Merry Christmas and Happy New Year

'Tis the season to be joyful. Hopefully. If you get terribly caught up in the commercialism, it can be just the opposite. Unless you like that kind of thing. True joy of course, can never be found in material possessions. But, most people do use the Christmas season to ponder the simpler, more beautiful things of life. Most people do set aside a part of their thought to think of others. And right on the heels of Christmas is another time for life reflection.

There is a part of me this year that wants to rebel and make no New Year's resolutions. I guess I should tap on that. :-) But, I am sure like millions of people every year, I will choose a list and then try not to forget that I was attempting to better myself. But seriously, EFT is a wonderful tool in helping us make changes at a level that we can't with just our will power. Let's start with the most popular New Year's Resolution. Losing weight. I am going to cover this topic from several angles over the next few posts. I will try to stay on one tip for each post and see where we go with it. Enjoy.

Lets deal with food on the physical level, shall we? Its actually a hard thing to do. After all, if we are stuffing our tummies, are we really trying to fill an emotional emptiness? Do we need more because we feel less? Or is it just, I like sugar. I like chips. I find most of the time if I am after a snack or treat, I am being driven for it. I want the crunchy feel of chips, crackers, popcorn, etc. Or I really want the chocolate (OK not any more for me, my chocolate cravings are GONE) ice cream, soda, sweetness, etc. I like being in control. And I do not like being controlled. But I have found at different times in my life, my food controls me. I am addicted. How is this different than smoking or drinking? In the short run, not very. It just does not have the more serious obvious consequences of the other addictions. Long term, health results and consequences on others may really be different. But the misuse of food can often have very heavy (no pun intended) consequences for our health. So, lets take back the control.

You want to replace bad habits with good ones. I know you will know a lot of these things, but if we can work on one thing at a time, then we make progress. More fruits and veggies. It is an obvious one. When you want a sweet, how about a juicy orange? Or banana, maybe with pnut butter. A handful of raisins or dried cranberries, or other dried fruit. Dont eat too much dried fruit at once because the sugar is concentrated. The benefit of fruit over table sugar is all the fiber that goes along to slow the fructose down as opposed to white sugar that just gets right in the blood stream. But, how do you get to where fruit sugar satisfies? EFT can help with that.

It brings us right to cravings:

Setup:
Even though I crave sugar (or sweets or chocolate, etc) I deeply and completely accept myself.
Even though I want to eat sweets...
Even though I want the whole plate of cookies...
Even though I could live on sugar, in fact lets just inject it intravenously...
Even though I want life to be sweet and it isnt...
Even though I need sugar...
Even though I crave more sweetness in my life...

After several rounds of these kinds of statements, you can use different words at each point, like:

EB: I need these sweets
SE I crave these sweets
UE I cant live without sweets
UN How can anyone live without sweets
CH Maybe some people can, but I cant
CB Theres a small chance I could
UA Or not
TH Why do I really have to give up sweets anyway?

EB I think I can live without these sweets
SE I am open to choosing a healthy alternative
UE I like a lot of different fruits
UN I know they are good for me
CH I choose to make better food choices
CB I want to be healthy and vibrant
UA I know I can give up sweets easily
TH Letting this sugar craving go

It is very beneficial if you have not sighed during the round, to take a deep cleansing breath in through the nose and out through the mouth. Another setup comes to mind and that is addressing it before it addresses you. If you know you will be going to a function and there are going to be things you cant or dont want to refuse. Just tap before you go. Even though all those desserts are going to be there...Even though I am going to want to take out the teens and eat it all...Even though I have this insatiable craving for sugar...I know I can resist. I know I dont need it. I know I can do without and not feel empty. I know that I can define my food choices and overcome the cravings. I know I can be successful in outlining a healthy diet. I know I can conquer my addiction/craving.

Let me know if this outline is helpful. My suggestion is to tap three times a day for three days and then we can move on. Please share your experiences with me. It is a good idea between rounds to ask yourself questions. Am I feeling any emotions? Does this remind me of something in my life? Are there any new thoughts? If an emotion, memory, or thought comes up, you can tap on that and it will help get to the bottom or core issue that is fueling the craving or addiction. Let me know if I can help any more.

Blessngs, Dawn