01
I can't keep it off
I manage to lose the weight,
but I've lost count of how many times.
Lose it, gain it back.
If you want to end that cycle this time
Weight Loss
Starvation diets take muscle first, and a body with less muscle regains weight more easily. We track your progress with body composition and blood tests, and manage your weight loss so you keep your muscle and lose body fat.
Does this cycle sound familiar?
The stories of people who come to us for weight loss have something in common. It's never their first time.
And what wears them out isn't the memory of failing, but the memory of succeeding and then watching it all come back.
The problem isn't willpower. There's a reason in the body why weight comes back.
Your body is in wartime mode right now.
A country at war stockpiles supplies.
If you try to lose weight in that state, will your body let go of that fat?
It won't.
Only when your body is brought back from wartime to peacetime will it give up its fat.
02
My face shows it first
Starving does take the weight off,
but I have no energy and my face looks worn out.
03
I gain weight from eating just a little
I eat less than I used to,
but my body seems to gain weight anyway.
04
I've tried everything
Apps, diet plans, personal training, supplements.
I've tried them all.
Our most asked question
It varies from person to person, but the average is 15% in 3 months
How much you lose depends on your starting weight, your daily life and any other health issues you have, so it differs from person to person.
Still, this is what people ask us most, so here are our numbers as they are. Among people who completed three months of care, the average weight loss was about 15% of body weight.
An average means some people lost more and some lost less. Please see this number not as a promise, but as a reference point.
What we promise is not a number but a direction: protecting muscle while reducing body fat, and checking that progress together through testing.
Where to start
Herbal decoction, or Dangbijeong tablets?
If you have no particular health complaints, we start with Dangbijeong. It's a tablet that works on appetite and metabolism, so it's easy to fit into your daily life.
It's a different story if something is off with your eating, sleep, digestion or bowel movements. If you sleep lightly, always feel bloated, or go days without a bowel movement, weight loss won't last. Your body may even struggle more while you're losing weight.
In that case, we also use an herbal decoction that addresses that problem. It's not that there's one medicine for weight loss and another for balancing the body. We rebuild what's off while you lose weight at the same time.
We decide together where to start after looking at your condition at your first visit.
Dangbijeong is also available through telemedicine. If you live far away or find it hard to make time, you can consult with us and receive it through telemedicine.
Treatment Process
How the program works
1
We find out where your body is
We record your starting point with body composition and blood tests, plus abdominal and pulse diagnosis.
Here we look at your muscle mass percentile more than your weight. Imagine 100 people of the same age, height and weight: this number shows where you rank among them, and 100 is average. A score of 64 means you're around fifth from the bottom.
At this stage, we figure out whether the reason you're not losing weight is your eating, your daily rhythm, or a health condition we need to check first.
2
We design weight loss that fits your body
The first two weeks, or up to a month, are not for losing weight. They're for getting ready to lose weight. We start by getting your digestion and sleep back on track. Once you're ready, everything after is much easier.
We use herbal medicine based on your test results to work on appetite and metabolism, and acupuncture and pharmacopuncture to improve circulation and ease tension. Together we plan meals you can actually stick to, not a starvation diet.
3
We check with body composition tests
At set intervals, we measure again under the same conditions, and show you the results side by side.
What we look at is not your weight. We look at whether body fat percentage has gone down while skeletal muscle mass has held steady. If muscle is being lost, we slow things down.
4
We finish so it doesn't come back
Once you reach your goal, we plan the maintenance phase together too. That's because the goal of this program is not just losing weight, but keeping it from coming back.
Dangbijeong pricing
There are three options depending on the length. Also available through telemedicine.
Dangbijeong, 1 month
KRW 170,000
1-month supply
- ✓ If anything feels off while you're taking it, we'll adjust it over the phone
- ✓ Also available through telemedicine
Best Choice
Dangbijeong, 3 months
KRW 390,000
3-month supply
- ✓ If anything feels off while you're taking it, we'll adjust it over the phone
- ✓ Also available through telemedicine
Dangbijeong, 6 months
KRW 714,000
6-month supply
- ✓ If anything feels off while you're taking it, we'll adjust it over the phone
- ✓ Also available through telemedicine
* Dosage and pricing may vary based on individual prescription.
Frequently asked questions
Q. Is herbal medicine for weight loss safe?
A. We check before we prescribe. We review your heart, blood pressure, sleep and any medications you take, and look at blood test results when needed before prescribing. We ask you to tell us right away if you notice anything like a racing heart, trouble sleeping or an upset stomach while taking it, and we adjust the prescription. If your condition calls for some other kind of care before herbal medicine, we'll tell you so.
Because this medicine raises your metabolism, we also tell you when to take it. Take your last dose no later than 4–5 hours before bed. If you go to bed at midnight, that means 7 p.m. at the latest. Taking it late can make your sleep lighter.
Q. How many kilograms can I lose?
A. We don't promise a specific number. We've seen too many times how that kind of promise leads to extreme weight loss, and extreme weight loss leads to the yo-yo effect. Instead, after the tests at your first visit, we set a realistic target range and timeline together, and check along the way by measuring your body composition again.
질문 8개 더 보기 접기
Q. Do I have to starve?
A. No. Losing weight by starving cuts into muscle and sets you up for the yo-yo effect. Our rule is to work out together a way of eating you can stick with.
Q. Do I have to exercise?
A. Let's set the right expectations first. Exercise plays a smaller part in weight loss itself than most people think. An hour of tennis burns about 400 kcal, and one bowl of rice is about 400 kcal. Eating half your rice does as much as an hour of walking. On top of that, exercise makes you tired, so you end up eating more to make up for it.
That doesn't mean you shouldn't exercise. It clearly helps protect muscle, so we'll figure out together what level fits your life. But eating comes first.
If pain keeps you from starting to exercise, we deal with that first. As your weight goes down, the strain on your knees goes down too.
Q. Which is better, tablets or herbal decoction?
A. It's less about which is better and more about which fits your life and your body. Tablets suit people who find decoctions hard to take, while a decoction is the right fit when you need adjustments tailored to your constitution.
Q. My job makes it hard to come in often.
A. We're open every day of the year, until 20:30 on weekdays and until 16:00 on weekends and public holidays, so you can come after work or on the weekend. How often you come in depends on your prescription and condition.
Q. I lost a lot in the first two weeks, but now it's slower.
A. Not everything you lose at the start is fat. The microbes living in your large intestine alone weigh 2–3 kg. Some of what goes first is water and what was left in your system.
So we don't want you to get excited over the early numbers, or anxious when things slow down afterward. What we watch is body fat percentage.
Q. Don't you gain less weight if you skip breakfast?
A. It's the opposite. Cortisol is the hormone that helps you handle stress. It rises sharply in the morning and falls throughout the day. As it falls, melatonin rises and you get sleepy. They move like a seesaw.
When you skip breakfast, cortisol climbs higher and drops faster. The total for the day is the same, but the curve gets spikier. So you get really sleepy early in the evening, then can't fall asleep when you lie down at 10, and end up sleeping at midnight.
When this goes on, your body decides it's in an emergency and tries to store everything you eat. That's why you gain weight even when you eat about the same amount. Working late, which keeps this hormone high all the time, is even worse.
Q. I quit drinking, and now I crave sweets even more.
A. Alcohol and sweets go hand in hand. It's normal to crave sweets a lot after you stop drinking. It's not a sign of weak willpower, so don't just try to hold out. Tell us, and we'll decide together how to handle it.
Q. I haven't gained that much, but I still want to lose weight.
A. Let's start with the tests. If you're at or below a standard weight, we won't recommend losing weight, even if you want to. Instead, we'll go over your test results and explain why now isn't the time.
Sometimes your body feels heavy because you have too little muscle. In that case, the answer is building up, not slimming down.
Weight Loss 건강 칼럼
의료진이 직접 전하는 건강 정보입니다.
Column
When a health checkup finally makes up your mind
Patients who had been coming in for back or shoulder pain bring up their weight first after getting their checkup results. These are people who used to say, "I'll get to it someday." Having a trigger isn't a bad thing. But the more urgent people feel, the more often they reach for extreme methods first, so we talk about that first.
Column
When you ask, "Will herbal medicine make me gain weight?"
Not all herbal medicine is the same. Its direction depends on what it's made for, and it isn't only about building up. Some people lack energy and need their body supported; others need what's blocked cleared out first. If the order is wrong, you can actually end up feeling heavier.
Column
When you can't avoid drinking occasions
With drinking occasions and late nights again and again, they don't wake up refreshed and can't get a grip on their work during the day. They mention their body feeling heavy before they mention weight. Many also say something was flagged at their health checkup.
Health column
Our articles on weight loss
We've answered the questions we hear most often in clinic, one question per article.
Feel free to start with whatever you're curious about.