We are probably all familiar with a yoyo dieter. This is someone who needs to shed a
few pounds, so they instill changes in their diet and lifestyle designed to quickly bring
about results. As long as they stick to a healthy plan the weight will start to come off. At
the first sign of weight loss, however, they begin to grow content and abandon the very
strategy that helped them in the first place. At this point their weight balloons up again
and the whole cycle starts over.
What these people fail to realize is that healthy living is not an event, but rather a
lifestyle. Until they make a lasting commitment to finally follow through with and maintain
a program of healthy eating and exercise, they will always bounce up and down like a yo-
yo.
People who utilize acupuncture merely for symptom relief are much like yoyo dieters. At
the first sign that their symptoms are gone they back off their care, only to find themselves
with the same painful problem a short while later. They then go back to the acupuncturist,
feel better, slack off on their care, and start the same vicious cycle all over again.
Not only is this ineffective from a corrective standpoint, but the full benefits of acupuncture
are never realized. In addition, the longer a condition is left to fester just under the
surface, the more potential it has to develop into something more serious. It is typical to
find that each time the problem resurfaces it is a little more severe than the previous
incident, until finally, a more comprehensive schedule of care is no longer an option, but a
necessity.
Lasting results, whether in acupuncture, weight loss, or any other of life’s endeavors,
come from committing to a set of longterm goals and then having the discipline to follow
through.
Make the commitment to maintenance acupuncture care and a preventative wellness
program, and avoid the painful ups and downs of the yoyo syndrome.
