Many clients come to me because they feel they eat or drink too much and want to be more aware of what they are doing. They want to stop unconscious automatic behaviour. They want to eat or drink less. Those folks are who this article is for. The following strategy has worked well for many. Only you can decide whether it is the best path for you to follow or if you need to approach what you want in a different manner.

I incorporate not only EFT in this strategy, but engage the brain by doing something new and different. It can make people realize they were about to take that next bite or drink and it works beautifully.

Automatic behaviour is when you think you have eaten a few chips, but you look and there are no chips left in the entire bag. Or you think you have had a few spoonfuls of ice cream and you realize the container is, all of a sudden, empty. It means you are not aware of what you are doing in those moments.

Tapping Protocol: This strategy uses one or two rounds of tapping at a time. A round of tapping is tapping on each point 7 to 10 times. A round includes the Karate chop point, top of head, eyebrow, side of eye, under eye, under nose, under lips, collarbone, under arm and wrist points.

I Want to Eat Less

The example we’ll look at here is that you are having a meal and you want to eat less. When you are already about halfway through what you want to eat, do two things.

First do a round of tapping before each bite of food. This is one of the few times I do not have clients say words. You just look at the food and do a round of tapping before every mouthful. Make sure to put down your spoon, fork, or whatever you are using while you are chewing in between bites.

Second, after tapping and eating a bite, move your spoon or fork from where it usually is to across the table or someplace different from where it would normally be. Any difference is fine as long as, when you go to take another bite, the utensil or food is in a different place.

This jolts the brain out of automatic behaviour and forces it to rethink what is happening. Something like this will occur. You will think, “Where is my utensil or food. Oh it’s over there. Oh yes, I’m supposed to tap.”

If you do not do the second step of moving whatever you are eating or eating with to an unusual place where you actually have to reach for it or better yet get up to get it, you will probably go into automatic eating behaviour and forget to tap.

As well as moving the utensil or food, you could also write a note that simply says, “TAP,” and put that on top of the utensil or near your food where you have to see it. The key to this strategy is to become aware of what you are doing instead of automatic behaviour.

Here’s another example. You’ve finished dinner and someone (it could be you) gets the biscuits out and puts them on the coffee table in front of you. You want to have two but no more. Have one and enjoy it. Then every time you take a bite, do a round of tapping. Just as with your meal, you put the utensil or food in a different place from usual in between bites so that you have to think about where it is.

In this example, you might want to move the biscuits to the other room or a different table away from you so that – once again – you have to change an old pattern in order to get to that biscuit. If you don’t believe this works, just try it.

The amount you can eat after you start tapping with each bite will vary so you might have to start before you are halfway through your dinner. Or you may have to start with that first bite of biscuit. It will be different for each person and it is up to you to determine your individual needs.

Please know that the taste or smell of the food may change. My experience is that this is temporary.

I Want To Drink Less

The situation clients relate most often is that they want to have a glass or two of wine, but no more than that. Yet they find themselves drinking automatically, without thinking of what they are doing and consequently drink more than they intended.

Let’s say you want to drink only two glasses of wine. With this formula, you might have the first glass without tapping. However, before you take the first sip of the second glass of wine, you tap a round simply looking at the glass of wine. Again, this is one of the few times I do not have clients say words. There is a lot going on within your body when you use this strategy.

With each sip, you do a round of tapping first and then take a sip. Make sure you put the glass down between sips. Otherwise, you will forget to tap and will take additional sips. You just look at the wine glass and do a round of tapping before every sip.

The second part of this strategy is to put your wine glass down in a different place between sips. It is best to put another glass, perhaps with water in it, where you would usually put your wine glass. Place your wine glass behind the other glass so you have to think about where the wine glass is in order to pick it up to drink.

This takes the brain out of automatic behaviour and forces it to rethink what is happening. Something like this will occur. You will reach for your wine glass where it usually is and when it is not there, think something like, “That’s not my wine. Where is my wine? Oh yes, I’m supposed to tap.”

If you do not do the second step of moving your wine glass and putting something else where it usually is, you will probably go into automatic drinking behaviour and forget to tap.

Your taste buds and olfactory glands may change.  Does it taste or smell the same. If it is different, notice how long it tastes or smells different.

If you have questions about this strategy for eating and drinking less, please feel free to contact me. If you do this, I would like to know your results.

Keep Tapping !!