Prevent weight gain! Traditional Chinese medicine teaches you 3 steps to lose weight healthily, and the yo-yo effect will no longer occur

Obesity not only affects appearance, but also affects the physical and mental health of the human body! Among the top ten causes of death in Taiwan, seven are highly correlated with obesity, including malignant tumors, cardiovascular disease, cerebrovascular disease, diabetes, hypertensive diseases and metabolic syndrome. But it is not easy to lose weight successfully. If you use the wrong weight loss method or go on a haphazard diet, it may not only lead to the "yo-yo effect" and cause your weight to rise again, but you may even fall into the dilemma of "getting fatter the more you lose weight". The seriousness of this should not be underestimated!

Follow these 3 steps to adjust your body and avoid the yo-yo effect.

In response to the above questions, Lin Lihan, a Chinese medicine physician at the Linsen Chinese Medicine Kunming branch of the Taipei City United Hospital, said that from a Chinese medicine perspective, weight loss is not just about reducing body weight, but also about adjusting the body's functions from the inside out. Simply dieting not only has limited weight loss effects, but is also unhelpful to physical and mental health. Therefore, from the perspective of traditional Chinese medicine, we provide friends who want to lose weight with 3 correct and healthy weight loss steps, so that the yo-yo effect will no longer occur.

The first step: building a good physique

This is the first and most important step. Many patients always complain that they lose weight quickly after undergoing weight loss treatment elsewhere, but start to gain weight again as soon as they stop the treatment. In fact, if you want to improve the obesity situation, simply losing weight is not enough. If people start to lose weight rashly without improving their physical condition, not only will the results be ineffective, but it will also be easy to gain weight again and may also affect their health. As for how to develop a physique that is easy to lose weight? The following three things must be grasped:

1. Get enough sleep

In addition to diet and exercise, many people often overlook that sleep is also an important cause of obesity. According to research, there is a significant negative correlation between sleep time and weight. The shorter the sleep time, the higher the chance of obesity. Chinese medicine physician Lin Lihan pointed out that sleep duration will affect the secretion of hormones in the body, causing a decrease in leptin and an increase in ghrelin and stress hormones.

A decrease in leptin concentration will stimulate the central nervous system to increase appetite and reduce energy consumption; and ghrelin, as the name suggests, will significantly increase a person's appetite and hunger. Therefore, under the influence of these two factors, it is naturally difficult for people to control their appetite, leading to problems such as overeating and binge eating.

A long-term increase in stress hormones may cause abdominal obesity, edema, increased blood pressure, and even worsen insomnia, forming a vicious cycle. Traditional Chinese medicine believes that sleep disorders are caused by the mismatch between yin and yang qi. When the quality of sleep is good, the body's yin and yang are balanced, and the circulation of qi and blood is smooth, which can maintain normal metabolism of the body.

2. Reduce stress

Being in a stressful environment for a long time will increase the secretion of stress hormones in the body, including cortisol and adrenal cortex. Adrenal cortex hormones increase the body's appetite and cause fat storage; cortisol stimulates the liver to produce and release glucose, causing blood sugar to rise, and inhibits the absorption and utilization of glucose by peripheral tissues, increasing insulin resistance, which further increases appetite and causes fat storage.

In addition, the abdominal fat tissue has more corticosteroid receptors than other parts of the body. Therefore, people with stress-induced obesity are more likely to accumulate abdominal fat. For this group of people, Chinese medicine recommends using methods such as soothing the liver and relieving depression to help the body regulate stress and maintain emotional stability. In addition, moderate acupuncture treatment can also suppress the feeling of hunger, thereby limiting food intake and avoiding excessive heat accumulation in the body.

3. Promotes Metabolism

In traditional Chinese medicine theory, the human body's metabolism is closely related to the spleen and stomach's function. "The spleen is responsible for functioning, and the stomach is responsible for receiving." This means that the human body's spleen and stomach are responsible for digesting and absorbing the food we eat, converting it into nutrients for the body to use. If the spleen and stomach function insufficiently and cannot properly transform and absorb food, excess calories, metabolic waste or water will accumulate in the body.

Traditional Chinese medicine regards these abnormal pathological products as a kind of "phlegm and dampness", so since ancient times there has been a saying that fat people have more phlegm and dampness. The accumulation of "phlegm and dampness" in the body will not only make the body obese, but may also cause edema, heaviness and weakness, fatigue, etc. It may even affect women's menstrual cycle or cause other gynecological diseases.

Of course, obesity is not only caused by spleen and stomach dysfunction. Dysfunction of other organs in the human body, including the liver and kidneys, may also lead to the accumulation of phlegm and dampness. Therefore, TCM treatment of obesity does not focus solely on weight control, but rather on conditioning the individual's physical constitution to restore unbalanced physiological functions and normalize metabolism so that excess fat and waste will not accumulate in the body.

Chinese medicine practitioner Lin Lihan said that in addition to Chinese medicine treatment, acupuncture or thread embedding can also achieve good results in regulating the spleen and stomach functions. According to research, the Shuidao point, Daju point of the stomach meridian, the Sima point of the kidney meridian, and the Shuifen point of the Ren meridian have the effect of removing dampness and phlegm, and can correct abnormal water metabolism. The stomach meridian's mu point Zhongwan, the small intestine's mu point Guanyuan, and the large intestine's mu point Tianshu are all places where the qi of the internal organs meet and gather in the abdomen. Thread embedding stimulation can regulate the stomach and intestines and strengthen the qi. Alternatively, you can also directly insert acupuncture into the abdominal acupuncture points where body fat is more concentrated to stimulate and activate local Qi, thereby promoting fat metabolism and reducing waist circumference.

Step 2: Tips for Smart Eating

"I eat very little, so why is my weight still increasing? How should I eat to lose weight?" This is a question many patients ask in the clinic. The Yin Fu Jing provides us with some clues, which is "Eat at the right time, and all the bones and limbs will be regulated." It believes that if we eat locally produced food and eat it in accordance with the season, all the limbs and bones in the body will be regulated. Because these foods are natural and fresh, you can avoid eating too many food additives and will not increase the burden on your body.

In addition, sugar and refined starches will stimulate the secretion of large amounts of insulin. If the human body consumes too much of these foods, it will lead to excessive secretion of insulin. Insulin stimulates cells to store nutrients and prevents fat from leaving cells. In the long run, it will cause obesity. Many healthy foods on the market that claim to be low in fat and calories (including cereals, oatmeal, yogurt, and fruit juice) often contain excessive sugar, which is not conducive to weight loss.

The World Health Organization recommends that daily sugar intake be maintained below 10% of total daily calories. Friends who are willing to lose weight may try to adjust more than 90% of their diet to seasonal prototype foods with a low-carbohydrate composition. There is also a secret to the order of eating. Drinking soup first, then eating fat and protein can increase the feeling of fullness. After that, you can supplement with fiber such as vegetables, and finally eat starch that can easily affect blood sugar fluctuations.

Step 3: Move well, no worries

As the saying goes: At the age of 30, one is established on one's own feet. This is when life begins to take off. Ironically, the basal metabolic rate also crosses at this time and begins to decline significantly. If your diet and daily routine are the same as before and you don't feel any obvious discomfort, but your weight starts to increase significantly, it's time to start exercising. Exercise not only consumes calories immediately, but more importantly, the afterburn effect it produces can even last for the next two days.

As for how to exercise efficiently? Chinese medicine practitioner Lin Lihan explained that based on current research, it is recommended to use a combination of aerobic and weight training. The simplest way is to brisk walk or jog for 30 minutes followed by 30 minutes of resistance training. This method can not only reduce the most body fat and maintain muscle loss, but the key point is that compared to simple aerobic exercise and weight training, alternating exercise can maintain fun and make it easier for people to maintain the habit of exercise.

Many people often say that losing weight is a lifelong task, but in fact it is better to say that it is a development of healthy habits. In fact, the purpose of losing weight is not just to make you more beautiful, but to make you healthier. Moderate cooperation with traditional Chinese medicine intervention can help patients sleep well, eat well, have a good metabolism, have a regular menstrual period, maintain a peaceful state of mind, and naturally achieve twice the result with half the effort.