Is Tom Yum Keto? (3 Tips for Weight Loss)

I believe that if you haven’t tried it already, Tom Yum Soup is an absolute must-have the next time you go to a Thai Restaurant.

In fact, it might not even be worth the wait because it is so easy to make it at home!

Tom Yum soup is a rich, creamy broth that is filled with coconut flavor and has a lemony, citrus kick with just a bit of spice. 

I hope I convinced you that Tom Yum soup is super tasty, but you may be wondering Is Tom Yum Keto? 

Tom Yum Soup is a keto friendly soup as it is usually very low in carbs and is mostly made of fats and a bit of protein. This makes it a great option for those who are on the keto diet and wish to minimize their carbohydrate intake. 

You may ask though, is Tom Yum good for weight loss?

In addition to Tom Yum being Keto, it is a relatively healthy dish because it is pretty low in calories and can be a great food to incorporate into your diet.

In this article, we will be covering three useful tips on how to drink Tom Yum soup while still losing weight:

1. Understand the Nutrition of Tom Yum Soup

2. Foods to Avoid at Thai Restaurants

3. Understanding How Many Calories To Eat Everyday

Tip 1: Understand the Nutrition of Tom Yum Soup

As discussed earlier, Tom Yum Soup is a keto-friendly dish that is suitable for those who prefer to eat a lower-carb diet.

What makes this soup ideal for weight loss is because it is not an extremely high-calorie dish making it a meal you can easily have that is also very fulfilling.

Let us take a closer look at the nutritional information for the typical Keto Tom Yum soup: 

One bowl of Tom Yum soup has 200 calories with 12 grams of fat, 5 grams of carbohydrates, and 18 grams of protein.

With that much protein, this makes Tom Yum a great protein source!

However, since Tom Yum has little to know net carbohydrates, this makes it a higher in fat dish.

Although it is higher in fat, this does not make Tom Yum unhealthy!

By adjusting your other meals throughout the day, 12 grams of fat is not a lot of 

If you are drinking Tom Yum soup, it is very likely that it is not going to be the only thing you are consuming for an entire meal.

The great news is that Thai restaurants usually have several keto-friendly dishes!

Other available dishes include salads, but you do want to be aware of the dressing which tends to be very high in fat and carbs so order your dressing on the side!

For a source of protein, try going with shrimp or fish which are both excellent sources of lean protein and will limit your overall fat intake for the day. 

Another great option includes red curry without the rice which you can pair with other veggies or meats!

However, sometimes curry contains a lot of sugar so definitely ask the waiter if they add a lot of additional sugar. 

Tip 2: Foods To Avoid At Thai Restaurants 

Although Tom Yum is a great option to eat when trying to go Keto, there are many options you can find in a Thai restaurant that contain lots of carbs coming from sugar.

Let’s take a look at some of the foods you can find that may take you away from eating within a Keto diet. 

Stir Fry Noodle Dishes 

Southern Thai Food has to be defined by either Pad Thai or Pad See Ew.

They’re very delicious and contain a ton of flavors but, within those flavors, lies a lot of carbs coming from both the noodle and sauce. 

This one might seem obvious but a tip here is that a bite or two won't hurt you.

The goal of Keto is to stay below a range of 50 grams of carbs so, as long as you are properly tracking, you can stay on track. 

Some Skewer Dishes 

Another key feature of Thai food has to be the satay you can find which are essentially skewered meats that are grilled over charcoals.

Although some Thai chefs use simple seasonings that are based off of vinegar, soy sauce, and lime, many chefs can also use a lot of sugar in these dishes so be mindful of the amount of carbs you might get from the sugars.

The types of meats you can generally find that are marinated with sugar are the pork and chicken.

You can stick with the beef which is usually just salt and some other aromatic seasonings. 

Most Desserts 

Thai desserts all revolve around one thing which is coconut milk. Although these dishes are very delicious, you can find a lot of sugar inside the coconut milk that seasons each dish.

The most popular dish, mango sticky rice is essentially all carbs as the mango and the rice as drenched in creamy coconut milk. 

Our tip here is to just stick with some of the fruit as you can get more food per serving while keeping the carbs generally lower.

Make sure to be tracking how many carbs you are getting in a day and some desserts can be eaten in moderation.

Tip 3: Understanding How Many Calories to Eat Everyday

There are many diets out there that claim to help you rapidly lose weight but the underlying factor behind all these diets is a calorie deficit. 

The only way to lose weight is to consume fewer calories than your TDEE (Total Daily Energy Expenditure) which is a combination of the calories burned from daily activity, resting metabolic rate, and energy used to swallow and digest food.

As long as your calories consumed are less than your calories burned, you are guaranteed to shed off weight.

This is why the keto diet works for people because you are essentially eliminating one whole macronutrient.

However, carbohydrates are not the enemy!

Eating too many calories and entering a calorie surplus is what makes you gain weight. 

In a keto diet, if you are unable to consume carbohydrates, this cuts out a huge portion of your daily calorie consumption and limits a lot of the foods you are able to eat.

Diets that call for cutting out certain foods are usually very unsustainable and only result in short term weight loss. 

The best type of diet is one that is sustainable for you.

If you never preferred foods high in carbohydrates and keto can be a lifelong diet you can keep up, by all means, do what is best for you!

However, if you are always constantly craving bread or rice your willpower can not sustain you for long. 

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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