Some self media have heard that some traditional Chinese medicine experts introduce the effects of lotus leaves and hawthorn, saying that they can "lower blood lipids". They mistakenly understand the concept of reducing fat to lose weight, and then spread rumors in order to attract more traffic, claiming that this formula can help with weight loss.
But lowering blood lipids does not mean losing weight. Many people are obese but their blood lipids are also normal.
The principle of weight loss is nothing special, it is to create a difference in calories, and the following two points are the key.
1、 Reduce calorie intake, such as suppressing appetite, dieting to adjust dietary structure.
2、 Improve body metabolism and increase calorie expenditure, such as through exercise or medication to increase metabolism.
The sour taste of hawthorn and black plum in this dark plum soup 2.0 can promote appetite and increase the difficulty of dieting. At the same time, the Yellow Emperor's Inner Canon states that "if the taste is too sour, the liver qi will rely on saliva, and the spleen will be destroyed." Excessive consumption of sour tasting drugs can easily lead to liver dysfunction and spleen deficiency, which can cause water and dampness disorders and lead to edema and weight gain. Spleen deficiency can also lead to low metabolism.
The claim that lotus leaves can lose weight mainly stems from the "Compendium of Materia Medica" which records that they "make people thin and inferior, and taking them alone can eliminate the qi of yang, water, floating, and swelling.". Many people only see that lotus leaves can make people thin, but they don't see that there is a bad one behind them. Moreover, only a few doctors in this herb say that lotus leaves can make people thin and bad, and most still believe that they have the effect of clearing heat, relieving heat, promoting body circulation, and removing blood stasis, which is also prohibited for people with deficiency.
Based on the author's previous experience in weight loss and patient feedback, lotus leaves are relatively prone to slippery intestines and diarrhea. In the short term, they may dispel dampness and reduce some edema, while long-term use can easily damage the spleen yang and lead to a decrease in human metabolism.
Licorice can easily cause fullness, leading to spleen deficiency and dampness stagnation.
In addition, this formula is sour and difficult to drink. Many times, only adding rock sugar is sour and sweet, and most patients also take it by boiling it with rock sugar. Drinking sugar water is even more harmful and not beneficial for weight loss.
So this prescription cannot suppress the decrease in appetite and calorie intake, and it can also easily lead to spleen deficiency and lower human metabolism, without any weight loss effect.
This prescription can be taken in cases of frequent dry mouth, dry stools, chest tightness, restlessness, blood stasis, heat stagnation, and Tianjin injury in summer.
So how can we lose weight?
In fact, many people know to "keep their mouths shut" and "walk away", but it's just a matter of knowing how easy it is and how difficult it is to act.
Some people have a strong appetite and find it difficult to control themselves, or they do not understand the calories and nutrients in their diet and cannot control their mouths; Some people are physically weak, exhausted every day, or suffer from illness and pain, making it difficult to exercise and stretch their legs.
Another question is whether people really have a strong desire and motivation to change their body shape.
When I was in college, I lost weight from over 190 pounds to over 120 pounds in my sophomore and junior years. At that time, besides being young, I drank traditional Chinese medicine to tonify the kidneys and yang, and I often did aerobic exercise, running, and exercise 3-5 times a week.
Because at that time, I suffered from severe rhinitis and asthma, but I did not encounter a doctor who could treat it. I had to exercise to avoid being constantly congested and feeling dizzy, relieve the stagnation of qi in my body, relieve chest tightness, throat itching, and cough, and prevent rhinitis and asthma from becoming so severe. This allowed me to persevere in completing heavy academic tasks.
And in the past, I used to be sick, fat, ugly, and poor. Only by persisting in exercise and fantasizing that losing weight would make me look handsome, could I possibly encounter love.
So, out of my desire to maintain life and love, I was motivated to drink traditional Chinese medicine every day to nourish the lungs and kidneys, improve metabolism, eat less oil and sugar, and exercise regularly, so I quickly lost 50 to 60 pounds in a year. Later, my asthma improved, but due to persistent rhinitis, I maintained a regular exercise routine for several years. In 2016, I even ran a full marathon.
Some patients see the photos taken by Xiao'an Traditional Chinese Medicine clinic when I was in my peak state of around 70kg back then, and now that I have gained more than 40 pounds, I am naturally overweight. It is not that I deliberately took pictures to deceive.
In the past three or four years, due to the advancement of medical skills, I have not had to run and have not suffered from rhinitis. I have also met my beloved and got married, which has reduced my motivation to exercise by more than half. In addition, I have loved food since I was young and often eat and drink various foods, which has led me to gain weight again.
If you have a strong desire and motivation to change your own state, let's take a look at some methods from the perspective of traditional Chinese medicine that can help you lose weight.
1、 In terms of reducing calorie intake
Previously, Musk's "weight loss needle", Smegglutide, can inhibit the secretion of glucagon, delay gastric emptying, increase satiety, and suppress appetite by inhibiting the feeding center of the hypothalamus, thereby achieving the effect of reducing blood sugar and weight loss.
There is also a drug in traditional Chinese medicine that has a similar effect, which is gypsum. It can clear stomach fire, suppress appetite, reduce gastrointestinal peristalsis, and increase satiety. But improper use of this medicine can also cause cold and damage to the spleen and stomach, reducing metabolism.
Based on the patient's condition encountered in the outpatient department and subsequent visits to the clinic, some patients who received dexmedetomidine may also experience side effects similar to taking plaster, such as cold and cold damage to the spleen and kidney yang qi.
In terms of traditional Chinese medicine prescriptions, Yue Mai Tang is usually used, which includes ephedra that can enhance metabolism, Atractylodes macrocephala that nourishes the spleen and stomach, ginger that enhances gastric motility, and gypsum used together to reduce its side effects. It can also significantly inhibit appetite, especially suitable for patients with excessive appetite and difficulty in controlling dieting.
But after using this method, it can also cause certain damage to the spleen and stomach, and reducing appetite can lead to depression in some patients who take diet as a major pleasure in life. Therefore, it is usually combined with some warm yang medicine and tablets to reduce its cold and cool side effects and enhance metabolism.
2、 Enhance metabolism and increase calorie expenditure
Usually, when we use traditional Chinese medicine to help patients lose weight, we mainly focus on enhancing metabolism, as enhancing metabolism often involves supplementing yang qi.
Many patients have low metabolism and are also very tired. It is too difficult for them to start exercising. At this time, taking a breath can give them some strength to exercise.
The simplest way is to chew 2-3g of ginseng tablets/American ginseng before exercising, so that you don't feel so tired during exercise. Alternatively, taking the Qingshu Yiqi Tang mentioned earlier, which is more effective than L-carnitine, can have a significant effect.
Black coffee is also a food that can nourish the heart and liver yang, enhance metabolism, help people exercise more easily, and increase heart rate. For those who are intolerant to coffee, prone to catching fire or palpitations, they can drink jasmine tea, such as Bitan Piaoxue, which can dispel dampness and heat, diuresis and reduce swelling, and also slightly improve metabolic effects.
For patients who are particularly afraid of cold yang deficiency and have loose stools several times a day, it is necessary to warm yang, strengthen spleen and replenish qi, and use Fuzi Lizhong Pills or Guifu Dihuang Pills to improve physical fitness and enhance metabolism.
In addition, sufficient sleep also greatly affects the body's metabolism. If you suffer from long-term insomnia, lack of sleep, and poor sleep quality, you need to regulate your sleep well. Otherwise, it may be difficult to lose weight whether you are dieting or exercising.
It should be noted that these foods or drugs that enhance metabolism can easily lead to increased appetite, and excessive yang supplementation and metabolism can lead to anxiety, excessive sebum secretion, acne, and other side effects. Therefore, it is very important to grasp the degree of enhancement.
The current popular method of abstinence from carbon and water ketone diet is indeed used by many people to lose weight, but this method is not suitable for people who are physically weak, have underlying diseases, have poor liver and kidney function, and do not cooperate with aerobic exercise.
In summary, there are many factors that affect the success of weight loss. We hope that readers and friends can lose weight in a healthy manner and not harm their health because of weight loss. Unless patients still struggle to lose weight after proper dieting and exercise, it is generally not recommended for them to take traditional Chinese medicine to lose weight.
The simplest way to lose weight is:
Reduce the intake of fats and oils in your diet, try not to eat stir fried vegetables, eat less polished rice and noodles, and eat more miscellaneous grains and vegetables.
At the same time, exercise for an additional 30-60 minutes every day, such as jogging, dancing, swimming, or practicing Eight Section Brocade, Eight Part Vajra, and other health exercises. It is important to exercise until the body is sweating, but it is also not advisable to sweat excessively for too long. Overexertion may not necessarily replenish qi and enhance metabolism. Attention to exercise should be gradual, and the intensity of exercise should be adjusted based on whether the body feels more energetic after each exercise.
In addition, it is crucial to find a weight loss motivation that can continuously motivate oneself.