When it comes to weight loss and fitness, some people are prepared to try anything – up to and including having needles stuck into their bodies! Acupuncture is gaining in popularity with those seeking to improve their wellness and wellbeing through weight loss.
Acupuncture is, of course, about more than simply sticking needles into their bodies. It encourages people to think about their weight loss as a problem affecting their whole bodies, and one that needs to be treated in many different ways.
Alongside acupuncture, people often try cognitive behavioral principles, which involves learning how their thoughts affect their behaviour – such as using treats as a reward for good work, or as a comfort when things have been difficult.
Being mindful of these kinds of harmful thoughts and behaviours can help people to re-train themselves regarding the way that they view food. Instead of seeing food as a treat, they can remind themselves that binging on biscuits is going to make them feel worse, not better. Through this, you can also re-define what a treat is – so instead of reaching for the biscuits you can treat yourself to a nice healthy walk with the dog, for example.
As well as improving the coping strategies for times of stress, it can also be helpful to help eliminate some of the causes of stress, and that’s where acupuncture plays a strong part.
Acupuncture has long been used by the Chinese to help the flow of ‘chi’ around the body. Acupuncture is designed to help restore your sense of wellbeing by stimulating points on your body. Through this, acupuncture is thought to boost your metabolism, decrease the production of cortisol (a stress hormone that is linked to stomach fat), increase your energy to improve exercise opportunities, improve your sleep, decrease hunger hormones and help to beat sugar cravings.
