5 Bizarre Chinese Weight Loss Methods

5 Bizarre Chinese Weight Loss Methods
Jun 21, 2014 By Andrea Scarlatelli , eChinacities.com

5 Bizarre Chinese Weight Loss Methods
Photo: groupon.my

In case you have not figured this out yet, you’re new to China, or perhaps you have simply been living under a rock your entire life, I’ll let you in on a little secret: Chinese people love thinness. I mean, reeeeally love thinness. I mean, if they could atrophy their muscles completely and just have skin touching bone, chances are you would have a country full of thin people with zero use of their limbs. In order to achieve this thinness, however, some sacrifices must be made. Sure you can pop a few diet pills that have been banned in every other country in the world, but that’s so cliché. Why not try something a little… different? Read on for some of the most bizarre weight loss methods I’ve seen while living in China. Feel free to add your favourites to the comments section, as there are probably plenty more out there!

1) Marie France Bodyline
This weight loss programme promises to use "only the newest and most advanced slimming technologies to help shed your inches." Sounds great so far – science has done wonders in explaining how fat is stored and burned, and suggesting the most effective exercises to burn those extra pounds. But wait, the next sentence claims Marie France Bodyline is "effortless and easy." Hmm, isn’t losing weight supposed to be, well, the opposite of that?

Apparently not when you use their slimming treatments, which include sea salt scrub to get rid of cellulite, an Infrared Thermo Ray to melt the fat out of you, and a serum that can redeposit fat from one part of your body to another (I have a feeling I know which part of the body most women choose). Add to that their Goldluxe Body Therapy, where your skin absorbs a solution of 24K gold, and you’ve got the makings of a pretty sweet set up – no exercise, no diet… just lots of massages and light beams. Sounds like fun.

The company remains elusive concerning costs, arguing prices vary according to the number of sessions, how much weight needs to be reduced and for which part of the body. Check-up and evaluation comes free, and there’s a 700 RMB voucher for first timers, which may or may not cover the very first session.

2) Tape worms
Hands down the most disgusting diet method I’ve encountered is the tape worm diet. For the bargain basement price of 250 – 600 RMB a pack (on Taobao), you can buy pills that contain parasitic worm eggs that, once swallowed, will promptly hatch and begin eating your insides. Anyone in the know realises you should buy tape worms found in beef, not pork, since the ones in pork can deposit larval cysts in your brain that lead to seizures and death. And I’m sure the trustworthy guys on Taobao won’t sell you anything but what they’re advertising…

Tape worms typically grow to about twenty-five meters in length and can theoretically stay in you for as long as you can stand the constant diarrhoea, itching skin, and repeated vomiting. Oh yes, and let’s not forget the constant stomach pain - you know, because you have tape worms crawling around inside of you.

3) Diet teas
Tea is such an essential part of life in China that it seems almost natural that certain "diet teas" would arise. And while there are countless studies done all over the world showing the health benefits (and yes, weight loss potential) of tea, particularly green tea, what I would like to draw your attention to is the stuff sold with the express purpose of losing weight. Ever notice that your Chinese co-worker or friend is acting a bit… buzzed? Next time it happens, take a look at what they’re drinking – most likely, it’s diet tea. I once asked a co-worker of mine for a teabag and after one cup I felt as though I was high as a kite, yet ramped up to speeds I assume can only be reached through a massive amount of cocaine use. A few hours later, when I’d come off it, she told me it had been diet tea. Ahh…

So it’s really no wonder when these diet teas purport to "aid weight reduction by cleansing toxins and waste material while energizing the body." This is otherwise known as diarrhoea. And in case you still had any doubts, this particular diet tea even reassures drinkers that "the increased bowel movements during the first week after drinking is a natural cleansing action resulting in the body releasing excess toxins and unwanted gas pockets." Uh-huh.

All that quality time with your toilet seat for a measly 55 RMB a pack!

4) Herbal patch
One way you can be sure to sell a product in China is to announce that it’s sold and used in the United States. Hence the American Seven Point Thinness Herbal Patch, which Chinese advertisers claim was used by Chelsea Clinton (remember her, the daughter of former US President Bill Clinton and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton?) to lose twenty-six pounds in one month. Let’s put aside for a moment that a.) it is physically impossible to lose twenty-six pounds in a month, and b.) there are at least a dozen other celebrities that would have been more impressive to use in this campaign than Chelsea Clinton.

This patch supposedly made fat leak out of your body wherever you placed it (let your imagination go with that one for a minute). Alas, while the patch was claimed to have been made (and used) in America, it turns out we can thank our friends in Tianjin, China for this gem. Oh, and the "fat" that oozed out of the patch? That was actually just oil that was already built into the patch.

5) Fat burning soap
If only losing weight was as easy as taking a bath… Well, according to the popular Aoqili Seaweed Soap, worth 140 RMB a bar, it is. Made from "vitamins and minerals derived from the sea," along with "a homeopathic blend of trace elements" (whatever that means), apparently "the Chinese believe that the extract from the soap has special properties that allow it to penetrate the skin by osmosis and react with the fat deposits that are directly stored beneath the skin and make them blood soluble. The blood flowing into this area picks up the emulsified fat deposits and flushes them out of the body resulting in the loss of body fat in the areas where the soap is applied.  Others say that the main component of fat cells is water and seaweed extracts dehydrate the cells, thereby shrinking their appearance." So basically… no one has any idea what they’re talking about.

Nevertheless, don’t let a little thing like science get in the way of your weight loss bathing dreams – the Chinese Council of Science & Technology claims that, of 433 participants, 76.21% experienced an average weight loss of 33 pounds (although weight losses ranged from 22 to 110 pounds). Makes you ashamed of your pathetic little Dial soap bar, huh?

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Keywords: Chinese weight loss methods traditional Chinese medicine Marie France Bodyline losing weight in China bizarre methods to lose weight

14 Comments

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Madeline943

These five methods are helpful and can make a significant change, but I think those who can not afford it as it is costlier, on another side, can use the good fat burning supplement in an instant.

Mar 25, 2022 16:18 Report Abuse

raypete

hahhaha the worms treatment is really bizzare and the soap lol but funny enough they do work believe it or not they are not fake is just that most of the chinese products do work better on chinese than foreigners

Jul 11, 2014 00:54 Report Abuse

RobRocks

eat at a calorie deficit and exercise and you will lose weight.

Jun 24, 2014 14:27 Report Abuse

instantkarma

I was at a shopping centre last night and saw a vibrating board you stand on that "shakes" the fat right off you. You can watch Sex in the City while that happens. That would be preferable to their demo film which showed a fat guy before and after. Believe that and I'll sell you the Nanjing Bridge. The demo area of about 16 boards was filled with small kids pretending to be skateboarding. Looks like a fine toy but it needs a shake-up as far as weight loss. Tape worms would work.

Jun 22, 2014 08:09 Report Abuse

sharkies

What a bunch of idiots to believe in this shit. The only solution to steady fat loss is diet and exercise. The two things everyone thinks they can avoid. There are no short cuts - take it or leave it.

Jun 21, 2014 09:05 Report Abuse

carlstar

Well it was 2 years ago. Everyone is so much smarter now. They know that you have to actually move to lose weight. That is why there are a lot more cars now.... Driving counts as moving right.

Jun 21, 2014 17:53 Report Abuse

Guest345928

Move your fat ass!

Jun 21, 2014 09:06 Report Abuse

juanisaac

I have also been there trying to find anything to lose weight. I used to weigh 120 kilos and now I weigh 68 kilos. The key is not to eat five things: alcohol, sugar, white flour (or anything made from it), rice (or anything made from it), and potatoes. The body takes these foods and turns them into sugar really quickly and the body stores it as fat. That's all I do and I don't feel hungry at all after a meal. When eating a meal, if I still feel hungry I just eat a handful of nuts and that helps not feel hungry until my next meal. No gimmicks, nothing to sell, and most importantly nothing dangerous in what I do. I hope this helps those who want to lose some weight.

May 22, 2012 22:16 Report Abuse

lilsun

I checked to see whether there is actually anyone selling tapeworm pills on Taobao and couldnt find anything. Except for pills for pets with tapeworm.
Where did you get that story?? I found it hard to believe in the first place.

Every country has ridiculus methods for claiming weight loss. But, yeh Chinese really are quite obsessed with it.

May 17, 2012 20:34 Report Abuse

lilsun

Haha, that is funny.

May 17, 2012 21:57 Report Abuse

Sjama

Ancient Chinese are more intelligent than modern Chinese. The best and healthiest diet method in this article: old-fashioned green tea...

Jun 22, 2014 10:28 Report Abuse

t-dawg

my sister has the same problem...her doctor thinks it's a hormone imbalance, or a gallbladder problem. it's lucky that yours cleared up! she's had it for a year now. Lost 20lbs in the first two months!

May 17, 2012 15:57 Report Abuse