Choice Acupuncture & Oriental Medicine

How Does Acupuncture Help with Weight Loss? 

Acupuncture can aid in blood sugar regulation and more efficient calorie burning by helping transport the sugar from outside in the bloodstream (where it can go through a process to turn to fat) to inside the cell, where your body transforms it into energy.  You may even eat more (healthy foods) and still lose weight.  Acupuncture & herbs can also help change your taste buds to crave more good-for-you foods.

For more information about how acupuncture works for weight loss, see this article from Dr. Oz's website.

Tips for Weight Loss

1. If you’re going to eat something naughty, try to cut the portion size and see if you can be satisfied with less.
2. If you’re going to eat something naughty, try to make it high quality so that you are satisfied with less (example eat a square of Godiva or Lindt dark chocolate instead of Hershey’s Kisses).
3. If you’re going to eat something naughty, try to combine it with high fiber and/or high protein foods like nuts, apple, or celery with almond butter.
4. Employ the 80/20 rule.  If you are good 80% of the time, you can indulge 20% of the time (within reason).
5. Keep a food diary.  It might be easiest to do in a day planner or calendar.  Write down the day, the time of day, and what you eat at that time.  This helps you to become aware of what and how much you are eating and what time of day you eat the most.  You might also want to write down how you were feeling at the time you ate.
6. Try to eat some form of protein in the morning with breakfast such as nuts, whole grains, eggs, or lean, low-fat meat (small amount).  This will help you feel more full during the day.
7. Drink plenty of purified water and green tea sweetened only with raw honey or stevia.
8. Walk briskly at least 30 minutes/day.
9. Consider taking herbal supplements.
10. Get Acupuncture 1-2 times per week.

Helpful Foods to Eat/Drink:

1. unsalted, unroasted nuts especially walnuts and almonds
2. olive oil, flax seed oil, borage oil, evening primrose oil (can take in supplement form)
3. legumes such as lentils, garbanzo beans, kidney beans, black beans
4. whole grains that are not processed such as oats, rye, quinoa, and brown rice
5. All vegetables except for sweet potato and yam (sweet potato and yam are OK but in smaller amounts). Alfalfa sprouts are especially good.
6. Lemon juice diluted in water
7. Fruits such as apples, plums, peaches, cherries, raspberries, blackberries
8. Two sweeteners: raw honey, stevia
9. Goat milk products
10. Moderate amounts of spices such as cumin, tumeric, ginger, cloves, spearmint, fennel and cayenne
11. Green Tea or Chamomile Tea

Foods to Avoid or Eat Sparingly

1. All refined sugar or flour (basically anything white such as pasta, white bread, pastries, biscuits, donuts, cakes, ice cream)
2. Salty foods
3. Meat and dairy products especially those high in fat like red meat and cheese
4. Very sweet fruits like figs, dates, dried fruit and bananas and coconut

Call today for a free weight loss consultation.

(630) 433-0323