Korean diet to lose belly fat?
Does the Korean diet make you lose weight?
The simple answer is YES!
One of my friends is Korean, and I’ve been eating his mom’s food for over a decade now.
I know full well about the Korean diet and man it is full of yum. You get a whole helping of meat, vegetables, and a bit of rice.
Not to mention that I often go to Korean barbecue restaurants when his mom doesn’t cook.
So, if you need to know how the Korean diet can help you lose belly fat, you have come to the right place.
How to lose belly fat on the Korean diet
In 1998 to 2009, a study about the traditional Korean food found there is a direct correlation between decreased risk of metabolic syndromes such as high blood pressure, high blood sugar, and excess body fat around the waist.
[source: The traditional Korean dietary pattern is associated with decreased risk of metabolic syndrome: findings from the Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, 1998-2009.]
A traditional Korean meal consists of fermented products, seasoned vegetables, grilled proteins, soup, and a little bit of rice. The rice part is essential.
Now, I always eat a massive plate of rice because I am a glutton after all, or maybe I was just brought up that way.
Growing up in the mountain regions of the Philippines, born in a farming family; I’ve experienced the farming life. I was brought up to eat lots of rice because it was cheaper than meat. It also meant I could work longer without getting hungry for a more extended period.
The first time I ate with my friend’s family, it was surprising how little their rice bowl was.
Their rice bowl was so tiny I thought it was meant for a baby. Watching them eat from that little bowl was amusing, as much as they were shocked at how much rice I ate.
I asked for five bowls of rice as the dinner went on. I’m not even that big of a person that needs a big meal to be satisfied.
No wonder Koreans are so skinny. They eat more vegetables, meat, and fermented products than rice. The secrets out! This is how you can lose belly fat with a Korean diet.
That’s it really. That’s how to lose weight like Koreans. But, there are some Koreans who take it to extremes. And, it can get deadly.
Korean fad diets for fast weight loss
I have seen many types of Korean “fad” diet that are unhealthy and not sustainable in the long run.
From eating only jelly all day, to cucumber for dinner to having only bananas for breakfast.
Let’s go over some of these Korean fad diets.
Korean jelly
To do this diet, you replace your meals with jelly. Looking at the ingredients list which includes, water, erythritol, konjac gum mix, citric acid, peach concentrate, calcium lactate, tomato extract, turmeric root extract, sucralose, acesulfame potassium, artificial peach flavor. Your body won’t be getting enough vitamins and minerals to run your system. Essentially, do this diet long enough; it will be detrimental to your health.
Banana diet
This diet involves eating only bananas for breakfast with warm water. You can have any traditional Korean meals you like for lunch and dinner. Snacking only on a banana.
There will be no more eating after 8 PM. Going to bed before midnight. Keep in mind to stop eating when you are almost full.
I don’t see any extremities in this diet other than limiting yourself to only a banana. Also, having only a banana, which is carbs and sugar, in the morning is not ideal.
Adding some protein or a bit of fat can make you feel sated for longer. Preventing the need for binge snacking and overeating.
Other fruits can help improve metabolism. Fruits like oranges, strawberries, and blueberries help to burn fat. The following is a typical banana diet meal plan:
- Breakfast – 1 or 2 bananas with a warm glass of water.
- Lunch – kimchi, rice, and proteins.
- Dinner – traditional Korean dinner, similar to lunch.
Paper cup diet
To do this diet, you are allowed a portion equivalent to 200 ml cup. So what is allowed in the cup? Surprisingly healthy. You can pack in some rice, side dishes, fruits or vegetables. This diet is a great way to control your portion, but what if you are bigger than average? Your calorie deficit shouldn’t have to be worth just a cup. Your ideal calorie target could be more. Having a meal equivalent to a 200 ml cup will make you feel lethargic, weak, and no energy for the day.
The deadly diet
In this diet, you are allowed to have a chicken breast fillet with a salad without the dressing. Almonds are allowed for snacks; any other type of food, banned.
Weight training and cardio are incorporated. When it gets too hard, you can have a day off and eat as much as you want then resume the diet the next day. Critics named it the deadly diet since you are eating small amounts and expending it by weight training and cardio, I agree.
You need carbs to replace the glycogen lost due to resistance training. You need carbs or fats to burn to get you through the day. Forgetting the other food groups will have your body lacking important nutrients.
Chicken breast diet
You get four chicken breast fillets for the day, that’s it. Out of all the diets mentioned, this is the most extreme. You will lose weight by cutting out the other food groups, but you will be severely malnourished. Avoid it like the plague.
The popular Korean pop group, BTS, popularised this diet. Of which, two members, only ate breast fillets for one entire year. After the year, they vowed not to do it ever again. But for them to be able to maintain it for one full year is very impressive and dangerous.
How to lose weight fast on the Korean diet
Eat boring food. Starve. And pretty much kill yourself to lose weight on the Korean “fad” diet.
Imagine eating only jelly for the whole month? Chicken breast every day for one year? How about bananas every breakfast for the rest of your life? No thanks!
I’m not saying it doesn’t work, quite the opposite, you will lose weight guaranteed. But you will be severely malnourished. Also, once you stop, you will quickly gain it back by reverting to your regular diet.
That is how and why people put the weight back on after a successful weight loss. Successful maybe, but the methodology is terrible for your health.
You need to stop doing these kinds of diets, and you need to learn how you can lose weight and maintain it the healthy way.
The traditional Korean diet is the healthiest way of losing belly fat without the need for these crazy and extreme diets.
Why are some Koreans, blubbery?
According to the CIA’s factbook on the world’s obesity rate of 2016, South Korea is number 184, nearly at the bottom of the list.
Do you know where the US rank? It is number twelve in the world. Do you know one of the significant factors? Diet.
Have you ever wondered why most Koreans are skinny? I have. If you’ve ever been to Korea, you will find that there aren’t much or any overweight Koreans.
But there are the anomalies, the rarities, the 4 percent of Korea that are obese.
This number is continually increasing. Mainly due to the popularization of the Western diet.
The western diet consists of bread, fried potatoes, sausages, bacon, eggs, pancakes, syrup, butter.
Look at the usual Korean breakfast. You get rice, soup, meat, a whole array of veggie side dishes. Typical dishes include grilled short ribs, leafy salad, bean sprout rice, stewed fish, cucumber soup, kelp, radish, and kimchi.
Do you see where I am getting at here? Grilled, salad, bean sprout rice, stewed fish? So healthy and nutritious. If you are a westerner or raised as one. If you see that on your breakfast plate, you’d be aghast, horrified, and taken aback. Probably vomit too.
That’s because you never grew up with those types of food. It’s all about the acquired taste.
The Western diet in South Korean culture certainly plays a big part in the continued rise of South Korea’s obesity rate.
There are other factors such as a sedentary lifestyle, overeating, autoimmune diseases but the correlation between Western diet and obesity is prevalent in other countries.
In a study of the Western diet in the Lebanese culture, there was a significant increase in obesity.
The Western diet consisted of high consumption of poultry, eggs, red meat, mayonnaise, fast-food sandwiches, pizza, and pies.
The traditional Lebanese food included a high intake of vegetables, legumes, bread, rice, pasta, and bulgur.
The eggs and red meat shouldn’t be a problem, but the high sugar and fat content of condiments, and fast food are to blame.
[source: A Western dietary pattern is associated with overweight and obesity in a national sample of Lebanese adolescents (13–19 years): a cross-sectional study]
South Koreans obesity rate will continue to rise if the new generation forgets about their traditional South Korean diet.
Korean diet to lose belly fat
The best Korean diet to lose belly fat is the traditional Korean diet. A traditional Korean diet involves kimchi, noodles, banchan (side dishes), vegetables, and a whole array of natural thingies.
There is no one diet that will make you lose belly fat. Even if you eat a healthy diet, you will still gain belly fat if you’re going over your calorie maintenance.
So really, there is no one diet to lose belly fat. Don’t focus on “diet.”
If you start calorie counting today, you will know that you can easily go over your calorie maintenance level. Learn how to count calories by clicking on the following link: calorie counting.
Now that you know that losing belly fat is not about the actual diet but how much you put out than you put in, let’s see what kind of Korean dishes you can eat to stay under your calorie limit.
Actually, scratch that. Here is a basic guide that will make you lose belly fat on any diet:
- Cut out the fat
- Limit carbs
- More protein
- More good fat
- Less bad fat
- More leafy vegetables
- Fewer root vegetables
- Avoid or limit alcohol
- No sugar
The skinny Korean diet
Watching those skinny Koreans on K-Pop TV makes you wonder what they eat? How do they stay skinny?
Well, there are fad diets, as mentioned like the jelly diet and all sorts. Why do you put your body through such a rigorous ordeal?
There are so many ways to stay slim without starving yourself.
What’s so healthy about being skinny? I’ve seen Crazy Rich Asians. The cousin (Astrid) of the main character, Nick Young, was so thin.
Just have a look at those arms, they look like they are going to break off.
What is it with Asians obsessing over having a skinny figure? It just looks too unhealthy. Why not have muscles, while looking slim? You’ll look and feel so much better than being skin and bones.
Would you rather look like you haven’t eaten for days? Or, look like you can smash through a wall while looking hot?
Korean weight loss diets work because you starve to death. There are also health risks when it comes to these types of diets.
Korean Diet Pills
Korean diet pills are given out freely to anyone who wants them. The reports say that one in 45 Koreans were prescribed an appetite suppressant for obesity treatment, and most of them were women.
Most people who use the drug are in their 30s. The patient should not take an appetite curbing agent with another, and the administration period is usually confined to four weeks.
However, 10% of the patients received the prescription of more than two different weight-loss drugs or had it for over four weeks.
The Ministry of Food and Drug Safety examined 4.97 million information on appetite suppressants prescribed from July 2018 to April 2019. They announced the results on Tuesday.
An appetite suppressant is a kind of medicine that makes you feel less hungry or fuller. The ingredients are phentermine, phendimetrazine, diethylpropion (amfepramone), mazindol, and lorcaserin.
1.16 million patients received appetite suppressant prescriptions in Korea between July 2018 and April 2019.
That is one in 45 Koreans who received the prescription of an appetite suppressant, which takes up 2.2% of the Korean population and 7.3% of people taking narcotic drugs.
92.7% of those who were prescribed appetite suppressants were women, 30.3% took them for their 30s age group, 52.8% were phentermine prescriptions, and 27% were for phendimetrazine or diethylpropion prescriptions.
Most of the patients who received a prescription from the clinic only took the appetite suppressant for less than four weeks. However, 10% of them got more than one ingredient in their prescription, and 30% took it for more than four weeks.
Long-term use of an appetite suppressant can raise your risk for pulmonary arterial hypertension and heart disease. That’s why to take extra precautions when you are either getting or giving out prescriptions.
The food and drug safety ministry sent a letter to doctors for something about appetite suppressants.
Conclusion
Why put yourself at risk when you can eat healthily and lose weight? You need to stay away from dangerous fad diets and concentrate on traditional Korean food.
Want abs for days like this guy Jungkook?
Jungkook has done many diets including starving for five days to look good for a video.
You don’t have to die to look good naked.
Instead, follow a proven formula by a Physician that has helped thousands, if not millions of people including me to lose weight. It even destroyed my sugar cravings.
Look, dieting is hard. But, there are diets and programs that let you eat proper nutrition food and still lose weight.
Programs that teach you how to lose weight the right way so you’ll never have to look at Korean or any fad diets ever again.
Ladies and gents, gather round, I’ve got a tale to tell. Picture this: a body that refuses to bulk up, paired with a metabolism slower than a snail’s race to the finish line. It’s a curse, I tell ya! But fear not, my friends, for I took this challenge head-on and became a scholar in all things weight loss and nutrition. And now, I’m here to share my tales of triumph (and some struggles) with you all, so you too can finally achieve that bod of your dreams! flex (just kidding, still workin’ on it).
— Christian Tanobey
