The Tapping Solution for Weight Loss & Body Confidence (6 page)

Step 2: Using SUDS, the 0 to 10 Scale

Now that you’re aware of your tapping target, I want you to give it a number on the 0 to 10 SUDS, or Subjective Units of Distress Scale.

Think about your tapping target and notice what it brings up in your body. What level of distress does it generate in you? A 10 would be the most distress you can imagine; a 0 rating would mean you don’t feel any distress at all. Don’t worry about getting the SUDS level exact or “right”—just follow your gut instinct. Think about the anger you feel as a result of how you look in that picture. If the feeling is really intense, you might rate it an 8 or a 9. If you’re still feeling anger toward yourself but the intensity has lessened a bit since you first saw the photo, you might rate it a 5 or 6. To see a significant shift in an issue, start with something you can rate at 5 or higher.

SUDS is best used to measure emotional intensity, and there are two main reasons we use it. First, when we clear an issue with tapping, we sometimes experience so much relief that we forget how intense the issue was before tapping. Also, by using SUDS we’re able to appreciate the progress we’re making through tapping. It’s not always a necessary step, but it can be very helpful.

Step 3: Creating Your Setup Statement

Now that you know your SUDS level, the next step is to craft what’s called the “setup statement.” This brings up the energy of the tapping target you’re going to be working on. The basic setup statement goes like this:

Even though ____________________________ [fill in the blank with your tapping target], I love and accept myself.

So you might say, “Even though I feel ashamed at how big I look in that picture, I love and accept myself” or “Even though my head is pounding, I love and accept myself” or “Even though I’m stressed out about this work deadline, I love and accept myself.”

Step 4: Tap on the Karate Chop Point

To begin the physical process of tapping, start by tapping on the karate chop point (see the illustration
Tapping Point
) while you repeat your setup statement three times. The same meridians run down both sides of the body, so you can tap with either hand, on whichever side of the body feels best to you.

Step 5: Tapping Through the Points

After the karate chop, you are ready to start tapping through the eight points of the tapping sequence, also shown in the illustration
Tapping Point
, while repeating your reminder phrase. These points are

• Eyebrow
  
• Side of Eye
  
• Under Eye
  
• Under Nose
  
• Chin
  
• Collarbone
  
• Under Arm
  
• Top of Head
  

Just as with the karate chop point, you can tap the point on either side of your body. You can also tap both sides at once if you’d like (it’s not necessary, however, because you’ll hit the same meridian lines regardless of which side you tap). Aim for tapping five to seven times at each stop as you work through the sequence, but it doesn’t have to be an exact count. If it feels right to tap 20 times—or 100—on one point, do it! The idea is simply to spend enough time at that point to speak your reminder phrase and let it sink in.

Step 6: Check In

Now that you’ve completed a round of tapping, take a deep breath. Feel your body and notice what’s happening for you. Ask yourself these questions:
Did the issue shift? What thoughts came up for me while tapping? How do I feel on the 0 to 10 scale now?

Go back and think about the issue and see how it feels to you now. You might find that the intensity of your emotions has decreased. In that case, you can tap a few more rounds using the same language and clear the issue altogether.

At times you’ll find that, for example, as you were tapping on your anger over how you looked in that picture, another memory or feeling came up. This often happens, and it’s actually good news. Just keep tapping on issues that come up. Through this process you “peel the onion,” revealing layer after layer of an issue so that, over time, you can create a new relationship with yourself and your body.

My advice is to keep tapping until your tapping target finds enough relief that you feel noticeably better. This may mean getting the SUDS level down to a 2 or 3, which may seem manageable to you, or it may mean clearing it altogether so it’s at 0. Tap long enough to release your pain, whether it’s physical, emotional, or spiritual. Stick with it. Do five rounds; do ten rounds. Whenever possible, commit to getting the relief you need.

Are you ready to give it a try? Start by saying your setup statement three times while tapping on the karate chop point. Then move on to tap your reminder phrase at each of the eight points in the sequence—eyebrow, side of eye, under eye, under nose, chin, collarbone, under arm, and top of head. Don’t worry about getting it perfect the first time around; what matters is that you start tapping! Remember to visit
www.TheTappingSolution.com/chapter2
if you need additional support to get started.

Tapping Through the Layers

We began the tapping example by talking about the anger you might feel when looking at a photo. Tapping on an emotion is one way to begin the process of clearing the obstacles that keep you from losing weight. However, as I mentioned earlier, we use a “peel the onion” approach when we tap to address the various layers of any given issue. As we just saw, sometimes you start with one target—anger—and then find something else underneath it.

When an issue has multiple layers, you may need to address each one in order to fully clear the issue. Working through these layers might seem tedious at first, but the reality is that emotional and physical experiences are often multilayered. Remember: you don’t need to do it all at once. Be gentle with yourself.

So how do you know which target to choose to start your exploration with tapping? The four most common types of targets to work with are symptoms/side effects, emotions, events, and limiting beliefs. We’ll cover each one of these next.

The Tapping Tree: Identify Your Targets

Originally created by EFT master Lindsay Kenny, the Tapping Tree is a wonderful metaphor to help you understand the interconnection between all the pieces of the weight loss puzzle. The roots of the tree are our limiting beliefs—what we believe to be true or not true about ourselves and the world. The trunk represents past events, often traumatic, that still affect us today. The branches are the emotions that come up, including things like shame, frustration, and hopelessness. Finally, the leaves are the side effects or external symptoms that manifest and add to our stress. Keep in mind that we’re not saying that everything starts with a limiting belief. You may have experienced an event that later resulted in a limiting belief about yourself or the world.

Throughout the rest of the book we’ll tap on all the points of the Tapping Tree. While we tend to want to focus solely on losing the weight, in order to have the kind of long-term weight loss we want, we need to address the underlying issues that have shaped our relationship with ourselves, our body, our weight, and the food we eat.

So often, clients come to me saying that they just need to lose the weight. As we tap together, they remember events—whether from childhood, a divorce, or some other powerful experience—and realize that the pain of that event led to their weight gain and their subsequent struggle with the scale. Others discover that they’ve been holding on to a belief—that they’ll never be good enough, or that weight loss has to be a struggle—and realize that their belief has been preventing them from losing weight.

Sometimes you can handle more than one part of the tree at once. For example, by tapping on a “root” limiting belief, you may also clear a “leaf” symptom or side effect. That’s what happens when you tap around your stress. Let’s go a bit more deeply into each element of the Tapping Tree.

SYMPTOMS AND SIDE EFFECTS (LEAVES)

Difficulty losing weight and keeping it off, avoiding exercise, cravings, constantly snacking—these are all symptoms or side effects. They can be classified into two areas: physical symptoms and behaviors. Symptoms and side effects are often the most bothersome and the easiest to identify because they are so real and present. While they may seem to be problems in themselves, they are often just expressions of a deeper issue. Ideally, over time you will identify the deeper issue and use that as your tapping target.

That said, tapping on an obvious symptom or side effect is a great starting point—and this can produce excellent results on its own. It can work very well for cravings. For example, if you’re craving chocolate, you might use a setup statement like “Even though I really want to eat that box of chocolate, I deeply and completely accept myself.” You would tap through the points using reminder words and phrases like “chocolate,” “this craving for chocolate,” and so forth.

Just by doing this kind of “symptom tapping,” many people find that their craving goes away. One student shared her experience with this: