Acupuncture for Weight Loss

Is acupuncture for weight loss really a thing? You may have seen ads on social media that suggest that all you need is a relaxing session to speed up your fat burning. That said, is it really something you can trust?
How is it possible for acupuncture to facilitate weight loss? To understand this, we must first take an overview of what acupuncture is and how it is supposed to work.

What is Acupuncture?

Acupuncture is a 5000-year-old healing art that is considered by modern medicine to be a safe and natural practice with no side effects. In acupuncture, the body is seen as a grid of twelve dissecting energy channels which are called medians. These medians are believed to be active channels of energy along which flow the life force or Chi.
It is believed that un-wellness is caused by interruptions in the flow of this vital energy. The medicine of acupuncture uses very small needles (about the thickness of a strand of hair) which are inserted into the skin in one or more sites throughout the body.
The acupuncture practitioner – or acupuncturist – will then gently stimulate the needle(s) to open and harmonize the corresponding blocked energy median. This is meant to help to focus or redirect the flow of energy in a way that is thought to help the body function properly.

Acupuncture for Weight Loss

Acupuncture is said to improve digestion, moderate metabolic rate and regulate the body. As a result, it is meant to correct any imbalances that are leading to weight control problems, too. There is no medical evidence to prove or disprove claims that acupuncture is helpful for weight loss.
However, many acupuncturists firmly believe that acupuncture and weight loss go hand-in-hand. It isn’t that the practice will somehow cause the unwanted fat to simply disappear from the body. Instead, the benefits of the practice are meant to align with certain overall outcomes, including making it easier and more natural for you lose weight.

Weight Loss Promoting Benefits of Acupuncture

Acupuncture is performed to:

• Increase energy levels, 
• Suppress the appetite, 
• Reduce cravings and 
• Decrease irritability.

These don’t make fat simply disappear, but acupuncture for weight loss can make your healthy dieting and exercising strategy just that much easier. 

How Acupuncture and Weight Loss Align

One theory about acupuncture and weight loss is that with the benefit of increased energy, an individual will be more active than normal which will in turn bring about weight loss. Another theory about how acupuncture may help weight loss is that certain areas of the brain. These areas are responsible for our eating habits respond to the stimuli from the appropriately placed needles (both the ear and the stomach are commonly used locations in acupuncture weight loss treatments).

Although there is no scientific evidence to support the effectiveness of acupuncture for weight loss, many people have reported successfully losing weight using this method. That being the case, it’s always wise to keep a ‘buyer beware’ attitude when shopping for an acupuncturist. Do not undertake any procedures of this nature without using a certified, licensed professional preferably referred by your family physician.
If you are at all squeamish at the thought of getting a needle, acupuncture may not be the route for you to go. There is a reason why using acupuncture to lose weight is jokingly known as the “porcupine diet”.
Regardless of whichever path you choose to follow to weight loss enlightenment, you will always, always need to incorporate a balanced diet plan and a physical exercise component to your personal regime in order to be successful not only in getting those pounds off but keeping them off too.

Interested in learning more about natural ways you can benefit your weight loss efforts? Check out this article about Ayurvedic Weight Loss!