Diet Archives - Finding the Meaning in Everyday Life

I’m Angry About My Body

People have many different emotions about their body. Although there are some people who are completely satisfied with their weight and appearance, I don’t personally know very many. What I hear more often is people that are angry about their weight and body. Unfortunately, being angry with yourself doesn’t generally lead to resolution and change. That’s where tapping can help.

Setup (Karate Chop Point) – Even though I feel angry about the way my body looks, I deeply and completely love and accept myself right now. Even though I feel angry about the way my body looks, I am open to the possibility that I could feel differently about this tomorrow. Even though I feel angry about the way my body looks, I choose to take inspired action rather than reacting to this negative emotion.

Eyebrow…I am so angry

Side of Eye…I hate the way my body looks

Under the Eye…And I did this to myself

Under the Nose…I am so angry about the way my body looks

Chin…Doing anything about this feels almost impossible

Collarbone…This anger isn’t very healthy for me

Under the Arm…And probably makes it even harder to lose weight

Top of Head…I acknowledge my anger

Eyebrow…I acknowledge my challenges

Side of Eye…I accept who I am, even with this less than perfect body

Under the Eye…I have been so angry

Under the Nose…I have been angry about my body’s appearance

Chin…And I blame myself for it

Collarbone…That means I’ve been angry with myself

Under the Arm…I accept where I am right now

Top of Head…And I look forward to a future where I can accept my body too.

Take a deep breath and let it out gently. At first glance it may seem that we haven’t changed anything with this tapping. This is a necessary starting point for creating any lasting change around weight and body issues. It is absolutely essential to first accept the truth of where we are openly and honestly, and without blame or shame. From that place of acceptance, miracles can happen.

Want more tapping? Click here.

book cover for Don't Diet Reprogramming Your Weight With Meridian Tapping

It Is Not Fair

The tapping today is short, and at first glance might seem like it wouldn’t help. I encourage you to give it a try anyway. Put on your very best whiny voice and really throw yourself into it. Can you hear yourself, or someone else, saying that something isn’t fair? I’ve only written out one round, but that should be enough to get going. You might even want to throw yourself on the floor and have a tantrum — I’m not kidding. The more emotion you put behind this, the better the results.

Setup (Karate Chop Point) – Even though it doesn’t feel fair that I have to diet while others eat all of the food they want, I deeply and completely love and accept myself just the way I am. Even though it isn’t fair that I have to limit my food in order to get to the weight I desire, I deeply and completely love and accept myself no matter what. Even though other people can eat more than I can and eat different foods than I can, I choose to focus on having the body I really want.

Eyebrow…Its not fair

Side of Eye…Its just not fair

Under the Eye…They can eat anything they want

Under the Nose…I can’t

Chin…Its not fair

Collarbone…I want to eat anything I want and still have a great body and good health

Under the Arm…Why them and not me?

Top of Head…Its not fair

Check out additional tapping from Don’t Diet: Reprogram Your

Weight With Meridian Tapping.

It Is Too Hard

Do you ever feel like giving up because dieting is too hard? I think we have all felt that way, not just about dieting, but about a lot of things. This short tapping may be just what you need to renew your motivation for self care.

Setup (Karate Chop Point): Even though it feels like dieting is just to hard, I am open to considering baby steps that could make a difference for me. Even though it feels like dieting is just too hard, I choose to remember that I don’t have to do it all at once. Even though is feels like dieting is just too hard, I love and accept myself anyway.

Eyebrow…Dieting is just too hard

Side of Eye…I don’t want to do anything that is so hard

Under the Eye…It is just too hard

Under the Nose…It seems overwhelming to me

Chin…It is so hard that I don’t think I can even face it

Collarbone…Dieting is just too hard

Under the Arm…It is too hard

Top of Head…Dieting is way too hard

Eyebrow…Dieting is so very hard

Side of Eye…But I am open to some baby steps towards my goals

Under the Eye…Dieting seems way too hard

Under the Nose…But I don’t have to do it all at once

Chin…Dieting is just too hard

Collarbone…I choose to love and accept myself anyway

Under the Arm…I am open to the possibility that it could be easier than I think

Top of Head…I choose to look for the possibility of success

Need more tapping inspiration about dieting, weight loss, and exercise? Check out Don’t Diet: Reprogram your Weight With Meridian Tapping.

Need to learn more about tapping? Click here.

I’m Afraid I Will Lose Control

Unfortunately I am no stranger to feeling out of control with food. It is a huge issue that I have not completely eliminated. Fortunately the fear of of losing control is something that rarely sneaks up on me, so when I first notice it I can usually find relief in tapping. What follows is a short tapping that you can use when you start to worry about losing control.

Setup (Karate Chop Point): Even though I am afraid I will lose control if confronted with any of my favorite foods, I deeply and completely love and accept myself. Even though I am afraid that I will lose control and eat too much or eat foods that are not healthy for me, I choose to focus on loving myself and my healthy body instead. Even though I am afraid that I will lose control and eat like a pig, I choose to feel calm and confident, even twhen those comfort foods are readily available.

Eyebrow…I am afraid I will lose control

Side of Eye…I am afraid I will eat like a pig

Under the Eye…I am afraid my food plan will go right out the window

Under the Nose…I can’t control myself around those foods

Chin…I am afraid I will lose control

Collarbone…I am afraid I will eat too much

Under the Arm…I am afraid I will eat unhealthy foods

Top of Head…I am afraid I will lose control

Continue with these or similar phrases until you feel relief

Did you benefit from this tapping? I’d love to hear about your success.

Want more tapping scripts? Check out Don’t Diet: Reprogram Your Weight With Meridian Tapping.

I Will Feel Deprived

Who likes the feeling of deprivation? I certainly don’t. Dread related to feeling deprived can stop people from making positive changes in their diet, particularly if they currently partake in something known to be less than healthy or even dangerous. Today’s tapping is short, but is a starting place for addressing the fear of deprivation.

Say this statement aloud, “I will feel deprived if I cannot eat my favorite foods.” How true does that feel to you? Rate it on the 0-10 scale (10=is very strong or very true.)

Setup (Karate Chop Point): Even though I am afraid of how I will feel if I don’t eat my favorite foods. I choose to love and accept myself anyway. Even though I am sure I will feel deprived without my favorite foods, I am hopeful that I can find other sources of pleasure in my life. Even though the fear of deprivation is very strong for me, I am beginning to consider small diet changes that will help me to be healthy and happy.

Eyebrow…I feel deprived

Side of Eye…I want to eat my favorite foods

Under the Eye…I don’t want to feel deprived

Under the Nose…I need to eat or I will feel deprived

Chin…I will do anything to avoid that feeling

Collarbone…This deprivation

Under the Arm…Fear of deprivation

Top of Head…This strong feeling of deprivation

Say the original statement again, “I will feel deprived if I cannot eat my favorite foods?” How true does that feel to you now? Did specific foods pop in your mind? Continue tapping about how it would feel to not eat those foods or to eat them less often. Did your mind drift to specific thoughts, feelings, or sensations related to deprivation? Continue tapping about how much you want to avoid those thoughts, feelings, and sensations.

Remember you can find these and other tapping exercises to assist in your health and wellness in Don’t Diet: Reprogram Your Weight With Meridian Tapping.

Questions or suggestions? I’d love to hear from you.

Food Is My Only Friend

As we continue our resolutions related to food, exercise, and health in 2019 we will continue to use tapping to increase our odds of success. The next tapping exercise begins to address some of the emotional reasons we eat. In this case it is the feeling that food is our friend. For some people, food may feel like their only friend.

Say this statement aloud, “Food is my only friend.” How true does that feel to you? It may be a stronger feeling on some days than others. Rate it on the 0-10 scale (10=is very strong or very true.)

Setup (Karate Chop Point): Even though it feels sometimes like food is my only friend, I deeply and completely love and accept myself anyway. Even though I eat junk food when I am lonely, and I am afraid of losing my only friend if I stop eating, I choose to find other ways to manage this feeling. Even though it is terrifying to think of changing my relationship with my food/friend. I am open to a new way of being.

Eyebrow…Food is my friend

Side of Eye…How can I give that up?

Under the Eye…Sometimes I think food is my only friend

Under the Nose…I have no idea what I would do instead of eating when I feel lonely

Chin…Even the thought makes me want to eat more

Collarbone…Food feels like my best friend

Under the Arm…Everyone wants a best friend

Top of Head…And it’s always there when I need it

Eyebrow…Food never lets me down

Side of Eye…I always feel better when I eat ice cream or chocolate

Under the Eye…At least for a little while

Under the Nose…Later I feel pretty bad

Chin…I am open to others ways of handling these feelings

Collarbone…Food is just food

Under the Arm…It is ok to enjoy it, but I can learn how to handle these other feelings in different ways

Top of Head…Feelings are just feelings, and I can handle them.

Say the original statement again, “Food is my only friend.” How true does that feel to you now? Did other thoughts or feelings come up? Did you find yourself arguing with any of the statements? Those are great opportunities to continue your tapping on this issue until the truth of the original statement is very low.

Remember you can find these and other tapping exercises to assist in your health and wellness in Don’t Diet: Reprogram Your Weight With Meridian Tapping.

Questions or suggestions? I’d love to hear from you.

I Can’t Be Rational About Food

Are you still on the path for improved health and wellness in 2019? Is the resolution still firmly in mind? Hopefully our last tapping was a good starting point for managing the barriers to success. One of the things that came up for me when thinking about my love-hate relationship with food was the quality of my thinking. I’m just not very rational when I think about food. That is what today’s tapping is about. Say this statement: “I have trouble thinking about food in a rational way.” How true is that for you on the 0-10 scale (10=very rue).

Setup (karate chop point): Even though I have trouble thinking about food in a rational way, I deeply and completely love and accept myself. Even though food is a highly emotional subject for me, I am working toward a different way of relating to food, meals, and eating. Even though I have an emotional reaction to food, I love and accept myself, knowing that I am a work in progress.

Eyebrow…I get irrational about food

Side of Eye…Thinking about food makes me emotional

Under the Eye…Thinking about not having certain foods makes me emotional

Under the Nose…Thinking about limiting certain foods makes me emotional

Chin…Everything about food and eating makes me emotional

Collarbone…And don’t say the word diet to me

Under the Arm…I am working on changing these emotional responses

Top of Head…I look forward to seeing food in a new way.

Now say that beginning statement again, “I have trouble thinking about food in a rational way.” Rate it again on the 0-10 scale. Was there any change? It may have gone up, gone down, or stayed the same. The relative change is new information to use in your tapping. Here are some suggestions to make it more powerful.

Substitute a particular food instead of the word “food” to make it more specific if there is a food or group of foods that brings the strongest emotional reaction.
Tap while thinking about how much you believe you would miss a particular food
Tap while using your original rating number, “This 9-feeling in my gut when I think about not eating _____”
If you are feeling particularly impatient with the slow progress….tap about your lack of patience with an affirmation about being a work in progress.

Remember you can find these and other tapping exercises to assist in your health and wellness in Don’t Diet: Reprogram Your Weight With Meridian Tapping. I’d love to hear back from you about your successes or to answer any questions.

I Have a Love-Hate Relationship With Food

It is a new year and many people, myself included, have an intention to do something positive related to diet, exercise, or health in the new year. Unfortunately, that forward momentum lasts for only a short time. I’ve heard it is an average of only 12 days. With tapping, I think we can do a lot better than that. Ready to get started? A good place for me to start is my love-hate relationship with food.

The Setup: (karate chop point) Even though I have this love-hate relationship with food, I deeply and completely love and accept myself anyway. Even thgough I love food, but I hate what it does to my body, I deeply and completely love and accept myself anyway. Even though my relationship wtih food and with my body is quite problematic for me at times, I deeply and completely flove myself and accept all of these feelings.

Eyebrow…I have a love/hate relationship with food

Side of Eye…This love/hate relationship with food

Under the Eye…I hate what my love of food sometimes does to my body

Under the Nose…I love food but I hate my body

Chin…I hate food but I love my body

Collarbone…This love/hate relationship with food

Under the Arm…Even though I have this love/hate relationship with food

Top of Head…I deeply and completely love and accept myself anyway

You might be thinking that this was pretty short and didn’t change anything. You would likely be correct. This is just a starting point. Think of it as the diving board where you are poised to jump/dive off. If you were really paying attention to the words they likely caused you to react in some way, whether to agree or to balk. That is where the magic of this tapping exercise can be found. Continue to tap at the points while stating aloud all of those things that popped in your head.

Check back frequently for more tapping exercises to keep you in alignment with your health goals and check out the book Don’t Diet: Reprogram Your Weight With Meridian Tapping if you want more examples so you can move forward with more confidence.

Preparing for Weight Loss – New Year’s Resolution – Part III

This is it, the conclusion of this series designed to help you prepare for successful weight loss when you consider make your New Year’s Resolution. Are you ready to put it all together? I know that I am

Step Five:

What is your emotional or energetic response to the following words, phrases, and statements. Rate each one on the 1-10 SUDs scale with 10 being very true or very strong.

I don’t deserve to lose weight.	*Rating*	It is not safe for me to lose weight	*Rating*
Deprivation	*Rating*	Failure	*Rating*
I’ll just regain the weight	*Rating*	I don’t believe I can change	*Rating*
Lonely	*Rating*	Unlovable	*Rating*
Sexy	*Rating*	Security	*Rating*
Expectations	*Rating*	It’s too late	*Rating*
I want them to love me for who I am, not what I look like	*Rating*	Sugar Addict	*Rating*
Cravings	*Rating*	Obsessions	*Rating*
Irritable	*Rating*	Anxious	*Rating*
Lazy	*Rating*	Resentment	*Rating*

Each of these words or statements that caused a reaction for you is a potential item that is holding you back from your weight loss success and can be addressed through tapping.

Take out your lists that you made. Follow the example above and make an intensity rating for your top reasons for losing weight, the cons of losing weight, the benefits of not losing weight, and any automatic thoughts about diet, exercise, or weight loss.

Now you are ready to do some life-changing tapping. If you are having trouble getting started, consider checking out the book Don’t Diet: Reprogram Your Weight With Meridian Tapping. It has 229 examples of tapping based on this process. You can also keep reading the blog posts as I tackle some of my own food, diet, and exercise hang-ups.

Remember the basic formula.

Make a statement that describes what needs to change.
Rate the emotional intensity associated with that statement
Repeat a setup statement or statements while tapping the karate chop point
Tap on the meridians using the tapping points while using a reminder statement
Repeat the original statement
Rate the intensity again.

Your statements don’t have to be fancy. The standard setup statement of –

“Even though (insert thought or feeling) I deeply and completely love and accept myself” –

Is a good one and works well. Then for the reminder statement just say the thought or feeling at each point or shorten it to just a few key words.

For a video demonstrating the whole tapping process click here.

Happy Tapping.

Preparing for Weight Loss – New Year’s Resolution – Part II

Welcome back to our tapping about weight loss and getting ready to be successful in our New Year’s Resolutions. Take out those lists from last time. You should have a list of the top 10 reasons for wanting to change your weight and a list of the cons or down-side to weight loss. Next we are going to consider the positive things we associate with being overweight. I can hear everybody screaming that there is nothing positive, but stay with me.

Step Three:

If someone were to ask you what you get out of being overweight, you might be tempted to punch them. Of course you don’t get anything out of being overweight – or do you? Being overweight does have advantages for some people. Our excess weight can serve as a protection from other people or from our own sexuality. Keeping the excess weight also allows us to maintain the status quo rather than risk the possibility of frustration and failure. For some people, being overweight serves as a connection to current family members and to generations past. When you hear someone say “All of the women in my family have been heavy” that is a strong statement of identification that could be lost if the individual was to lose weight. These conscious and unconscious benefits of being overweight can have a tremendous impact on your energy system and can be sufficient to stop a weight loss effort. Be brutally honest and write down the positive things that are associated with being overweight.

Step Four:

Automatic thoughts, often negative, are just that – automatic. They pop into our minds and have a tremendous impact, not only on our current mood but also on our energy system. What thoughts pop into your mind when you hear or think about the words diet, exercise, or weight loss? Write them down in as much detail as you possible can.

Put those lists back in a safe place. In the final article in this series we will use those lists to pull it all together into a very effective tapping plan to boost your success.