Acupuncture for Weight Loss
- Posted on: May 23 2018
A patient walked into my practice and asked if Acupuncture could help with weight loss. I told her I’d heard of Acupuncture for weight loss but wanted to do some research before I treated her. I came across an article about a study on Dr. Oz’s website that described a treatment for weight loss success.
The article described treatments 2-3 times per week for a minimum of 7 sessions. All of the points they used featured points around the ear. Yes, you can treat the entire body from the ear alone. There are several dozen points on the ear, but more on that in another article. Let’s stay focused because weight loss is a very important topic.
After my research on the points used and frequency and duration of treatments, she was excited to give it a try. In fact, we got a community of people together to experience the treatments as a group. While we met for those 7 sessions, I offered coaching, stress reduction, and gentle exercises known as Qi Gong. We also did a natural food based cleanse to boot.
The results? Most group members reported noticeable results such as weight loss, more energy, a sense of calmness, peace and empowerment. Many participants also reported less cravings for junk food such as passing up that formerly tempting bowl of MnM’s just outside her office door. Another woman said she passed up a free slice of chocolate cake when a waiter messed up her dinner order. She was a self-proclaimed chocolate addict and was amazed she was able to skip the dessert…without effort! Additionally one woman said she had gotten blood work at the tail end of the program and her Doctor was amazed her Cholesterol had gone down. I attribute that to the healthy eating as well as the acupuncture.
Do we need to do the whole program to benefit? No. I have patients who just come for the Acupuncture protocol and reduce cravings, eat better, and lose some weight. The protocol can be very helpful but it’s not a magic sundae bullet. Just ask Rob, one of my first ever Acupuncture patients in the clinic during my training. His wife pushed him to come for Acupuncture. When I asked how I could help him, he said he wanted to be able to eat ice-cream sundaes, Big Macs, and have me make his blood pressure and cholesterol go down with the Acupuncture. I appreciated his honesty, but the treatment works both ways. We can give you the treatment that can help reduce cravings, improve digestion, regulate homrones, reduce stress and support you along the way, but you are still in the driver’s seat, or shall we call it the eater’s seat?
Practitioners, the Auricular Protocol used is Shen Men, Stomach, Endocrine Pt., and Mouth/Hunger. Retained for at least 20-25 minutes, 2-3 times per week at a minimum of 7 sessions.
Posted in: Acupuncture
