SANTA ROSA, CA. Recent research offers heartening results for those who have been trying without success to lose weight. A simple method called Emotional Freedom Techniques (EFT), also known as “tapping,” can reduce food cravings, clear emotional issues associated with food and weight, and help the individual shed unwanted pounds.

In a randomized controlled trial of 96 overweight or obese people, performed at Griffith University in Australia, and published in the peer-reviewed journal Energy Psychology, participants received four weeks of EFT for food cravings and other weight-related issues. A follow-up of the EFT participants one year after the initial 4-week study found significant improvements in weight and body mass index (BMI), as well as food cravings, the subjective power of food, craving restraint, and psychological coping.

Other research has found that most dieters regain all the weight they lost in the two years following the end of a weight loss program, and usually end up weighing even more. The opposite occurred in the EFT study, with participants continuing to lose weight over the course of the following year.

Average weight loss was 11.1 lb (5.05 kg). Lead researcher, Peta Stapleton, PhD, of Bond University, concluded: “It appears EFT can result in participants maintaining reduced cravings over time and affect weight and BMI in overweight and obese individuals.”

EFT is a noninvasive technique that pairs the recall of emotional upsets (a form of exposure therapy, a common method in psychology) with physical stimulation of specific points on the body to discharge stress (as identified by thousands of years of use in acupuncture).

A range of studies and review papers, published in peer-reviewed psychology journals, has shown EFT to affect metabolism. They demonstrate that EFT lowers levels of the hormone cortisol, which is associated with belly fat. EFT also reduces the brain wave frequencies associated with emotional trauma, and appears to “turn off” genes associated with stress.

EFT is the centerpiece of the EFT for Weight Loss Program developed by Dawson Church, author of the book EFT for Weight Loss. The program runs for six weeks, and re-trains participants to reduce their cravings, eliminate emotional eating, and recognize the brain patterns that lead to impulsive behaviors. It includes video and audio training, lesson plans, and EFT procedures targeted at specific problems such as chocolate cravings, fear of failure, and body image.

Hundreds of EFT for Weight Loss participants have written to report the positive results they are having in applying EFT to their weight issues. One such report comes from EFT for Weight Loss practitioner and nutritionist Karen Donaldson, a nutritionist and coach for the EFT for Weight Loss Program who herself lost 25 lb after discovering EFT: “My relationship with food has changed. I rarely have cravings or eat for emotional issues. I’m truly experiencing peace with food – and with life.”