[MyDaily = Reporter Kang Da-yoon] Actress Hong Ji-min opened up about life after a major weight-loss transformation and the challenges she still deals with while maintaining it.
On the 12th, her YouTube channel 'Right Now Hong Ji-min' posted a video titled Diet vs. Exercise: The Diet God Gives a Clear Answer.
The episode features veteran trainer Arnold Hong — nicknamed the \"Diet God\" — who has 34 years of experience and has helped shape the bodies of roughly 5,000 people. While chatting, Hong Ji-min admitted she used to be single-minded about dieting: strict calories, walking on the treadmill for more than an hour, and nonstop cardio. Eventually she burned out and noticed her muscle mass dropped — a dilemma she still wrestles with during maintenance.
Arnold pushed back on a common myth. Many people think dieting means endlessly exercising, he said, but that’s not the case: 80% is diet, 20% is exercise. Honestly, I think what you eat matters more, he added, joking that if you can’t eat because you don’t have money, you’re Jean Valjean — and if you have money but still don’t eat, you’re Arnold Hong.
He explained the difference between not being able to eat and choosing not to eat. If you can eat but decide, \"I’d rather have an amazing body,\" then you’re practicing what he called selective discomfort. Hong Ji-min admitted she understood that logic — but confessed, I still can’t resist. I really want to eat.
Arnold’s advice was straightforward: if you give in, own it — then work it off. When Hong Ji-min grumbled that sounded obvious, he clarified that hunger often isn’t about portion size but nutrient gaps. A lack of carbs, fats, protein, minerals, vitamins, fiber, or even water can trigger real hunger.
Hong Ji-min agreed and brought up sleep. I always say getting more sleep helps you lose weight, she said — and that’s something she thinks about a lot.
Arnold also touted clean eating. You can eat potatoes, he noted, but avoid factory-processed versions — stay away from instant and highly processed foods. Reality check: Hong Ji-min admitted she craves grilled pork intestines and tripe every day. Arnold kept it realistic: stick to an 80/20 rule — 80% clean foods, and let the other 20% be whatever you want.
She also asked about Arnold’s habits around salt water and butter. He said he starts the day with lukewarm salt water. When he’s too busy for breakfast, he’ll drink olive oil with a pat of butter — and that can keep him going for about five hours.
That made Hong Ji-min a little nervous — especially with calorie counting. But she admitted that before performances, when she couldn’t eat, that trick gave her energy. Arnold explained that high calories don’t automatically translate to weight gain — the body needs to absorb and process nutrients. Weight gain happens when nutrients are broken down, converted to fat in the liver, and stored in cells.
She added that when she was deep in diet mode, she always ate breakfast. Lately she’s just had salt water and butter and skipped a full morning meal. She’s not sure if her body is benefiting and said doctors offer conflicting opinions.
On fasting, Arnold suggested thinking of it as your body’s reset — a chance to clean and refresh. He shared his routine: he wakes up at 2–3 a.m., cycles, lifts, and walks, then around 7 a.m. drinks an unsweetened soy matcha latte. He typically eats his first and only meal between noon and 1 p.m., and when it’s meat, he said he eats about 1 kg. He surprised Hong Ji-min by adding that he structures his days into eight hours of work, eight hours of sleep, and eight hours of self-improvement.
Hong Ji-min married businessman Do Seong-su, who is a year older, in 2006, and they have two daughters. After her second pregnancy in 2017 she reached 92 kg, but she famously lost 32 kg within 100 days after giving birth, drawing major attention. She’s kept a slim figure without yo-yoing for nine years.
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