Positive Energy: 
THE MISSING PIECE TO OVEREATING AND WHY DIETS FAIL

by Judith Orloff, MD. 
(Excerpt from Positive Energy)

As a psychiatrist and intuitive, I know there is more to overeating and obesity than meets the eye. One big reason many diets fail is that traditional weight loss programs don’t factor in how we process subtle energy, what Chinese medicine terms life force or chi. Subtle energy penetrates and surrounds the body. Sensitive people, who I call intuitive empaths, unknowingly overeat in response to being overwhelmed by negative vibes. Empaths not only sense energy around them, they absorb it into their bodies.

Here’s the energetic premise of obesity: When empaths are thin they have less padding, and are more vulnerable to soaking up negative vibes. For instance, early twentieth century faith healers were renowned for being grossly obese to avoid absorbing their patient’s symptoms—a common trap I’ve seen modern-day healers unconsciously fall into. They use food as a convenient grounding device. Energy is at the root of an empath’s hunger. Whether sensitivity to negative vibes is minimal or intense, for a diet to succeed it’s important to develop alternative coping strategies other than overeating.

Emergency intervention to halt energetic eating when the impulse to overeat hits:

1. Identify An Addictive Craving From A True Need. Addictive craving, a symptom of nutritional abuse, is a frequent response to energetic overload. Bottom line, you eat certain foods like a drug addict; this leads to obesity. Cravings feel intense: when-ever you keep lusting after sweets and carbs especially, be suspicious—I’ve yet to see someone binge on brussel sprouts! For instance, chocolate turns from simple pleasure to a crutch when you gorge on it, use it to self-medicate stress, to get a sugar high, if you experience mood-swings, sugar hang-overs, can’t control your intake, or it makes you sick. With cravings, you eat to relieve stress, not to build energy. Try to identify addictive foods, and limit them

A true nutritional need means there’s no lusting or lunging for food to guard against negative energies. A true need comes from a centered place, has nothing to do with soothing our emotions (comfort foods) or obsession. Feeling healthily nurtured from food never involves mood swings, sedation or elation. Rather it’s an even feeling of satisfaction. A true need lets you enjoy your meal, optimizes energy, and doesn’t lead to obesity.

2. Quickly Pinpoint Energetic Stressors That Trigger Addictive Cravings. Ask yourself: Have I been exposed to bad vibes? A loud-mouth neighbor. An ordeal to pass through airport security. A siege of overbearing phone messages. Don’t write off the “smaller” incidents which notoriously send empaths motoring to the refrigerator. Avoid panic. Methodically pinpoint cause and effect. You don’t have to be victimized by negative energy. The trick is to clear it as soon as possible.

3. Breathe Negative Vibes Out Of Your System. Take a five minute break for damage control. Slowly inhale and exhale. Breath activates positive energy; and releases negative vibes. Notice if the negative vibes get stuck in a specific part of your body. For instance, negative vibes go straight to my gut; I feel irradiated by a toxic stun gun. Identify your vulnerable points. Then practice this visualization: Just as your lungs take in oxygen and expel toxic carbon dioxide, you’re going to breathe in light and clarity, breathe out stress. Breathe in vitality. Breathe out fear. I also visualize negative vibes exiting through the spaces between the vertebrae in my lower back. You can try this too. Breathing out toxic vibes is a proactive cleansing process. You’re in charge of the flow. Allow well-being to permeate every inch of you. Repeat this exercise until you’re free of negative residue.

4. Pray To Release The Addictive Craving. If gripped by a craving, go into praying-mode. For a few quiet moments breathe slowly. Bring awareness to your heart, and aim for self-compassion. The craving may feel impossible to handle, and that’s okay. In this calm state ask your higher power to lift it from you. If you surrender your ego-involvement, this simple heartfelt request works like a charm. What you’re doing is calling on a cosmically influential positive energy to supplant a material-world negative drive.

5. Take A Bath Or Shower. A speedy way to dissolve negative vibes is to immerse yourself in water. My tub is my refuge after a busy day: it washes away everything from bus exhaust to long hours of air travel, to personal unpleasantness. While you relax water works on you. It has alchemical cleansing properties which purify your physical body and energy field.

6. Burn Sage. Just because vibes are invisible doesn’t mean you don’t eat over them. Try burning sage to counteract negative energy someone deposits in your office or home. Vibes accumulate, and can cause stress if not eradicated. You may not realize left-over subtle energies trigger addictive eating patterns, and these vibes subliminally wear at you. Sage has been used by ancients cross-culturally to purify locations. Burn it, and the desire to eat over lurking negative vibes will wane.

7. Visualize A Protective Shield Around You. Visualize white light surrounding every inch of you from head to toe so negative energy cannot penetrate this shield and deplete your energy.

8. Eat With Attunement. Develop a diet that satisfies your energetic needs. I’d like energy to motivate why you eat, more important than taste or any dietary dogma—a priority to impart to children. Whatever you put in your mouth, run by your energy meter; see what truly nourishes or depletes. Even foods you’ve shunned become more attractive when you experience their energy lift.

Food is no place to be passive. The interventions offered in Positive Energy allows an active stance in eating healthily. You don’t have to let poisonous energy lodge itself in you. Stay on top of your eating, do daily check-ins, remain alert for cravings prompted by negative vibes. Watch your responses. I promise, your eating habits will change.

Judith Orloff, MD is a board-certified psychiatrist and a medical intuitive. She’s also written the bestsellers Guide to Intuitive Healing and Second Sight. Dr. Orloff is an assistant clinical professor of psychiatry at UCLA and an international workshop leader. For information visit www. drjudithorloff.com.