Has anyone ever used acupuncture for weight loss?

If only we could stick a needle in our arm or forehead and lose weight! We'd all have the bodies we want.

This content has been removed.

TheBeachgod wrote: »

This is 100% how I'm planning on achieving abs. Seems legit.

Acupuncture is very effective for soft tissue ailments when administered in the correct locations - I had it prescribed and performed by a very well respected nhs consultant for a knee problem. He did an ultrasound and targeted the nerve clusters that were causing one of my muscles to spasm and pull my kneecap out of place. It is also genuinely effective for pain management and some anxiety related problems. I don't doubt that it also has a placebo effect on other conditions.

It could very well have an indirect effect on weight loss by making you more relaxed and therefore comfort eat less, or aiding an injury that might be preventing exercise. Weight loss is however about calories so ultimately acupuncture on its own won't cause weight loss.

This content has been removed.

I've tried it and it helped put me back in touch with my bodies natural signals; mainly from how I was feeling from eating various foods, whether good or bad.

dbgiltner wrote: »

Aloha.,,,I've tried almost everything for weight loss, and am currently trying acupuncture....has anyone else tried acupuncture for weight loss?

Hope it works for you, I get acupuncture for headaches and it works great

https://www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au/health/conditionsandtreatments/placebo-effect

How placebos work

The exact physiological mechanisms remain mysterious. Some of the theories that attempt to explain the placebo effect include:

• Self-limiting disorders - many conditions, such as the common cold, are self-limiting. They will resolve by themselves anyway, with or without placebos or drugs, and the end of symptoms is merely coincidence.
• Remission - the symptoms of some disorders, such as multiple sclerosis and lupus, may wax and wane. A remission during a course of placebos may be coincidence, and not due to the placebos at all.
• A change in behaviour - the placebo may increase a person's motivation to take better care of themselves. Improved diet, regular exercise or rest may be responsible for the easing of their symptoms.
• Altered perception － the person's interpretation of their symptoms may change with the expectation of feeling better. For example, a sharp pain may be reinterpreted as an uncomfortable tingling.
• Reduced anxiety － taking the placebo and expecting to feel better may soothe the autonomic nervous system and reduce the levels of stress chemicals, such as adrenaline.
• Brain chemicals - placebos may trigger the release of the body's own natural painkillers, the brain chemicals (neurotransmitters) known as endorphins.
• Altered brain state - research indicates that the brain responds to an imagined scene in much the same way as it responds to an actual visualised scene. A placebo may help the brain to remember a time before the onset of symptoms, and then bring about physiological change. This theory is called 'remembered wellness'.

In what way would acupuncture help with weight loss? The only thing that will cause weight loss is a calorie deficit.

My mother did many years ago....as well as trying every other fad diet/procedure she could afford...none of them worked permanently, and at 75, she's still struggling with her weight.