Addressing Emotional and Psychological Attributes in Overweight Bariatric Patients with Emotional Freedom Techniques

The study being proposed will combine a local business product in a clinical trial with Dr Peta Stapleton’s comprehensive research on psychological acupuncture (‘tapping’) for food cravings and weight maintenance. The product is Portion Perfection; a balanced, low Glycemic Index, portion controlled eating plan, based on sound portion control research, over 20 years clinical experience and presented in a simple pictorial format. Portion Perfection sets include the pictorial book, a Portion Control Plate and bowl to eat from at every meal, along with the purse sized Healthy Snack Bible. It has been developed by Amanda Clark - who is an Advanced Accredited Practising Dietitian (Adv APD), and a leader within her field with 20 years experience. The book has photo images of the correct portion sizes of food to eat (easy to view) and participants are asked to replicate this at each meal they eat. The images make it easy to follow- they use the plates/bowls to arrange their food the same as the images. Recipes and places to purchase food are included in the book. Three treatment groups are proposed for bariatric patients 1 years post surgery with a Body Mass Index still greater than 30: 1. Usual dietitian care versus 2. Dietitian Portion Perfection Bariatric kit versus 3. Dietitian + Perfect Portion Bariatric kit + Tapping Groups 2 and 3 will be posted the kit to use the plates and bowls and food guides in their daily meals. They will be supported with an online Facebook secret group (no one else can see) where Amanda and Dr Stapleton will answer queries. Group 3 will receive an internet delivered EFT program (self paced over the 8 weeks of the trial) where they will be asked to watch videos of the EFT technique and use it for the suggested topics (eg food cravings). Dr Stapleton developed this - she is a clinical and health psychologist, EFT trainer and researcher, and has 22 years experience. The intervention will last 8 weeks - it will involve eating from the kit plate/bowls at every meal and/or self pacing through the EFT videos if in that group. Followup will occur at 6- and 12-months. Emotional freedom techniques (EFT), is a form of acupuncture using a tapping process with a cognitive component which has emerged as an effective technique for curbing food cravings (Stapleton, Sheldon, & Porter, 2010) and aiding weight loss (Church & Wilde, 2013). The EFT + kit group will also receive support via a private/secret Facebook group for Q&A related to the EFT trial videos. Each person will commit to 1 hour of the video treatment per week (to watch it) and a further 20-30 minutes at the beginning, end and followup points to complete the questionnaires. The topics which will be covered in the 8-weeks include: Psycho-education about the treatment and how it works; The nature of food cravings and how they are cognitively formed; Feelings and Food; Cognitive restructuring; Stress and relaxation training; Goal setting; Good nutrition; and Relapse prevention. The EFT technique will be demonstrated in each video by Dr Stapleton and participants will follow along, doing it at home.