Immediate for Addiction Support

Despite the enormous amount of money Americans spend to lose weight, we remain an obese and “morbidly obese” citizenry. We spend billions each year on elaborate prescription and over the counter medications; food programs that control portions and offer an “easier” or “simpler” to manage our intake of meals; prepared “diet” snacks and ready to consume meals available in the supermarkets; and surgical options to get the weight off. Every method available can work or fail. Our mental health and how we view ourselves is often intertwined with how we appear to others. Many secretively embrace bulimia and anorexia to manage weight and present our mental version of our “best” or most tolerable bodies to others. Excess weight is not “just” a cosmetic problem: there are risk factors for health issues like heart disease, diabetes, hypertension and high blood pressure top the list, but there are others, including stomach distress, pain of gas and bloating, heartburn and esophageal reflux, which can lead to increased need for medical intervention of some kind.

Acupuncture and Traditional Chinese Medicine or TCM offers options for weight management and a healthier lifestyle than continual experimentation with every weight loss option advertised on TV, in magazines, online and the advice of well-meaning relatives and friends. Every weight loss program can work if it is followed; therein lies a problem – is the program option sustainable? What happens when we end the option and return to our habits of a lifetime? The “yoyo” effect of losing and gaining over and over creates its own set of problems with the body’s resistance to maintaining a healthy weight, and the emotional self-torture that seems to follow perceived failure and loss of control.

TCM sees you as a whole person and not a collection of symptoms or diseases. There are factors that led to weight gain that include how we view ourselves, emotional and trauma impacts, genetics, sedentary habits and stress management. Weight loss is a partnership between you and your practitioner. We work together to discover your long-term goals and strategies for creating a plan that can work for you.

The plan begins with helping to restore balance of mind, body and spirit; the plan moves to balance the Qi of your Stomach (Qi is often referred to as energy) which can help promote more effective and better digestion as well as help to reduce the appetite. Our work together can help to balance the Liver which helps emotional balancing around anxiety and stress management. The plan helps to create better overall health through positive attainable changes that come with healthier weight. This is not a quick fix or a miracle cure. This is a chance for long term change and success, all of which helps create tools we can use for sustainable results.

We will find exercise options that you can fit into a busy day to day life and will want to do. We’ll work on food options you enjoy and are willing eat; the “closer to the earth” the better, and simple cooking techniques based on your lifestyle. There are herbs that may be applicable for you on this journey to increased vitality and a healthier body.

And of course, we will utilize acupuncture therapy to help with stress management by the release of endorphins (the feel-good hormones) and a reduction in cortisol (the “stress hormone”). Acupuncture helps to balance cravings by working with the body to release the endorphins, which also can help support the generation of digestion that works smoothly and efficiently.

The joy of realizing our goals, the thrill of seeing a reflection of ourselves in the mirror that pairs our reality with our dreams, and the peace and gratification that comes with effort and willingness to work is attainable. Let’s do this!