Doctor, I mostly eat healthy foods like chicken breast spring rolls and kimbap, so why am I not losing weight?
While choosing quality ingredients is a good start, your carbohydrate ratio and digestive capacity are far more critical for weight loss. Rice paper and the rice in kimbap can spike blood sugar levels, triggering insulin to store fat rather than burn energy. In Traditional Korean Medicine, this state is often identified as Spleen Deficiency (Biheo). When digestive function is impaired, even healthy food isn't converted into vital energy but instead turns into a pathological waste called Phlegm-fluid (Dameum), which leads to weight retention and lethargy.
It is a common misconception that foods like Vietnamese spring rolls are inherently 'diet-friendly.' The hidden factor is the density of carbohydrates; rice paper is essentially compressed rice, and kimbap contains a much higher volume of rice than it appears. These high-glycemic ingredients cause insulin spikes, which halt fat decomposition and signal the body to store calories as fat. From a Traditional Korean Medicine (TKM) perspective, this is closely linked to Spleen Deficiency (Biheo). The Spleen is responsible for the 'Transport and Transformation' (Yunhwa) of nutrients. When this function is weak, the body fails to transform food into energy, creating 'Phlegm-fluid' (Dameum)—a form of metabolic waste. This buildup obstructs the circulation of Qi and Blood, lowering the basal metabolic rate and potentially leading to 'Blood Stasis' (Eohyeol). In TKM, we believe that your body's capacity to process food is just as important as the food itself. Rather than simply cutting calories, the focus should be on restoring your digestive energy so your body can efficiently metabolize what you consume.
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