Even when dieting, it is not easy to give up delicious food. Raw fish dishes are a relatively guilt-free option to enjoy at such times. Gwangkkaetmu, flounder and perilla leaf salad, has recently been gaining popularity on social media. Mixing flounder and perilla leaves together to enhance their taste and flavor makes it a useful option for a delicious diet meal. Broadcaster Park Ji-yoon, 47 years old, who has lost 7kg and is maintaining her weight, recently shared on her Instagram that she eats flounder and perilla leaf salad as a late-night snack while dieting. Park Ji-yoon said, “Raw fish doesn’t make you gain weight,” adding, “The person who created Gwangkkaetmu is a genius.”
◇Flounder and Perilla Leaf Salad Is Good for a Diet Meal
Flounder and perilla leaf salad is a good option for a diet meal. Flounder, a fish that comes into season from autumn, is one of the representative high-protein, low-fat foods that can especially help with weight management. Its protein content reaches about 20g per 100g, similar to chicken breast, while its fat content is very low at around 1–2g. This makes it useful for preventing muscle loss and maintaining a feeling of fullness for longer. In addition, according to the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety, raw flounder has only about 100–110 kcal per 100g, making it easy to eat without feeling burdened.
Perilla leaves are also very low in calories, at 30–40 kcal per 100g, and have the advantage of being rich in dietary fiber. Dietary fiber helps maintain a feeling of fullness and is effective in preventing constipation, which is commonly experienced while dieting. The distinct spicy and refreshing aroma of perilla leaves can also help eliminate the fishy smell of fish.
However, if raw flounder and perilla leaves are eaten as a salad, attention should be paid to the accompanying sauce. Typical raw fish salad sauces often contain sweet ingredients such as sugar, corn syrup, or maesil syrup in addition to vinegar-based red pepper paste or red pepper paste. Using a large amount of sauce can increase overall sugar and calorie intake. Sesame oil or perilla oil can enhance the flavor when used in small amounts, but they are high in fat, so calories can quickly increase if too much is added. For a diet meal, it is better to reduce the amount of sauce or make it yourself using vinegar, lemon juice, red pepper powder, and low-sodium soy sauce.
◇Avoid Overeating Late at Night
However, even an excellent meal becomes less effective as a diet meal when eaten as a late-night snack. At night, activity levels decrease, reducing opportunities to burn the energy consumed. In particular, going to bed soon after eating can cause indigestion or acid reflux and lower sleep quality. When sleep is insufficient, it can also affect appetite control the following day, making weight management more difficult. In fact, according to a research team at Brigham and Women’s Hospital affiliated with Harvard University, after delaying dinner by about 4 hours and 10 minutes for 16 overweight or obese adults and analyzing changes in appetite and energy metabolism according to meal timing, leptin levels, which induce a feeling of fullness, decreased when meals were eaten later than usual. Energy expenditure while awake also decreased by an average of 59.4 kcal per day.
◇Flounder and Perilla Leaf Salad Is Good for a Diet Meal
Flounder and perilla leaf salad is a good option for a diet meal. Flounder, a fish that comes into season from autumn, is one of the representative high-protein, low-fat foods that can especially help with weight management. Its protein content reaches about 20g per 100g, similar to chicken breast, while its fat content is very low at around 1–2g. This makes it useful for preventing muscle loss and maintaining a feeling of fullness for longer. In addition, according to the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety, raw flounder has only about 100–110 kcal per 100g, making it easy to eat without feeling burdened.
Perilla leaves are also very low in calories, at 30–40 kcal per 100g, and have the advantage of being rich in dietary fiber. Dietary fiber helps maintain a feeling of fullness and is effective in preventing constipation, which is commonly experienced while dieting. The distinct spicy and refreshing aroma of perilla leaves can also help eliminate the fishy smell of fish.
However, if raw flounder and perilla leaves are eaten as a salad, attention should be paid to the accompanying sauce. Typical raw fish salad sauces often contain sweet ingredients such as sugar, corn syrup, or maesil syrup in addition to vinegar-based red pepper paste or red pepper paste. Using a large amount of sauce can increase overall sugar and calorie intake. Sesame oil or perilla oil can enhance the flavor when used in small amounts, but they are high in fat, so calories can quickly increase if too much is added. For a diet meal, it is better to reduce the amount of sauce or make it yourself using vinegar, lemon juice, red pepper powder, and low-sodium soy sauce.
◇Avoid Overeating Late at Night
However, even an excellent meal becomes less effective as a diet meal when eaten as a late-night snack. At night, activity levels decrease, reducing opportunities to burn the energy consumed. In particular, going to bed soon after eating can cause indigestion or acid reflux and lower sleep quality. When sleep is insufficient, it can also affect appetite control the following day, making weight management more difficult. In fact, according to a research team at Brigham and Women’s Hospital affiliated with Harvard University, after delaying dinner by about 4 hours and 10 minutes for 16 overweight or obese adults and analyzing changes in appetite and energy metabolism according to meal timing, leptin levels, which induce a feeling of fullness, decreased when meals were eaten later than usual. Energy expenditure while awake also decreased by an average of 59.4 kcal per day.