The DIY Diet

Like many of you, I’ve made a New Year’s resolution to lose weight.  I gained back nearly 20 pounds over the three months leading up to the new year.  I don’t know exactly what caused me to lose my way in trying to follow a diet but it is what it is and I want to do something about it now before I gain more weight.

More and more people are beginning to realize that there is more to gaining and losing weight than what diet they are following.  All of them seem to work - for a time.  People are learning that there is emotional involvement behind our weight gain/loss.  Even high profile, inspirational people like Oprah Winfrey, who has access to the best cooks, trainers, and exercise gurus that money can buy, has something in her emotional makeup that apparently has not yet been addressed and it has caused her to gain back some of the weight she lost.

I’m starting to learn something about the emotional connection to weight loss and gain, and I’m beginning to use a technique called the Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT) that involves tapping certain acupressure points on your body.  It is a very fast, easy technique and is reportedly very successful in a large number of cases.  I was introduced to it during a recent teleseminar about natural health and healing techniques to enhance energy, well being, and happiness.  I’m not going to explain how to do this technique rather I’m going to point you to the resources readily available to you to quickly learn the technique yourself.

One of the most prominent people in the field is Gary Craig, the founder of the Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT).  His website provides a wealth of free, downloadable information about this technique and how to do it.  There are loads of testimonials from people who have lost large amounts of weight using EFT.  These people explain in detail how they approached their emotional issue; issues that are different for each person.  The Emotional Freedom Technique isn’t used exclusively for weight loss, it is successfully used for a myriad of health issues - all without the use of drugs.  Please do yourself a favor and check out Gary Craig’s website: www.emofree.com/

I learned that Gary Craig co-authored a book on the Emotional Freedom Technique together with energy medicine pioneer, Donna Eden (www.innersource.net), and David Feinstein, a highly regarded psychologist and national director of the Energy Medicine Institute. 

Donna Eden’s earlier book, Energy Medicine is, in my estimation, an encyclopedia of how to use your body’s energies to improve and maintain optimal health, and she has written it in terms that people like me can understand.  I love the book and highly recommend it to anyone interested in energy healing for themselves.  She offers a five minute daily energy routine that will make you feel great as you start your day.  If you don’t want to buy her book, you can find the technique on www.youtube.com/  Search for Donna Eden Five Minute Routine.  She does a video demonstration of the routine.

The book that explains in detail how the Emotional Freedom Technique works is called The Promise of Energy Psychology, Revolutionary Tools for Dramatic Personal Change.  I’m reading the book now and have started using EFT to help with my weight loss New Year’s Resolution.

Another advocate of the EFT Tapping Procedure, commonly called The Basic Recipe, is Gwenn Bonnell.  Her website offers a chart that you can copy which clearly shows the four steps in this procedure (http://www.tapintoheaven.com/2eft/eftcharten.shtml).  While this chart is very convenient, it behooves all newcomers to learn the specifics of how to implement the procedure so that you can be as successful as possible in gaining optimal health for yourself.  This information is contained in her website as well as in Gary Craig’s website.

Although I can’t yet say how well the EFT procedure will work for me, I have great hope that it will get to the core emotional problems that are preventing me from permanently losing the weight I wish to lose.

I wanted to make you aware of this technique, if you don’t already know about it, so that you, too, can learn about EFT if it is of interest to you.

Best Wishes for a successful weight loss year.