Weight loss: I lost 100lbs with ‘tapping’ – I’m no longer at the mercy of emotional eating

“The amphetamines worked really well for a while, but of course, as soon as I stopped, the weight came back. I went on them again in my 30s and it worked again but when I stopped I was overwhelmed with anxiety — these things are really not good for you.

“I also tried every diet under the sun: only eating meat and bacon, or only apples or cabbage soup. The most successful one was the meat and bacon one, but that made me feel sick in the end. I also had extensive therapy for years and years, as I knew that I was overeating and why but it did not make me stop doing it.

“I was told many times by doctors that I should lose weight. But I really tried to convince myself I was OK as I was living a very active life, farming, going to the gym; all sorts. Then when I turned 50, I was 100 pounds overweight and started wondering what it would be like if I looked different.

“I had learned the technique EFT Tapping — which, combined with modern psychology, is an easy-to-learn technique which involves “tapping” on the meridian points of the body while repeating statements which help us focus on an issue from which we’re seeking relief. At the time, I was working in Mental Health Services for the NHS in Britain and it worked amazingly for all sorts of problems like trauma and anxiety, so I became curious to see if it would work for weight loss.”

As she applied it to her own life, the 66-year-old — who lives in Kilkenny with her wife Audrey, and works as a Clinical EFT Tapping Therapist in weight loss and anxiety management — began to lose weight and for the first time, managed to keep it off.

“I decided to work, not on why I was overeating but at what was going on when I was doing it,” she says. “So each time I ate too much, I would use the tapping to work out what had happened to trigger the eating. I soon realized that I was eating my feelings, which is nothing new, but the tapping helped me manage my feelings without eating, which was amazing.

“Altogether I have lost 100lbs or 50kg and went from a size 22 to a size 14. It took three years to lose the first 30kgs, then I had a break but decided to do the same thing again during the pandemic.

“I am rather a contradictory person and as everyone seemed to be learning how to bake bread and cakes, I decided to lose weight instead. As I knew that I would overeat my panic, fear and sadness, I pre-empted all that and used the EFT instead. It worked really well and I lost another 20kgs. It is very empowering not to be at the mercy of emotional eating, which I think was due to some difficulties in my childhood. So instead of trying to eat to make it go away, I tell people, quite simply that I do not like to have too much food around.

“I believe that food is a bargaining tool and we need to learn to no longer use it as such (like being rewarded with treats). Instead, we need to separate it from our emotions. Food is just here to keep us moving and to fuel our bodies. There are other ways to deal with our emotions and I now run a program called Body Magic to help people find peace with their bodies and improve their relationship with food.”

Karen Gaynor, HSE obesity national clinical programme manager, says that developing healthy behaviours is key to losing weight and keeping it off.

“At the core of weight management is a commitment to healthy behaviours which support health and well-being including getting good quality sleep, eating well, looking after mental health, managing other health conditions and being physically active,” she says.

​The Irish Healthy Eating Guidelines (found on hse.ie) can be used for food and nutrition guidance, but there is no one-size-fits-all eating pattern for weight management. So choose an eating pattern which supports your best health and can be maintained over time, rather than a short-term ‘diet’.

“How you eat is as important as what and how much you eat. So practice eating mindfully and build a healthy relationship with food. And both aerobic and resistance physical activity have many benefits, with or without weight loss. So aim for 30-60 minutes of moderate to vigorous physical activity most days of the week. Practising these behaviours is good for everyone, regardless of weight, shape or size.”

The registered dietitian says that it is also important to remember that health is not determined by body weight alone, and instead of focusing only on losing weight, we should consider the overall gains from making healthier changes to day-to-day life.

She would advise people not to undertake extreme measures to lose weight or to try and keep it off. “Severely restricting the amount you eat may mean you miss out on important nutrients for health and may cause changes to your body which lead to weight gain over time,” she says.

“Programmes involving very restrictive diets, prescribing a limited range of foods or food groups or unusual combinations of foods are not recommended, and all weight management programmes should promote healthy behaviours which are sustainable and aid weight maintenance in the longer term.

“However, after a period of weight loss, it is very common for weight loss to slow, stop or regain. This is not a person’s fault, it is the body’s reaction to losing weight. Weight loss triggers changes in the body including the slowing down of metabolism, increasing appetite and lowering fullness hormones. This is why dieting or severely restricting the amount you eat is not recommended.

“So rather than aiming for an ideal weight, continue with the healthy changes you have made and focus on maintaining your best weight. This is the weight you can achieve while being as healthy and as happy as you can be.”

ABOUT EFT

⬤Emotional freedom technique (EFT) is an alternative treatment for physical pain and emotional distress.

⬤It is also referred to as tapping or psychological acupressure and involves tapping with fingertips on certain points on head, hands and torso.

⬤EFT draws on the ancient Chinese practice of acupuncture, which teaches that the body’s energy travels along specific pathways. Certain points on these pathways are stimulated to improve the flow of energy.

⬤EFT is used to manage stress, reduce cortisol levels, improve anxiety and even treat PTSD.

⬤It is believed that because tapping is a gentle and easy-to-follow technique, anyone struggling with stress, a

For more information on healthy eating habits, visit hse.ie, asoi.info, and healthpromotion.ie