A 25-year-old Chinese influencer landed in hospital with acute severe pancreatitis after eating nothing but boiled chicken breast and vegetables for six months.
She shared her weight loss journey online, where followers called her the “self-discipline goddess” for her dedication.
Her diet was brutally simple: boiled chicken breast and cauliflower. That’s it. She’d throw in small potato pieces now and then, but avoided anything with fat or carbs.
The warning signs started early. Her skin turned dull. She felt tired all the time. Weakness crept in. She pushed through anyway.
Then came the abdominal cramps. They were so intense that she ended up at Xi’an People’s Hospital.
Doctors found her serum amylase levels were 10 times higher than normal—a life-threatening situation. Amylase is an enzyme your pancreas and salivary glands make to break down carbs.
The diagnosis? Acute severe pancreatitis. Her pancreas was essentially digesting itself as enzyme secretions built up inside the organ. Large portions of it had already died from the inflammation.
Her doctor pinned the blame on the ultra-low-fat diet she’d stuck to for months. Diets that are too bland or ridiculously low in calories might look healthy on paper, but they mess with how your digestive enzymes work.
He warned anyone looking to lose weight: eat at a calorie deficit, yes, but keep your diet balanced.
Pancreatitis isn’t something you want to mess with. It can hit as painful episodes that last for days, or turn chronic and get worse over time.
