The Tapping Solution for Weight Loss & Body Confidence (2 page)
Read The Tapping Solution for Weight Loss & Body Confidence Online
Authors: Jessica Ortner
Tags: #Health & Fitness, #Diet & Nutrition, #General, #Women's Health
Copyright © 2014 by Jessica Ortner
Published and distributed in the United States by:
Hay House, Inc.:
www.hayhouse.com
® •
Published and distributed in Australia by:
Hay House Australia Pty. Ltd.:
www.hayhouse.com.au
•
Published and distributed in the United Kingdom by:
Hay House UK, Ltd.:
www.hayhouse.co.uk
•
Published and distributed in the Republic of South Africa by:
Hay House SA (Pty), Ltd.:
www.hayhouse.co.za
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Distributed in Canada by:
Raincoast Books:
www.raincoast.com
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Published in India by:
Hay House Publishers India:
www.hayhouse.co.in
Cover design:
Charles McStravick •
Interior design:
Celia Fuller-Vels •
Interior illustrations:
Ellie Jacques-Capon •
Tapping Points illustration:
Courtesy of Nick Ortner All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced by any mechanical, photographic, or electronic process, or in the form of a phonographic recording; nor may it be stored in a retrieval system, transmitted, or otherwise be copied for public or private use—other than for “fair use” as brief quotations embodied in articles and reviews—without prior written permission of the publisher.
The author of this book does not dispense medical advice or prescribe the use of any technique as a form of treatment for physical, emotional, or medical problems without the advice of a physician, either directly or indirectly. The intent of the author is only to offer information of a general nature to help you in your quest for emotional and spiritual well-being. In the event you use any of the information in this book for yourself, the author and the publisher assume no responsibility for your actions.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Ortner, Jessica,
The tapping solution for weight loss & body confidence : a woman’s guide to stressing less, weighing less, and loving more / Jessica Ortner ; foreword by Christiane Northrup.
pages cm
ISBN 978-1-4019-4511-4 (hardback) 1. Weight loss. 2. Body image in women. 3. Acupuncture points—Therapeutic use. 4. Mind and body. 5. Women—Health and hygiene. I. Title.
RM222.2.O84 2014
613’.04244—dc23
Hardcover ISBN:
978-1-4019-4511-4
17 16 15 14 4 3 2 1
1st edition, May 2014
Printed in the United States of America
To the women who have so generously shared their stories with me and encouraged me to share mine.
We shine brighter together.
Contents
Foreword by Christiane Northrup, M.D.
Part I
Preparing for the Journey
CHAPTER 1
HOW TAPPING HELPS YOU LOSE WEIGHT
CHAPTER 2
QUICK START TAPPING GUIDE
CHAPTER 3
ENDING THE PATTERN OF PANIC
CHAPTER 4
OVERCOMING EMOTIONAL EATING
CHAPTER 5
HOW EVENTS IMPACT WEIGHT AND BODY CONFIDENCE
CHAPTER 7
THE PAIN BENEATH THE WEIGHT
CHAPTER 8
FEELING CONFIDENT IN YOUR FEMININE BODY
CHAPTER 9
FINDING THE PLEASURE IN EXERCISE
CHAPTER 10
UNTANGLING THE MYTHS, FACTS, AND FEELINGS AROUND FOOD
CHAPTER 11
SELF-CARE AND PLEASURE
T
his book came into my life at exactly the right time … about a month before a photo shoot for the cover of my latest book. I’ve been doing photo shoots for years, and leading up to each shoot, I would be concerned about fitting into the right size clothing. Then I’d immediately put myself on a strict diet so that my clothes would fit on the day of the shoot. For weeks beforehand, I would cut my calories and weigh myself daily. I would even travel with my scale. And this worked for years. Until it stopped working. That’s right. My body finally said “No more.” No amount of caloric restriction or exercise worked anymore. The scale—and my size—simply wouldn’t budge. I know this flies in the face of how biology is supposed to work, but there you have it.
The irony of the situation wasn’t lost on me. Here I was, the picture of health in all other ways, stepping on the scale every morning, expecting my body to betray me. When it came to my weight, I’d always treated my body like a criminal that needed constant surveillance. I knew that extreme dieting was madness, but before Jessica’s program, I wasn’t aware of any other option.
When I first received Jessica’s book, I was skeptical that this program, or tapping, would do anything for me or my body. Reading through it, however, I was immediately struck by the research showing that tapping decreases cortisol levels! That’s right—the very stress hormone that leads to weight gain is decreased simply by tapping. This was a revelation.
So I decided to try her program in spite of my skepticism—and I was amazed by how quickly it transformed me and my body. Working with Jessica, I realized that I’d been holding on to two limiting beliefs. First, I’d unconsciously bought into the idea that losing weight, exercising, eating right, and feeling good in my body were a struggle for me—and they always would be. Second, I’d gotten caught up in our cultural belief that our worth as women is closely tied to our weight. I could never be slim enough; there was always another five or ten pounds to lose. When it came to weight loss, enough was never enough, which prevented me from ever feeling confident in my own body.
With Jessica’s guidance, using tapping to clear the anxiety that was distorting my relationship with my body, my beliefs began to transform. The first and most noticeable change was how I felt about exercise. Since childhood, I’d seen exercise as a chore. Nearly every family outing I can remember—starting at the age of 4—involved carrying heavy gear up a mountain. Seriously, I climbed Mt. Washington in ski boots at the age of 10 while hauling my skis, poles, and a backpack. It was grueling! Those early experiences had left me with the belief that exercise was something I could never enjoy, so I was shocked (and delighted!) when, as a result of this program, I just woke up every morning and wanted to exercise. I now look forward to moving my body. Exercise has become a true source of pleasure for me. Not a necessary chore. What a shift!
Using tapping regularly, I also decided to skip the crash diet and enjoy taking care of myself instead. Rather than restricting food and weighing myself, I ate fresh foods that I love and began to focus on appreciating the body that I have.
So did I fit into my desired clothing size for my photo shoot? Yes! I could easily zip up each dress and pair of pants I’d planned to wear. For the first time in many years, throughout the day of the photo shoot, I felt incredible. Being so at ease in my body and my clothes has been such a new experience for me, and I’ve gotten compliment after compliment about how great I look. What a wonderful surprise this has all been!
I have built my career on the belief that our bodies know what they need and that they will tell us what that is. What I now realize is that those messages can come in blurry. They can be obscured by false beliefs about our worthiness, our shortcomings, and our inadequacies. Regular diets are based on these limiting beliefs. They are based on us shutting our bodies up and telling ourselves that we’re bad. Regular diets are about forcing our bodies into submission, but let’s face it—that doesn’t work. Even when you eat very little and exercise a lot, diets don’t necessarily work. I’ve tried them. You’ve likely tried them. Many will create some quick results, but they’re always unsustainable, and they just take you further away from what your body is trying to tell you.
But here’s the good news—no matter what you believe, it’s possible to transform those beliefs, and as a result, transform your biology. Whether you are addicted to sugar, hate exercise, or think that it’s not possible for you to have confidence in your body, your solution is in this book. Through the many tapping sequences you’ll find here, plus the online support that Jessica provides, you will find your way back to the body confidence and wisdom that are your personal birthright. It’s time we stop the madness of extreme dieting and exercise and create a new relationship with ourselves, our emotions, our food and our bodies—and through that process, transform our bodies in ways that feel natural and pleasurable.
The Tapping Solution for Weight Loss and Body Confidence
works. Pure and simple. Try a little tapping. You have nothing to lose. Except maybe a few pounds, some outmoded beliefs—and a boatload of excess cortisol.
—C
HRISTIANE
N
ORTHRUP
, M.D.
F
or many years, I was sure that losing weight was the answer to all my problems. Once I could fit into that dress or those jeans, I’d be happy, my career would take off, and I’d start dating. But only
after
I’d lost the weight. Only when I no longer looked like …
this
.
Until then, I’d continue to panic every time someone took my picture, strategically placing my hands over the
parts I
hated. Or cropping the picture so only my face showed if my hands weren’t big enough to cover those parts.
Until then, I’d cancel plans. I’d shrink emotionally so people wouldn’t notice how big I felt physically. I’d continue to buy books on weight loss, exercise equipment, and diet food. One day I’d be happy, but not today, not until I lost this weight.
Does this sound familiar?
Losing weight has become a cultural obsession, made apparent by the fact that weight loss has grown into a billion-dollar industry. My guess is that if you picked up this book, it probably isn’t the first time you’ve paid for something to help you lose weight.
Why does nothing seem to work? Why, when you have such a strong desire to lose weight, do your many attempts to shed the weight for good fall short? There’s clearly something missing, some hidden key to having a body you can feel proud of—but what is it? Is it exercising more, or doing a certain kind of exercise? Should you eat all carbs, or none at all? Vegan? High protein? In a world that’s constantly overwhelming you with contradictory information, what will finally make the difference in your quest to lose weight?
It can be summed up in two words: your emotions.
Your emotions control your beliefs about yourself, your weight, and your worth. They also control your actions. Have you ever made a plan to eat healthy only to find yourself halfway through a box of cookies, thinking,
Did I really do this …
again? Your emotions are the driving force behind every action you take. You may know exactly what you “should” be doing, but you’re not doing it because your emotions sidetrack you.
Emotions such as anger, fear, resentment, and guilt that are hijacking your best intentions are also impacting you on a deep biological level. Talking about this is an essential conversation that we’re not having. We hear so much about food and exercise, but what about the overproduction of cortisol, known as the “stress hormone,” that is directly linked to abdominal obesity? The research is out there, but we’ve been conditioned to believe that weight loss is only about eating the right foods and exercising more. If we don’t succeed, we blame our genes—or worse, we believe that there’s something inherently broken about us.
During many years of yo-yo dieting and unsuccessful attempts to keep the weight off, I, too, felt broken. I masked it with my smile and my desire to please everyone around me, but behind closed doors I was crumpling up clean paper towels and placing them in the garbage to cover the wrappers of the multiple candy bars I’d just eaten.
Like so many women who feel ashamed of their bodies and their weight, I was a closet emotional eater. It started when I was young. I remember my first solo binge so clearly. I was only seven, and I was faced with an entire plate covered rim to rim with chocolate chip cookies. I sat on the downstairs couch and ate the entire thing while listening closely to make sure no one was walking down the stairs. Even when I was that young, I already had the belief that what I was doing was shameful.
That plate of cookies was the beginning of a years-long love/hate affair with chocolate and other sugary, and occasionally salty, treats. For me the cravings were very real physical sensations that quickly overwhelmed my ability to reason with myself, or remember how sick I had felt last time. They came on suddenly and felt like a physical need that I
had to
fulfill. As that habit followed me into puberty, I found myself gaining weight, and then panicking and making desperate attempts to lose it.
