Can Chinese medicine help me lose weight?

Everywhere we turn we are bombarded with the latest weight loss trends; a special detox diet to help you shed the kilos, a superfood to give you a flat stomach, a celebrity diet that will get you fitting into a size 0 dress within weeks or even days. A quick result is often guaranteed that requires little effort with maximum gain (or loss in this case).

Is this too good to be true?

These fads will often create a diuretic effect that technically the kilos on the scales will reduce however once you return to eating food or stop the product they are recommending, it is most likely you will re-gain the weight and possibly even more if you’re increased appetite leads to overindulge.

The traditional belief of eating healthy meals and exercising regularly in order to shed some kilos is still the best approach to take when looking at losing some weight.

What happens when you are eating healthily and are exercising on a regular basis and the weight just does not shift?

This is where Chinese Medicine can offer some assistance. What??? I hear you say, Chinese Medicine can help me lose weight, how???

Too often I see patients with this very dilemma. In fact, they don’t eat enough food in the day and they are overly exercising to the point of exhaustion.
So what CAN Chinese Medicine do to help you shed some weight?

As with any state of ill health, Chinese Medicine aims to restore harmony in the body so that the body’s innate healing ability returns that person’s state of health to wellness.
So what does that actually mean? Well, there are many reasons why someone will gain weight easily and/or have difficulty in losing weight.

Here are some examples of disharmonies in the body that may be contributing to weight management issues:

• Hormonal Imbalances
• Thyroid Imbalance
• Insulin Resistance
• Inflammatory conditions
• Digestive illnesses
• Emotional upsets such as Stress, Depression, Anxiety
• Poor Sleep
• Many More

A practitioner practising Chinese Medicine will ask a series of questions in order to understand how the body is in disharmony and he/she will discuss with you what needs to occur to restore optimal health. The practitioner will commonly use herbal medicine and/or acupuncture to restore the body back to optimal health and then the rest will follow.

Additionally, recommendations on ways to improve metabolism, reduce insulin resistance or any other dietary concerns will be discussed to increase the speed in which health is improved.

Is this a quick fix?

Definitely not. Imbalances in your body don’t happen over night and so the time needed to restore your health will depend on your body’s current state of health.

Quick tip:
Did you know that when you are stressed, you body will take fat from somewhere in your body such as your legs or arms and if that fat isn’t used the body will then store it around the abdomen. The best way to get around this is to either manage your stress levels or exercise when you are stressed.

Have you tried Chinese medicine before?

**This is general advice only. Please consult your health care professional before starting a new diet or supplements as it may interfere with current medication.