Q. I'm eating fewer calories according to the calculator, so why am I not losing weight and just feeling exhausted?

It can be incredibly frustrating to strictly follow a calorie counter yet see no progress on the scale while feeling completely drained. From a physiological perspective, extreme calorie restriction switches the body into 'emergency mode.' To conserve energy, your body lowers its metabolic rate, which means you lose vital energy while your body fat remains stubbornly in place. This phenomenon is often exacerbated if you have previously used appetite suppressants to force a reduction in food intake. In Traditional Korean Medicine, this state is described as 'Spleen Deficiency (Bi-heo).' This refers to a weakened function of the Spleen (which encompasses the entire digestive system), meaning your body cannot properly absorb and transport nutrients. When energy fails to reach the necessary organs, metabolic waste such as 'Phlegm-Fluid (Dam-eum)' and 'Blood Stasis (Eo-hyeol)' accumulate more easily. Because these toxins build up while your energy fuel is depleted, your body feels heavy and sluggish. Weight loss is not a simple matter of subtraction; it is the process of flipping your 'metabolic switch.' Rather than blindly fasting, you must first revitalize your body's internal energy (Qi) to enable efficient fat loss. Let's carefully assess your current metabolic state together to find a healthier balance.