Low in calories and rich in dietary fiber… The secret to the Korean diet? Just change ‘this’ to suit you.

A Korean diet centered around rice can help you lose weight and maintain it if you plan it well, while still feeling full. This is because Korean food mainly uses plant-based ingredients that are low in calories and rich in dietary fiber. In addition, you can change the side dishes in various ways, which can reduce the difficulties experienced during the diet process.

How should I organize a healthy Korean diet menu? Anyone can create a Korean diet menu that suits them by using ' MenuGen ', a healthy diet management program from the 'Agricultural and Food Properly' site of the National Institute of Agricultural Sciences, Rural Development Administration.

The ratio of carbohydrate, protein, and fat (hereinafter referred to as carbohydrates) in the diet menu is set at 50-55%, 20-25%, and 30-35%, respectively. This follows the ratio of carbohydrates and fats in the Mediterranean diet, which slightly reduces carbohydrate intake and relatively increases fat intake. The Mediterranean diet is known to be effective in treating obesity with metabolic syndrome and cardiovascular disease.

The total calories for three meals a day are set at 1400-1600 kcal for women and 1600-1800 kcal for men, which is lower than the general recommended intake of 2000 kcal and 2500 kcal, respectively. In the case of rice, which is the staple food, it is good to mix grains with rice to lower blood sugar levels.

Kang Min-sook, a researcher at the Department of Food and Nutrition at the National Agricultural Cooperative Federation, said, “We recommend reducing your usual intake by about 20% or about 500 kcal to lose 0.4 to 0.5 kg per week,” adding, “However, the amount of rice you eat may vary depending on the individual and their diet, so it is a good idea to check through Menuzen.”

Agricultural and Food Products Correctly provides examples of healthy, customized diets for dieters. It is convenient to change the composition of the following diet to suit yourself.

Breakfast consists of 90g of mixed grain rice, 200g of beef and seaweed soup, 70g of steamed cabbage, 50g of bachelor kimchi, 150g of low-fat milk, and 50g of apple. Lunch consists of 180g of oatmeal porridge, 90g of mackerel stewed in red pepper paste, 75g of stir-fried sweet potato stems, 70g of seasoned oyster mushrooms, and 18g of perilla leaf kimchi. Dinner consists of 230g of curry rice, 160g of perilla leaf soup, 80g of soy sauce cabbage pancake, 50g of three vegetable side dishes, 125g of napa cabbage kimchi, and 70g of grapes.

If you do this, the calories for each of the three meals a day will be 500 kcal, 500 kcal, and 400 kcal, for a total of 1400 kcal. Also, the carbohydrate to fat ratio for all three meals is close to 5:2:3.

In the ‘Healthy Customized Diet Suggestion’ of Agricultural and Food Products Correct, you can also check out other examples of diets, such as a total of 1,500 kcal for three meals a day.

I know Korean food is good, but these days, it seems like it costs more to eat like that.

Healthy vegetables are so expensive