Is Bulgogi Healthy? (5 Tips for Weight Loss)

Chances are if you’re lucky enough to be in close proximity to any Korean restaurant, that Bulgogi is bound to be at the top of the menu! 

Being one of the staples of Korean food, Bulgogi is a dish that consists of thinly marinated slices of meat that is to be grilled over a stovetop griddle and is traditionally eaten wrapped in lettuce.

As delicious as it is, however, the question remains—is Bulgogi healthy?

Bulgogi is not considered healthy as it is calorically dense due to its high-fat content which is almost equal to its protein content. An average portion (250 grams) of Bulgogi itself can carry up to 424 calories with making it a detriment to any health or weight loss goals. 

However, this fact does not mean that Bulgogi can not be enjoyed fully in the proper circumstances and if paired mindfully with appropriate food choices.

That said, here are our six tips to help you stay healthy and lose weight while eating Bulgogi!

Tip 1: Remember To Plan Ahead When Eating Bulgogi

Tip 2: Learn The Nutritional Value of Bulgogi

Tip 3: Learn What Foods To Avoid With Bulgogi

Tip 4: Understand the Importance of Portion Control While Eating Bulgogi

Tip 5: Learn the Benefits of Calorie Counting While Eating Bulgogi

Tip 6: Make Sure To Stay Active and Stick To a Workout Plan When Eating Bulgogi

So now that we have an overview of what we will be discussing, let’s get started!

How To Lose Weight When Eating Bulgogi

If you’re a native to LA, then you know that there is no better place to find some amazing bulgogi than in Koreatown or in the vicinity thereof. 

In fact, if you’ve never hit up a good Korean BBQ spot and you’re in the Los Angeles downtown area then I suggest going to Bulgogi Hut down on Wilshire Blvd as it is always a great easy takeout and/or dining experience for first-timers looking to find their bulgogi fix!

Now that I’ve steered some of you in the right direction of where to get your bulgogi, let's move onto the five tips I’ve created that I'm sure will help enable you to be triumphant in your weight loss goals.

Tip 1: Remember To Plan Ahead When Eating Bulgogi

The benefits of being strategic before eating any food high in calories is paramount when wanting to lose weight.

If you’re planning to eat Bulgogi at a Korean BBQ restaurant, for example, then remember to avoid going to the AYCE (All You Can Eat) restaurant if possible and instead opt for the places that offer the Plate by Plate Combination Option. 

If you know you’ll be eating Bulgogi later on in the day, then try to keep any prior or post meals light. 

On the other hand, if you’re planning to eat a lot of Bulgogi then what is standard then go for the fasting option—as in you won’t be eating or drinking anything except water until the moment you’ll be having your Bulgogi meal. 

Also making time to keep activity levels high before and/or after enjoying your said meal can make a great difference in keeping true to your weight loss goals.

Additionally, you can even use this as a great opportunity to bulk up on any muscle gains as eating a large amount of food high in protein can help build some muscle mass when paired with a consistent workout plan.

All it takes are a couple of adjustable weights (bowflex adjustable weights on amazon) and a reliable workout bench (steelbody bench on Amazon) that will allow us to do all the necessary workouts. 

Tip 2: Learn the Nutritional Value of Bulgogi

As Bulgogi is technically any marinated thinly sliced piece of meat that can be grilled, its nutritional value varies in that it depends wildly upon what kind of bulgogi you’re ultimately choosing. 

Having said that, typically, when you see Bulgogi on the menu it is either beef or pork—between the two, pork is the one lowest in calories while beef is the most common of both options. 

As implicated previously, Bulgolgi on average has a fairly equal fat to protein content which inevitably gives it a high caloric score that can be seen in the following nutritional labels of both the beef and pork bulgogi here: 

For beef bulgogi, we can see that per 250 grams there are 420 kcals with 22 grams of fat, 9 grams of carbs (4 grams of total sugars), and 44 grams of protein. 

This is actually not bad to eat as the fats are relatively low and there are only 4 grams of sugar per serving. 

As for the pork bulgogi, we can expect a 250g serving to be 350 kcals with 14 grams of fat, 25 grams of carbs (with 18 grams of total sugars), and 37 grams of protein. 

This is a worse option due to the high amounts of sugar within a single serving. 

We generally don’t want to add carbs (sugars) to our protein since this is a one way ticket to eating more carbs than you need. 

When you think about both of these options we can see that they are not the leanest cut of protein you can find. 

Generally, you want your fats to be lower when you’re losing weight as fats have a high potential to be overeaten. 

They’re also the highest caloric macronutrient out of the three so we can expect to see a lot of calories come from a few grams of fat. 

Our tip here is to eat high-fat foods such as beef bulgogi and pork bulgogi in moderation while focusing on the leaner cuts of proteins such as chicken breast or fish. 

A small change such as this can make a major difference and you can definitely get to your goals by focusing on eating less fats overall. 

Now I know seeing the nutritional scores on both labels is discouraging but don’t worry as there is always a solution to problems such as these and lucky for you they are outlined here!

Tip 3: Learn What Foods To Avoid With Bulgogi

Since eating Bulgogi is usually accompanied by eating an assortment of small side dishes (also known as Banchan), dipping sauces, and drinks, its nutrition heavily depends on which foods you are choosing to pair with it and how much you are eating to maintain a caloric deficit. 

FOODS TO AVOID

• White Rice

  • Rice is definitely not the best thing to pair your Bulgogi with as adding a bowl or two of rice can range from 300-500 extra calories that you could have spared yourself from consuming.

• Rice paper

  • Each thin sheet of rice paper has around 30 to 40 calories, which can become a significant amount if you're not pacing yourself.

• Potatoes 

  • Potato side dishes like Gamja Jorim (Korean braised potatoes) have about 225 calories (or more) per serving as do most potato dishes.

• Macaroni Salad

  • Macaroni salad is also quite a common non-traditional side dish served in Korean BBQ restaurants and definitely is a no go as one serving is bound to be 250 to 300 calories on average.

• Japchae

  • Japchae, or stir fried glass noodles, coming in at 252 calories on average per serving is also a recommended no.

• Tofu

  • In any other case, tofu would be a great choice but its just an additional source of protein that to be paired with your bulgogi. 

• Dipping sauces

  • Sesame oil with salt is a common dipping sauce in Korean cuisine and with 1 tbsp being 120 calories you should try to stay clear.

• Cheese

  • With its high fat content, you should be wary of anything with cheese—and yes this includes corn cheese.

• Soups

  • At up to 210 to 385 calories per serving, doenjang jjigae (soybean soup) and Sundubu Jjigae (spicy tofu soup) are not the best choices to accompany bulgogi when weight loss is your goal.

• Egg

  • A fried egg is a common garnish that is found when eating Korean dishes and is about 78 calories consisting of both protein and fat. 

  • If you do prefer to eat it, don’t eat the yolk.

FOODS TO EAT

• Mushrooms

  • Mushrooms are low-calorie and high protein food that is great to fill up on your plate. 

  • This voluminous food is also high in fiber which makes you feel full and satiated for a lower calorie count.

• Vegetables 

  • Any prepared vegetables with your Bulgogi, are great ideal foods to eat more of compared to any other option and always great to incorporate into your diet.

  • Side dishes like kimchi, oi muchim (spicy cucumber salad), and mu saeng chae (spicy radish salad) are all great dishes.

BEVERAGES TO AVOID 

• Soda

  • Soda is high in sugar and calories, which leads to obesity, diabetes, and blood sugar imbalances—just stay away from it.  

  • In general, don’t drink your calories.

• Beer & Liquor 

  • Drinking too much beer, or any other type of alcohol, is bad for you as it’s consumption wipes out any health benefits and increases the risk of liver cancer, cirrhosis, alcoholism, and obesity. 

BEVERAGES TO DRINK

• Water or Carbonated Water

  • Water is the only beverage you could ever drink that can reduce overall liquid caloric intake and it may even help suppress your appetite and boost your metabolism. Enough said. 

Each of these banchan and drinks is what you might see recommended to accompany your bulgogi and of course, you can make any of them work to fit your caloric budget so long as you are practicing proper portion control and are mindful. 

A good trick I also urge you to start using once you have a good idea of how calorie counting works is to grab all the foods you want to eat and sort it onto your plate to limit yourself on getting seconds. 

Tip 4: Understand The Importance of Portion Control While Eating Bulgogi

If you want to lose weight, you have to learn portion control which I know is honestly easier said than done. 

There is no question that portion control can be difficult especially when surrounded by delicious food like bulgogi but if you're aiming to lose weight and stay healthy it’s absolutely necessary. 

Fortunately, there are a few things you can do to make portion control easier for you to do. 

One great way is to just eat half of your meal and save the rest for later.

This is an especially good trick to use if you’re tempted to eat a lot of different delicious foods (even the ones a little higher in calories) as you can easily get a bit of everything and eat it slowly throughout the day or even the next day. 

Remember all food is good in moderation. 

Additionally, another great tip is to share what you’re eating with a friend that way you're not tempted to eat everything yourself and this particular trick can even help you in practicing mindful eating. 

Lastly, I recommend when preparing your plate that at least half of it be covered in veggies or salad while the rest can pertain to your protein of choice—in this case, your bulgogi!

Tip 5: Learn the Benefits of Calorie Counting While Eating Bulgogi

Calories in vs calories out are the basic theory behind weight loss. 

Plainly put, if you burn more calories than you consume in a day you are bound to lose weight because you’ll end up being in a caloric deficit. 

To figure out how many calories you’ll need to lose weight you first need to find out your TDEE score or Total Daily Energy Expenditure. 

Your TDEE consists of the amount of energy you burn from daily activity, your resting metabolic rate, and the energy needed to swallow and digest food. 

As stated previously, long as your calorie intake from the food you eat is consistently less than your TDEE, you are guaranteed to lose weight over time!

You may be wondering how to figure out your TDEE and it is rather easy. 

To find out your TDEE make sure to check out our article How to actually get a 6 pack after 30! 

Remember that once you figure out your score that this is simply an estimate of your TDEE and it is up to you to go through a process of trial and error to figure out your true TDEE. 

Start by consuming around 200-300 fewer calories than your TDEE and around a week or two you should start seeing some progress. 

If not, slowly lower your calories by 100 until you start seeing some weight loss! I also recommend not eating below 1,000 calories a day as that can become detrimental to your overall health. 

To properly measure your weight it is important to weigh yourself every day and I recommend taking your average weight weekly to see progress. 

Weight fluctuates day to day depending on the time, the amount of water retention, or other factors, your weight can be drastically different. 

Try weighing yourself every morning at the same time of the day to get the most consistent data. 

Although the scale is a great tool to measure progress, remember that it is just one tool, and looking at your body recomposition, how your energy levels are throughout the day, and how you are mentally feeling are other important factors during weight loss!

Tip 6: Make Sure To Stay Active and Stick To a Workout Plan When Eating Bulgogi

As mentioned earlier, staying healthy really comes from a balance of calories consumed vs calories expended. 

Our metabolism is actually dependent on activity level which can actually make up 15-30% of the calories we burn in a day! 

So, when it comes to high-calorie foods such as bulgogi, we must be mindful of how many calories we expend as it gives us the leeway to enjoy it without too much guilt. 

This is really the goal isn’t it? To stay healthy while eating the foods we love here and there. 

One of the most substantial mistakes we can make when trying to stay healthy is to not maximize our activity levels. 

A great way we can do this is to track your steps or consciously make the decision to get some cardio in for the day. 

Up to 30% of the calories we burn in a day is totally dependent on the actions we take so let’s make sure we utilize them to the fullest extent. 

Another thing we can do that will increase the amount of calories we can eat in a day is to start building muscle. 

Muscle burns calories at rest and is what also shapes us when we lose fat overall. 

This means that muscle is extremely important as it allows us to burn more calories even on those days where we aren’t working out! 

So, as we progress in our resistance training workouts and build more muscle, we can also progress in how many calories our bodies burn throughout the years. 

This is why it is so important to start lifting weights and getting into a solid workout regimen that will allow you to utilize the foods you eat to fuel your workouts and build muscle. 

It can be a little intimidating to start lifting weights but we all have to start somewhere! 

Trust me, it’s hard at first, but there, just like many things we really put our hearts into, we can really get the hang of it quickly and see really substantial results very quickly even! 

Here is a workout plan you can use to get started with lifting weights and building muscle. 

It’s a plan that hits all the muscle groups and effectively teaches you so many of the movements required to obtain a really strong foundation of muscle. 

Women 

Monday (Full Upper): 

• Seated Shoulder Press: 4x20 

• Lateral Raises: 4x15

• Lat Pulldowns: 4x12

• Dumbbell Row: 3x10

• Dumbbell Fly: 3x10 

• Knee Push Ups: 4x20

• Weighted Crunches: 3x35 

Wednesday (Back/Hamstrings/Biceps) 

• Assisted Pull Ups: 3x10

• Lat Pulldowns: 4x12 

• Cable Row: 4x15

• Stiff Leg Deadlift: 4x15

• Hamstring Curl: 4x15

• Bicep Curls: 3x10

• Hammer Curls: 3x10

Friday: (Legs/Butt/Abs): 

• Squats: 5x5 

• Goblet Squats: 4x20

• Glute Bridge: 4x20

• Glute Kickbacks: 4x20 each leg

• Jump Squats: 4x20

• Weighted Crunches: 3x35 

• Leg Lifts: 3x35

MEN 

Mon: Chest, Shoulders, Triceps, Abs (Push Day)

• Bench Press: 3 sets 10 reps

• Dumbbell Press: 4 sets 12 reps

• Shoulder Press: 3 sets 10 reps

• Lateral Raises: 3 sets 15 reps

• Triceps Rope Push Down: 3 sets 15 reps

• Cable Crunches: 4 sets 15 reps 

Wed: Legs & Abs

• Goblet Squats: 4 sets 20 reps

• Weighted Walking Lunges: 2 sets 20 steps

• Stiff Leg DeadLift (Romanian Deadlift): 4 sets 15 reps

• Glute Bridges With Weight: 4 sets 20 reps

• Jumping Squats With Resistance Bands: 5 sets 20 reps

• Weighted Sit Ups: 4 sets 25 reps

• Weighted Toe Touches: 4 sets 25 reps

Fri: Back & Biceps (Pull Day)

• Assisted Pull Ups: 3 sets 10 reps

• Lat Pulldowns: 4 sets 12 reps

• Dumbbell Rows: 4 sets 10 reps (Each Side)

• Seated Cable Rows: 4 sets 15 reps

• Bicep Curls: 3 sets 10 reps

• Hammer Curls: 3 sets 10 reps

This is a simple resistance training workout plan.

What I recommend is to just look these workouts up on Youtube and choose weights that are not too heavy at first so you can really get your form down. 

All it takes are a couple of adjustable weights (bowflex adjustable weights on Amazon) and a reliable workout bench (steelbody bench on Amazon) that will allow us to do all the necessary workouts. 

When you feel that you’ve grasped the form, feel free to go heavier and heavier every week. Remember, this will not get you big and bulky. It will get you nice and lean.

Muscle and activity level really are key to staying lean while enjoying our favorite foods such as bulgogi. 

Let’s make sure we’re maximizing both so foods like bulgogi could be no big deal to eat! 

I mean, isn’t that we all want? To eat and not gain any excess pounds? 

Well, with many years spent building muscle, we totally can! 

Let’s Conclude 

Bulgogi is absolutely delicious but as with all great things in life, it's also (sadly) not the healthiest dish around. 

Still, that doesn’t mean you can’t indulge in it (in moderation) while still following your weight loss journey. 

Remember that when weight loss is your goal, it is important to always think ahead and consistently keep track of your activity level, caloric budget, and portions for the best results.

Overall, I hope that these 6 tips were able to help you better adjust and meet your personal weight loss milestones while still eating one of your favorite dishes.

As always, thank you for reading this article and remember YOU GOT THIS!

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