Traditional Chinese Medicine Helps an Expat Lose Weight

By Sally Ann Arkley

I have lived in Gwangju for many years and have always envied how Korean women seemed to maintain an effortless slimness. In the past few years though, I had been hearing about diets and how many Korean women actually used diet techniques to either lose weight or keep the weight off. I have never dieted and was adamantly opposed to dieting as I felt it was unhealthy for the mind and body.

I have had three children. I adore them, but not the weight I gained while pregnant. My mum always said that the hardest weight to lose after a baby was the last five pounds (two kilos). After my first child, I lost more than I had gained and after the second I lost most of the pregnancy weight but not all. It was the third pregnancy that did me in. Five years and three kids later, I found I was uncomfortable with my weight.

Years before, in Gwangju, I watched my friend Victoria lose weight using what seemed to be a responsible diet plan. She told me she had joined the Bak Dal Na Mu Oriental Medicine Clinic in Sangmu Jigu (behind Sejeong Outlet Mall). She consumed a sachet of oriental medicine to supplement each breakfast and lunch and for dinner, she could eat what she wanted as long as it was a small quantity. I was amazed and skeptical. Could such a plan work? Well, in the end she lost something around seventeen kilos. Yes, kilograms!

For three years, I toyed with the idea of joining the same clinic, then one day, when I had hit the wall on a research project, I was re-reading the book “How to Research“. I was down in the dumps about the project and felt like giving up. The book recommended focusing on a new project to take one’s mind off of difficulties and in the list of twenty recommended projects, number 12 was “go on a diet.” So, I did. I went to the very same clinic my friend Victoria had been to and I registered for one month.

When I first arrived at the clinic, a friendly front desk attendant greeted me and made me comfortable. She asked me to stand barefoot on a computerized scale and hold a handle in each hand for about a minute. It was a mechanized scale that measured: weight, body mass index, body fat level, waist-to-hip ratio and ideal weight for age and height. Once every two weeks, I was re-assessed on the scale and then advised by the doctor.

Kang Chae Mi, doctor of Oriental medicine, and the owner and director of the clinic, was lovely and professional. We discussed my weight whilst referring to the computerized scale information and how much I wanted to lose. We then decided on a plan best suited for my life-style. The treatment consisted of three sachets of oriental medicine a day, two to replace breakfast and dinner and a lunch sachet to be taken thirty minutes before a small lunch. While on the plan I rarely felt hungry; actually I found a renewed energy.

In an interview conducted in the clinic on the fourth floor of S-Tower on October 2, 2015, Dr. Kang states, “there are no chemicals in the medicine. It is made mostly of herbs – especially mugwort, minerals, and sometimes animal horn/antler may be used – but only after consultation with the patient.” She says that Oriental medicine is “absolutely healthy” and can be an effective method of weight reduction.

The doctor speaks English, and said in the interview that the reasons why she opened the clinic were to help children with growth issues, people with weight issues and those with pain problems. She uses acupuncture, herbal medicines and counselling to help her patients. She recommends that, “people who gained weight quickly can probably lose weight by themselves but those who have gained weight and kept it on for a long time they need some help.” She maintains that counselling is an important part of a diet plan. The cost of a three-month oriental medicine diet plan at the Gwangju branch of the Bak Dal Na Mu Han Eui Wuon (Silver Birch Oriental Medicine Clinic) is 1.5 million won, about 500,000 won a month.

Three months down the line I had lost thirteen kilograms, or roughly 28 pounds. I felt better physically, and I was much happier getting dressed every morning. The main thing I learned was to keep an eye on how much I was eating. This type of diet plan may not be good for everyone, but you may want to give it a go. Why not? Maybe, you will be able to reinvigorate your life like I did.