Insights · General Health
A lasting plate matches your constitution, not only calories. Scan favour, avoid, and snack notes for dampness, qi stagnation, and Spleen-Kidney deficiency.
In brief
Three TCM leans often sit with stubborn weight: dampness (痰湿体质), qi stagnation (气滞体质), and Spleen-Kidney deficiency (脾肾虚体质). Each type has a favour, avoid, and snack plate so meals correct the pattern instead of overstimulating the wrong system. Mixed pictures are common. Pulse and tongue decide the lead diet; this guide orients kitchen choices beside a physician read.
01 · Food as regulation
A lasting plate matches your constitution, not only calories. Favour what nourishes the lead pattern; ease off what overstimulates the wrong system.
Three types associate with stubborn weight. Even without overweight, sluggishness and fatigue can still call for a diet that resets metabolism to the constitution you carry. Pulse and tongue decide the lead lean; this guide orients the kitchen beside that read.
02 · Scan first
Scan the lean, then open the type for favour, avoid, and snack detail.
| Type | Physical | Cravings | Plate cue |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dampness (痰湿体质) | Weight around the waist | Sweets, starches, caffeine | Protein + complex carbs; ease simple carbs and sweet fruit |
| Qi stagnation (气滞体质) | Weight on the upper body | Greasy, sour, salty; alcohol; red meat | Light steamed meals; ease red meat, alcohol, high-fat plates |
| Spleen and Kidney deficiency (脾肾虚体质) | Weight all around | Dairy, creamy foods | Heavy breakfast, warm proteins; ease dairy, sugar, late supper |
Note: If you have had cosmetic or reconstructive surgery, base physical observations on how you looked before surgery when matching a constitution lean.
Dampness · 痰湿体质
Damp settles when Spleen transformation slows, so the body feels heavy and puffy, often with weight around the waist.
Physical: weight gain around the waist. Other: fatigue, distension, and limbs that chill easily. Cravings call loudly for sweets, starches, and caffeine.
Plenty of protein (chicken, fish, eggs, milk, yogurt, cheese), leafy vegetables, and complex carbohydrates such as brown rice, whole wheat, rye, millet, quinoa, or sweet potato. In Singapore kitchens, swap hawker white rice for brown rice or millet bowls, and ease bubble tea and sweet mango desserts when the waist feels heavy.
Simple carbohydrates such as white rice, white bread, and pasta; sweets; and very sweet fruit such as grapes or mango.
Protein snacks such as hard-boiled eggs or almonds sit better than sugary ones.
This guide lists milk, yogurt, and cheese with protein for dampness. Many damp pictures still ease cold dairy after pulse and tongue. Your physician decides whether dairy stays on the plate.
Qi stagnation · 气滞体质
When stress binds qi, mood and appetite often swing together, with weight change that shows more on the upper body.
Physical: weight gain on the upper body. Other: easy irritability, a hypertension lean, and higher sensitivity to stressors. Cravings lean greasy, sour, and salty foods, alcohol, and red meat.
Light meals through the day: steamed food, chicken, fish, fresh vegetables, whole grains, fruit, non-fat dairy, legumes, and minimal caffeine and sugar. Prefer steamed fish and vegetables over chilli crab, bak kut teh, or late-night fried supper when stress runs high.
Red meat, high-fat foods, alcohol, salty foods, and shellfish when irritability runs high.
Mineral water, parsley tea, or a simple vegetable soup are kinder than greasy bites.
Spleen and Kidney · 脾肾虚体质
Low warmth and weak transformation leave all-around weight change when metabolic fire runs low, with dairy and creamy foods calling loudly.
Physical: weight gain all around. Other: tiredness at night, weaker immunity, joint pain, lower sex drive, and difficulty digesting at night. Cravings lean dairy and creamy foods.
A solid breakfast, a moderate lunch, and a light dinner. Animal proteins such as beef, lamb, chicken, eggs, fish, pork, and shellfish; plenty of vegetables; whole grains and fruit in moderation. Keep supper light after late office hours; warm proteins at breakfast sit better than iced drinks and cold dairy.
Dairy, sugar, caffeine, and late supper.
Prefer cooked meat snacks over cold dairy.
03 · What may help
Cool kitchen teas may support digestion and water retention after heavy meals when a damp lean sits. They do not replace a pattern read.
Tea · 山楂洛神
Hawthorn 15 g, roselle 5 g, and licorice 3 g. Steep 5–10 minutes after a heavy meal.
If there's any chance of pregnancy, don't use this. Ease off if you feel cold easily or have acid reflux.
Make the weight reduction tea
Tea · 山楂菊花薏米
Hawthorn, chrysanthemum, chen pi, and Chinese barley. Sip about 30 minutes after a meal.
If there's any chance of pregnancy, don't use this. Skip or ask first with diabetes.
Make the homemade weight tea04 · Next steps
Two dominant imbalances can sit together. A physician read still decides the lead type and the diet that fits.
After metabolism has settled, reintroduce eased-off foods in moderation so the plate stays balanced. For patterned acupuncture, cupping, herbs, and the ear Hunger Point tip, open the 3 body types prone to weight gain sibling guide.
If damp heaviness, stress eating, or cold retention keep returning, bring your meal rhythm and any recent labs. We will name the lean and decide what belongs on your plate and the Weight Management plan.
Clinically reviewed
Advisor (Science & Strategy) / Consultant Physician · TCMPB T1303003A
MOH-licensed TCM physician and biomedical scientist, with clinical work in digestion, pain, sleep or fatigue, and constitution patterns that show as damp, phlegm, or metabolic load.
View full profileEducational information based on clinical experience and TCM principles. Not a substitute for personalised consultation, metabolic blood tests, or urgent care. Speak with your physician and GP before changing diet sharply, especially with unexplained weight change, endocrine concerns, food allergy, pregnancy, or eating-disorder history. TCM complements Western assessment; it does not replace it.
FAQs
Common questions before you change the plate or book a first visit.
Favour protein (chicken, fish, eggs, milk, yogurt, cheese), leafy vegetables, and complex carbohydrates such as brown rice, whole wheat, rye, millet, quinoa, or sweet potato. Ease off white rice, white bread, pasta, sweets, and very sweet fruit such as grapes or mango. Protein snacks such as hard-boiled eggs or almonds sit better than sugary ones. Many damp pictures still ease cold dairy after pulse and tongue.
Keep meals light: steamed food, chicken or fish, fresh vegetables, whole grains, fruit, non-fat dairy, legumes, and minimal caffeine or sugar. Ease off red meat, high-fat plates, alcohol, salty food, and shellfish when irritability runs high. Mineral water, parsley tea, or a simple vegetable soup are kinder snacks than greasy bites.
Eat a solid breakfast, a moderate lunch, and a light dinner. Warm animal proteins (beef, lamb, chicken, eggs, fish, pork, shellfish), plenty of vegetables, and whole grains and fruit in moderation support transformation. Ease off dairy, sugar, caffeine, and late supper. Prefer cooked meat snacks over cold dairy.
Yes. Many people show two dominant imbalances. The guide orients kitchen choices; pulse and tongue still decide which lean leads and how to blend the plates.
White rice sits with simple carbohydrates on the damp avoid list. Prefer brown rice, millet, quinoa, or sweet potato when the waist feels heavy, and ease bubble tea or very sweet fruit. Pulse and tongue still decide how strict the swap needs to be.
Book when sluggishness, stress eating, or cold retention keep returning, or before large kitchen shifts with chronic illness, pregnancy, or unexplained weight change. Patterned acupuncture, cupping, and herbs sit on the sibling body-types guide and the Weight Management programme.
Selected sources
Continue
Pathways and care options that sit next to this guide.
Insight
Damp and phlegm overview, Singapore load, kitchen teas, and ear Hunger Point.
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Insight
Pattern map with acupuncture, cupping, herbs, kitchen teas, and ear Hunger Point.
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Insight
Five Flavours and Four Natures so each meal fits constitution, not only macros.
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Insight
Nine TCM types, including phlegm-damp and qi-stagnation leans linked with stubborn weight.
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Treatment
Pattern-led shi liao food guidance after pulse and tongue.
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Programme
Patterned acupuncture, cupping, and herbs beside meals and movement.
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Next step
Bring your usual meals, energy pattern, and any recent blood results. We will name the lean and decide what belongs on your plate.