Q. Why is it so much harder to lose weight in my 50s even when I starve myself? I want to know the exact reason.

Many people find that weight loss strategies from their 20s, such as simply eating less, no longer work in their 50s. Often, extreme calorie restriction at this age leads only to fatigue and lethargy without any actual change in weight. Biologically, this is due to a sharp decline in growth and sex hormones. As muscle mass decreases, it is replaced by adipose tissue. You can think of it like a car with a smaller engine displacement; it can no longer burn all its fuel efficiently, leaving excess energy to be stored as fat. In Traditional Korean Medicine, this state is referred to as 'Spleen Deficiency' (脾虛). When the Spleen's function weakens, the body fails to transport nutrients effectively, leaving behind metabolic residues. These residues manifest as 'Phlegm-Fluid' (痰飮), an abnormal stagnation of body fluids. When this is coupled with 'Blood Stasis' (瘀血)—blocked blood circulation—the body's metabolic pathways become completely obstructed. Therefore, the key to weight loss in your 50s is not starvation, but rather clearing the stagnant Phlegm-Fluid and Blood Stasis while boosting the Spleen and Stomach functions. The goal is to transform the body back into a 'self-burning' system by identifying exactly where your metabolic switch has been turned off.