We will first talk about how you can lose weight in the traditional way. In the next blog I will talk about how Chinese medicine analyzes being overweight.

First, you have to keep a healthy life style. People who have a regular life style tend to maintain a normal weight better than those who stay up late, drink too much, and are addicted to drugs. In order to lose weight, you have to change your life style. You must give up something you and your body have been used to for long time. Change is hard, but change is necessary to lose weight. American people like to drink ice water and iced sugary beverages. However, cold and ice are very bad for your spleen qi. Cold and ice will slow down your body metabolism. Furthermore, sugary beverages give you too much carbohydrate, which will make you gain weight. If you want to lose weight, you have to give up cold food, iced drinks, and sugary beverages. We suggest you drink hot or warm water instead. If you cannot do this then at least drink room temperature water instead of sugary beverages. You have to sleep earlier and get up earlier. Male sure you sleep between seven to nine hours.

Second, you have to have balance nutrients. Nutrients include proteins, carbohydrates, fats, vitamins, minerals, and water. In order to balance your nutrients, you need to eat a variety of foods, including vegetables, fruits, whole-grain products, lean meats, poultry, fish, beans, small amount of low-fat dairy products, and drink water daily from 2.5L to 3.5L. Do not drink too much milk and juice. Limit your salt, sugar, alcohol, saturated fat, and trans-fat intake in your meal. Many people try to avoid taking in saturated fats, which are usually fats from animals; however, it is wrong to only consume vegetable fats because the human body needs both saturated fat and unsaturated fat. Choose good carbs, such as whole grains, rather than no carbs. Make sure you consume enough protein because the daily amount of protein is half of your body weight. Good protein resources include fish, poultry, nuts, beans, lean meats, and eggs. You have to consume enough fiber, such as whole grains, vegetables, fruits. Go for color and varieties, such as dark green, yellow, orange, red, and purple. You need to always try to eat fresh foods and not processed foods. Limit your alcohol consumption. Eat calcium-rich foods, such as collard greens, broccoli rabe, kale, boo chou, oranges, sardines, salmon, shrimp, etc.

Third, you have to exercise regularly, such as outdoor walking, jogging, biking, jumping, swimming, sit ups and push ups, and stretching. Keep your exercise time from 30 minutes to one hour per day and at least four days a week.
©Dr. Li Zhang