Over the years, I went on a lot of diets and was typically able to lose some weight which was always exciting. However, as soon as I stopped the diet, my weight would creep right back up. This scenario played out over and over again for twenty years. Then I discovered the connection between stress and habits, and I finally figured out why I was never able to stick to a diet and keep the weight off.
I was stuck in The Chronic Stress Loop, and if you struggle to maintain a healthy weight, you are likely stuck as well.
Getting Stuck in the Chronic Stress Loop
It starts with a stressor like feeling overwhelmed by everything that needs to get done. 
Here is an example of a scenario that could throw you into the Chronic Stress Loop as illustrated on the right. You have a million things to do and something else unexpectedly gets added to your already too full plate.
You Panic: I can’t handle this, I am not good enough, I never have enough time. When this panic arises, you rely on your comfort food to make yourself feel better. Maybe that is pizza, fries, soda or chocolate. (For me it was always candy) Whatever it is for you, you are eating to soothe stress not because you are hungry and eventually this default habit will manifest as extra weight. Now you have created a new stressor of extra weight and the cycle continues and stress escalates.
Breaking Out of the Chronic Stress Loop
The first step is to calm the panic. Although I use numerous strategies to help my clients calm the panic, my favorite tool is the Emotional Freedom Technique or tapping. The Emotional Freedom Technique is based on lightly tapping on meridian points similar to acupuncture. When you tap on these points, a relaxation signal is sent to your brain. This allows you to safely and easily release the stress, which keeps you happier and healthier.
Let’s take this same scenario and replace your default habit with the healthier habit of Tapping. The panic still arises, but instead of eating large quantities of junky food, you do a round of tapping, which calms the panic. The tapping reduces your stress which helps you feel at ease and your craving decreases.
While this sounds great, in reality, replacing a negative default habit with a new healthier habit is challenging because it feels more comfortable and safer to do what we have always done. We want to make the change; we know it is better for us, but in the moment, it just doesn’t happen. Our subconscious takes over, and we do the same thing over and over again no matter how much we say we want to change.
Does this sound familiar? You have promised yourself that you won’t eat dessert this week. You do great on Monday and Tuesday, but by Wednesday you find yourself reaching for the cookies. Then you are disappointed in yourself for once again not reaching your goal which in turn increases your stress and keeps you stuck in The Chronic Stress Loop.
If this sounds like you, then I invite you to sign up for my FREE Crush Cravings Challenge where you will gain access to my three step process to break out of The Chronic Stress Loop and banish your cravings, so you can FINALLY stay on track with your goals.