Be wary of the health risks of premature ovarian failure when dieting to lose weight.

Dieting for weight loss may lead to premature ovarian failure.

There are over 1000 ways to lose weight in the world, which is not surprising; because there are over 100 million people in the world who want to lose weight. Recently, a follower told me that she was following a diet plan that required eating seven egg whites for breakfast. After 15 days, she had lost 15 pounds (2 pounds = 1 kilogram), but her weight has stopped decreasing in the last few days. She asked me why.

Now I truly believe that many people are willing to risk their lives for weight loss.

Many people, especially women, subconsciously resort to dieting when they want to lose weight, because they imagine how beautiful they will be after losing weight. However, they often forget that beauty comes from within. If a person has a poor complexion, no matter how thin she is, she will not look good. A woman's good complexion comes from the balance of her internal hormones and sufficient blood and energy.

According to current medical research, excessive dieting is one of the main causes of premature ovarian failure in women. Premature ovarian failure means that women enter menopause prematurely and age prematurely. How can a woman who ages prematurely be beautiful?

I've worked in weight loss clinics for years, from top-tier hospitals to my own private practice. I've seen countless women under 30 who have lost their menstrual cycles due to excessive dieting. Some of these women have already been diagnosed with poor ovarian reserve, premature ovarian failure, and many are unmarried. They now face long-term medication and the psychological anguish of potentially not being able to mothers. Is it worth it for weight loss?

Take one of my followers, for example. She lost nearly 10 pounds in four months through skipping rope and controlling her diet. Her periods were normal before, but apparently to speed up the process, she started skipping dinner for the past month, and her period, which usually came early, stopped this month.

I replied to her in the comments: It's probably due to insufficient total calorie intake, which is what we call excessive dieting.

For this woman, there are two issues: First, she wasn't overweight to begin with, so there wasn't a huge need for her to lose weight, and even if she did, there was no need to pursue excessively rapid weight loss.

Second, she shouldn't have chosen to skip dinner to lose weight. Skipping dinner is the most common form of dieting, and most women have tried it. However, this method restricts both calories and nutrients, easily leading to malnutrition and potentially even decreased ovarian function.

Of course, her delayed menstruation doesn't necessarily mean she has ovarian problems. However, if this isn't addressed and she continues this dieting regimen, the problem will only worsen.

Actress Lin Yun, while filming a Stephen Chow movie, frequently ate low-calorie foods to lose weight. Unfortunately, even at her limit, she couldn't reach Chow's weight loss goals and instead developed health problems—shrinking hair, endocrine disorders, and four months of amenorrhea. Lin Yun even stated that she developed "triple eyelids" as a result.

A characteristic of their dieting is that they go to extremes, blindly pursuing rapid weight loss, leading to malnutrition due to prolonged dieting. When we are malnourished, the body prioritizes nutrients for vital organs such as the brain, heart, and liver. Consequently, it inhibits the release of follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) and luteinizing hormone (LH) from the hypothalamus-pituitary-ovarian axis, preventing follicle development and cessation of menstruation.

As a professional weight loss doctor, I repeatedly emphasize the health impact of obesity and encourage obese individuals to lose weight healthily. At the same time, I consistently oppose excessive dieting. Excessive dieting can lead to a variety of problems, including premature ovarian failure, hair loss, weakened immunity, low blood pressure, shock, and anorexia.

We should lose weight, but more importantly, we should prioritize health. Health is the goal and the prerequisite for weight loss.

Weight loss should be for achieving health, not at the expense of health to obtain a desired weight.