Lose weight by changing your relationship to food

I’m Dr. Helen McCarthy and as a Psychologist I help people lose weight permanently with my unique approach to Appetite Retraining. To find out if, and how, I can help you lose weight, please click the button to apply for a free Eating Pattern Analysis call with me.

Apply Now

Typical story: Beauty Therapist Claire lost 28 pounds

Welcome to my website, full of information and resources to help you change how you eat, using my unique approach to retraining your appetite.

I developed Appetite Retraining as an alternative to dieting, because for most people, restrictive diets are psychologically too stressful, which makes them impossible to keep up. Which in turn leads to weight re-gain. The focus with Appetite Retraining is making stepwise changes to those eating habits

I want you to benefit from everything I have learned about the psychology of eating and appetite. I’m learning all the time, and I want to share this knowledge with you to help you achieve a happier relationship with food. Join my mailing list to get my new blog articles as soon as they are written. Sign up here.

Most people I work with want to lose weight. In our modern food environment, losing weight is a particular challenge. And for some of us that challenge is greater still because of biological changes to our appetite signals. Whether weight loss is your goal or not, the principles of Appetite Retraining can help you make sustainable changes to how you eat.

To find out if, and how, I can help you, please click the button to apply for a free Eating Pattern Analysis call with me.

Workshops and training events

The Psychology of Weight Loss: Help your clients change their eating habits

Masterclass on Food Cravings

Masterclass: How to help clients reduce Emotional Eating

“Helen gave me a new way of looking at weight loss and habit change that’s made the biggest difference to the way I help my clients”

“Thank you for a wonderful workshop full of brilliance – I will use the ideas straight away in my work”

I’m Dr Helen McCarthy, the Appetite Doctor.

As a Clinical Psychologist, I’ve been helping people change for 30 years. When I began to work on the psychology of weight loss in 2011, I used myself as my first guinea pig. I lost one and a half stone over 6 months and have kept it off very easily.

Since then, I’ve successfully used my Appetite Retraining methodology with my private clients, and am now teaching other healthcare professionals how to use Appetite Retraining to help their clients lose weight. If you’d like to learn how to lose weight, I’d love to help you too.

Buy the book

Lose weight permanently eating all your favourite foods.

This is amazing. It took one sitting to read and has totally re wired my thoughts around food. I am already seeing the pounds fall off!” 

5 star

Number 1 Amazon Bestseller

The Appetite Pendulum 

The Appetite Pendulum is at the centre of Appetite Retraining. It provides a way of judging your level of hunger or fullness that makes losing weight simple and natural.

Freedom around food

Changing how you eat can make you anxious initially. This free guide to Managing Food Related Anxiety will help you reduce feelings of anxiety and agitation and give you freedom around food.

Success stories

Reversing pre-diabetes. How Claire lost 2 stones (12kg) over 15 months and enjoys food more than ever.

Join the club

Join The Appetite Doctor’s Club for monthly tips on weight loss and psychology.

I had been trying for years to lose the extra pounds that kept creeping on and never managed to shift them. With Appetite Retraining something just clicked. With just a couple of easy changes to my daily eating pattern, I hit my target on schedule, having lost a pound a week for several months. And even over Christmas, I didn’t put anything back on. I feel in control of my eating and my weight, which feels wonderful. I feel fitter and ten years younger. Now dressing up is fun again and I have a new wardrobe.

Anna aged 52