Reviewed by최연승대표원장
Are there any ways to maintain my weight and prevent the yo-yo effect after a successful diet?
The key is finding the 'optimal state' that your body can naturally sustain. Rapid weight loss through starvation triggers a crisis response in the body, leading it to regain weight. From a Traditional Korean Medicine (TKM) perspective, it is essential to restore metabolic balance and establish eating habits tailored to your specific constitution, gradually increasing basic physical strength to help the body adapt.
As a practitioner of Korean medicine, I have personally struggled with dieting—experiencing the cycle of eating nothing but chicken breast, feeling dizzy, and eventually binge eating. Through that experience, I realized that the yo-yo effect is not a matter of willpower, but a matter of 'body memory.'
To prevent this, I recommend a phased guide based on the principles of Baekrokdam:
1. Identify Your Constitution's Basal Metabolic Rate: Everyone has different innate digestive capacities and energy expenditure levels. For those with 'Pi-heo' (Spleen Deficiency/脾虛), improving digestive efficiency is more critical than engaging in excessive exercise.
2. Clear Internal 'Waste': Poor circulation makes the body more prone to weight gain. It is necessary to clear 'Eohyeol' (Blood Stasis/瘀血) and 'Dameum' (Phlegm-fluid/痰飮) to open the metabolic pathways first.
3. Stabilize the Appetite Control Switch: Extreme calorie restriction puts the body into 'starvation mode.' Herbal medicine can help soothe hunger and signal to the brain that the body is sufficiently nourished, preventing binge episodes.
4. Constitutional Improvement During the Maintenance Phase: After weight loss, the body strongly tends to revert to its previous state. At this stage, prescriptions that supplement deficient 'Qi' and maintain the basal metabolic rate are used to reset the body's internal set-point.
Ultimately, think of this as a process of understanding your body's innate nature and fitting it with the right 'clothing.' Rather than struggling alone, I encourage you to take a moment to examine your current physical state together with a professional.