Irene Rubaum-Keller is a licensed psychotherapist who has been in private practice in the Los Angeles area for over twenty years. She specializes in treating people with eating disorders as well as motherless daughters (women who experienced early mother loss). In addition to her private practice Irene has been on staff at UCLA’s Risk Factor Obesity clinic for the past fifteen years where she works with some of the most esteemed leaders in the field of obesity research and treatment. She has published numerous articles, both in professional journals and for the popular media and is currently a columnist for "Westside Today". Her television appearances as an expert guest include: World News Tonight, Penn and Teller’s Showtime Original Series, 9 on the Town, UPN, KTLA and NBC news.

Blog Entries by Irene Rubaum-Keller

What Did You Eat Today?

1 Comments | Posted November 20, 2009 | 04:20 PM (EST)


I help people lose weight. It's what I do professionally and what I have done personally. I lost 50 pounds in 1990 and have kept it off. The most important thing I teach people to do is to keep food records. By that, I mean you write down everything that...

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Review: Henry Jaglom's New Play Rocks

5 Comments | Posted October 31, 2009 | 06:43 PM (EST)


Henry Jaglom, the iconic writer/director whose films include: Eating, Someone To Love, New Years Day, Hollywood Dreams, and most recently Irene in Time, was kind enough to sit down with me and talk about his life, his art and his new play Just 45 Minutes From Broadway. Joining us was...

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Would You Buy an Overweight Barbie?

66 Comments | Posted October 17, 2009 | 01:40 PM (EST)


There has been a lot of focus lately on the weight and size of women thanks to several recent events. If you missed any of them, I will summarize them for you:

Ralph Lauren's company retouched a model to the point that her body looked emaciated with a large head...

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Plastic Surgery Denial Syndrome

3 Comments | Posted October 8, 2009 | 08:23 PM (EST)


"Your lips are not meant to be flotation devices for your face in case it capsizes." Carol Leifer


Have you seen Nicole Kidman lately? Delta Burke? Pamela Anderson? Kathie Lee Gifford? I have and it makes me really sad. All of these women were either beautiful, or...

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Are You A High Reactor or a Low Reactor?

1 Comments | Posted October 3, 2009 | 02:05 PM (EST)


Ever wonder why some of us use food to deal with stress and others don't? According to the work of Dr. Elissa Epel at the University of San Francisco's Center for Obesity Assessment and Treatment, we don't all react to stress in the same way.

When we are stressed...

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The Most Beautiful Woman in the World

1 Comments | Posted September 12, 2009 | 09:51 PM (EST)


One of my female clients came in very hurt one day. She said that her father had said to her, "Well, you know, you are not the most beautiful woman in the world."

I believe he had pictures of Bo Derek up all over his house. Needless to say, my...

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A New Type of Identity Theft

2 Comments | Posted September 9, 2009 | 06:26 PM (EST)


You don't have to be famous for this to happen to you, but it helps. What is happening on Facebook, My Space, Twitter, and elsewhere online, is that people are impersonating celebrities. People are claiming to be Angelina Jolie, Michael Keaton, Steven Spielberg, Martin Scorsese, Richard Gere, George Clooney and...

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Do You Sometimes Feel Fat?

1 Comments | Posted September 3, 2009 | 11:51 AM (EST)


Even if you are thin, that week before your period can be challenging. As women, we tend to get bloated and extra hungry 7 to 10 days before our monthly cycle. That means that if you get your period every 28 days, for 10 of those days you might feel...

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Breast Implants, Yes or No?

42 Comments | Posted August 24, 2009 | 11:06 AM (EST)


Can we talk? I am dismayed by all the fake breasts lately. We are seeing a female form that is unnatural and surgically created. Very, very thin women with big breasts do not exist in nature. When you are extremely thin, the breast tissue goes too. Breasts are primarily made...

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Tattoos on Women, Yes or No?

107 Comments | Posted August 14, 2009 | 12:28 PM (EST)


So I think I'm having a bit of a mid-life crisis. Actually crisis, is a bit too strong. I guess I just feel like shaking things up a bit. So I have been thinking about getting a tattoo.

After posting an informal Facebook poll, I found that people have...

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People Don't Know What Healthy Eating Is

22 Comments | Posted August 10, 2009 | 12:11 PM (EST)


According to the boss at Whole Foods, people don't know how to select healthy food. Do you think that is true? I have to wonder about that considering there is so much information out there, if people take a few minutes to learn it.

There are a few things...

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Is High Fructose Corn Syrup Safe?

41 Comments | Posted July 30, 2009 | 04:07 PM (EST)


There is much confusion over this ubiquitous substance. When I read the studies that concluded mercury was found in HFCS, I set about purging it from our house. It was everywhere. It was in my son's chocolate milk, catsup, bread, burger and hot dog buns, Gatorade and is even...

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Is There Such a Thing as a Psychic?

14 Comments | Posted July 22, 2009 | 02:01 PM (EST)


So I made an appointment with a psychic. She called the morning of our appointment to cancel because, she said, something unexpected came up. I still rescheduled. Am I crazy?

Is there such a thing as a psychic who can charge by the hour and tell you what is going...

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When Your Sibling Dies

19 Comments | Posted July 15, 2009 | 10:08 AM (EST)


Watching Michael Jackson's brothers say good-bye to him at the memorial was so painful. Watching his children was even worse. The entire family will have to live with the loss, the rest of their days.

Things are supposed to go in order. First you lose your Grandparents, then your parents...

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Healthy School Lunches. Yes We Can!

10 Comments | Posted July 6, 2009 | 04:36 PM (EST)


At 39 years of age Dr. Yvonne Sanders-Butler thought she had pink eye, but it was way worse than that. As her symptoms worsened she was rushed to the hospital on the verge of a massive stroke. She was morbidly obese, had high blood pressure, was pre-diabetic and could have...

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What is Recovery From Addiction?

2 Comments | Posted June 29, 2009 | 11:28 AM (EST)


We professionals in the field of addiction, have not even come up with an agreed upon definition for recovery. This means we can't really study the effectiveness of various treatment modalities because we haven't defined success.

In June of 2007, at the Betty Ford Clinic, a team of top notch...

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Is Sugar Addictive?

6 Comments | Posted June 18, 2009 | 09:06 PM (EST)


We think it is. We have enough scientific evidence now to tell us that we can train ourselves to crave, to build tolerance and to experience withdrawal when we ingest a lot of refined sugar. These are the hallmarks of addiction. Craving, tolerance and withdrawal.

Dr. Serge Ahmed, of...

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Do You Have Fat Genes?

4 Comments | Posted June 10, 2009 | 03:50 PM (EST)


We have identified the fat gene! It is not just a gene but it's a gene with a variant. It's called the DRD2 gene. The variant that is heavily associated with obesity, alcoholism and addiction is the A1 allele.

2009-06-09-248036338_6a3e2e660d_m.jpg

I believe that our...

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Is Your Fat, Your Fault?

8 Comments | Posted May 29, 2009 | 02:10 PM (EST)


111,000 people in the U.S. die each year from obesity related illnesses. It is one of the leading preventable causes of death in our country. Considering that 66.3% of us are overweight, and 32% fall into the category of obese, this is a major public health issue.

I have covered...

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Gilles and Adam Losers? I Think Not.

7 Comments | Posted May 28, 2009 | 01:14 PM (EST)


It's an odd world when gay people in California lose the right to marry but those who snuck in ahead get to stay married. When it is legal in our state to use pot for medical purposes but illegal at the same time. When in this very state Adam Lambert...

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