

#5. Have gratitude for food and its origins—from the heart.

#6. Savor aroma, taste, etc. in food and 'flavor' food with loving regard.

SOCIAL NUTRITION

#7. Eat with others as often as possible.

I coined the term Whole Person Integrative Eating® to describe the four dimensions of food and eating, because they make connections between food and body (Biological Nutrition), food and mind (Psychological Nutrition), food and soul (Spiritual Nutrition), and food and social well-being (Social Nutrition) -- ergo, 'whole person' integrative eating. In other words, food has the power to nourish ‘all of you’ each time you eat; and in this way, empowers us to heal multidimensionally.

You describe Whole Person Integrative Eating as the “antidote” to overeating and weight gain. How so?

Research Larry and I did on Whole Person Integrative Eating revealed that not only are the elements of WPIE the antidotes to each of the overeating styles we identified, they are a scientifically sound new and varied path to eating and weighing less. Here’s what we found:  

The more the research participants in our study followed the “new normal” overeating styles we discovered—the more likely they were to overeat and be overweight or obese. Conversely, those who replaced the seven overeating styles with the seven perennial Whole Person Integrative Eating guidelines, were the ones who ate less and lost the most weight.

This suggests that replacing the overeating styles with the perennial principles of Whole Person Integrative Eating contributes to eating less and weighing less. Without dieting.

What are the "overeating styles" you discovered, which you describe as the root causes of overeating?

The root causes of overeating--I call them today's new-normal "overeating styles"--are an intricate web of food choices (what you eat) and eating behaviors (how you eat) that work together to influence overeating and weight gain. Our research suggests that replacing the underlying reasons we overeat—meaning, the new-normal overeating styles Larry and I have identified—with the ancient/new elements of Whole Person Integrative Eating, leads to less overeating and weight loss.

Here are the overeating styles and some—but not all—characteristics of each. Do you see yourself in any of them?

• Emotional Eating: Eating based on negative emotions instead of a healthy appetite

• Fast Foodism: A diet of mostly fast, ultra-processed food

• Food Fretting: Dieting and obsessing about the “best” way to eat

• Task Snacking: Doing other activities, such as working or watching TV, while eating

• Sensory Disregard: Not taking time to taste, savor, and enjoy food

• Unappetizing Atmosphere: Eating in unpleasant psychological and aesthetic surroundings

• Solo Dining: Eating alone most of the time

Because each overeating style is a dependable measure of overeating and weight gain, they provide a clear formula for overeating and weight gain.

Can you share an example of how replacing those overeating styles with WPIE principles helps people eat less and weigh less?

Excellent question. Let me answer with a story.

Barbara Kumara, a Chopra-certified meditation teacher, was 64 years old when she contacted me to explore if Whole Person Integrative Eating was right for her. For most of her life, she had struggled with obesity. She had tried it all—diets, Overeaters Anonymous, acupuncture, hypnosis. Nothing brought lasting change. She felt caught in a cycle of hope and disappointment, even despair. What she really longed for wasn’t only weight loss—it was also peace with her relationship with food.

What drew Barbara to Whole Person Integrative Eating was the idea of nourishing all of herself—body, mind, heart, and soul—through food and eating. She told me, “I don’t want to live by a scale anymore. I want to enjoy eating."

With my "What's Your Overeating Style? Self-Assessment quiz, we began by uncovering the reasons she, personally, overate, often on autopilot, and gained weight. Then, slowly, we began replacing her overeating styles with the food choices and eating behaviors that comprise Whole Person Integrative Eating, which are rooted in joy, mindfulness, and self-care.

Here's an example of how it worked. Because aesthetics and environment are important to Barbara, the first overeating style she chose to address was Unappetizing Atmosphere. Barbara worked at home, so she decided to buy new placemats and beautiful dishes to eat her fresh, whole food on. We also discovered she overate especially when she felt work-related anxiety or stress (the Emotional Eating overeating style), so we turned to the WPIE antidote of being aware of feelings before, during, and after eating.

After a year of practicing WPIE, Barbara had lost about 70 pounds. Perhaps more important than the number was the feeling: She was enjoying food and eating and was no longer obsessed with food or her weight. Two years later, she still wore a size 12 and today, she continues to enjoy the sense of wholeness she discovered through integrative eating.

Barbara didn’t lose weight by dieting. She attained and maintained weight loss by reconnecting with the pleasure of food and eating—and with herself. And by nourishing herself on every level. Healing and transforming her relationship with food enabled the weight to come off as a natural side effect.

By treating the root causes of overeating, Whole Person Integrative Eating moves away from the traditional diet mentality. What are some of the most meaningful shifts in mindset or behavior you've seen? And how do these changes differ from conventional approaches to dieting?

In ancient Greece, during the time of Hippocrates (460–370 BC), the word diet—diaita—meant “a way of life” that included not only food and drink but one’s entire lifestyle. Over time, that meaning was lost. Today, diet has come to mean restriction: cutting calories, avoiding foods, and relying on willpower. And yet, despite this approach, over 73% of U.S. adults are overweight or obese—while millions cycle through one failed diet after another.

Whole Person Integrative Eating® (WPIE) revives the original meaning of diet: a way of eating and living--a dietary lifestyle--that nourishes all of you—physically, emotionally, spiritually, and socially. It’s not about restriction, counting calories, and going on and off a plan. It’s a lifelong, science-backed dietary lifestyle that is linked to preventing and even reversing overeating, overweight, and obesity by treating the root causes of disordered eating (the overeating styles).

WPIE in action. A powerful example of WPIE in action is the traditional Mediterranean diet—consistently ranked the #1 healthiest diet by U.S. News & World Report. Its food choices align with WPIE's Biological Nutrition: primarily plant-based meals rich in vegetables, legumes, fruits, whole grains, nuts, seeds, and olive oil. Moderate amounts of Greek yogurt, feta cheese, eggs, and fresh fish are common, while meat is eaten sparingly.

But what makes the Mediterranean diet truly WPIE-like is not just what is eaten (fresh, whole, mostly plant-based food), but also how it is traditionally eaten. Meals are often shared with others (Social Nutrition), enjoyed in aesthetically pleasing settings with a positive mood (Psychological Nutrition), and eaten with mindfulness, gratitude, and loving regard (Spiritual Nutrition).

In other words, scores of studies reveal that the Mediterranean diet—at its core—is not a restrictive regimen, but a dietary lifestyle of integrative nourishment that supports normal weight and lifelong health and well-being. This is exactly what WPIE offers. 

Whole Person Integrative Eating is a dietary lifestyle to eat and weigh less that works by replacing the new-normal overeating styles you've identified with their antidotes: the "ingredients" of Whole Person Integrative Eating. What's the takeaway about the WPIE dietary lifestyle, which is the essence of your coaching, teaching, training program, and award-winning books?

The paradigm-shifting, well-researched message in Whole Person Integrative Eating® (WPIE) is that food is a 4-part gift. It has the power to influence the physical dimensions of health. Balance emotions. Satisfy the soul. And connect us with others. When we eat with awareness of 7 perennial principles and 4 facets of food—and put them into practice—it may be possible to halt, even reverse, overeating and overweight. Without dieting.

As exciting, Whole Person Integrative Eating aligns with and supports some of the most pioneering scientific breakthroughs of the 21st century. For instance, research increasingly shows that both food choices and eating behaviors are linked with gut health—and that gut health, in turn, influences not only weight regulation but also physical and emotional well-being. And in the field of epigenetics—especially nutritional epigenetics—we’re learning that your most-of-the-time food choices may help to switch on genes associated with wellness; or conversely, switch off those linked to disease.

The bottom line: As a nutrition researcher, coach, educator, and author, my passion is to help people move beyond “diet think”-- and instead, embrace a dietary lifestyle that leads to eating less and weighing less--without dieting. In other words, Whole Person Integrative Eating affirms a way of eating that brings us back to a deeper, healthier relationship to food, eating, and weight…for life.

If you would like to find out more about Whole Person Integrative Eating, please visit https://integrativeeating.com/