The start of the year often marks the beginning (or revival) of all weight loss plans. However, staying on track as the year goes on is where things get tricky. Thankfully, traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) can increase your chance of success.

Traditional Chinese Medicine goes hand in hand with weight loss. There’s a variety of Chinese herbs that can aid you in your weight loss journey and give you the boost you need when your progress is starting to wind down. Chinese herbal medicine helps in maintaining a healthy weight by reestablishing your inner balance. It targets the root of the problem – the primary reason why your body is clinging on to unnecessary weight. Here are some of the most common reasons why you are gaining weight and the best ways to help you deal with them.

In this article, we will be exploring mainly the top benefits of using Chinese herbal medicine. At the same time, you will discover more about it and probably learn how this can be your new method of therapy and healing.

Traditional Chinese Medicine practitioners believe that the spleen and pancreas are among your most important organs. These organs are responsible for converting the food you intake into qi or the vital energy that circulates through your body the whole time. Qi acts as the battery which your body runs on, so you’d want it to be fully charged the entire day.

When you have spleen Qi deficiency, your body will feel like it’s in a low power mode. You will feel exhausted, heavy, and sluggish- like you don’t have enough energy to perform your daily activities. When your spleen qi is weak, you will have loose bowel movements, and your stool may even contain undigested food.

Weight gain is also one of the symptoms of having a weak spleen qi. Since your spleen is in charge of transforming the nutrients in your stomach into something beneficial like usable blood and qi, a weak spleen may not be able to do all the work properly. If this is the case, flood and fluids begin to build up; an occurrence referred to as “dampness” in Chinese Medicine. Dampness refers to the excess water and mucus that settles in your body. The dampness in your digestive system represents the excess fat and water weight that you have.

Another pattern of imbalance in Traditional Chinese Medicine is called yang deficiency. If your body is yang-deficient, it doesn’t have sufficient driving or warming energy, which can lead to a sluggish metabolism and mental function. Poor metabolism will slow down the transformation and transpiration of food and nutrients. It also stagnates the digestive process, which increases dampness. Your body lacks the energy and warmth that makes your digestive system working efficiently. Yang deficiency usually results in water weight and swelling because of the fluids that penetrate your abdomen and lower leg. This makes your body and limbs feel cold and sluggish. Yang deficiency will also result in irregular and loose bowel movements. There are various causes for yang deficiency, including aging, illness, or diet and lifestyle choices.

Nowadays, a lot of people often feel extremely stressed because of workload, relationship issues, and other troubles and worries that affect the mind and the body. These things can eventually lead to chronic stress, trouble sleeping, and weight gain. Various studies have shown that chronic stress can lead to an internal imbalance that results in weight gain. You may have noticed putting on additional weight after you got a new job, moved into a new house, began or ended a relationship, gave birth, or endured a significant life transformation.

The organ that responds most to stress is your liver. According to Traditional Chinese Medicine, the liver works to make sure all things work correctly and that all the body organs and systems are working perfectly together. When you experience physical or emotional imbalance, your liver becomes stressed. This will eventually ruin the harmony in your digestive system and cause qi stagnation and hormonal imbalance.

Do you tend to overeat, like you could eat anything and everything all day but still doesn’t feel full? Do you often crave for spicy and fried foods and feel intense thirst? Do you get acne breakouts on your face and chest and suffer from heartburn or insomnia? These are all symptoms of stomach heat.

Traditional Chinese Medicine practitioners believe that stomach heat leads to overeating and not feeling full. This can lead to increased calorie intake and weight gain. The more food you intake, the more it creates heat. Over time, it becomes a vicious cycle that can severely affect your physique.

Dampness is only a symptom of a bigger problem and not an imbalance itself. However, it is also vital to address the issue because it can prevent the body from undergoing positive changes.

Dampness causes everything to stagnate and become murky. Eliminating dampness resolves the root of the problem and consequently improving your digestion, increasing your metabolism, and losing that excess weight for good. Therefore, it is equally vital that you eliminate not only the imbalance but also the symptom of dampness that comes with it.

According to Traditional Chinese Medicine practitioners, these are best ways to eliminate dampness and consequently lose weight:

In Traditional Chinese Medicine, food that is bitter, sour, and pungent is considered to aid in weight loss, while those that are sweet, salty, and fatty can lead to weight gain. Various Chinese herbal teas have soothing flavor and health benefits and also work well for weight loss if combined with diet and exercise.

Acupuncture treatments are known to help manage your stress levels and promote better sleep by stimulating the release of the body’s “feel-good hormones,” such as enkaphalin and norepinephrine. When these endorphins are released in your body, it creates a relaxing and soothing effect that can help you resist the temptation to overeat.

Ear acupressure, or ear stapling, helps you lose weight by manipulating specific points in your ear to control your food cravings. This process is also known to treat other problems related to substance use and abuse.

Various Chinese herbs are known to effectively increase your metabolism, suppress your appetite, and burn your unwanted fats, including He Ye (lotus leaf), Fu Ling, and Huang Qi.

If you are a senior or you have special conditions, you can reduce your stress and body weight by doing tai chi. Tai chi is a form of exercise that is often performed outdoors and involves slow movements and deep breathing. The activity offers physical and emotional exercise. It can reduce symptoms of anxiety while helping you tone your muscles.

Losing weight through the natural approach of Traditional Chinese Medicine may be a slow process, but it can produce long-lasting results that will highly benefit your health.

If you want to lose weight naturally, visit a traditional Chinese medicine practitioner today. If you live in Central Park Ave. area, you may call Westchester Acupuncture at (917) 273-8912 and schedule a treatment today.