Is Sukiyaki Healthy? (3 Tips For Weight Loss)

As a huge fan of shabu shabu, Sukiyaki is not surprisingly an extremely delicious and enjoyable Japanese take on the hot pot.

Unlike the traditional shabu shabu, which is eaten by having different meats and vegetables dipped into a savory broth, Sukiyaki simmers the ingredients in a sweet and savory soup so all the different foods soak in the flavorful sauce to give it all the ingredients a cohesive taste.

Sukiyaki is super tasty but is it healthy? 

Since Sukiyaki is typically shared with other individuals, this dish’s calorie count heavily depends on what foods you put on your plate and how much of it. 

Sukiyaki can be a very detrimental and high-calorie dish that is not ideal for weight loss but, by selectively putting the ideal foods and amount on your plate, Sukiyaki can be a relatively healthy dish! 

In this article, we will be covering three simple tips for you to follow so that you can enjoy Sukiyaki while still losing weight:

1. Understand the Nutrition for Sukiyaki 

2. Which Foods to Avoid in Sukiyaki 

3. Understand How Many Calories You Need to Eat 

Tip 1: Understand the Nutrition for Sukiyaki

As mentioned earlier, Sukiyaki’s nutrition heavily depends on what ingredients you put on this plate.

This nutrition information takes the average serving of Sukiyaki which is around ¼ of a family pot which typically can serve around 4-5 adults. 

For one serving of Sukiyaki, there is approximately 670 calories with 9 grams of fat, 100 grams of carbohydrates, and 44 grams of protein.

This is a very calorically dense dish that is extremely high in carbohydrates making it difficult to incorporate into your diet. 

Sukiyaki actually contains several low-calorie vegetables and ingredients but it is relatively higher than the raw ingredients because it is soaked in Sukiyaki sauce.

The reason why Sukiyaki is so high in carbohydrates is that this sauce is high in carbohydrates which may add a lot of additional calories into your meal. 

However, with a couple of adjustments and being smart with your choice of foods to eat when eating Sukiyaki, you can significantly lower the number of calories and carbohydrates in your overall meal.

As of now, this 670 calorie meal is rather difficult to incorporate into your daily intake but lucky for you we have great tips for you to use the next time you have a family Sukiyaki meal.

Tip 2: Which Foods to Avoid in Sukiyaki

Since the nature of eating Sukiyaki is grabbing from the big pot, the nutrition for Sukiyaki heavily depends on which foods you are eating and how much you are eating.

Filling up your plate with the right foods is key to maintaining a caloric deficit

FOODS TO AVOID

Udon

Udon is a highly calorically dense food that is heavy in carbohydrates and you can easily overeat.

Make sure that you are not eating too much Udon when you are having Sukiyaki and fill up on the meats and vegetables instead.

Shirataki Noodles

Shirataki Noodles or glass noodles are another carbohydrate source that is important to limit your intake.

Noodles are easily overconsumed just like the Udon noodles so ideally skip the noodles and eat the vegetables instead. 

Rib Eye Beef

Although the Rib Eye Beef is one of the highest source of proteins in the Sukiyaki, Rib Eye Beef is a fatty food that is very high in calories.

You don’t need to completely avoid the Rib Eye Beef but be sure that you are not overconsuming this deliciously thinly sliced beef. 

FOODS TO EAT

Mushrooms

Mushrooms are a 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.

Cabbage

Cabbage, along with other vegetables in your Sukiyaki, are great foods to eat more of compared to other options in the pot.

Feel free to stock up on your vegetables which is a great healthy option to always incorporate into your diet. 

Tofu

Tofu is one of the most popular protein sources for vegan eaters because it is comparably higher in protein compared to other non-meat foods.

Tofu is a great food to eat but it is still a bit higher in fat which means the calories can quickly add up so be sure to watch how much you are eating. 

Each of these typical foods in your Sukiyaki is all available for you to eat and you can definitely eat each one, but by carefully watching your portion size, it will be easier to stick to your goals. 

Another good thing to consider is to grab all the foods you want to eat and put it on your plate all at once to avoid getting seconds.

By visualizing how much food you are eating, this may prevent you from overeating and can make you feel more full after eating a voluminous dish.  

Tip 3: Understand How Many Calories You Need to Eat 

Whatever foods your craving, such as Sukiyaki, you can most definitely incorporate into your diet and still successfully lose weight as long as you eat in a calorie deficit.

The only problem of filling your diet with your favorite sugary and fatty foods is that these high-calorie foods do not keep you full and energized which will easily lead to overeating.

This is why it is important to eat a balanced diet that ideally follows the 80/20 rule where you fill your diet with 80% of healthy, nutritious, and low-calorie foods while saving the other 20% with your cravings of sugary and salty treats.

Th importance of eating in a caloric deficit is because the only way to truly lose weight is to eat below your TDEE 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 long as your calorie intake from food is 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.

Simply go online and search up a TDEE calculator which will ask you to input your weight, height, and gender and has an algorithm to generate an average TDEE for you.

Remember 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 off 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! 

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

The reason why day to day weight loss is not super accurate is that weight fluctuates due to many factors.

Depending on the time of day, 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 re-composition, how your energy levels are throughout the day, and how you are mentally feeling are other important factors during weight loss!

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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