The weight of an adult usually does not change when the condition of the body is stable, but there are some changes, such as between in the winter and in the summer and between in the morning and in the evening.
The body weight is the total amount of one's qi, and the density of it varies depending on individuals, such as people whose density of qi can be seen mainly on bones (so called big-boned people), those can be seen on muscles and those can be seen mainly on fat. These elements form a shape of the body, so you can guess your condition referring to your parents.
The density of qi becomes the highest on bones and the least on fat. Generally, the density of qi of bones and muscles do not change so much, so the change of weight within a day or between seasons is considered as the change of fat.
The rapid decrease of weight is considered as the swift loss of density of qi, so for example losing 10 kg of weight within a few months indicates the severe loss of qi. The loss of qi starts from fat and reaches at bones in the end.
The exhaustion of qi can be divided into three stages; first, the loss of weight though one eats a lot, then the loss of appetite itself, at last breathing becomes shallow or difficult, and one cannot take even the air. The symptoms of the body gets worse in this order.
In addition, increasing the amount of qi leads to the increase of the weight, it usually appears as the increase of subcutaneous fat, except athletes. If you give high nutritious foods to infants and children whose constitution of the body are in the process of building up, their bodies learn the condition of needing the big amount of qi, and this condition tends to stay for the whole their lives.
It is important to give priority to vegetable foods rather than animal food products with high protein and high nutrition for meals of infants and children not to make them overweight. The power of digestion gets stronger, and you can avoid the risk of obesity considerably.
To lose weight for adults, it is either to use the body to enhance the qi of the layers of muscles rather than that of fat, or to lose the amount of ingesting foods. Both remove the qi of the layer of fat that is easier to move, but its effect largely depends on the congenital elements and the state during infancy.
<note>
(1) It is necessary to have professional diagnosis and treatment for the case of the sudden weight loss.
(2) To lose weight, the ways are the exercise and diet. Especially, reduce or cut sweet foods. It requires strong will power, and it is necessary to continue patiently.
(3) To lose weight simply from the cosmetic reason, it often becomes the desire to exceed their own body conditions. In such a case, you cannot expect the good effect so much, and it sometimes become too extreme to harm their own bodies.
(4) Reducing foods are not only staple foods, but including all foods and drinks between meals.
(5) Foods with the sweet taste are considered to loosen qi of the body, so one becomes fat, it is strongly recommended to avoid it when you want to reduce weight.
*This article is translated from "Yamai hitokuchi memo" p. 179-181, written by Shoji Kobayashi, 2005. Articles of this book were meant to be written for patients who came to Taishido Acupuncture Clinic.
