OTC Diet Pills. Magic Bullet for Weight Loss?

If you listen very carefully to Carmen Electra, spokeswoman for the over-the-counter weight loss pills, NV, she never says that she lost weight taking the pill.

She says it gives her energy and that she believes in the product. What does that mean? What does she believe about them? And what are we supposed to believe about the pill? Are we supposed to believe that if it didn’t provide her with weight loss that it will provide us with weight loss? Do the manufactures of NV want us to believe it works for weight loss just because a paid, beautiful, healthy spokeswoman takes the pills?

Carmen Electra is a very rich and famous woman who does not need to take a pill for weight loss because she is not over weight. She can afford to have a fitness professional work out with her daily, and she can even afford a personal chef!

Taking any brand of diet pill will not make any of us look like Carmen Electra. There is no magic bullet for weight loss. But creating a whole, balanced, lifestyle can lead to dramatic physical and psychological changes. If we want to transform our bodies, we must transform our inner and outer lives. The transformative process takes patience, perseverance and compassion. The compassion comes in when we shift our perception of ourself instead of thinking we are unworthy of living a happy life because of how we look. And it comes in when we try to make changes but stumble or falter. Instead of beating ourselves up, we should allow ourselves to learn from our mistake, move on and begin again.

What Does A Balanced Lifestyle Consist Of?

Eating well. Eat a balanced diet consisting of at least 5 servings of whole vegetables and whole fruit, protein and whole grain carbohydrates, all eaten daily and in every meal. Also, we must eat regularly throughout the day. Don’t skip meals. And snack on healthful foods between meals. Patients who eat regularly do not need to binge on unhealthy foods or overeat at the next meal. Try not to eat while angry, upset or sad. Chinese nutritional therapy focuses on not just how much we eat, but the energetic quality of the food. If the energetic quality of food we eat is unbalanced, then our body will remain unbalanced. A practitioner of Chinese medicine can asses where your diet is out of balance and give you simple advice on how to harmonize the energy of food in your diet, resulting in healthy, balanced weight loss. Read more about healthy eating at our website amazinghealing.com

Physical Activity and Exercise. There is just no way around the fact that physical activity burns calories and is necessary for maintaining a healthy body. Physical activity means taking the stairs instead of the elevator, parking farther away from the store so you have to walk a few extra steps, playing with your children, walking your dog, taking an after lunch or dinner stroll in your neighborhood. And most of us need to step up our game by playing a sport, taking dance classes, rollerblading, biking or going to the gym. But all of these activities count toward our wellness and burn calories. Exercise also helps balance hormone levels which combat stress and depression and lower hormones which cause weight gain. Check out the article "Quit Exercising to Lose Weight."

Relaxation Time. Take time for yourself to lower stress levels by sitting quietly for 10 to 20 minutes a day, take walk by yourself, visit a botanical garden, take a long hot bath or shower or take a nap. If you can afford to treat yourself every so often, get a massage or spa treatment. Reflexology is also very balancing and relaxing. If you can’t afford it, call a local massage school because they often have reduced community rates so that the students can practice their newly learned craft. Meditation and/or prayer is very helpful for many people. Acupuncture treatments help reduce stress levels, and thus reduce stress hormones which cause weight gain.

Get Acupuncture for Weight Loss. It Works. As I said above, acupuncture reduces the level of hormone which causes weight gain, and it increases the level of hormones which help us feel satiated from eating. Not to mention that fact that acupuncture boosts the hormones that help us maintain a good, happy and balanced mood. Just like pills, there is no magic bullet or single acu-point that will magically melt the pounds away. However, regular acupuncture visits combined with Chinese herbs and diet can result in a 10% reduction of body weight in two months. Add exercise to that and you will really have a winning combination!

Chinese Herbs. Unlike the harsh acting, one-size-fits-all over-the-counter diet pills, Chinese medicine tailors its herbal treatment to the patient. We avoid use of speed-like herbs and only use diuretics on an as-needed basis and for a short period of time. Chinese herbs are gentle and are used to treat the pattern of energetic disharmony that causes weight gain and adjust the energy which disrupts weight loss. Chinese herbs, acupuncture and nutritional therapy can help maintain healthy weight loss. Learn more about the Safety of Chinese Herbs.

Our office offers acupuncture, herbal and nutritional counseling. When you schedule a visit for acupuncture, you get all three therapies integrated within the sessions. If you'd like to just try Chinese herbs and nutritional counseling, we offer that too!
Call for an appointment 212-894-0767

Posted by: Juliette Aiyana, L.Ac.