3 Alternatives to Weight Loss You Should Know About

For many of us, losing weight does not come easily. From a range of different diets to different types of exercises, you may have tried it all. 

On paper, weight loss has a simple recipe – you just eat less and move more, right? But a quick search online will only flood you with an overwhelming amount of diet routines and exercise regimens. 

After multiple trials and errors, your weight loss journey can leave you at your wit’s end. You may also feel like a failure after seeing little to no progress, which eventually takes a toll on your self-esteem and impacts your overall mental health. 

It’s easy to feel like there’s no way out; like you’re stuck with the weight forever.  But that’s not true!

What if you can ditch the traditional diet and exercise regime for an unconventional approach towards losing weight? 

Don’t worry, the research is ready for you.

Read on to find out 3 out-of-the-box methods that can aid in weight loss. 

1. Hypnotherapy

Hypnotherapy is different from the conventional approaches to losing weight. Hypnotherapy for weight loss helps you deal with unconscious resistance that acts as a speed bump to your weight-loss endeavours. Hypnotherapists use tried-and-tested techniques to tap into your subconscious mind and help you bring about positive changes. In a typical session, you will be guided into a relaxed state where your subconscious mind becomes more receptive to positive suggestions.

These techniques help you rebuild your thoughts and emotional patterns about food, the way you eat, and how you feel about your body. With these positive beliefs and affirmations, you can begin your weight loss journey with a refreshed perspective, opening the doors to living a fitter and healthier life.

2. Aromatherapy Massages 

For thousands of years, aromatherapy has been practised as an alternative therapy. Also referred to as essential oil therapy, it channels the power of scents to bring about benefits in your body, physically as well as mentally. The most commonly used ingredients in aromatherapy massages are essential oils, which are derivatives of roots, barks, stems, and leaves of plants.

Research over the years has pointed towards the benefits of using aromatherapy oils for weight loss and controlling obesity. It mentions the use of essential oils to counteract the effects of increased body fat. Oils of bergamot, mint, ginger, citrus, cinnamon, lavender, sage and rose may aid weight loss to a certain extent. These oils can potentially stimulate metabolism, improve digestive processes, curb appetite, increase energy levels and decrease levels of glucose in the bloodstream.

At the same time, you need to also consider certain risks associated with using essential oils. Skin reactions and interactions with medications can potentially do more harm than good to you. At times, these oils may contain fillers, synthetic chemicals and pesticides that can be toxic to your body. Oils that are branded with ‘therapeutic grade’ on the label can be trusted. 

3. Cold Exposure Therapy

Talk about taking a chill pill! 

Cold exposure therapy is gaining a lot of traction for its benefits on overall health, with some research indicating its potential weight loss benefits as well.

In cold exposure therapy, you plunge your body into ice or ice-cold water, called an ice bath. You may also take cold showers, wear cooling vests, hike in the cold, and place ice packs on the body. 

Research suggests individuals who do this for two hours a day every day for six weeks have burned more calories and experienced a decrease in their fat stores. The effect of the cold water is to cause an increase in the activity of ‘brown fat’, the fat that is metabolically active and instrumental in burning calories.

Repeated exposure to the cold can lead to an increase in ‘adenopectin’, the adipose tissue hormone, that holds the key to preventing insulin resistance.

The other proposed effects include improving circulation, boosting the immune system, reducing stress, and decreasing pain and inflammation. However, you must know that the findings are fairly new and more in-depth research is needed.

In Summary

While you have all the right intent and the motivation, setting the ball rolling on the weight loss journey is all through action. The 3 alternative methods for weight loss in this article take the less-beaten path when it comes to weight loss.