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The healthiest Wagamama options

Megan Widdows
Written by

Megan Widdows

Medically reviewed by

Fiona Moncrieff

4 min read
Last updated March 2024
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Here are Wagamama’s healthiest options

Order without adjustments

These options can be ordered as they come and enjoyed as part of a healthy diet. 

Mains

  • Shu’s ‘shiok’ chicken kororo bowl
  • Naked katsu kororo bowl
  • Teriyaki chicken hiyashi summer bowl
  • Salmon harusame salad summer bowl
  • Teriyaki shredded duck hiyashi summer bowl
  • Avant gard’n summer bowl (v)
  • Tofu harusame salad summer bowl (v)
  • Miso mixed vegetable hiyashi kororo bowl (v)

Sides

  • Edamame with salt or chili (v)
  • Bang bang cauliflower (v)
  • Wok fried greens (v)
  • Miso soup with Japanese pickles (v)
  • Prawn kushiyaki
  • Chicken yakitori

Order with a few adjustments

These options can be slightly adjusted to be healthier:

Mains

  • Grilled duck donburi

Swap the sticky rice for wok fried greens or bang bang cauliflower

  • Teriyaki chicken donburi

Swap the sticky rice for wok fried greens or bang bang cauliflower

  • Teriyaki beef donburi

Swap the sticky rice for wok fried greens or bang bang cauliflower

  • Seared nuoc cham tuna kororo bowl

Swap the quinoa and sweet potato for extra vegetables

  • Raisukaree tofu (v), chicken or prawn 

Swap the rice for wok fried greens or bang bang cauliflower

  • Firecracker tofu (v), chicken or prawn 

Swap the rice for wok fried greens or bang bang cauliflower

Enjoy occasionally 

These are more indulgent options that can be enjoyed as part of a balanced diet, just less often:

Mains

  • Chicken or Yasai katsu curry
  • All Ramen dishes
  • All Teppanyaki and noodle dishes
  • Yasai pad thai (v)
  • Yasai yaki soba with rice or udon noodle (v)

Sides

  • Chili squid
  • All gyoza dishes
  • All steamed buns
  • Vegan chili ‘squid’ (v)
  • Vegetable tempura (v)
  • Mixed mushroom hirata bun (v)

If you fancy a dessert, it’s completely fine to enjoy one occasionally. Consider sharing one with your company or enjoy it mindfully if you choose to indulge.

When eating out, you must be mindful of your portion size and check in with your hunger cues.

Restaurant portions are often much larger than we eat at home, so don’t feel pressured to eat everything. You can always take leftovers home in a doggy bag for lunch or dinner the following day.

Flexibility is the key to sustained weight loss

Eating out at restaurants is an enjoyable social experience that you shouldn’t have to miss out on for the sake of your health journey.

Many people worry that going to restaurants always means overindulging; however, it’s possible to eat healthily when eating out.

Wagamama is a popular Asian restaurant that serves a wide range of dishes to suit different tastes. With so many options on the menu, it can be tricky to know what to choose, especially if you’re trying to stick to your healthy lifestyle. 

Eating out is often a much-anticipated treat. It’s perfectly ok to choose a more indulgent option if you want to.

The important thing is that this isn’t a frequent indulgence, and you focus on finding the motivation to return to your healthy habits afterwards. 

Science suggests that a reduced carbohydrate diet is the most effective diet for weight loss.

Lower-carb diets are particularly effective for those who struggle with blood glucose control (e.g. people with type 2 diabetes).

On top of this, eating plenty of non-starchy vegetables (e.g. broccoli or peppers), protein (e.g. meat or fish), and healthy fats (e.g. olive oil or nuts) has many health benefits.

If you’re looking for a long-term weight loss solution that encourages flexibility so you can still enjoy eating out at restaurants, you could try Second Nature.

Second Nature’s approach: Indulgent but supports weight loss 

In 2022, the NHS published data in the British Medical Journal from the National Weight Management and Diabetes Prevention programme, where five providers delivered weight loss services in the UK.

The results showed that after 12 months, Second Nature was more than twice as effective as the four other providers.

How does Second Nature’s approach work?

We approach nutrition and healthy eating differently. We don’t count calories, track macros, weigh food, or assign strict targets on your intake.

We provide you with evidence-based guidance on a balanced diet and teach you to understand what your physical and emotional drivers for eating are to reach your weight loss goals.

We also provide tools, such as our hunger scale and mindful eating techniques, that help you tune into your physical hunger cues and manage your food choices.

Alongside this, we help you build healthy habits that you can enjoy for a lifetime to help you maintain a healthy weight.

Our feedback inbox is filled with people like Jo, who lost over eight stone to achieve a healthy body weight on Second Nature after following our nutrition guidelines and receiving the support of our app and health coaches.

The difference is that members of Second Nature learn to love food again. They’re no longer restricted. They’re liberated.

If you’d like to join over 150,000 others who’ve joined Second Nature, lost weight and kept it off while enjoying eating out at their favourite restaurants, then click here to take our health quiz.

Take home message

  • There are so many options to choose from when eating at Wagamama, some more healthy than others
  • Lower-carb diets are the most effective for weight loss.
  • If you want to indulge, enjoy your meal without guilt and aim to eat healthy meals the next day.
  • If you’re looking for a healthy meal, there are several healthy, lower-carb options you can choose from.
  • Second Nature is proven to be more effective at supporting weight loss compared to other programmes.
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