It can be incredibly frustrating when your hard work doesn't translate into results. Speaking from experience, when I tried starving myself during my student years, I only ended up feeling dizzy and less productive. This is often not a matter of willpower, but a matter of your physical state. From the perspective of Traditional Korean Medicine (TKM), this can be attributed to three main factors: 1. Stagnation of Phlegm-Fluid (Dam-eum, 痰飮): This occurs when metabolic waste is not properly excreted and accumulates as a viscous substance. Much like a traffic jam on a highway, when circulation is blocked, weight loss becomes difficult. 2. Influence of Blood Stasis (Eo-hyeol, 瘀血): This refers to stagnant blood flow. Those with severe lower-body edema or a cold constitution often experience blood stasis, which obstructs overall metabolism. 3. Spleen Deficiency (Bi-heo, 脾虛): When the function of the Spleen is weakened, the efficiency of energy production drops. Your constitution changes such that food is stored as fat rather than being converted into usable energy. If you restrict your diet indiscriminately in this state, your body perceives it as an 'emergency' and clings to energy even tighter, which is why the yo-yo effect occurs so easily. The key is not to force the weight off, but to clear the blockages and create an internal environment where your body can naturally burn energy. I recommend receiving an accurate diagnosis to determine exactly where your circulation is obstructed before starting a new regimen.