So this time you are absolutely determined to lose weight!! You know what you have to do. You have to consume less calories than you need to burn off that fat. You have to do more exercise, deprive yourself over several months and go to bed feeling hungry. You have to be strong to resist those biscuits at work, throw your children's tempting remains in the bin, order salad at the restaurant and forgo that alcohol. Its as easy as that !!!
Then, when eventually you get down to the weight you are aiming for, you relax, start to enjoy the little pleasures of life again and before you know it your weight starts to creep back on again. This is the pattern for the vast majority of us.
It is estimated that only 5% of people manage to keep the weight off after dieting in the long term because it's not just about the food. It is also about the way we eat and the emotion behind it.
EFT can help you break the cycle of self sabotaging behaviours and negative thoughts which make losing weight and keeping it off so difficult. It also helps to address the conflict between the conscious and the subconscious mind which makes it easier to retain willpower. EFT is also a wonderfully effective tool to help deal with cravings and I instruct all my clients how to tap themselves during the day when the need arises.
The most effective EFT weight loss protocols involve dealing with the emotional aspects of the present, past and then the future.
The Present
Here focus is given to how we are feeling right now about our weight and our eating habits.
Typical examples are:
•Even though I think I’m a food addict and I can’t resist chocolate
•I have too much weight to lose, it's just too hard
•I have no willpower, I binge at night
•I have to eat up my children’s remains because I can't bear to waste food
•I eat when I’m bored or lonely or feeling deprived
•I hate my body and I hate myself for overeating
The Past
Here is where we tap and focus on the deep seated beliefs and needs that have contributed to us becoming overweight in the first place.
Typical examples are:
•Even though I associate food with my Mother’s care or love
•I feel unsafe without food
•I was always made to eat up everything on my plate because it's wrong to waste food
•Food always makes me feel better
•My metabolism is slow
Using EFT to Help with Weight Loss
The Future
Here is where we focus on what it will actually be like when we have achieved our goal weight and try to identify any self sabotaging feelings and beliefs that will prevent us keeping that weight off. This is a very useful exercise because it can sometimes bring about the realisation that an unrealistic target weight has been set.
Typical examples are:
•Losing weight will make me more attractive to the opposite sex and I don't want that right now
•I will have to buy a new set of clothes and money is tight
•I will no longer be able to relax about food
•I will no longer be able to eat like the rest of my family
•I will have to keep on exercising and I hate it
Using EFT to tap, focus in and take the ‘charge’ out of all these underlying negative feelings and beliefs gives us the best possible to chance to lose that weight, keep it off and improve our health and well being.