Q. I've tried following trendy diets like the 'tuna ssamjang' meal plan to lose weight, but how do you design diet plans at your clinic?

Trendy diets from YouTube or SNS can be appealing, but forcing a diet that doesn't match your body's needs can actually crash your metabolism. From a Traditional Korean Medicine (TKM) perspective, a more efficient approach follows a specific therapeutic sequence. First, we focus on improving Spleen Deficiency (Bi-heo, 脾虛). If the spleen's function is weak and digestive absorption is impaired, even the healthiest diet can leave toxins in the body. Next, we work on clearing Phlegm-Fluid (Dam-eum, 痰飮). Removing these metabolic wastes opens the pathways for metabolism, allowing dietary adjustments to actually take effect. If blood circulation is poor, you may feel that weight accumulates in specific areas. In this case, we resolve Blood Stasis (Eo-hyeol, 瘀血) to facilitate systemic circulation. Only then can we implement a customized nutritional design that determines the optimal ratio of proteins and dietary fibers for your constitution. This isn't about blindly cutting carbohydrates, but finding the sustainable threshold your body can handle. Finally, we enter the metabolic maintenance and stabilization phase. Yo-yo effects occur because the body naturally tries to return to its original state. We use herbal medicine to maintain your basal metabolic rate and help your body adapt to its new weight naturally. The core philosophy is fixing 'your body's engine' first. A car won't run well just by changing the fuel if the engine itself is broken. We will examine your current digestive health and energy levels to find the best path forward together.