Diet Archives - Page 3 of 4 - Finding the Meaning in Everyday Life

Thinner This Year

Thinner This Year: A Diet and Exercise Program for Living Strong, Fit, and Sexy was more challenging for me than was Younger Next Year. That doesn’t mean that I didn’t like it, but I had to concentrate more to get the information. Chris Crowley’s witty style is definitely present and Jennifer Sachek’s portions are interesting, but contain so much important information that it was less entertaining. Together they are a complete package.

Younger Next Year was a game changer for me. I rarely miss a work out. I don’t think I’ll ever enjoy it as much as Chris does, but I’m definitely a convert and have been since I first read it in 2014. With regards to the diet component, that’s a little tougher because of my food allergies. I can’t just lift the advice from the pages and apply it quite as easily as I can the exercise part. The overarching message of don’t eat garbage is applicable though.

Remarkably, what I gained from Thinner This Year isn’t just knowledge. Although a large portion is a how-to book, there is a significant amount of the book dedicated to why-to. Even more important is that is sparked my excitement about making a few changes. I have a bit more belief in my ability to modify my lifestyle and I have a stronger belief in the necessity of doing it.

As you can tell, I highly recommend reading this book.

Younger Next Year

Three letters sum up my reaction to the book Younger Next Year: Live Strong, Fit, and Sexy – Until You’re 80 and Beyond by Chris Crowley and Henry Lodge. You choose either WOW or OMG. For me, this book was a life-changer. In reality, a lot of the information, the what, was not new to me. What was new was the why. And in this book, the why is pretty compelling. I found myself actually wanting to get to the gym more. That is pretty amazing. My diet is really pretty good, but I found myself wanting to make it better. The comparison between aging and decaying rattled around in my head almost constantly for the first few months after reading the book. I was convinced pretty early in the beginning chapters that decaying is a very bad think and generally preventable.

Younger Next Year is a book by men and about men. That was not a turn off to me but it might be for some women. I was readily able to see that the science is the same, no matter the gender. Don’t despair though, there is a version Younger Next Year for Women. No matter which one you choose, the important thing is to read the book and follow Harry’s Rules. I am absolutely confident that they can change lives.

Don’t Diet: Reprogram Your Weight With Meridian Tapping

Diets don’t typically work. Anyone who has ever been on a diet knows that traditional dieting works for only a short time then — BOOM — the weight comes back on. In order to achieve safe, effective, and lasting weight loss it is necessary to restore the body’s balance and to address the reasons why the weight is there in the first place.

Meridian tapping is the perfect technique for getting to the root cause of weight gain. It is also an effective technique for decreasing resistance to exercise, eliminating cravings, and restoring rational thought related to food and nutrition.

My book, Don’t Diet: Reprogram Your Weight With Meridian Tapping gives you a complete program to address many common issues associated with overeating, poor eating, avoidance of exercise, and irrational beliefs about food. In addition, by working through the exercises in the book you will develop the tapping skills to fine-tune and tailor the tapping to your individual concerns.

My Cravings Always Win

The tapping exercise below is from Don’t Diet: Reprogram Your Weight With Meridian Tapping. Cravings are something that I continue to struggle with. It seems to be a problem for many people I know.

Setup (while tapping on the karate chop point) – Even though it seems like my cravings always win, I deeply and completely love and accept myself anyway. Even though is seems like my cravings always win, I choose to continue to try. My cravings are a part of me, and I accept myself.

Eyebrow…My cravings always win

Side of Eye…So it doesn’t seem worth it to even try

Under the Eye…I might as well just go ahead and eat it

Nose…If I fight it and then lose, I just end up feeling worse

Chin…Even though it seems that my cravings always win

Collarbone…I know that it isn’t really true

Under the Arm…Sometimes I am able to resist

Top of Head…I am open to learning about what makes me more successful during those times

Eyebrow…And less successful at others

Side of Eye…My cravings don’t always win

Under the Eye…My cravings sometimes win

Nose…In reality my cravings aren’t against me

Chin…They are a part of me

Collarbone…My cravings are a signal that something needs my attention

Under the Arm…I can choose to deal with it without food

Top of Head…I can choose to continue toward my goals

Eyebrow…It would be helpful to stop seeing this as a battle

Side of Eye…Its not a battle with winners and losers

Under the Eye…I am open to knowing what it is that needs my attention

Nose…I choose to treat myself with more compassion when I’m faced with cravings

Chin…So that I have the energy to address whatever it is that is behind this feeling

Collarbone…That’s it. Cravings are just another feeling

Under the Arm…A feeling in disguise

Top of Head…And I am open to feeling it.

Get Back on Track

Getting back on track (GBOT) is a huge problem for people who struggle with weight when they have over-indulged. This video addresses the differences in GBOT between think and not-so-thin people and demonstrates how tapping can help.

Potato Chips

Vegetable chips are good for you, right? Well they were probably better for me than potato chips. I still ate too many of them and I ate them too late at night to be good for me. I didn’t feel very good about that so I decided to tap. Here is what I came up with. If you have suggestions for improvement, let me know.

Setup (while tapping karate chop point). Tonight my problem was potato chips. At least they weren’t regular potato chips. These were fancy vegetable chips. While I’d like to feel better about that, the truth is that I ate too much. Too many calories. Too late at night. I wish I had more control over my snacking. And tonight my problem was potato chips. In spite of this, I choose to love and accept myself anyway. Even though I ate more than I think is good for me, I choose to honor and accept myself. Even though my eating feels like it was out of control, I deeply and complete love, respect, and accept myself.

Eyebrow…I ate potato chips tonight

Side of Eye…I didn’t measure them

Under the Eye…I ate too many of them

Nose…That makes me feel bad

Chin…Physically and mentally

Collarbone…I wish I had more control over my eating

Under the Arm…Really, I wish I didn’t need to control my eating at all

Top of Head…I’d like to eat whatever I want, whenever I want it

Eyebrow…But that isn’t the reality of my body and my metabolism

Side of Eye…I am open to understanding more about why I continue to overeat

Under the Eye…I am open to learning to tap before eating any snack foods

Nose…I’d rather deal with whatever I’m trying to “feed”

Chin…Instead of hurting my body

Collarbone…I can change this pattern one bite at a time

Under the Arm…I have the tools

Top of Head…Now I just need to use them

Dieting is Getting Really Hard

Sometimes it is easy to eat a healthy diet, and other times — not so much! Here is a tapping sequence I’ve used during those tougher times.

The setup (tap on karate chop point). This dieting is getting really hard. Anything that is this hard is probably too hard for me. Controlling my appetite is hard. Controlling my cravings is even harder than controlling my appetite. Planning ahead is hard. Avoiding sugary snacks is hard. Reading labels is hard. Eating a healthy diet is getting really hard. I don’t want to do hard things. I want everything to be easy. I feel like giving up because this is hard. I acknowledge my frustration. I acknowledge my fatigue. I acknowledge my cravings. I acknowledge my appetite. I acknowledge my lack of energy and motivation. Most of all, I acknowledge that these feelings are okay and I’m okay.

Eyebrow…Dieting is really hard

Side of Eye…It’s too hard for me

Under the Eye…I feel like giving up

Nose…I want to eat more food than my body needs

Chin…I don’t want to plan ahead anymore

Collarbone…It is too much work

Under the Arm…It takes too much time

Top of Head…I want it to be easy

Eyebrow…I am really frustrated right now

Side of Eye…I am frustrated with my body

Under the Eye…I am frustrated with my metabolism

Nose…I am so tired of this

Chin…This dieting is so very hard

Collarbone…I am losing my motivation

Under the Arm…This dieting is getting really hard

Eyebrow…I don’t like these feelings

Side of Eye…I don’t believe I should really feel this way

Under the Eye…I’m supposed to enjoy everything all the time

Nose…There must be something wrong with me

Chin…I am trying

Collarbone…I haven’t given up yet

Under the Arm…These feelings are only temporary

Top of Head…It may be hard but I choose to remember that I am worth it.

Take a deep breath and let it out slowly. Did anything shift for you? I’d love some feedback on this. Let me know how it worked for you.

Happy Tapping.

Let Your Mind Wander

I get so many questions about where to start with tapping, what words to say, and whether starting with the negative thoughts is important. My answer is usually the same – “just start tapping”. This video is actually a tapping exercise from the book Don’t Diet: Reprogram Your Weight With Meridian Tapping. During this exercise you are encouraged to just let your mind wander and tap, following your own stream of consciousness. Happy tapping!

Sugar Addiction – Video 1 of 3

Addiction to sugar is a big topic and often has many components. This video is the first in a series and introduces the process of meridian tapping to conquer this addiction.

Today I Faced The Marshmallow Fluff, and I Lost

This story came from Linda. She said that she was tired, frustrated, and irritable after her difficult day. As any good food addict will do – she turned to food. She wasn’t proud of it, but that day she had faced the marshmallow fluff and it won. Here is the way we started tapping. Feel free to tap along.

Setup: (tapping the karate chop point) Even though I gave into temptation and ate marshmallow fluff by the spoonful today, I deeply and completely love and accept myself anyway. Even though I ate marshmallow fluff in response to being tired and frustrated, I choose to view myself with love and compassion. Even though I ate marshmallow fluff in secret so nobody would know, I choose to get back on track right now.

Eyebrow…I ate marshmallow fluff

Side of Eye…First I put some on my brownie

Under the Eye…Then I ate some on a spoon with some peanut butter

Nose…Then I just ate it off a spoon without anything else

Chin…Knowing that I still have these behaviors makes me feel so defeated sometimes

Collarbone…I wasn’t really hungry, but I was craving something sweet

Under the Arm…It was here, easy, and easy to hide

Top of Head…I didn’t eat enough to do a lot of damage to my diet

Eyebrow…But I did damage my confidence

Side of Eye…I also know that once I start, it is sometimes hard to stop

Under the Eye…It’s good to know that I can tap on that issue too if I need to

Nose…I am angry with myself for eating the fluff

Chin…I’m disappointed with myself for eating the fluff

Collarbone…I feel like a failure

Under the Arm…I feel like a fraud

Top of Head…The fluff won, and I hate that

In this case we just started where she was at the time. The words of the setup statement state the truth of what happened, but also state where she wanted to end up –acceptance and able to get back on track. It wouldn’t have been beneficial to pretend that it didn’t happen. During the rest of the tapping the behaviors were described but also some of the negative self talk about eating the fluff. This part can be expanded to cover all of the feelings that come up.

For Linda it didn’t really take more than this. As soon as she acknowledged the behavior and expressed her feelings about it while tapping she experienced considerable relief. She told me later that she did additional tapping on the specific feeling of being a failure at another time and was able to get clarity and relief there too.

As you can see, the tapping doesn’t have to be complicated. You just have to get started.