Q. I've been eating mostly low-calorie snacks, so why am I not losing weight and why do I feel constantly hungry?

Many people make the mistake of adhering strictly to low-calorie options like chicken breast and salads, only to find themselves feeling lethargic and dizzy. This isn't just a matter of calories, but a result of 'nutritional imbalance.' From a modern physiological perspective, while low-calorie diets and artificial sweeteners keep insulin levels low, they often fail to provide the actual energy cells need. Consequently, the body lowers its basal metabolic rate to survive and shifts into a constitution that stores fat more efficiently. In Traditional Korean Medicine (TKM), this condition is viewed as Spleen Deficiency (Bi-heo, 脾虛). When the Spleen—the organ responsible for digestion and absorption—is weakened, the body cannot extract the 'essence' (精髓) of food, leading to a lack of vital energy despite the accumulation of waste products. When this is compounded by Phlegm-Fluid (Dameum, 痰飮), a byproduct of impaired metabolism, and Blood Stasis (Eohyeol, 瘀血), which hinders circulation, you may feel heavy and bloated even while eating very little. Ultimately, rather than blindly cutting calories, it is more important to restore your body's digestive and absorptive capacity to create an environment where you can 'efficiently utilize and eliminate' energy. This is the key to overcoming false hunger and achieving sustainable, healthy weight management.