Q. How do Korean medicine clinics approach the popular diet shakes and meal programs these days?

I have personally experienced the struggle of fasting out of sheer ambition, which left me dizzy and severely hindered my productivity. From my own experience, I know that diets focused solely on extreme calorie restriction inevitably deplete the body's Jeong-gi (正氣, vital energy/righteous qi). From a Traditional Korean Medicine (TKM) perspective, relying exclusively on diet shakes can easily lead to Bi-heo (脾虛), or Spleen Deficiency. When spleen function weakens, the body fails to absorb essential nutrients and can instead become prone to edema (swelling). Therefore, we take a phased approach: First, we remove Dam-eum (痰飮, abnormal fluid accumulation) to clear blocked metabolic pathways. Next, we resolve Eo-hyeol (瘀血, blood stasis) to improve circulation and enhance the body's thermogenic capacity. Regarding diet, rather than insisting on shakes, we finely adjust the proportion of whole foods based on the patient's digestive strength. Finally, we incorporate tonic herbs to ensure that muscle mass and vital energy are preserved while weight is lost, maintaining and strengthening the overall metabolism. The key is to progress at a pace your body can handle. Shakes should be a supplementary tool, not the ultimate solution. I recommend first checking your current metabolic state to find the right path for your body.