Is Okonomiyaki Healthy? (3 Tips for Weight Loss)

Originating in Japan, Okonomiyaki is nothing like the typical American pancake that we think of when someone says “pancake”.

This savory dish sometimes called the “Japanese pancake” or “pizza” is a delicious dish that uses flour, vegetables, eggs, a protein source, and a special sauce to create a super flavorful and visually appealing food!

We know Okonomiyaki is extremely delicious... but is it healthy? 

Okonomiyaki is not the ideal dish to be consumed because it is a calorically dense dish high in fat and carbohydrates.

With 39 grams of carbohydrates, 29 grams of fat, and 15 grams of protein, you can find Okonomiyaki to be very fattening and difficult to manage. 

In this article, we will be discussing 3 tips on how to include Okonomiyaki into your diet while still losing weight:

1. Remember to Portion Size

2. Make Sure to Eat Lower Calorie Meals Throughout the Day

3. How to Make Your Own Healthy Okonomiyaki

Let’s take a deeper look into what goes inside Okonomiyaki and what we can expect to see inside the nutrition label.

Tip 1: Remember to Portion Size

Just because Okonomiyaki is not considered a healthy or ideal food for a diet, does not mean you need to completely avoid it!

In this section, we will be discussing the importance of portion sizing, and how by simply adjusting the amount of Okonomiyaki you are eating, you can still lose weight!

First off, let us take a closer look in detail at the nutritional information for Okonomiyaki.

In one Okonomiyaki pancake, there are a total of 480 calories with 39 grams of carbohydrates, 29 grams of fat, and 15 grams of protein.

Through this macronutrient information, we can see that this dish is very low in protein compared to the amount of carbohydrates and fat. 

When analyzing macronutrients, one way to measure the best food of weight loss is to look at the protein to fat ratio.

Fat has 9 calories per gram whereas protein and carbohydrates have only 4 calories per gram.

This means that we want to make sure we are not getting too many calories from our fat, so we generally want to follow the 1:3 ratio when comparing fats to proteins. 

In the Okonomiyaki pancake, we can see that there is double the amount of fat compared to protein which is what makes this dish so calorically dense!

If you eat the whole Okonomiyaki pancake, this can easily put you in a calorie surplus and prevent you from reaching your weight loss goals. 

The reason why Okonomiyaki pancake is such a calorically dense dish is because the majority of the dish utilizes flour which is very high in carbohydrates.

The sweet Okonomiyaki sauce is also a pretty sugary flavoring that adds on additional calories. 

The good news is that there is still a way for you to satisfy your Okonomiyaki craving as well as sticking to your diet.

Instead of eating Okonomiyaki as a main meal, try eating only ¼ of the Okonomiyaki and choose a lower-calorie, voluminous food to pair with your Okonomiyaki.

For example, if you are eating Okonomiyaki at a Japanese restaurant, try ordering a sashimi salad for your main course, and share the Okonomiyaki pancake with your friends and family. 

You just reduced your Okonomiyaki to just 120 calories by eating ¼ of it!

You can fill up the rest of your meal with higher protein and fibrous food to keep you full and prevent you from overeating.

Tip 2: Make Sure to Eat Lower Calorie Meals Throughout the Day

If you are eating out at a Japanese restaurant, it is very likely that you will be surrounded by tons of delicious, but high-calorie foods.

This is why planning ahead of time and limiting the calorie intake you have throughout the day is important to make sure your overall calorie intake still remains in a deficit, which is key to weight loss.

One of the easiest ways to reduce the amount of calories you are eating throughout the day is to eat a light breakfast or stick with just black coffee or tea.

Unless you heavily rely on breakfast to keep you fueled throughout the day, eliminating this meal will give you more calories to spare for when you eat out. 

Make sure you eat other meals higher in protein which will keep you full and won’t leave you starving for when you go out to eat.

If you don’t eat anything throughout the day and only eat one meal, you will be surprised to see that you can overeat a lot when you are very hungry. 

When eating at a Japanese restaurant, if you choose to eat Okonomiyaki, try avoiding foods that have a lot of rice like sushi rolls or bowls.

Instead, stick with sashimi or salads that are higher in protein and will keep you full.

Miso soup is also a great light calorie and a fulfilling dish that you can eat instead of high-calorie foods. 

Tip 3: How to Make Your Own Healthy Okonomiyaki

When you have time, it is pretty simple to make your own healthier version of the Okonomiyaki.

The beauty of making homemade meals is that you know exactly what is going into your dish and you have the freedom to change the ingredients.

This is a great way for you to reduce certain aspects or make modifications to the recipe to make it more suitable for your specific diet.

Here is a recipe that is way lower in calories for you to try at home (1)

This recipe gives you a whole Okonomiyaki for just 180 calories!

That is 300 calories less than the average Okonomiyaki.

By incorporating this lower-calorie version into your diet instead, you can eat so much more for fewer calories.

This is one of the methods I always utilize within my diet to make sure I successfully lose weight.

By making simple adjustments and changes, dieting is not a painful process that involves starving yourself.

Just by exchanging calorically dense ingredients with those lower in calories, you can eat enough to satisfy you and still enjoy a delicious healthy meal! 

This recipe is also particularly useful to those with dietary restrictions such as not being able to consume gluten or if you are diabetic.

The reason why it is important to eat fewer calories when trying to lose weight is that the key to weight loss is to eat below your TDEE (Total Daily Energy Expenditure).

Your TDEE is essentially the number of calories that you burn each day from daily activity, your resting metabolic rate, and the energy required for you to swallow and digest food.

As long as you consume fewer calories than the amount that you burn for a period of time, you are guaranteed to lose weight. 

You may be wondering how you can figure out your TDEE.

The easiest way is to go to an online calculator that takes your weight, height, and gender to determine your average TDEE.

Try starting off by eating 300-400 calories less than this number to start off your weight loss journey. 

However, this calculator is just a mere estimate so it is up to you to make certain adjustments.

If you do not see any changes within one or two weeks, gradually reduce the calories by 100 until you start seeing results.

Remember, weight loss is a journey and not a race, so it is important to be patient and consistent!

Now that you know more about Okonomiyaki and how to incorporate it into your diet, you can not only eat it but make your own healthier version!

Losing weight does not need to be a horrible and painful process but can be an educational experience that teaches you how to incorporate your favorite Asian foods while still reaching your goals. 

CONCLUSION 

Remember, although nutrition is a huge factor that influences weight loss, it is important to pair this journey with exercise as well.

Especially strength training.

Several years of research on the benefits of weight training have shown that individuals that do some sort of consistent resistance training at least 3-5 times a week have shown not only a great amount of weight loss but are also able to keep the weight off! 

The secret to this phenomena is that strength training leads to a build-up of muscle. Not only does your body recomposition into a more fitting and athletic-looking aesthetic, but having more muscle also increases your resting metabolic rate which essentially means you burn more calories at rest! 

Now that we know the importance of muscle we need to make sure we stay on track with our workouts.

Consistency and longevity are the two key factors when building muscle so there will be some commitment involved.

We understand that not everyone has access to a gym membership or feels comfortable starting off in such an intimidating environment.

Although I would strongly recommend that everyone should get a gym membership, don’t worry we got your back!

You can either go to the gym or build one for yourself.

It really just comes down to 3 pieces of equipment that you need to do most workouts. These three are the workout bench, dumbbells, and gym flooring.

Check out our recommended gear page to see our best picks for these pieces of equipment here. 

https://www.aspirefitnesswalnut.com/home-workout-equipment

If a home gym is not for you then getting a membership somewhere works too.

As long as you are starting your muscle-building journey, we’re happy! 

Stick with it for the long run and you’ll see how amazing the results can be. 

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