ACUPUNCTURE FOR WEIGHT LOSSWhy Acupuncture for Weight Loss Works Both Cause & Symptoms of Weight Loss are addressed.

The whole person (body, mind, spirit, emotions) is treated.

Weight gain is a result of imbalance in the body. I find the imbalance and we

witness your body balance itself.

My patients are committed to their Weight Loss Success & actively

participate.

Acupuncture Triggers the Body to Heal Itself!

Improves Digestion

Improves Elimination

Increases Energy

Reduces Addiction (Hunger/Cravings)

Reduces Inflammation

Reduces Pain

Regulates Hormones

Relaxes Nervous System, Reduces Anxiety for better mood

Creates the Sensation of Fullness

Suppresses Appetite

Decreases Desire for Binge Eating

Decreases Desire to Snack Excessively

Acupuncture stimulates the vagal nerve & raises serotonin levels, both of which

have been shown to increase tone in the smooth muscle of the stomach, which

suppresses your appetite.

Weight Management is a Balancing Act

It’s my job to unravel the mystery of why you are out of balance & bring you &

your body back to balance & the body will normalize its weight. The amazing

side effects of balancing the body are: better sleep, less pain, less arthritis,

better digestion, and better elimination.

Weight Loss – Regulate Metabolism

Acupuncture increases metabolism by stimulating the thyroid and endocrine

glands stabilizing blood sugar levels as you lose weight. A history of overeating,

irregular eating, and even thyroid dysfunction all contribute to a slow

metabolism.

Weight Management can be Frustration

It’s not that exercise and diet won’t help you lose weight, it’s just that

sometimes it’s a very slow process, and most people after 3 months of

exercising daily and watching their diet and only losing 2 pounds, they lose

heart. Acupuncture and herbs will speed up that process.

No Diet Plan Works For Everyone

There are hundreds of different weight loss diets with conflicting info about what

works & what doesn’t and its crazy making.

Over the years, we’ve all seen fad diets come and go as each weight loss

program has its proponents.  Why do they fail? Because No diet plan works for

everyone.  Each patient requires a different approach to weight loss.

Fad diets promise instant, significant weight-loss results, but most of them rely

on depriving your body of nutrients and disrupting the natural function of your

body’s metabolism thus putting you further out of balance.

Obesity Is Rare In China

Chinese medicine is 1000’s of years old. It is rooted in the laws of nature. People

get acupuncture regularly as part of their lifestyle. Acupuncture works to keep

people healthy, balanced and in shape.

Drugs – Is there a safer way to Lose Weight?

The majority of people who resort to drugs to lose weight have previously tried

dieting. Weight loss drugs get thrown out because of their proven health risks.

Yet, the FDA still approves new diet drugs, despite potential side effects

damaging to heart.  There is no One Magic Wand. There are millions of them;

one magic wand for each of us

The Western tradition of dieting models the western philosophy of medicine.

Everybody with a disease (in this case obesity) takes the same pill. Well TCM is

the opposite of that. If 500 people have one disease there will be 500 different

treatments. Each person is unique and each person gains weight for a different

reason.

YoYo Dieting

Studies say 95% regain ALL their weight within one year. The problem with

many diets and diet drugs is that both approaches attempt to eliminate excess

weight quickly by treating SYMPTOMs only.  They don’t reach the ROOT of the

problem, so results are not long lasting and may even be damaging.

The Flame Under The Pot

Your digestive system is like a wood burning furnace. If the fire in the furnace is

low, putting cold, wet wood on it will dampen it further, perhaps even put it out.

For people with poor digestion, raw foods, cold foods, dairy, and ice cream are

like damp wood. The furnace has to work very hard to burn them. Warming or

partially cooking foods may be incredibly helpful in these cases.

Sautéing or lightly steaming vegetables enhances the ability to digest them.

Adding herbs and spices to foods will also aid in the digestive process. For meat

eaters with poor digestion, it is important to cook meats well and keep the

quantity low and quality high. Think of that furnace, partially burned wood is

easier to burn. Hardwoods burn more slowly – meats fall into the hardwood

category. Marinate meats to ‘season the wood’ so it burns more readily.

Soups and stews are a staple of Chinese diets and are especially beneficial for

those with weak digestive systems. Food is cooked slowly so less nutritional

value is lost, and yet the final product is easy to digest.

Some people go on diets and still not lose weight. They may give up on the

more natural, effective weight loss program and try drugs or fad diets. Too often

this is counter-productive. The problem may well be that after years of impaired

digestion, their metabolism may simply not be functioning as well as it should.

By “reinforcing the flame under the pot,” I get to the root of the problem, bring

the body back into balance, and allow the body to heal itself.

Two Thumbs Up for Ear Acupuncture

The Director of the World Health Org – “Auricular (ear) acupuncture is probably

the most developed and best documented, scientifically, of all the micro-

systems of acupuncture and is the most practical and widely used.”

Medical Journal Proof It Works

Ear Acupuncture 70% Effective For Weight Loss – Journal of Chinese Medicine.

A hospital carried out a study with 45 patients with drug-induced obesity and 44

obese patients not taking such medication. Randomly they received ear

acupuncture, sham acupuncture or ear acupuncture plus physical exercise.

In both the drug and no-drug induced obesity groups, those who received true

ear acupuncture lost weight, (5.7 pounds average) while those who received the

sham acupuncture gained an average of 1.3 pounds. Those who combined the

ear acupuncture with physical exercise lost the most weight, (9.5 pounds).

For weight control, auricular (ear) acupuncture is a very common and effective

therapy especially when combined with regular body acupuncture. The auricular

acupuncture points have more emphasis on the neurological function of the

body associated with appetite and digestion. For example, ear acupuncture

stimulates the auricular branch of the vagal nerve, which functions to:

1. Increase smooth muscle tone of the stomach (gives sensation of fullness)

2. Raise serotonin levels (suppress appetite & over-consumption of food)

In another Australian study, 95% of the active test group noticed suppression of

appetite, and lost average of 4.4 pounds whereas none of the control group

noticed a change. None of the control group lost the required 4.4 pounds, with

only 4 subjects losing any weight at all.

There are different ear points used for each different weight gain habits:

Impulsive eater who smokes and talks a lot

Person who eats after they’re full or is constantly nibbling

Appetite control, relieve hunger, control compulsive eating

Food addicts, and those who love chocolate, sweets

Calming, anxiety, anger, frustration, insecurity, stress

Water retention responsible for weight gain. Aids metabolism

Weight gain due to menopause or P.M.S.

Sugar imbalances and hormonal disturbances

Water retention, and nervous system and hormonal imbalances

Slow metabolism

Slow digestion

I use the National Acupuncture Detoxification Association (NADA) ear

acupuncture protocol derived directly from the Chinese medicine theory of

detoxification. 16 years ago I took the course, intrigued by the success they

have had and proof it works for food addiction.

Take Home Ear Seeds/Beads

Non-needle ‘ear beads’ stay in place 3 days to a week and are massaged by the

patient for 10-second intervals if cravings occur.

Chinese Herbs… The Icing on the Cake

No matter what kind of diet you are on, a Chinese herbal formula will provide

better digestion and potentially lower food requirements.

Benefits of Chinese herbs:

Stimulate Metabolism (Boost Energy Level)

Dissolve Fatty Accumulations (Lower Blood Pressure, Lower Cholesterol)

Regulate Appetite (Naturally Curb Hunger)

Strengthen Digestive System (Less Bloating, Belching, Gas, Sluggish)

Optimize Digestion (Get more Energy from the Food you Eat)

Efficient Elimination (Remove Toxins, Smoother, More Regular)

But resist the temptation to just pick up an OTC Chinese herbal weight loss

preparation. Many of the OTC Chinese medicines have been contaminated with

western drugs or heavy metals stimulants or appetite suppressants. Obtain your

herbs from an Acupuncturist who orders theirs from Dargon herbs, Mayway or

Evergreen. (Yes I do!)

Let Food Be Thy Medicine & Medicine Be Thy Food

Following the philosophy of bringing the body into balance, foods are used as

another tool to enhance wellness while individual differences are taken into

account.

Eating specially selected foods that compliment your Five Element body type

can help you lose weight by eating them, not avoiding them.

Salads May Not Be Right For Everyone

Salads are a staple of a number of weight loss diets and raw foods in general are

growing in popularity for various health reasons. But these choices may be

wrong for people who tend to feel cold and fatigued. Some people will, however,

benefit tremendously from a raw food diet. Those with strong digestive systems

tend to feel warm and have more energy than those with poor digestion. They

are the ones likely to do well on raw diets according to Traditional Chinese

Medical theory.

Electro-Acupuncture Obesity Treatment

A Turkish study has investigated the effects of electro-acupuncture (EA) on

obesity and accompanying psychological symptoms. 165 female volunteers

were divided into three groups: EA, placebo EA, and diet restriction. EA was

performed using three ear and six body points. Patients receiving EA

experienced a 4.8% reduction in weight compared with a 2.7% weight reduction

for placebo EA and 2.5% reduction for diet restriction. Significant decreases in

phobia, anger, anxiety, obsession, paranoid symptoms and depression were also

seen in the EA group, compared with the other groups.

You must be committed to losing weight.

The acupuncture kick starts and accelerates weight loss but you must

participate in some way. One course of treatment may take about 2 months of 2

sessions per week, (3 sessions for severe weight issues) & regular exercise and

a healthy diet.