For people who have actually tried herbal medicine for weight loss, what kind of process do they usually go through? I'm curious if it would work for me too.
It varies for everyone, but we typically start by identifying why your body isn't losing weight. Some people struggle with overeating, while others have so little energy that even small movements exhaust them. I've tried starving myself before, and it just made me dizzy and dropped my quality of life. So instead of simply telling you to eat less, we focus on rebalancing your body first. Your path won't be the same as others, so it's important to check your own condition first.
In my clinical experience, patients generally fall into two main types: those who can't control their appetite and those who eat very little yet still can't lose weight, which is frustrating. In the latter case, Traditional Korean Medicine views this as a condition of phlegm-fluid retention (痰飮, dam-eum), where metabolic waste accumulates in the body and stagnates metabolism—like trash piled up on a road blocking traffic. Others have spleen qi deficiency (脾虛, bi-heo), where the spleen's function is weak, impairing nutrient absorption and energy conversion. Forcing dietary restrictions on such individuals only drains their vitality further, leading to a vicious cycle of binge eating—what I call 'digging a hole.' I realized through study that if the body's engine is off, stepping on the accelerator doesn't help. When blood stasis (瘀血, eo-hyeol) from poor circulation is also present, the body feels heavy and bloated. So rather than obsessing over weight loss alone, we prioritize clearing blockages and replenishing deficient energy with appropriate herbal prescriptions. However, response speed and patterns vary widely depending on constitution and lifestyle habits. Rather than relying on 'what worked for others,' accurately reading the signals your body is sending right now seems to be the fastest path forward.
Clinician review