Doctor, why do I gain weight more easily than others, and why do I hit a weight-loss plateau so quickly whenever I diet?
It is not due to a lack of willpower. When your metabolism drops, energy expenditure decreases, causing your weight to stall. While Western medicine attributes this to basal metabolic rate and hormonal imbalances, Traditional Korean Medicine (TKM) views it as a state where accumulated waste products block the circulation of energy, meaning your body cannot efficiently burn calories even with a reduced diet.
I completely understand your frustration; I have experienced the struggle of extreme fasting myself, where the initial weight loss suddenly stops, leaving you feeling dizzy and exhausted.
To understand the mechanism, sudden calorie restriction triggers a 'survival mode' in the brain. To protect itself, the body drastically lowers the basal metabolic rate to conserve energy, which is precisely what creates the dreaded weight-loss plateau.
In Traditional Korean Medicine, we analyze this more granularly. First, we examine if you have Spleen Deficiency (Bi-heo, 脾虛). When the Spleen's function is weakened, the absorption and transport of nutrients are impaired, leading to low energy and easy swelling. Furthermore, when Blood Stasis (Eo-hyeol, 瘀血) and Phlegm-Fluid (Dam-eum, 痰飮)—abnormal metabolic waste—accumulate, it is like a major traffic accident on the 'highways' of your blood and lymph circulation.
When these waste 'barricades' are blocking the way, energy cannot be burned efficiently regardless of how little you eat. This is why 'clearing the blockages' must come before simply 'eating less.' Let's work together to identify where your circulation is blocked and find a customized solution for your body.
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