Meals buried under reward psychology—what should you look at before willpower?
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Eating Obscured by Reward Psychology—what Should You Look at Before Relying on Willpower?
***"I've been eating only salads for a week but the weight won't come off and my body feels increasingly cold." This is one of the most common complaints in spring clinic consultations. Patients who started a low-calorie diet not long ago are increasingly reporting dry skin, slower digestion, and even greater fatigue. The problem is not weak willpower. It lies in the approach of reducing calories without considering body temperature and energy flow.
Why Salad Diets Chill the Body
Most salad vegetables are consumed raw and have a cold nature. Lettuce, cucumber, tomato, and cabbage all possess properties that are considered "cold" in Traditional Korean Medicine. Making foods like these a staple lowers the temperature of the stomach and intestines, weakening the energy responsible for digestion. When digestive power declines, nutrients from food are not properly absorbed, and the efficiency of energy production during metabolism decreases.
Eventually, the body seeks more food to compensate for the insufficient energy. This is one aspect of the strong reward psychology that follows low-calorie diets. It is not that one's power of restraint is lacking—the body is sending signals of energy deficiency.
When Body Temperature Drops, Fat Accumulates More Easily
When body temperature decreases by 1 degree, basal metabolic rate falls by approximately 12%. With slower metabolism, even the same amount of food is stored as fat more readily. Visceral fat, in particular, serves as an energy reserve for maintaining body temperature. The colder the body becomes, the more it tends to accumulate visceral fat to preserve warmth.
From the perspective of herbal medicine, this is a typical pattern of yang energy deficiency. Yang energy is the driving force that promotes digestion, absorption, and metabolism. When yang energy is insufficient, digestion is poor, fluid metabolism slows, and dampness and phlegm accumulate in the body. In this state, arbitrarily reducing only calories may cause temporary weight loss, but fundamental metabolic recovery is difficult.
The Beginning of Yo-Yo: Metabolic Adaptation
When severe calorie restriction is maintained for a certain period, the body recognizes it as a "starvation state" and lowers metabolism. This is called metabolic adaptation. Once metabolism slows, weight may be maintained or even start to increase with less food than usual. When normal eating resumes at this point, rapid weight gain occurs.
This is a pattern frequently seen in clinical practice. Losing 2~3kg with a salad diet, then gaining 5kg back when returning to normal eating. The problem is not the diet method itself—it lies in not first examining the body's condition before starting the diet.
Composition of Warm Meals
Replacing cold salads with warm vegetables is the first step. Spinach, bean sprouts, mushrooms, pumpkin, and carrots become less cold in nature and easier on digestion when stir-fried or blanched. Fermented foods help balance intestinal microbiota and improve digestive strength. Adding modest amounts of doenjang, cheonggukjang, and kimchi is beneficial.
Protein is essential for maintaining metabolism. Regular intake of tofu, eggs, fish, and chicken breast protects muscle mass and sustains basal metabolic rate. Especially when protein is consumed sufficiently in the morning, blood sugar fluctuations throughout the day are stabilized and unnecessary snack cravings decrease.
The Standard Is Your Body's Signals
The standard for judging whether a diet is working is not the number on the scale. Check whether you feel light when you wake up in the morning, feel refreshed after digestion, your hands and feet are not cold, and your skin has a healthy glow. If two or more of these four signs are off, your current dietary approach needs re-examination.
If reward psychology strikes frequently, it is not a problem of willpower—it is your body signaling energy deficiency. At such times, rather than enduring more, checking the quality, temperature, and nutritional composition of your meals takes priority.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is it okay to eat only salad in the morning? Morning is when the stomach is waking up, so cold food puts a burden on digestion. Especially for those with weak stomachs or slow digestion, starting with warm soup, porridge, or stir-fried vegetables is better. If you want to eat salad, have it for lunch or dinner, and even then, keep the dressing light and let the vegetables reach room temperature before eating.
How can I reduce food intake while keeping my body warm? The key is reducing quantity while maintaining temperature. Even if you reduce the total amount of food, eat it warm and prioritize cooked foods over raw ones. Using warming spices like ginger, cinnamon, jujube, and garlic in appropriate amounts supports digestion and helps maintain body temperature.
My skin has become dry and hair loss has worsened during my diet. What is the cause? Extreme low-calorie diets interfere with nutrient absorption and disrupt fluid and lipid metabolism in the body. Skin and hair are parts that reflect the body's nutritional status most immediately. When these symptoms appear, it is necessary to pause the diet temporarily and recover with warm meals that are easy to digest.
A diet suited to your constitution creates sustainable change without going hungry or straining yourself. Baekrokdam Gambi-jung tablet consultation is recommended to check your current body condition and appropriate dietary approach.
