Emotional & binge eating coaching
More peace with food.
More room for life.
When food takes up less space in your mind, there’s more room for the interests, experiences, relationships, fun, and everyday moments that matter to you.
You don’t have to keep figuring this out alone.
I’m Ellen Shuman. Together, we’ll work on practical skills to handle difficult thoughts and feelings, ease food obsession, and build a more comfortable relationship with yourself and others.
Free 45–60 minute phone conversation · No pressure
By phone, without a camera — so you can focus on the conversation, not on your appearance.
A familiar feeling?
Capable in so many ways.
Feeling stuck around food.
Maybe food is where you turn after a stressful day, when you’re lonely, or when you just want your thoughts to quiet down.
As someone who has lived this struggle, I know how frustrating it can feel. Coaching gives us space to understand your patterns and practice a different response.
“I know why I overeat… and I still can’t stop.”
“I spend too much time thinking about food and my body.”
“At night, eating feels like the only way to unwind.”
“I want tools I can reach for in the moment.”
“Ellen immediately put me at ease. She is warm, compassionate, non-judgmental & funny. You can really feel that she’s been where you’ve been, understands & truly wants to help you.”*
Karen W., Illinois
Meet your coach
Hi, I’m Ellen.
I know this struggle from the inside—and I’ve spent more than 30 years working in the recovery field.
I founded Acoria, an outpatient eating disorder treatment center, and served as President of the Binge Eating Disorder Association (BEDA). My research has appeared in Behavioral Medicine and the International Journal of Eating Disorders.
In our work together, you’ll have a supportive partner who listens, helps you build practical skills, and works with you toward the changes that matter in your life.
Practical skills. Personal support.
A different way to respond
when difficult feelings show up.
I call these skills Emotional Handrails—practical tools you can lean on when stress, loneliness, boredom, or overwhelm might otherwise send you toward food.
1st
Understand your patterns
Notice the feelings, situations, and transition times that tend to bring on food thoughts.
2nd
Build your handrails
Learn self-soothing and distress tolerance skills you can practice in everyday moments.
3rd
Practice with support
Make realistic action plans, talk through what’s working, and adjust together as you go.
Free 45–60 minute phone conversation · No pressure
What we’re working toward
Progress you can feel in everyday life.
Less space taken up by food
More attention for the people, interests, and experiences you care about.
More ways to handle feelings
Practical options when stress, boredom, or loneliness shows up.
A kinder relationship with yourself
Greater self-trust, less self-criticism, and room to move forward.
Real stories · Real breakthroughs
In Our Clients’ Own Words
Read how women and men have moved past food obsession, binge eating, and self-criticism to find peace, freedom, and lasting confidence.
★★★★★
“I’ve had the privilege of working with Ellen, and the impact she’s had on my life is something I’m very grateful for. When we started, I was struggling with emotional eating and constantly fixated on body image. Ellen helped me set clear, meaningful goals, and guided me with expert advice and practical tools and techniques that truly made a difference. More importantly, she was there for me through all the ups and downs that life brought over the years—always supportive, always understanding.
What stood out the most about working with Ellen was how she showed up consistently. She was encouraging without pressure, helping me address my emotional eating and body image issues while navigating the various phases of my life. Recently, we looked back at the goals I set when I first began working with Ellen. I was honestly amazed to realize I’ve achieved almost all of them. One of the biggest shifts for me has been letting go of the constant judgment and comparisons I used to make about myself. That change alone has brought me more peace and contentment.
If you’re considering working with Ellen or A Weigh Out Life Coaching, I can’t recommend it highly enough. Ellen is not only knowledgeable—she truly cares, and it shows in everything she does. The work takes time and commitment, but it’s absolutely worth it.”*
★★★★★
“Thanks so much Ellen. I have learned a lot from you and feel you are one of the few people (maybe the only one?) who really understands what’s going on with Binge Eating. Or more importantly, what’s going on with all the emotional things lurking beneath the surface driving it.”*
★★★★★
“Ellen and I worked together with one-on-one coaching for several months. I suffer from an anxiety disorder so was quite nervous about starting the process. I am a hard case! Ellen immediately put me at ease. She is warm, compassionate, non-judgmental & funny. She shares personal experiences which helped me relate to her. You can really feel that she’s been where you’ve been, understands & truly wants to help you.
I was amazed at the knowledge Ellen has. She is brilliant! It seemed that no matter what question I had, she could cite articles, videos & share an incredible amount of knowledge off the top of her head to help me. She provided me with a lot of written reference material as well. I still use her website, too, which is loaded with great information, videos & tools.
If you’re thinking about working with Ellen, I would say don’t hesitate & just do it! You won’t regret it. I thank Ellen for all she has done for me.”*
★★★★★
“Hello Ellen, I can’t believe how much I’m liking this stuff!! You are soooo helpful and I love that I am finally getting the help that I feel I’ve needed for years and years. Yeah!! Thank you!! I think this stuff is going to transform my life (not just the eating… makes sense because the eating issue really isn’t an eating problem). I’m very excited!
I also want to let you know that I appreciate how honest and frank you were with me this morning during our session… particularly when you said that the only way that it’s going to change is if I get clear and mindful about what I want and what I’m going to do about it… also, when you talked about choices and how I get to decide what kind of life I want to create. And all the info you shared about patterns, habits, etc… VERY helpful! I needed to hear the “matter of fact” info today. The whole session was awesome! I’m loving it.
I am amazed at how much you know and how you are such an awesome “investigator” in helping discover what needs to be addressed and talked about. Love it!!! Big Thanks!”*
★★★★★
“Thanks for the great phone call, Ellen. I appreciate the info. Your principles really resonate with me. I’m in the middle to end of the emotional eating spectrum and have been exploring a wellness-based approach for a while. You’re the first life coach that I’ve listened to who combines neuroscience with holistic health coaching techniques. Thanks again for being an inspiration and getting your message out to the world.”*
★★★★★
“Ellen, I’ve made tremendous progress – and I’m very grateful for your help in propelling me forward. Words fall short in my gratitude for all of your help! I feel like a new person – ready to put myself out there and go for what I want. With your help, I’ve reclaimed my life!!”*
★★★★★
“When I had almost given up on myself, my weight and my binge-eating, I found you. Thank goodness! Ellen, you provided me with real, applicable tools that I could use in my daily life. In all the time I worked with you, you were positive, patient, supportive and wise. You helped me course-correct when I was veering off into left field and always had practical, useful recommendations when I ran into roadblocks.
More than anything, I felt you understood my emotional eating issues, never judged me and firmly believed in me. I am so grateful to you for all your help and genuinely feel sad that I won’t be speaking with you on a weekly basis, now that our work together is finished. Getting to speak with you was a gift for me – in more ways than you can know!”*
★★★★★
“I started working with Ellen and was really thinking there was no way on earth she was going to be able to help me. Ellen proved me wrong quickly. She was patient and non-judgmental, while also speaking to me in a straight-forward manner. My sessions were specific to my needs and how the tools Ellen has developed pertained to me and my life.
The way she approached me and worked with me made me feel comfortable and inspired like I had never felt in any of the weight loss programs I had tried in the past. Seriously, if I heard “If you’re hungry go take a walk instead of eating” one more time I knew I would scream. Ellen gave me practical, easy to use tools that helped me identify my issues and work through them instead of trying to forget them.
Not only that, she continuously introduced new and effective tools to me as I progressed. She helped me realize I was a woman who could achieve anything I want to in life, with a plan and a can-do attitude. Thank you, Ellen, for all of your wisdom and expertise in helping move forward with my life. I am doing so well now and could never have done it without you.”*
★★★★★
“I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE talking to you every week and have grown so much as a result of all you have taught me. I had no idea when we first began talking about my emotional eating, that it would lead to coaching in so many areas of my life.
You have given me so many skills. My family and I have benefited so greatly from your counsel. You are a wonderful woman, a huge inspiration, and perfect at what you do. Thank you again for your advice!”*
★★★★★
“Dear Ellen, I wanted to take some time after we finished our coaching sessions, to be on my own before sharing my experience with you and A Weigh Out. I realized when we first spoke, and even more so now, that you brought a truly new way of dealing with eating into my life.
Dare I say you’ve developed a paradigm shift with A Weigh Out? Yes! The toolkit you provided is like nothing else I’ve ever been given in my 40-year struggles with body image, weight, and food. The tools truly are ‘emotional handrails’ that I use every day. And they work. Perhaps the greatest thing you shared with me is that the big bad FOOD demon I’ve been so overwhelmed by is just ‘a thought’; a food thought. It’s mine, I created it, and I can change it. Simple, yet so powerful. Thank you, Ellen for doing this work and giving me so much.”*
★★★★★
“You helped me change my life in such a profound way… I’ve crossed some kind of barrier. I am no longer struggling with feeling stuck in certain areas of my life. Things are so great, and ideas, opportunities, possibilities are coming to me as you always said they would.
Thank you so much for being the catalyst for me to be a creator of the life I’ve always wanted. You provide real help, real guidance, real value in the work you do with people. I cannot say or express enough good things to you and about you. Thank you a million times over.”*
★★★★★
“Thank you, thank you thank you, for giving me my life back!
If I only had the money I’ve wasted in my life on diet programs, diet pills, diet food and even liposuction surgery, I could probably pay cash for a new luxury car. If only I had realized earlier that what I needed wasn’t a diet, or willpower. I’ve been on every diet imaginable and I’ve hated myself for years because I wasn’t able to keep weight off. I finally realized that I needed help in a different way.
Working with Ellen taught me so much more than how to lose weight. What I thought was going to happen is not even close to my results. This program is a “Life Changer”! It is an incredible journey that has transformed the way I feel about myself, my life, and my unhealthy relationship with food.
Before this program, my blood pressure was through the roof, I was incredibly unhappy with my career, and I blamed my husband for sabotaging my diets and bevy of other things. I was afraid to actually face things in my life, feel things, and I used food whenever I wanted to escape. Ellen provided me with the tools I needed to change all the unhealthy patterns in my life. By using these tools, I not only have a handle on binge eating, I am also in the present and enjoying my life, and I know how to handle all the things that have been weighing me down for so long…
Ellen is one of the most fantastic people I’ve ever met. I consider her more than a coach, she’s a friend, and she knows exactly how you feel. I strongly recommend this program and I will use the tools I’ve learned for the rest of my life.”*
★★★★★
“Through your guidance, expertise and experience with emotional eating, I have found better ways to cope, fulfill, live and enjoy my life.”*
Free 45–60 minute phone conversation · No pressure
Before we talk
A few questions
you may have.
What happens on the free consultation call?
We’ll talk by phone for typically 45–60 minutes about what you’d like to change, how I work, and the time and fees involved. If we both feel coaching is a good fit, we can discuss a plan. There’s no pressure to continue.
What does coaching cost?
Three 40-minute coaching sessions cost $295. Your package includes preparation, intake materials, handouts, and occasional emails between sessions. After your first three sessions, you can decide whether to continue. Discounted multi-round options are available.
You can start with a free 45–60 minute phone consultation to ask questions and see whether coaching is right for you.
Can I work with you if I have a therapist?
Yes. I ask that you let your therapist know. When helpful or requested, I can consult with your therapist or other practitioners so we can support your work together.
Why do you coach by phone?
Many clients feel more comfortable talking without being on camera. We can focus on what you’re sharing while you talk from the comfort of your home or office.
Is this a diet or weight-loss program?
No. Our focus is on emotional management skills and your relationship with food, yourself, and your life. Progress is about more than a number on a scale.
For whom is Ellen’s Coaching not suitable?
I don’t currently coach people who are struggling with anorexia or active bulimia. (Please note, Coaching is not therapy or medical care.)
Parents seeking guidance or consultation for a child or teen, please contact me directly about scope and fees rather than book this consultation.
Coaching, at a glance
One-to-one coaching.
Clear, upfront fees.
We typically meet by phone once a week. No camera needed—just a comfortable place to talk.
You can continue for as long as you’re learning, growing, and finding the work helpful.
Coaching is skill training, not therapy or counseling. We’ll discuss whether it’s the right support for you during your free consultation.
$295per round of coaching
Three 40-minute phone sessions, including:
- Intake packet, session preparation sheets, and handouts
- Preparation time before each session
- Occasional emails between sessions
After your first three sessions, you can decide whether you’d like to continue. Multi-round options are available at discounted rates.
Free 45–60 minute phone conversation · No pressure
More peace with food · More mental space · More room for life
There is A Weigh Out.
Freedom from Emotional Eating, Food & Weight Obsession
When food takes up less space in your mind, there’s more room for life.
You don’t have to figure this out alone.
Tell me about your experience and what you’d like to change.
We’ll explore whether coaching feels right for you.
Free 45–60 minute phone conversation · No pressure
