The Physician of Traditional Medicine Returns from Murim - Chapter 54

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 54

While talking, Park Seseun observed the reactions of the people in the examination room.

Her cousin Park Seon-yun held her hand as if she had been through a lot of hardship, and Director Chu Miyoung standing in one corner opened her eyes wide and kept staring intently at her face.

‘Does that person really not know me?’

But Director Hanyewon’s eyes didn’t waver in the slightest.

Even without making a big fuss, people usually show interest while pretending not to, but she calmly listened to the story and nodded her head.

“You made a good decision. An environment where you can focus on dieting is extremely rare.”

“Hehe, right? It’s thanks to my family’s consideration.”

Anyway, Park Seseun was an actress. She wouldn’t show any signs of being curious about Director Hanyewon from her side.

Although she had asked to keep her visit here a secret, since witness accounts could leak out at any time, she answered with an elegant smile as usual.

“Since you came with such great determination, let’s work hard. Let me take a look at your InBody results first.”

The director gave a brief briefing on the printed InBody sheet.

Height 161, current weight 64.

Skeletal muscle mass was on the low side within the normal range, while BMI, body fat percentage, and abdominal fat percentage far exceeded the boundaries, indicating overweight or obesity.

She had already measured it several times at the gym, but the two characters ‘obesity’ were something she could never get used to.

“I originally fluctuated between 47 and 48. Then during the final month of pregnancy, right before giving birth, I went over 70 kilos, and I expected to lose 15 kilos just from giving birth, but I only lost 10 kilos. I even gained more weight while raising the child because I kept eating things, and that’s how I ended up like this.”

Park Seseun let out a sigh. She couldn’t believe she was in a situation where she was worried about her weight.

“When you give birth, the fetus, placenta, and amniotic fluid come out directly, and you lose a lot of blood too. This much naturally decreases, but depending on how you manage it, the fat tissue that increased might not decrease.”

“Ah…”

“You said you can focus on dieting for about 3 or 4 months, right? Do you have a rough target weight in mind?”

“Sigh… I’m now a middle-aged actress in my 40s, so I don’t need to be as skinny as before. But I still want to lose down to 54 or 55.”

She absolutely had to return to at least normal weight. People would talk about how she gained weight after having a child either way, but she couldn’t forgive herself for showing her current body shape.

“9 kilos… It’s difficult but an achievable target. I generally aim for 5% in the first month, 7% in the second month, and 10% in the third month. Since your determination is strong, let’s try a little harder each month. With that much, it seems you’ll be able to maintain your health and establish good eating habits.”

Hearing this actually made her feel relieved.

She was afraid that those who claimed extreme dieting was definitely possible would harm her health or cause yo-yo effects, and if they suggested losing weight ridiculously slowly, there would be no point in dieting.

“Alright. If my appetite decreases a little, I’ll try my best with the habits.”

Park Seseun nodded, but the director waved her hand, saying that wouldn’t work.

“You shouldn’t struggle to make an effort, but settle into it naturally. You need to maintain it even after the intensive weight loss period.”

“That’s… true.”

It was a part that worried her deep down.

Even if she made up her mind firmly to lose weight this time, would she be able to maintain it? Had her constitution changed to one that gains a lot of weight after childbirth?

“Do you think your current appetite has exceeded normal levels? Not compared to your old self when you had little appetite, but compared to other people.”

“I think so. When I get even a little stressed, I constantly want to eat something. Especially certain foods keep tempting me. Things like ramen or jjajangmyeon.”

At those words, the director raised her eyebrows and said,

“Do you also like things like bread, cake, or juice?”

“That’s right. When I feel even a little frustrated, I think of those things and feel like I’ll go crazy if I don’t eat them.”

“…You’re on the path to carbohydrate addiction. You really did well to come for treatment.”

“Carbohydrate addiction?”

Park Seseun tilted her head.

She knew that things like rice, bread, and noodles were carbohydrates, but she had never heard of becoming addicted to them.

“When you excessively consume simple carbohydrates like sugar and flour, dopamine secretion increases and you temporarily feel good. But if you repeat this, your brain’s reward system gets damaged and you even become depressed when you don’t eat them.”

The director’s explanation continued.

Carbohydrates are converted to glucose to supply energy to the body, and when the amount of glucose flowing in the blood, that is, blood sugar, becomes too high, a hormone called insulin is secreted.

This synthesizes glucose into glycogen and fatty acids to prevent serious diseases that could occur when blood sugar is high, but instead accumulates fat in the body, causing weight gain.

“…So I became addicted by constantly eating things I craved during pregnancy. I was too careless thinking I had a constitution that doesn’t gain weight.”

Now she understood. Her constitution hadn’t changed just from giving birth, but she had been excessively exposed to simple carbohydrates that she originally didn’t eat much of.

“Don’t worry. Medication will help control the excessive appetite you’re currently experiencing, and once your brain’s reward system is corrected through proper diet, you won’t crave noodles or sweet foods like you do now.”

Park Seseun was completely relieved.

She also liked the expression ‘abnormal appetite.’ It seemed to tell her that it wasn’t because she lacked willpower and couldn’t endure.

“I’ll trust and follow you. When you say proper diet, I suppose that means cutting out carbohydrates?”

“You can’t completely cut out carbohydrates, and you shouldn’t. Instead, reduce simple carbohydrates like flour, sweet foods, and white rice as much as possible, and consume them as mixed grain rice that includes barley or brown rice.”

“Seon-yun, tell the housekeeper that.”

“Okay.”

Park Seon-yun nodded while taking notes on her phone.

“Focus on Korean food, but be careful with salty soups since the swelling won’t go down. You can eat vegetables and meat appropriately… Do you happen to have someone to help you plan your meals?”

“I do have a housekeeper, but not for meal planning…”

“Oh, sister. Grandmother is on a diabetic diet, so there’s a nutritionist who provides meal plans. I’ll ask them.”

When she gestured to the director asking if that would be okay, the director readily nodded.

“Then you can leave the meal planning part to them. Lastly, the most important thing is eating time. I mentioned insulin earlier, right?”

“Yes.”

“If meal times are regular, it only rises during meal times to synthesize glucose, and during rest times the levels naturally decrease, actually consuming calories through metabolism.”

The director drew a wave shape with her hand as she spoke.

“But what happens if you keep eating at any time? You’d have to be ready to lower blood sugar at any moment, right?”

She raised her hand high and drew a horizontal line across.

I understood very well. That’s how she had been continuously gaining weight with her eating habits until now.

“I’ll manage the timing, types, and amounts of what I eat very well.”

The clinic director smiled and nodded.

“If you do that, you’ll be able to lose as much weight as you want. I’ll help you well.”

Though it was something anyone could easily say, the clinic director’s words sounded like a certainty, no, like a prophecy.

Afterwards, explanations about the principles and composition of herbal medicine and possible side effects followed, but there wasn’t a shred of doubt that she would definitely lose weight if she just did as instructed.

“Do you have any other questions?”

“Ah, yes. Thank you for explaining so well. Do I pay for the medicine monthly? I’d like to set that up and wonder if it would be okay to come for consultations a bit more frequently. Of course, I’ll pay separately for consultation fees.”

It was a question born from wanting help whenever her willpower weakened, and the clinic director nodded enthusiastically saying it was very good.

“Of course. If time and preparation costs are fine, it’s actually better to brew the medicine weekly. It’s important to adjust to amounts that work well for weight loss without causing side effects.”

“Then I’ll do that. Please take good care of me.”

Park Seseun bowed politely and left the examination room.

Even though her cousin had strongly recommended this place, she’d had doubts about whether it was right to come all the way down to Busan, but now she understood why she’d been told to come here.

“Thank you, Seon-yun. Thanks to you, I think I met a good clinic director.”

“Right? I hope it goes well.”

Park Seon-yun was delighted as if she herself had received praise.

“Thank you for coming all the way here with me too. You must be busy, so hurry and get to the company.”

“Ah, I should. From now on…”

“Don’t worry, I can come by myself. There’s also the driver.”

“…I’ll come with you whenever I have time.”

Hm? Is that really necessary?

Park Seseun wasn’t a young child, nor was she seriously ill. She was just trying to diet – what need could there be for a guardian?

Though they’d been close since childhood, closer than typical cousins, even real siblings don’t accompany each other to every hospital visit.

The train of thought easily led to the conclusion that she wasn’t coming for her sake.

“Don’t tell me you’re interested in Doctor Han?”

At Park Seseun’s question, Park Seon-yun was startled.

“Did it seem that way?”

“Hey, if you have those feelings, instead of following your sister around, you should be bold like your sister’s husband…”

“No! I’m absolutely not interested in him romantically!”

“Then what. Are you trying to scout him?”

“…”

Park Seon-yun’s eyes wavered left and right. What on earth is this girl thinking?

“Why would a clinic owner close his practice to join your company? Can you match his salary?”

“…He looked so young that I thought he was an employed doctor at first. I was just thinking about it.”

Park Seseun patted her younger cousin’s shoulder and said.

“Well, whatever it is, you figure it out yourself. I need to go exercise.”

Company business was none of her concern at all. Actress Park Seseun had her own work. Having been introduced to such a good ally, she needed to push forward to achieve her definite goals before filming.

She got in the car first, leaving behind her cousin who was staring at the business card with a dumbfounded expression.

* * *

Park Seseun really did come every week. I thought she’d just say that and then make excuses about being busy and handle things over the phone, but she faithfully came to report her weekly diet, exercise, and weight changes.

“My appetite has definitely decreased! Even just eating what’s prepared for me, I don’t get very hungry. When I occasionally crave snacks, I find myself walking in the garden instead.”

“You’re doing very well. You’ve also reduced your meal portions?”

“Yes. Half a bowl of rice, and I eat vegetable side dishes without worrying. Of course, I asked them to make it less salty.”

“No side effects?”

“The first day I felt my heart racing a bit, but now it’s fine.”

“Fortunately, it suits you well.”

At first, it was still a conversation between doctor and patient.

“Wow, I’ve already lost 3 kilograms!”

“The first two weeks are when you lose the most. Don’t get impatient even if you hit a plateau.”

“My husband is coming down this weekend – can I go to omakase just once?”

“…”

“Sob sob, I’ll eat just a little and come back.”

Once we became a bit closer, she treated me like a friend and whined.

“Doctor, a gift!”

“What’s this? Department store cookies?”

“I received them, but I can’t eat them, you know.”

…Looks like you bought them though?

Do people in this family like giving gifts too much?

With conversations that were half small talk, half consultation, her weight dropped smoothly.

First month of dieting: -4.2 kilograms. This was quite good.

“I think I’m getting a bit constipated.”

“How many days has it been?”

“About two days?”

“I’ll prepare some constipation pills separately for you.”

“Can’t you give me acupuncture? Seon-yun said it was so good.”

“That’s fine too.”

Being a celebrity, naturally she was someone who knew well how to exude her charm.

And for some reason, she really liked that I truly didn’t know who she was and opened her heart to me.

I had also come to think of Park Seseun quite fondly, and our casual conversations gradually became more comfortable.

“But there’s something I’m curious about.”

“Wow, the first question the Clinic Director is asking me! What is it?”

So I asked about something I had been continuously curious about.

“Does your cousin perhaps have… special preferences?”

“Huh?”

Park Seseun blinked her eyes as if she had no idea what I was talking about.

“Does she really love getting acupuncture that much? She keeps coming even though I’m certain nothing hurts.”

And at my words that followed.

“Ah? Oh. Ahahahahaha!”

She burst into laughter.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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