Weight gain is a concern for many, especially since it arises be from a plethora of causes: hormonal changes, overeating, stress, postpartum and more. What’s even more frustrating is the process of losing the weight.
From a TCM perspective, weight gain is caused by a blockage of qi in our bodies. This disrupts major organ functions like the spleen, liver, and kidneys. Digestion, absorption, and transport of food is not optimised, resulting in the build-up of dampness and phlegm that make up the fats on our bodies.
Hence, weight gain is not a problem but rather the symptom of internal health issues. Losing weight is not just for physical appearances – it is a step forward in reversing underlying problems for a healthier body.
What is TCM Detox Slimming?
TCM Detox Slimming is a holistic weight management approach to help you lose weight naturally, safely, and effectively.
It usually includes a consultation with the physician to identify the causes of obesity and weight gain before devising a customised treatment plan. Treatment options include acupuncture, gua sha, cupping, TCM herb prescription and others to restore qi flow. This will help to restore the kidney, spleen, and liver function to increase metabolism, break down fats, drain excess fluids and remove cellular waste from the body.
Reasons why TCM slimming should be your go-to for weight loss
1. Improve overall health
A car, no matter how pretty, is useless if the engine doesn’t work. Similarly, we believe that obesity is a symptom of body and organ imbalances; we need to go beyond fat loss to regulate our organ functions.
TCM is akin to an engineer who resolves the root of the problem. Firstly, weight gain is not solely based on how much you eat but how your body metabolise it. Acupuncture at specific points on the body can stimulate the thyroid gland and the spleen to increase metabolism. Hence, even if you have a few heavy meals, you can still maintain your weight.
In addition, gua sha and acupuncture help to increase blood flow throughout the body, which has full-body benefits:
- Increase digestion to convert more food to energy instead of fats
- Stimulate liver qi flow, which restores lymphatic drainage for excess water and toxins to be discharged
- Regulate the spleen and kidney function to remove dampness and phlegm
TCM can boost your mental health too by releasing endorphins, which are the feel-good hormones. Other than feeling more relaxed, the stress hormones responsible for retaining fats will decrease, aiding your weight loss goals.
2. Safe approach
In an attempt to lose weight quickly, many may resort of extreme diets like juice cleanse, intermittent fasting, keto and more. While the numbers on the weighing balance may drop, it’s more from water rather than fat loss. This means that once you start eating something else, the numbers will start rising again.
More importantly, these diets can have side effects as most of them are low in calories, carbohydrates, and nutrients. Keeping up with extreme diets can give you a short-term gratification, but it comes with a whole range of health issues like low blood sugar levels, fainting spells, loss of bone density and more.
In contrast, TCM is a safe approach with little to no side effects. It does not restrict cravings or lead to nutritional deprivations. Instead, it removes toxins by stimulating the liver, which helps to remove bad gut bacteria for effective digestion. Furthermore, lymphatic drainage can reduce water retention and bloating for a slimming effect in a safe way.
3. All-natural approach
The only ingredient that TCM techniques like gua sha, tuina and acupuncture require is the skills of our physicians. Acupuncture stimulates the nervous system, which send signals to the other organs to activate their natural healing abilities. As for gua sha, a wooden stick is used to scrape over and smooth the skin by breaking up the fascia adhesions, removing cellulites.
Such a natural process cannot be said for off-the-counter dietary supplements that could contain preservatives, stimulants, diuretics, and other unreported ingredients that could have side effects. The most common ones are liver damage and kidney stones.
Each body is unique, hence consulting a physician is important before going for any treatment. Under TCM detox slimming, you can get a physical consultation with the physician who will analyse your needs, habits and body conditions before devising the best treatment just for you.
4. Alternative for people who hates exercise
Exercise of any kind, be it high intensity like running, or something meditative like yoga or pilates have well-evidenced benefits to our physical and mental health. However, not everyone has the motivation to exercise after a long day of work. For those on the heavier side, simply having to move and sweat can be a daunting challenge.
While TCM is not a replacement for exercise, it can guarantee you the same benefits in just a few sessions:
- Increase metabolism. During exercise, our body has a higher energy demand, which is obtained by burning fats. Similarly, TCM promotes blood circulation, which brings more oxygen to tissue cells for faster metabolism and fat burn.
- Both acupuncture and exercise stimulate pain-sensing nerves, which triggers the brain to release endorphins: both a natural painkiller and a feel-good hormone. This helps to boost our mental health.
- Suppress appetite through ear acupressure and other acupuncture techniques.
Conclusion
Of course, getting TCM treatment does not give you leeway to revert back to sedentary lifestyle, not is it a quick-fix solution. However, it gives you a safe, holistic treatment that can help you slim down as well as strengthen your internal health for long-term weight management.
