It is one of the most common questions, along with can I take 10 years off my looks, lose the gray hair and increase my my income by 20%.
“Can acupuncture help me to lose weight?”
In a word, yes.

And I want to emphasis that acupuncture can help you to lose weight, but it will not magically evaporate body fat. Like in most of life’s endeavors, we are required to show up. Acupuncture regulates the metabolism and improves digestion, both of which are essential to weight loss. Acupuncture helps to diminish cravings and improves awareness of when we are full. In fact, we use acupuncture to help people walk way from the habits of heroin and tobacco. Still, to successfully lose weight, some changes in habit are necessary.

Notice your feeling
The first involves noticing what you do when you begin to feel full. Most of us start to get that “I’m starting to feel full feeling,” and then look at our plate and see if we can stuff in those last 4 or 5 bites. Actually, that “getting full feeling” is a signal that we are about 80% full. Cultures, like those of found in Okinawa of Japan and certain Mediterranean villages where people commonly live into their 90′s or 100′s and tend to be slim and vital have a saying

“eat till you are 80% full.

When you get that “I’m getting full” feeling it means you are already at 80%. It means that you just took you last bite of that meal. This goes against everything we learned as children, and it goes against the inertia of decades of habit. But, habits can be changed, and acupuncture is helpful for that as well.

What else?
First, get high fructose corn syrup out of your diet. This is easier said than done, as this stuff has seeped its way into a huge amount of prepared foods and drinks. It is worth avoiding as it does not send the “I’m full” signal until you have already eaten over your limit. How bad is high fructose corn syrup (HFCS)? Bad enough that the industry has recently launched a HFCS is good for you campaign in response to the increasing studies and observations that this stuff has a significant link to obesity.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EEbRxTOyGf0&feature=player_embedded

.
Food products.
Sadly, much of what is offered to us at the supermarket is not food. It is a food product. More the creation of laboratory, than kitchen science.
Rule of thumb: if your grandmother would not recognize it as food, it’s not.

Veggies are good for you.
We know this. Our mother’s told us. We tell our children too. But, rarely do we eat enough plants. Modern day solution? Take one of the many “green” powders as a supplement. There are a number of products that you can mix into juice or water and easily drink down a number of servings of fruits and veggies. Yes, it looks like a glass full of pond scum, but your intestines and digestion will love it.

Eat more fiber.
More grandmotherly type of advice. We need a certain amount of dietary fiber for good bowel function, additionally it helps us to have that satisfied full belly feeling without adding calories. The Full Plate Diet site has some useful advice on making small changes that over time lead to significant results. The basic premise is that with some simple substitutions we can both increase our dietary fiber intake and enjoy tasty meals. It simply requires knowing what our options are and then choosing the healthy ones. The great thing about this site is that the authors are not asking us to make huge changes, or start eating less, or eat strange foods that we can not pronounce. The average American, eating an average diet will find help here in widening their fiber rich food choices.

Finally, as I’ve heard a few rather smart people comment; “don’t buy your food where you buy your gas.” There is nothing of true nutritional value to be found at any gas station/convenience store. But, you already knew that, right?

In a future post we will take a look at taking the inertia out of habit

It is one of the most common questions, along with can I take 10 years off my looks, lose the gray hair and increase my my income by 20%.
“Can acupuncture help me to lose weight?”
In a word, yes.

And I want to emphasis that acupuncture can help you to lose weight, but it will not magically evaporate body fat. Like in most of life’s endeavors, we are required to show up. Acupuncture regulates the metabolism and improves digestion, both of which are essential to weight loss. Acupuncture helps to diminish cravings and improves awareness of when we are full. In fact, we use acupuncture to help people walk way from the habits of heroin and tobacco. Still, to successfully lose weight, some changes in habit are necessary.

Notice your feeling
The first involves noticing what you do when you begin to feel full. Most of us start to get that “I’m starting to feel full feeling,” and then look at our plate and see if we can stuff in those last 4 or 5 bites. Actually, that “getting full feeling” is a signal that we are about 80% full. Cultures, like those of found in Okinawa of Japan and certain Mediterranean villages where people commonly live into their 90′s or 100′s and tend to be slim and vital have a saying

“eat till you are 80% full.

When you get that “I’m getting full” feeling it means you are already at 80%. It means that you just took you last bite of that meal. This goes against everything we learned as children, and it goes against the inertia of decades of habit. But, habits can be changed, and acupuncture is helpful for that as well.

What else?
First, get high fructose corn syrup out of your diet. This is easier said than done, as this stuff has seeped its way into a huge amount of prepared foods and drinks. It is worth avoiding as it does not send the “I’m full” signal until you have already eaten over your limit. How bad is high fructose corn syrup (HFCS)? Bad enough that the industry has recently launched a HFCS is good for you campaign in response to the increasing studies and observations that this stuff has a significant link to obesity.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EEbRxTOyGf0&feature=player_embedded

.
Food products.
Sadly, much of what is offered to us at the supermarket is not food. It is a food product. More the creation of laboratory, than kitchen science.
Rule of thumb: if your grandmother would not recognize it as food, it’s not.

Veggies are good for you.
We know this. Our mother’s told us. We tell our children too. But, rarely do we eat enough plants. Modern day solution? Take one of the many “green” powders as a supplement. There are a number of products that you can mix into juice or water and easily drink down a number of servings of fruits and veggies. Yes, it looks like a glass full of pond scum, but your intestines and digestion will love it.

Eat more fiber.
More grandmotherly type of advice. We need a certain amount of dietary fiber for good bowel function, additionally it helps us to have that satisfied full belly feeling without adding calories. The Full Plate Diet site has some useful advice on making small changes that over time lead to significant results. The basic premise is that with some simple substitutions we can both increase our dietary fiber intake and enjoy tasty meals. It simply requires knowing what our options are and then choosing the healthy ones. The great thing about this site is that the authors are not asking us to make huge changes, or start eating less, or eat strange foods that we can not pronounce. The average American, eating an average diet will find help here in widening their fiber rich food choices.

Finally, as I’ve heard a few rather smart people comment; “don’t buy your food where you buy your gas.” There is nothing of true nutritional value to be found at any gas station/convenience store. But, you already knew that, right?

In a future post we will take a look at taking the inertia out of habit

It is one of the most common questions, along with can I take 10 years off my looks, lose the gray hair and increase my my income by 20%.
“Can acupuncture help me to lose weight?”
In a word, yes.

And I want to emphasis that acupuncture can help you to lose weight, but it will not magically evaporate body fat. Like in most of life’s endeavors, we are required to show up. Acupuncture regulates the metabolism and improves digestion, both of which are essential to weight loss. Acupuncture helps to diminish cravings and improves awareness of when we are full. In fact, we use acupuncture to help people walk way from the habits of heroin and tobacco. Still, to successfully lose weight, some changes in habit are necessary.

Notice your feeling
The first involves noticing what you do when you begin to feel full. Most of us start to get that “I’m starting to feel full feeling,” and then look at our plate and see if we can stuff in those last 4 or 5 bites. Actually, that “getting full feeling” is a signal that we are about 80% full. Cultures, like those of found in Okinawa of Japan and certain Mediterranean villages where people commonly live into their 90′s or 100′s and tend to be slim and vital have a saying

“eat till you are 80% full.

When you get that “I’m getting full” feeling it means you are already at 80%. It means that you just took you last bite of that meal. This goes against everything we learned as children, and it goes against the inertia of decades of habit. But, habits can be changed, and acupuncture is helpful for that as well.

What else?
First, get high fructose corn syrup out of your diet. This is easier said than done, as this stuff has seeped its way into a huge amount of prepared foods and drinks. It is worth avoiding as it does not send the “I’m full” signal until you have already eaten over your limit. How bad is high fructose corn syrup (HFCS)? Bad enough that the industry has recently launched a HFCS is good for you campaign in response to the increasing studies and observations that this stuff has a significant link to obesity.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EEbRxTOyGf0&feature=player_embedded

.
Food products.
Sadly, much of what is offered to us at the supermarket is not food. It is a food product. More the creation of laboratory, than kitchen science.
Rule of thumb: if your grandmother would not recognize it as food, it’s not.

Veggies are good for you.
We know this. Our mother’s told us. We tell our children too. But, rarely do we eat enough plants. Modern day solution? Take one of the many “green” powders as a supplement. There are a number of products that you can mix into juice or water and easily drink down a number of servings of fruits and veggies. Yes, it looks like a glass full of pond scum, but your intestines and digestion will love it.

Eat more fiber.
More grandmotherly type of advice. We need a certain amount of dietary fiber for good bowel function, additionally it helps us to have that satisfied full belly feeling without adding calories. The Full Plate Diet site has some useful advice on making small changes that over time lead to significant results. The basic premise is that with some simple substitutions we can both increase our dietary fiber intake and enjoy tasty meals. It simply requires knowing what our options are and then choosing the healthy ones. The great thing about this site is that the authors are not asking us to make huge changes, or start eating less, or eat strange foods that we can not pronounce. The average American, eating an average diet will find help here in widening their fiber rich food choices.

Finally, as I’ve heard a few rather smart people comment; “don’t buy your food where you buy your gas.” There is nothing of true nutritional value to be found at any gas station/convenience store. But, you already knew that, right?

In a future post we will take a look at taking the inertia out of habit