Q. I'm working out hard on the treadmill, but why am I not losing weight and just feeling exhausted? I'd like to know the proper way to do it.

Many people start with high ambition, spending hours on a treadmill, only to find their legs feeling heavy and their energy drained. This happens when you push your body beyond its current capacity for recovery. When your vital energy is too low, your body stubbornly clings to fat stores as a survival mechanism. To use the treadmill effectively for weight loss, follow these steps based on TKM principles: 1. Assess your current Qi levels: Determine if you are experiencing shortness of breath or general heaviness. Those with Spleen Deficiency (脾虛), where the digestive system fails to generate sufficient energy, should start with light walking rather than high-intensity cardio. 2. Clear the pathways for waste removal: If there is an accumulation of Phlegm-Fluid (痰飮, stagnant metabolic waste), blood circulation is hindered, increasing muscle soreness. Spend the first 10 minutes walking slowly to warm up and mobilize these wastes. 3. Maintain a moderate heart rate: Aim for a pace where you sweat slightly and breathe harder, but can still hold a conversation. This helps resolve Blood Stasis (瘀血) and promotes systemic circulation. 4. Ensure proper cooldown and integration: Do not stop abruptly; gradually decrease your speed for about 5 minutes. Without this process of 'gathering and stabilizing' your energy, you may suffer from extreme fatigue the following day. Ultimately, weight loss is not about how much you run, but about how much your body can actually handle. It is important to evaluate whether your current constitution can sustain your exercise intensity.