EFT by Example: How to Stop Cravings

My husband prepared a really nice dinner tonight which included a crab/corn soup, brown rice and broccoli and now despite being full, I'm thinking about eating a mini-Snickers. Partly, it's because there is a bag of them in the cupboard and partly it's because the desire to have something sweet after a big home cooked meal is still a habit with me. I previously used EFT on my "wanting to eat something sweet after a big dinner" thing but this time I'm going to use it specifically on the food I'm craving; a Snickers bar.

Even though a method like EFT can be very effective, that doesn't mean you can't pick up your old habit again. Witness the many people who stop smoking and then years later decide to try it, just for laughs. Ha, they're not laughing a few months later when they are talking about quitting again. It's easy to fall back into old patterned behaviors, but luckily now there is an easier way to catch yourself before you fall into that trap.

How to Use EFT for Cravings on Nighttime Snacking

I decided to do some EFT on the Snickers bar craving, and naturally the first thing I needed was a few of those bars in sight. I went and got a couple mini-Snickers from the bag and brought them back to my office for a little experiment. I could easily eat these. I could easily eat about four without feeling too bad about it. I started by asking myself, how much do I want this Snickers, right now?

If I think of how full I feel and how I'd rather not eat when I'm full, I'd say it's a 2, but if I think of how I really like to have something sweet after dinner, and how easy it would be to just unwrap this thing and pop it in my mouth, then it's more like an 8.

Round 1 tapping three continuously on the Sore Spot:

• "Even though I really want this Snickers, I deeply and completely accept myself."
• "Even though I plan to eat this Snickers and as many as I want as soon as I finish this EFT, I deeply and completely accept myself anyway. "
• Even though I fully intend to eat this Snickers and really enjoy it, I deeply and completely accept myself."

Tapping now on the face and body points with a reminder phrase:

EB (Inner eyebrow) : Gonna eat this Snickers.
SE (Side Eye) : Really want this Snickers.
UE (Under Eye) : Love Snickers.
UN (Under Nose) : Boy, this Snickers is going to really taste good.
CH (Chin) : Can't wait to eat the Snickers.
CB (Collar Bone) : Snickers are my favorite.
UA (Under Arm) : I love Snickers, yes I do.

The letters above correspond to the tapping points on the face and body. Download the free EFT for Weight Loss materials. A chart of the tapping points is included along with worksheets and instructions.

That's it. End of Round 1. It feels like it took about a minute and now I'll re-rate my desire for a Snickers bar. Meanwhile I unwrapped one and am looking at it. Now I'm bring it up and smelling it. I'll do everything I can to try to bring the desire higher.

Why would I do this? Isn't the point to try to stop eating it? No, it's not. The point is to see whether EFT is doing anything, and the only way I'll know that is if I try to want it as much as before.

Do everything you can to make your desire as high as possible, then give it a number. How likely is it that you're going to eat it? How much do you want to eat it? Rate it on a scale of 1 to 10 with 10 being absolutely you are going to eat it and 1 being, I'll pass.

So, I notice I certainly could eat it. I could always eat it, it's just a matter of popping it in my mouth, right? Yes, it's easy to decide to eat things, especially when they are sitting right next to us. It's far more difficult to decide how much we really want it though.

My SUD level after round 1 is ... I'm having a difficult time coming up with a number so I'll say it's a 5. I could eat it, or I could not. I feel about equal either way. Remember, sometimes you just won't be able to say with certainty what number you're at, and that's fine. Just pick a number anyway. Your best guess is just fine, this isn't a test.

Round 2: EFT on Cravings for Snickers

Since my SUD level is not as low as I'd like it to be to feel "finished" with the issue of whether to eat the Snickers, I'll do another round. This time, I'm adding "still" to my phrasing, so I'm saying, "Even though I still plan to eat these Snickers, I deeply and completely accept myself. Note I stopped saying "this Snickers." That was because I realized I'd likely eat more than one, if I decide to eat any at all. I just want to be realistic, after all. ;-)

I then proceeded to tap all the points saying, "Still want Snickers." No other words came to mind, so I stayed with that.

Now, I'll re-rate my SUD level again. I'd say it's about a 3. I did notice myself thinking, "Gee, it's unwrapped so it'll go to waste if I don't eat it." Isn't it interesting how we try to talk ourselves into doing things we say we don't want to do with clever justifications. Do you ever do that?

Remember too I thought of doing this because I was thinking of having a snack with no hunger whatsoever. If I'd been hungry, this would be a different exercise. There's not much point in trying to use EFT to stop real hunger. Rather, use it when it's inappropriate hunger, or false hunger. I'm not hungry at all right now, in fact I'm quite full and that's not the best time for a snack.

I can always eat a few of these Snickers tomorrow when I am hungry, and it would make much better sense. The idea of waiting for hunger isn't new, but sometimes it's easily forgotten.

I got a knife and cut the Snickers open so I could really examine it, and I noticed there was some nougat and chocolate clinging to the knife. I scraped it off with my teeth so there is a faint taste of Snickers in my mouth. You'd think it would make me want to eat it all the more, but it didn't. In fact, I don't seem to have much desire to eat this bar or anything else right now.

Completion: It's now half an hour or more later and I Forget all about the Snickers

I got busy with some work and just now glanced over and saw the Snickers sitting there. If I hadn't left it sitting there, I'd have forgotten all about it. That's how EFT works for me. Why not try and see if it works for you too? I can always eat a Snickers. I can eat one tomorrow, if I want it, but I've decided to wait until I do want it. There is a big difference between really wanting something and deciding to have it, and simply seeing something and deciding to have it. In the first case I'm treating myself well and in the second, I'm a puppet to my every whim.

Are you a puppet or are you the puppet master?

You may notice there never was a Round 3 because I got distracted and busy and forgot all about eating the Snickers.