Korean sweet potato is known for its dense nutritional value, sweet velvet texture, and host of health benefits. The Korean Sweet Potato diet is a popular diet that has been adopted by many people in and around South Korea.
It’s not uncommon in Korea to see everyone from children snacking on roasted sweet potatoes to adults barbecuing sweet potatoes over the grill. It’s a fantastic food to include in your everyday lifestyle diet and a little goes a long way, especially if you’re regularly consuming it.
Many people have caught on to the myriad of weight loss benefits this superfood has, and thus the Korean sweet potato diet has been a popular diet that’s been touted time and time again as a fantastic way to shed kilos whilst consuming wholesome food.
What’s the Korean Sweet Potato Diet?
As the name suggests, the Korean Sweet Potato Diet is a diet that is majority comprised of sweet potatoes amongst a sprinkle of other foods. The idea is that sweet potato is full of enough nutrients, vitamins, and other health benefits to cleanse your body, keep you fuller for longer, and help you lose weight.
The other foods included in the Korean sweet potato diet include chicken breast and other low-fat food options. It is usually followed for a period of 7 days and is quite a popular diet route for K-pop idols.
Whilst we definitely think this is one of the easier diets to follow (any diet that includes carbs is the ‘easy’ option!), it’s still quite difficult to follow through all the way to the end. You’ll be eating similar things across all the days, and it may get tedious after the first few days.
However, if you stay strong and pull through, you’ll see some amazing results!
The Benefits of the Korean Sweet Potato Diet
If you’re still not convinced about the Korean Sweet Potato Diet, you can read more about all the health benefits of Korean sweet potatoes here. The article details just how packed with nutrients this vegetable really is and how your whole body can benefit from regular consumption.
However, below is a summary of the benefits of the Korean sweet potato diet:
- They will optimize your gut health through their richness of soluble and insoluble fiber
- They are rich in essential vitamins and minerals including B6, B2, magnesium, phosphorus, and potassium for muscle repair, bone strengthening, and immune system building
- The natural sweetness of the sweet potatoes will curb your sugar cravings
- Korean sweet potatoes are considered a low-glycaemic carbohydrate and thus will keep you fuller for longer
If you’re interested in what the Korean sweet potato diet looks like, we’ve detailed an example below. Remember, these diets are 100% tailorable to your lifestyle as well, so feel free to build on them.
7 -Day Plan – Korean Sweet Potato Diet
Day 1
- Breakfast: Sweet Potato
- Lunch: Salad
- Dinner: Smoothie
The first day is always the most exciting and you’ll likely be able to pull through quite easily. You’ll find that the sweet potato is easy to consume and because you’re just starting off, you’ll have quite a bit of energy to burn through.
Sweet potato can be cooked in a variety of ways, including boiled, steamed, grilled, and air-fried.
Keep your salad low-calorie by omitting any dressing. You can also include chicken breast in your salad if you’d like.
One thing to remember is that you cannot snack during this diet. When you’re actively avoiding snacks, you might find that you sometimes mindlessly reach for a snack during the day. It may be because you’re peckish, bored, or both, but it is very important that you avoid all snacks during this diet.
Day 2
- Breakfast: Yoghurt
- Lunch: 2 x Sweet Potatoes
- Dinner: Fried Rice
We’re mixing it up and changing when and how much you consume the sweet potato. There should be variety in your diet because eating the same thing over and over again gets boring and will make you fatigued.
A small portion of fried rice with vegetables and protein is a great way to introduce some different textures and flavors into your diet. Tips on how you can make your fried rice healthier would be to use brown rice, omit excess oil, include lots of vegetables, and try not to use too much seasoning.
Day 3
- Breakfast: Yoghurt
- Lunch: Chicken Breast
- Dinner: 2 x Sweet Potatoes
By now, you may be feeling the fatigue of following this diet. However, you’re almost halfway so don’t give up.
One way to get you through the day and in between meals would be to drink lots of water. Often when people think they’re hungry, they’re actually dehydrated so make sure you have enough water to keep yourself adequately satiated.
Remember, there are many ways to prepare your sweet potato to keep your diet exciting so that you don’t have to keep eating the same thing every day.
Day 4
- Breakfast: Sweet Potato
- Lunch: Salad
- Dinner: 2 x Boiled Eggs, 2 x Sweet Potatoes
You’re past the halfway mark now, with only a few days left! We’re now introducing another protein to eat with your sweet potatoes: boiled eggs! Boiled eggs are a fantastic option to get full on a protein that’s similarly jam-packed with nutrients for the body.
Again, if you want to spruce up your salad, add some chicken breast to it for flavor.
Day 5
- Breakfast: Sweet Potato
- Lunch: 2 x Boiled Eggs
- Dinner: Sweet Potato Curry
How many snacks have you eaten by now? We hope the number is 0!
It’s day 5 and you’re almost at the end. This is the second last day of having sweet potato twice, so we hope you’re not sick of it! Change up your diet by cooking your sweet potato in some curry for dinner. One of the most important things about dieting is portion control, so remember to keep your portion in line with the rest of your meals.
Day 6
- Breakfast: Yoghurt
- Lunch: Salad
- Dinner: Sweet Potato Fries
This is the second last day so stay strong! We’re going back to including yogurt in the diet as we don’t want to overwhelm you with too much sweet potato.
For dinner, we’re changing it up with sweet potato fries. We hope the texture and flavor of these fries will satiate your appetite!
Day 7 – FINAL DAY
- Breakfast: Sweet Potato
- Lunch: Salad
- Dinner: Sweet Potato, Small Steak
Hooray you made it to the last day!
To reward you for your efforts, dinner will include a small steak. By definition, a small steak should be around 80-85grams. Regardless of the size, we bet this small protein will taste like heaven as your last meal on this diet!
By now you should know that the Korean sweet potato diet does not consist of mainly sweet potato but it is the main component of it. This is what makes this diet quite tolerable and sustainable. It’s got variety, and flavor, and will yield fantastic results if you stick it through.
After you’ve completed the diet, come back to this article and think: how did I feel during the diet? Was the diet a good fit for me? Did I lose weight or do I feel healthier than when I started?
Who Should Try the Korean Sweet Potato Diet?
If you’re an individual who wants to shed some kilos whilst not completely cutting out carbs, this is a good diet for you to try. It is mainly about consuming a food densely packed with nutrients whilst controlling the portions of what you eat.
If you follow the diet strictly without snacking, over-portioning, and stopping mid-way, you’ll definitely see some fantastic results in the end!
Just have a look at the amazing results of Taeyeon from Girls’ Generation, Suzy Bae, and Apink’s Eun Ji!
If you are interesting in weight loss, you can also read our blog post about how K-pop idols lose weight.