Does Acupuncture help with weight loss?
Acupuncture and real food are an excellent combination for weight loss. Acupuncture can help mitigate cravings by looking at the systemic root cause you are having them. Your energy level can be improved greatly, your sleep, your ability to cope with stress, digestive system upsets can be ironed out, and your overall health picture improved. These improvements in overall health can help give you the start you need for better food choices and physical activity. Will it magically melt pounds away? No.
Food, nutritious real food, can mean permanent weight loss. Each body is unique and you may have to find what works for you in order for the weight loss to be permanent. Establishing those habits is not easy, but they are worth it. I usually have patients keep a food log, overweight or not, because it shows areas for improvement. I have over the years referred people off to Marksdailyapple.com and Whole30.com. I like this particular approach because it begins to change your mindset around sugar consumption and fat. In order to keep track of meals you can use Myfitnesspal.com or the app, take pictures of your meals, or just use plain paper.
Many people experience great improvement with minimal changes in a real food direction. It takes a small amount of work and planning. If you cannot get it together Catered Fit and Fitlife foods can help. There are meal plans laid out by Melissa Joulwan at https://meljoulwan.com/paleo-meal-plans/. Free grocery store shopping lists to download and help keep you on track while grocery shopping can be found at http://paleoonabudget.com/shopping-list/. There are so many resources online you could get lost sorting through it.
Acupuncture offers many benefits that help with weight loss: improved sleep, better energy, improvement in the way you and your body handle stress, and easing digestive discomfort. Digestive system relaxation and systemic relaxation often go hand in hand. Acupuncture helps shift the body to a relaxed state and organ systems function smoothly. The whole picture health plan is not just to lose weight, it's to feel great.
The acupuncture approach to weight loss is slower than crash diets. We are seeking to shift lifestyle choices in a direction to maintain better health choices, weight loss is the byproduct of choosing differently daily.
