Doctor, why do I gain weight so easily even though I eat less than others? It's so frustrating I can't sleep.
It is completely understandable to feel frustrated. This phenomenon is often due to poor 'metabolic efficiency' rather than simple overeating; your body has entered a state where it prioritizes storing energy over burning it. While Western medicine attributes this to a low Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR), Korean Medicine diagnoses it as a stagnation of 'Phlegm-fluid' (Dam-eum), where metabolic waste accumulates. It is like an engine that has stalled while fuel continues to be supplied, causing the excess to leak and build up as body fat.
Many patients express the same grievance, saying they 'gain weight even just by drinking water.' This occurs when the body's metabolic engine is compromised, forcing cells to store fat instead of converting nutrients into energy. In Korean Medicine, we diagnose this condition as 'Spleen Deficiency' (Bi-heo). When the Spleen—the system responsible for digestion and transport—weakens, the food we consume fails to become vital energy (Qi) and instead transforms into a sticky, pathological byproduct known as 'Phlegm-fluid' (Dam-eum). This waste obstructs the body's pathways, causing heaviness and a sharp drop in metabolic efficiency. If 'Blood Stasis' (Eo-hyeol), or stagnant blood circulation, is also present, the body tends to swell and fat becomes 'hardened,' making it significantly harder to lose. Having a constitution that gains weight despite low intake is like having a waste processing plant that has stopped running. Simply starving yourself is dangerous, as it can shut down what little metabolic capacity you have left. The core of TKM weight loss therapy is to supplement this 'Spleen Deficiency' and restore an internal environment where the body can naturally burn energy again. Rather than struggling alone with hunger, we should focus on identifying why your body's engine has stalled.
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