"Back to original weight in just 4 days"... From herbal medicine to injections, why is middle-aged belly fat so hard to lose?

As people age, metabolism drops and muscle mass decreases, causing the body to develop a stronger tendency to store energy rather than consume it. Even if one eats the same amount as when they were young, the constitution changes into a structure where weight increases easily. In a video from TV CHOSUN LIFE's 'The Great Doctor's Health Guide', a case of a middle-aged person struggling with abdominal obesity and weight management due to these physical changes was covered.

"Fat alone approaches 40kg"... Abdominal obesity showing dangerous levels

The participant in the video, Kim Eun-ju, was shown to be experiencing a health crisis along with severe abdominal obesity. As a result of detailed examinations, her blood glucose level was measured at 244mg/dL and her glycated hemoglobin at 10.8%, confirming a dangerous level where blood sugar is not being properly controlled. In particular, her body fat level is extremely high, with the fat weight alone accounting for approximately 40kg of her body weight. Her abdominal fat thickness was also measured at about 6.7cm, showing a typical pattern of abdominal obesity where fat is concentrated in the abdomen.

Kim Eun-ju revealed that when she used to work as a taxi driver, she had irregular meal times and habits of overeating, during which her weight rose to a maximum of 150kg. At that time, along with excessive weight gain, cerebral infarction occurred, leading to about 45 days of inpatient treatment, and after one and a half years of rehabilitation, she was diagnosed with a Grade 6 brain lesion disability. Although she realized the importance of weight management after losing her health, weight loss is not easy now that she has reached middle age.

The cycle of repeated 'yo-yo' effects despite herbal medicine, injections, and diet control

The methods Kim Eun-ju attempted to reduce her weight were diverse. She made active efforts, such as taking diet herbal medicine she traveled all the way to Incheon to get, or receiving recently popular injection treatments. However, regarding the injection treatment, she revealed the limits of its effectiveness, mentioning that "even after two shots, my appetite did not disappear." She also attempted walking with an acquaintance for exercise, but faced difficulty in continuing due to physical constraints, such as feeling short of breath and experiencing foot pain even after walking a little.

She also performed diet management in parallel. She made efforts to extremely reduce the amount of food by composing breakfast and dinner with vegetables, eggs, soy milk, salads, etc. However, despite these efforts, her weight did not decrease easily. She was so desperate for weight loss that she still keeps the flowers she received as a celebration when the first digit of her weight changed in the past, but the joy of reducing her weight to 78kg led to a yo-yo effect where she returned to her original weight in just 4 days. Additionally, even though she lost 5kg through a 3-day detox, her weight was in a very unstable state, increasing by 3kg again after a meal the next day.

A "storage mode" constitution created by muscle loss and hormonal changes

The video explains why dieting in middle age is harder than in youth through structural physical changes. When one reaches middle age, basal metabolic rate drops sharply as muscle mass and female hormones decrease. Due to this, the body switches to a 'storage mode' that seeks to store energy rather than use it. Consequently, even if one maintains the same lifestyle habits as before, visceral fat increases more rapidly, and the constitution changes to one where weight is gained more easily.

Kim Eun-ju is strengthening her will to diet again for the sake of her family's concern and her own health, but she is expressing psychological difficulties due to her physical condition not following her will and repeated failures.