Singer Kim Hyun-jung loses 12 kg without weight-loss drugs — here's what she cut out

Singer Kim Hyun-jung has revealed that she lost 12 kilograms for her first profile shoot in 11 years — without any weight-loss medication. Over roughly three and a half months, she managed her diet while combining gym workouts with dance. What draws as much attention as the weight loss itself is how she replaced foods she loved with healthier alternatives and exercise.

Kim shared new profile photos on her SNS and wrote, "What do you think of my profile photos? I lost a total of 12 kg for this shoot — my first in 11 years."

She had previously announced an 8 kg loss, and said she managed her weight through diet and exercise alone, without weight-loss drugs. During her diet, she cut out cola, white rice, cup ramyun, tteokbokki, ice cream and sweetened flavored milk, replacing them with eggs, low-fat milk, tenderloin, almonds, brown rice porridge, potatoes and sweet potatoes. When she felt hungry at night, she chose a fried egg instead of ramyun.

The biggest shift in Kim's diet was a sharp reduction in refined carbohydrates and high-sugar foods that are easy to reach for.

Foods like ramyun, tteokbokki, ice cream and sugary drinks add calories quickly while providing little lasting sense of fullness. Sugary beverages are particularly easy to overconsume because they require no chewing, meaning extra calories are taken in without any reduction in solid food intake.

White rice is also lower in dietary fiber than whole grains such as brown rice, since the bran and germ are removed during milling. Whole grains retain more fiber and micronutrients, so swapping some refined grains for brown rice or oats can improve overall diet quality. The Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health similarly recommends choosing whole grains and less-processed carbohydrates over refined ones.

That said, cutting out white rice or carbohydrates entirely is not a prerequisite for weight loss. The National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK) recommends that a healthy weight-management diet include a variety of foods — vegetables, whole fruits, whole grains, low-fat dairy, and lean proteins such as meat, eggs, beans and nuts. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) also advises eating a wide range of healthy foods rather than eliminating entire nutrient groups.

That Kim avoided fruit during her diet is best understood as a personal dietary choice. Whole fruit does not need to be eliminated in general weight management. Unlike fruit juice or sweetened fruit products, whole fruit contains both water and dietary fiber.

Ramyun, too, is not a food that must be banned outright — it is more a matter of frequency and how a serving is composed. Reducing the amount of noodles and adding protein such as eggs, tofu or lean meat along with vegetables can improve the nutritional balance of a meal. Eating less of the broth also helps lower sodium intake.

The egg Kim chose as a late-night alternative is a practical source of protein. Frying it in large amounts of oil, however, raises the calorie count. Using a small amount of plant-based oil high in unsaturated fats — such as olive or canola oil — is a better approach. The American Heart Association (AHA) also recommends liquid vegetable oils like olive and canola oil over solid fats such as butter and lard, which are high in saturated fat.

Kim did not rely on diet alone. She said she consistently kept her body moving by hitting the gym and dancing to songs by younger singers.

Depending on the moves and pace, dance can qualify as moderate-to-vigorous aerobic exercise. Continuous footwork combined with arm and torso movement raises the heart rate and increases energy expenditure. For those who genuinely enjoy music and choreography, it also has a key advantage over repetitive exercises like treadmill running: it is far easier to stick with over time.

Pairing dance with strength training at the gym helps preserve muscle mass during weight loss. If body weight drops while muscle mass falls sharply, physical fitness declines and maintaining the lower weight becomes harder.

WHO recommends that adults get 150 to 300 minutes of moderate-intensity aerobic activity per week, or 75 to 150 minutes of vigorous activity, along with muscle-strengthening exercises targeting major muscle groups at least twice a week.

Combining dance to favorite music with weight training — as Kim did — can boost sustainability, which matters more than which exercise burns the most calories. Exercise needs to be repeatable in daily life, not crammed into a few weeks, for its effects to last.

In practice, maintaining lost weight can be harder than losing it in the first place.

When body weight drops, the body requires less energy than before, and physiological changes that increase appetite can follow. The NIDDK notes that metabolism slows after weight loss, reducing the calories needed at the new weight, and that hormonal changes can make maintaining that weight more difficult.

Returning immediately to old habits after reaching a target weight makes regain likely. Diets that imposed extreme restrictions during the loss phase are also particularly hard to sustain for life.

During the maintenance phase, the priority is building an eating pattern that can be kept up long-term, rather than continually expanding the list of forbidden foods. Practical steps include replacing some white rice with multigrain rice, swapping sugary drinks for water or unsweetened beverages, and choosing a small protein-containing snack if a late-night bite is unavoidable.

Exercise also plays an important role in keeping weight off. The NIDDK says regular physical activity helps prevent regained weight, and that 150 to 300 or more minutes of activity per week can be useful during the maintenance phase.

The real takeaway from Kim's 12 kg loss is not simply that she cut out certain foods. The core was a comprehensive lifestyle change: reducing sugary drinks and high-calorie snacks, switching to less-refined carbohydrates, making sure to include protein, and sustaining months of gym workouts alongside dance she genuinely enjoyed.

The weight-loss phase may last a few months, but the maintenance phase lasts far longer. Even after a successful loss, the true key to keeping the weight off without rebound is building a diet and exercise routine that can be repeated over time — without giving up the pleasure of eating entirely.