Acupuncture for weight loss and losing weight

Acupuncture for weight loss is a traditional Chinese technique that stimulates the energy points of the ears to promote the release of energy and hormones that reinforce the person’s motivation to lose weight.

Although many people are unaware of how it works and only think of needles being inserted into the ear, the World Health Organization (WHO) recognizes acupuncture and its results in various fields. So it’s not something strange, though still unfamiliar, and in this article, we explain how it works so you can lose weight.

How acupuncture for weight loss works

By adding small magnets or seeds and also using acupuncture needles, the weight loss points that are most relevant are targeted. It can be performed with stainless steel filiform needles or very small ones that will remain for a few days and eventually fall out on their own.

The ears are an organ with dozens of key points, but also the head, neck, and other parts of the body. You don’t have to limit yourself to the cartilage and lobe of each ear. The thing is that the entire body is connected and when you insert a needle into one area, the entire connected branch responds. You’ve probably hit your elbow once, and the pain travels all the way down the arm, or hit your leg, and the same happens when the pain would normally be localized to the spot of impact. Although it’s not the same, acupuncture works similarly, but with energy.

Effects of acupuncture for weight loss

Simply putting in needles will not make you lose weight. That is, the act of inserting a needle does not burn calories nor makes the fat accumulated in your abdomen or buttocks disappear through spontaneous combustion. And no, the tiny hole it leaves doesn’t allow fat to escape. Losing weight with acupuncture is a more technical process.

The fat tissue is like cement stuck to your body, on the muscles, under the skin, and covering every inch of the slim figure that you truly are. It needs to be worked on through exercise and diet to disappear. Here there are no magic tricks or miracle formulas. What acupuncture does for weight loss is to relax you, target the energy points that cause anxiety, stress, prevent hunger, and keep your mind relaxed. From here, you can begin to lose weight much more easily.

How acupuncture prevents late-night cravings

Binge eating, overeating, and snacking often stem from anxiety. In most cases, even if the person is not aware of it or doesn’t link it, anxiety lies beneath it. That’s usually the case; there are other causes, like genetic issues or hormonal imbalances. But the most common reason, let’s be honest, is overeating.

The thing is that by stimulating certain acupuncture points in the ears and head, you can channel the energies. The person receiving treatment reorganizes the pathways through which bodily stimuli travel. When you connect with one of these pathways, it stabilizes and balances the entire bodily branch. Stimuli pass at a normal pace, no longer accelerated, thinking only about food.

Explaining the details requires a full course, but the important and interesting thing to know is that by targeting specific points, mood can change and cravings for something can disappear.

Eating, just like with other drugs, produces substances that reach neurotransmitters and brain receptors, just like any drug. It stimulates areas of the brain that produce pleasure, and when you’re very used to eating a lot, when you don’t, nerves start to appear because those brain areas expect their stimulating dose. Finding the points that connect these brain areas through small pinpricks makes the energy accumulated in the form of stress and anxiety be dissipated.

After a weight loss session

Each session lasts between 40 and 50 minutes, during which the professional works on your most critical points. When it’s over, you’ll relax for a few minutes on the bed, and you may even fall asleep. Some people experience this due to the degree of relaxation they achieve.

When you leave the clinic or acupuncture center, you’ll feel relaxed. And the effect will last for several days. The great thing about acupuncture for weight loss is that the effects last over time. A session can provide beneficial effects for an entire week. You won’t feel any pinpricks or anything. You’ll only notice that the properties of the needles remain, making you feel calmer. This, in turn, will reduce your hunger and make you feel better, which will benefit your weight loss efforts if combined with a dietitian’s advice.

Alternative techniques to acupuncture for weight loss

• Auriculotherapy.
• Electrostimulation, a very similar technique but without needles or pinpricks. It uses electricity to target acupuncture points and meridians.
• Herbal medicine and tea preparations. This method directly impacts fat. There are relaxants and products that chemically alter metabolism. It is compatible with others and might be included in a plan prepared by a nutritionist.
• Relaxation techniques to channel anxiety and focus the mind on other tasks to occupy time.
• Psychology. Often, weight problems conceal a psychological issue that is masked or at least managed through eating.
• Exercise. Compatible with all others, and it’s generally necessary to include it to avoid sagging when losing weight.

But does acupuncture for weight loss work?

Absolutely yes. But you need to be aware of its goals. As mentioned at the beginning, losing weight is not as simple as lying on a bed and letting yourself go. To achieve a better body, a slim figure that matches your ideal, you have to put in a lot of effort. If someone tells you that you’ll be thin without realizing it, they’re lying. Either the product is fake, or you’ll be spending money for nothing.

For acupuncture for weight loss to work, you need to follow a diet and exercise regularly. Talk to a nutritionist to regulate your food intake. This doesn’t mean starving; quite the opposite. It means eating well, getting the calories, proteins, vitamins, minerals, carbohydrates, and amino acids you need to stay healthy and reduce fat. Plus, if you add the benefits of the needles, the pleasure, and the sensation they leave in your body, staying focused on your goals becomes much easier. Now, it does work, but you have to do your part.

And if you’ve never tried a needle session, we encourage you to do so. It’s not unpleasant; you don’t see the pricks because you’re lying on the bed, and while you feel them, they’re very bearable. When you leave, you’ll see how those little pricks are compensated by the effects. Really. You can try just one session to see if weight loss through acupuncture works for you, and if you find it motivating, continue with sessions to complete the full cycle of your weight loss plan.

Acupuncture sessions and price for weight loss

Here there are different options. The ideal is that if you want to lose weight, you contact an acupuncture center that also offers nutritionist or dietitian services. That way, you can rely on a complete plan that will cover all the necessary areas to lose weight every week.

The other alternative is to talk directly with a nutritionist and then with an acupuncture professional. It’s the same, just separated. Obviously, you’ll need to talk to both and inform them of your goals and what you’re doing to achieve them. Together, they will support your initiative by preparing a plan that will be much easier to follow.

Acupuncture sessions for weight loss cost around $35 to $45. Depending on your area of residence, you may find some centers that are cheaper or even higher than this price. The number of sessions you’ll need also varies depending on your current weight. Typically, 4 to 6 sessions are needed, with one session per week.

But if you want to know exactly how many sessions you need and if there is a discount for booking a full package, it’s best to speak directly with the acupuncture center.