WEEK 4 CURE EMOTIONAL EATING

Transcription

1 WEEK 4 CURE EMOTIONAL EATING What causes you to think about food when you ve just finished dinner? Or what happens when you are sitting in front of the TV and the urge to munch suddenly strikes? What you are about to read might shock you. Emotional eating is a positive behavior. I know it seems crazy that the behavior you absolutely despise is positive, but, in fact, a part of you is attempting to take care of you when it drives you to eat for comfort or to avoid feeling an uncomfortable emotion. It is sending you a signal that you are not paying attention to your needs. Women are especially good at giving 110 percent to their family, work, friends, and projects, but they rarely give 110 percent to themselves. Emotional eaters are so programmed against listening to their bodies that they forget to check in with themselves about their own needs. When you are not paying attention to your desires, emotional eating can occur as a way to nourish yourself. This week, you will start nourishing yourself on a daily basis, so you don t have to use food as comfort or emotional avoidance. Action Step #1: Taking Care of Yourself This is one of the practices I request my clients to do daily. Every morning when you wake up, ask yourself this question: What is the one thing I need to do to take care of me today? Whatever your answer is, you must do that one thing. It might be something as simple as: Go to bed one hour earlier tonight, have lunch with Diana, or walk for an hour. Examples of my answers to this question are: Don t look at my s until noon today, go for a walk in nature, visit that new art exhibit at the MOMA. The most important part of this action step is that you actually do whatever your answer to the question is. You are working on rebuilding trust with your body. If you continue to avoid your body and don t honor its request, emotional eating will continue to occur. Don t worry, your

2 answers will always be attainable. The one who answers the question is your inner caretaker, the part of you that wants the best for you. You will always be prompted with positive requests, for the greater good of you. TAPPING FOR EMOTIONAL EATING Emotional eating is always the result of some emotion we are trying to avoid. The emotion can be anything in the human spectrum of emotions: anger, grief, despair, loneliness, fear, anxiety, and so on. Many experienced tappers will tap on the emotion they believe to be behind the trigger, but this approach is not usually successful. The way to tap for emotional eating is by noticing what it is specifically about that food that makes you desire it. The food is doing something for you. It may be that the crunchiness fills you with a sense of relief, the smoothness makes you feel warm and cozy, the sweetness gives you a sense of excitement. The POSITIVE feeling you get from the food is what to focus on and tap on. Whenever you catch yourself eating for emotional reasons, or if you are not sure whether your hunger is real or emotional, ask yourself this question: What am I really starving for? Whatever your answer is, tune into your body sensations and notice your desire for the food, notice how eating that food changes the way you feel, and tap on the desire for that feeling state. Some examples for phrasing might be: Even though I m starving for comfort Even though I just want to relax Even though this food makes me calm Even though I just want to feel in control Even though I have the need to be nurtured Getting to the core issue Once you get into the feeling state- the positive feeling you get from the food, ask yourself, What does this remind me of? The first thing that pops into your head, is the CORE issue. Tap on the memory and feelings around this specific issue or event until you can think about it without having an emotional charge. If a specific memory doesn t pop up, just focus on the positive feelings the food is creating in you. Emotional eating is a difficult animal to tackle alone. If you have been struggling with emotional eating for a very long time, and you re committed to finding a solution, you ll need to work with a qualified coach. In my own personal journey to overcome emotional eating, I was not fully successful until I resolved specific negative events from my past. In my private practice, I have each one of my clients make a list of all the negative memories from their past. We work through them one by one, starting with the events with the highest

3 emotional charge. This is when I see people make the biggest changes with their eating patterns and weight. EVEN if you think you ve already done this work on your own, (which I thought I had) or with a practitioner, if you are still struggling with emotional eating issues, chances are, you did not get all aspects of the events. I ve developed a specific method for quickly and deeply eliminating the emotional charge from past traumas. You can me for a list of qualified Skinny Genes practitioners who can help you create deep lasting changes in your weight and eating behavior. The first thing you will need to do is take inventory of all your negative memories from the past. You do not need to write about what happened, just give the memory a summary, for example; the teacher gave me a dirty look or the day I was raped. The key is to take inventory of ALL the negative memories, however big or small they seem. Making your list can be a daunting process. If you would like a template to help streamline this process, send an to info@brittanywatkins.com with the subject title List. You ll receive a step-by-step guide to help you create your list. Pick the phrases that resonate with you, or come up with your own, and tap for 10 minutes each day for the next week. EMOTIONAL EATING TAPPING SCRIPT For complete instructions on the Emotional Freedom Techniques, please see chapter 1 of EFT for Weight Loss. You can also download tons of FREE tapping scripts at Emotional Eating Even though I eat to fill my unmet needs, I love and accept myself. Even though I avoid giving myself what I truly want, I accept myself completely. Even though it s been a long time since I listened to my own needs, I m open to a new way. I eat to fill my needs. I don t even know what my needs are. Part of me doesn t want to listen to my needs. Needing things is scary. Needing things makes me vulnerable. I m not a needy person.

4 I don t really need anything. It s easier to give to others. It s easier to take care of them. I don t have time to listen to my needs. There s always so much to do. Sometimes I feel overwhelmed, and when I m overwhelmed, I eat. I always eat when I m stressed. Eating makes me feel better, and it distracts me from my stress. Why do I do that? I always hate how I feel afterward. Take a deep breath. Even though I eat for emotional reasons, I love and accept myself. Even though I eat just to fill myself sometimes, I still love and accept myself completely. Even though I don t know why I eat, I accept the way I feel and choose to feel more in control. I eat for emotional reasons. I don t know why I do it. Sometimes I just want food. Food gives me a distraction. I always know what kind of food I want, but it s hard to figure out what I want emotionally. When I look for food, I know that it s doing something positive for me.

5 It s filling a need. It gives me positive feelings. It makes me feel happy. It makes me feel safe. Sometimes I just need to eat. I wonder what would happen if I were curious about my own needs? I wonder how that would feel? I wonder what I can do for me today? How can I fill my own needs the way I fill others needs? I m learning that its okay to have needs. I m attending to myself the way I would a special guest. I spoil myself with love and attention. Every day I ask myself what s the one thing I can do to take care of me? I love the answers I receive. It s fun to take care of myself. The more I take care of me, the less I need food. The food was just trying to take care of me. I choose to take care of myself. Thank you, food, for always being there for me. Now I am ready and willing to take care of myself. You can still nourish me with vitamins and minerals. But I will take care of my emotional needs. I m choosing to be tuned into my desire for good feelings. I m choosing to accept my own needs.

6 My needs are important and I am loving and honoring myself and my needs. It s easy to find other ways to take care of myself, like rent a movie or treat myself to something else I love to do. When I feel low, I choose to do other things to help lift my mood, like talking to a friend or learning something new. I am always open to new ways of doing things. I am experiencing a new sense of freedom every day. I am in control of my emotions. It feels good to step into my power. It feels good to honor my true nature. Take a deep breath. You can download more tapping scripts for emotional eating at EMOTIONAL EATING IS A HABIT Emotional eating becomes a habit we depend on. After you tap to remove your desire for the food, it s important to have activities to replace your old eating habits. Complete the following New Habits Worksheet. Then keep the list you create where you can easily reference it. I keep a list on my cell phone because I always have my phone with me. Some of my clients put it on their refrigerator, in their car, at work, or in their day planner. Decide what works best for your lifestyle. In addition to the one thing you do for you every day, use this list as a way to start incorporating new activities into your life on a daily basis. Happy people have hobbies. NEW HABITS WORKSHEET What I Can Do Instead of Eating to Feel Nourished

7 1. Tapping exercises 2. Read a book or magazine 3. Go for a walk 4. Take a nap 5. Do something creative (painting, writing, sewing, etc.) 6. Call a friend 7. Listen to music 8. Take a bath 9. Meditate WEEK 4 REVIEW Daily Action Steps 1. Morning check-in: What s the one thing I need to do today to take care of me? 2. What is it I m really starving for? 3. Emotional Eating tapping script for 10 minutes One-Time Action Step 1. Fill out the New Habits Worksheet and put it up where you will see it often or keep it with you at all times! Remember to be kind to yourself. Don t try and be perfect every day. If you don t tap or if you overeat, just forgive yourself and move on. Feeling guilty only increases emotional eating. Treat yourself the same way you treat the people you love. You don t expect perfection from them, so don t expect if from yourself. This is a process, and you are on a journey. Love yourself every single day. Lots of love and happiness Xo Brittany