Here are three primary ways that acupuncture can help with weight loss.

First of all, acupuncture helps balance hormones. Acupuncture can increase endorphins, which reduce cravings and generally make you feel more positive. This can help reduce over eating.

It also decreases the hormones that contribute to weight gain. Both leptin and insulin levels dropped with acupuncture. Leptin regulates fat storage and metabolism and stimulates the feeling of being full.  Insulin regulates carbohydrate and fat metabolism and the absorption of glucose from the blood .Acupuncture may actually reduce the hormones that lead to overeating. But if leptin stimulates the feeling of being full, why is it good to have reduced levels? Like insulin-resistance, cells can become immune to the effects of leptin when the levels are too high. Many obese people have excessively high levels of leptin. When your leptin level is high, you can no longer tell when to stop eating. Restoring balance to leptin levels may help to reduce leptin-resistance, making it easier to stop eating before you overeat.

The third way that acupuncture helps with weight loss is by reducing stress. Cortisol, the stress hormone, can affect weight in several ways. It disrupts digestion, contributes to depression and escalates your “fight or flight” response. If you feel overwhelmed, you are more likely to binge for emotional reasons and to assume you have no time to prepare healthy meals.

And finally, acupuncture can aid digestion. According to Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), the spleen is responsible for digestion. Disharmony and imbalance in the spleen can lead to fatigue, slow metabolism, water retention, loose stools, and a feeling of heaviness. The liver is responsible for the flow of Qi, blood and emotions. Disharmony in your liver can lead to cravings and compulsive eating.

By balancing your organ system, you support weight loss both physically and psychologically.

Role of Auricular acupuncture in Obesity Management:

Auricular therapy temporarily increases your body’s metabolic rate and lowers appetite by manipulating the nervous system. It alters the sympathetic nervous system to improve resistance to insulin, which metabolizes glucose in the body. Auricular therapy elevates the levels of a hormone known as serotonin, which tones smooth muscles of the stomach, and therefore reduces abdominal fat storage. Depending on one’s weight loss goals, the treatment can be done every two to three days a week to lose up to 10 pounds of weight.

Of course with acupuncture sittings, diet management, lifestyle modification, exercises at least 5 days a week, enough sleep these all things together work better to lose weight in a correct way and to maintain it lifelong.