EFT for Weight Loss

The link between emotions and food is analysed and articulated by Dawson Church in his book ‘EFT for Weight Loss’; a compendium of information, case studies, reports and letters from the perspective of both client and practitioner. The compilation of stories explore the underlying issues that are often associated with food, including cravings and addictions, eating disorders and emotional overeating.Whether you are highly skilled in using Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT), or a first timer, Dawson has structured the material to support all levels of experience. The introduction provides the reader with insight into Dawson’s personal experiences, myths that many associate with food and weight loss and the evolution of EFT and the assistance it offers to a variety of emotional issues.Dawson provides guidance for those who are unfamiliar with the technique by essentially summarising ‘The EFT Manual’ and presenting the key elements of EFT as the first chapter; including the Basic Recipe, the sequence and meridian points, testing, using set up statements and reminder phrases. He then gets specific about specifics. This information is helpful for people new to EFT and also serves as a refresher or reminder for those who have already been introduced to EFT and have been practicing it themselves and/or with clients.Information is progressively scaffolded, beginning with the basics, then moving on to the topic of cravings. This allows the reader opportunity to experience the success of EFT with a common issue that most everyone can relate to. The visualisation at the beginning of the chapter on cravings is designed to trigger strong emotional responses in the reader by asking them to put food (chocolate no less!) in the bin. Dawson uses this as a segue to start practicing EFT; asking the reader to choose a craving, then draw on all their senses to describe the craving using evocative language. Once the power of tapping has been demonstrated, several reports and case studies are provided as additional evidence of the effectiveness of EFT.After addressing the surface issue of cravings, Dawson delves into some of the more complex emotional issues that can drive the behaviours commonly associated with food and eating. Several case studies are used to demonstrate how food is often used to suffocate, repress, disallow and conceal emotions and feelings. Often a person’s description of the food they are craving provides clues to what they are really longing for; sweet lollies that remind the person of their sweet father who died, the forceful crunching on nuts resembling biting back words, bread made soft by dunking it into milk is reminiscent of the softness a person desires in their relationship.It becomes obvious that by listening closely to the words clients use when describing their cravings, and using EFT on individual aspects, the source of the issues can be discovered and removed one by one.Dawson completes the circle by drawing attention to possible resistance, psychological reversal and self-sabotage that may prevent success when using EFT. He explores possible underlying issues and reasons why EFT may not be ‘working’ with useful strategies to overcome challenges that may be experienced. Most interestingly, he describes ‘The Comfort Zone’; a mental range in which a person may think they belong. The Comfort Zone is, in essence, the identity we have created for ourselves, based on messages we may have received from others or a number of experiences that ‘prove’ we belong in this range.The reader is provided with practical strategies to assist in moving the boundaries of their current Comfort Zone, including applying EFT to address tail-enders and negative self-talk which may be preventing weight loss and sustained success.Dawson doesn’t promise a quick fix solution to weight loss, instead he describes a range of strategies that anyone is able to access which systematically treats the cause of the issue, without the use of willpower or diets. EFT for Weight Loss teaches the reader how to become an emotional detective and uncover, in some cases, life-long suppression of emotions and offers freedom to people to love food again.

EFT for Weight loss is another in this wonderful series which illustrates how to use tapping for significant life issues.My interest in this book was both personal and professional, as I have a long-time challenge with weight - losing, regaining for many years. Learning how to lose my own weight puts me in a good position to be an experienced coach for others.The role of EFT in the weight loss process appears to be both dealing with cravings and addictions as well as core issues which trigger these. These may be easily addressed with some individuals, but far more complex with others: "Addictive cravings sometimes represent a crying out for love" or as Carol Look says "...one traumatic event, left unresolved, can translate into a lifetime of eating habits". The unconscious mind holds the key to the resistance and self-sabotage which create the biggest challenge.There are many ways to "tap into" these events and traumas, and this book includes several great ideas for accessing these..Many times, just tapping on the cravings will begin to bring up the relevant aspects - sometimes the pleasure of the food, associations with love, fun, and comfort. Other times the cravings are connected to deeper issues - a sense of deprivation, restrictions or trauma. Tapping on the resistance is often helpful as a starting place with chronic issues such as this as they are often riddled with psychological reversal and resistance. A breakthrough can start with a simple, but relevant question such as "what does this craving remind me of?". Such questions open the door to past issues which are keeping one stuck and preventing healing in the present.One can find multiple times to tap during the day, and gain greater insight into their "core issues". Great book Dawson! Thanks so much for this insightful and relevant manual - good for both professionals who guide the process as well as individuals who choose to work on their weight issues privately!

Wow. After 40+ years of fighting cravings, over eating and mindlessly looking for things to eat that never satisfied my cravings, I now have to create a new relationship with food. After a day or two of tapping, I have lost all cravings and don't care to eat. I found myself putting off eating (couldn't be bothered) to the point of starving and started dropping weight like crazy. 5 lbs in 7 days. I now have to force myself to eat and because I have no craving or favorite foods, I am free to actually eat what my body needs rather than always thinking about what I can and cannot eat to lose weight.

Valuable information.The manual is well written, and full of examples of tapping around eating issues and more importantly the underlying causes. Only criticisms are that I would have preferred the book to be A4 size, so the writing would have been bigger, and the font of the recipes is somewhat unclear in that size. For oldies such as myself this was an over sight (pun intended). And for those of you who are thinking "You need to tap on Vision" I'd agree. None the less, but it would have been better if the book had been formatted with the aged in mind. Had it been, then this would be a five star rating. I appreciated the Bulimia and Anorexia inclusions. Highly recommended.

I am currently seeing an EFT practitioner who is helping me with many issues including chronic pain, traumas from childhood, and an inability to move forward to do things that I really want to do, but never get past the planning and preparing stage with. Something or many things has me stuck and we are working on as many of those issues as we can reveal. Reading this book has helped me to better understand the EFT process and why it works, and reinforced my desire to stick with it. All of the examples in the book gave clear ideas for going through the process which is very helpful when you are just starting out.

An excellent book for both practitioner and layperson alike

GREAT

Although I'm just at the beginning of the book I still love it! I'm at the point where they explain how EFT works...Although I have already read many books about EFT, I find this one to be so well written, have new tools I didn't knew about like "the movie technique" or the "tell the story technique", easy to read and has many scientific studies to back up EFT. I highly recommend!

Enjoyed learning from the this book. The various stories encouraged me to experiment with the techniques . I look forward to changes!

It works.