Is Brown Sugar Milk Tea Healthy? (3 Tips for Weight Loss) 

Boba milk tea has become a phenomenon all around the world, especially in Asia and the United States.

While there are many different flavors to choose from, brown sugar milk tea has recently become a fan favorite and its delicious signature flavor has been recreated in many other ways such as ice cream bars and pastries. 

Brown sugar milk tea is extremely flavorful with its creamy caramel tones and is even better when paired with honey boba or a creamy topping such as egg pudding or cheese foam.

While it is one of the best tasting milk teas, the question is, is brown sugar milk tea healthy? 

Brown sugar milk tea is not an optimal choice to eat when dieting due to its extremely high sugar content. An average sized brown sugar milk tea contains 45 grams of sugar per serving which is much more than a can of coke. 

As you can see brown sugar milk tea is pretty detrimental for your weight loss goals.

One of the biggest enemies of weight loss is simple sugar carbohydrates and that is pretty much what brown sugar milk tea is. 

While it is very unhealthy and highly recommended to avoid if you are trying to lose weight, I understand that sometimes there are cravings you have to fulfill. 

So if you are craving a brown sugar milk tea but still want to stay on track for weight loss here are three tips that can help you satisfy your cravings while still losing weight. 

1. Understanding calories and being in a caloric deficit. 

2. Cut as much sugar as possible. 

3. Limiting consumption and making sure you work out. 

With these three tips I am going to talk about, you will be able to stay on track while still enjoying a delicious treat. 

Tip 1: Understanding calories and being in a caloric deficit 

When it comes to weight loss, although nutrition is important, it will always come down to calories in versus calories out.

Even if you only ate ice cream, you will still lose weight as long as you stay in a caloric deficit. 

Now how do you determine if you are in a caloric deficit or not?

First, you have to figure out what your unique TDEE or Total Daily Energy Expenditure is. 

TDEE is the amount of calories your body needs daily to maintain your current body weight.

Everyone’s TDEE is different because it is based on a number of factors such as age, height, weight, gender, lean muscle mass, and activity level. 

How TDEE is typically calculated is by taking your BMR or Basal Metabolic Rate and then multiplying it by your activity measurement.

BMR is the amount of calories your body needs to keep the core functions functioning.

Trying to figure out your TDEE might seem complicated but thankfully there is an abundance of TDEE calculators online that are at your disposal.

All you need to do is plug in some information and the calculator will give you the amount of calories your body needs. 

While it might not be extremely accurate, it is accurate enough to determine how many calories you need to eat to be in a caloric deficit. 

To be in a caloric deficit, all you need to do is eat at least 100 calories below your TDEE.

Simple as that, just make sure you do not eat your TDEE amount or more.

The lower your drop your calories, the faster you will lose weight. 

However, I do not recommend dropping you calories too low too quickly.

Although you might lose weight fast initially, the weight loss will stall just as quickly and the only way you will continue to lose weight is by dropping your calories even more which is not healthy for your metabolism. 

The best way to lose weight is to do it slowly with controlled and steady decrease of calories while not going too low.

I recommend going no lower than 1,500 calories for males and 1,200 calories for females. 

The more patience you have for your weight loss, the healthier and more sustainable your weight loss will be while also not putting the health of your metabolism on the line. 

Now that we understand how to be in a caloric deficit, let’s take a look at the calories for brown sugar milk tea.

For 16oz, you are looking at 278 calories with 2g of fat, 68g of carbohydrates, and 1g of protein. 

278 calories is a lot for a small drink. But if you really crave it you can definitely still work it into your daily calories.

By drinking this, this means you will need to eat less food for the rest of the day in order to stay in deficit. 

278 calories can take up a good chunk of your calories, especially for something that is liquid and not filling at all.

So if you are limited on calories, I suggest you stick to low carbohydrate foods while loading up on high protein and fibrous foods. 

Stick with lean proteins such as poultry and fish and pair it with leafy green vegetables for healthy and filling meals.

Because these types of foods are lower in calories, that means that you will be able to eat more and feel more satisfied. 

Not only that, protein and fiber paired together help you feel fuller for a longer period of time.

A reason why is because fiber helps control your blood sugar and it keeps it from spiking which is what causes you to feel hungry. 

So fiber is an important nutrient especially after drinking brown sugar milk tea because the mass amount of simple sugars in the drink will definitely cause a blood spike that will cause you to feel unsatisfied. 

So when it does, make sure to eat a healthy meal to feel satiated while also staying in your calorie goals. 

Tip 2: Cut sugar as much as possible. 

The biggest issue with brown sugar milk tea is its sugar.

22 grams is a lot for a small drink and this is what makes up for most of the calories in the drink. 

So, in order to reduce the calories, you should try to reduce the sugar levels as much as possible.

A good way to do this is to ask the barista to make your drink ½ or ¼ sugar. The less the better!

Asking for less sugar not only decreases the overall calories, it also can help satisfy your craving for the taste of brown sugar milk tea without having it take up a bulk of your calories for the day. 

Another tip to keep in mind when trying to reduce sugar is to steer away from toppings.

Toppings only contribute more sugar which is something we definitely want to avoid because brown sugar milk tea is already loaded with it. 

But keep in mind just because you should steer clear of the sugar carbohydrates in brown sugar milk tea does not mean you should steer away from all carbohydrates. 

Carbohydrates are actually an important macronutrient that our body needs to keep everything functioning properly.

Don’t be afraid to consume complex carbohydrates such as sweet potatoes, oats, and brown rice. 

The only carbohydrate you should actually steer clear from as much as possible are simple sugar carbohydrates such as sugar syrups and processed white flour.

Simple sugar carbohydrates are the ones that cause your blood sugar levels to spike, which makes you hungrier and therefore leading you to eat more calories which is something that we do not want when trying to lose weight. 

Tip 3: Limiting consumption and making sure you work out. 

It is a no brainer that brown sugar milk tea should be limited in consumption, especially since it has more than double the amount of sugar in a can of soda. 

As with everything in life, moderation is key.

Although brown sugar milk tea is seriously not good for you, it is ok to drink it once in a while. 

Once or twice a month won’t be detrimental to your health or your weight.

It only becomes an issue when you drink it multiple times a week. 

So treat yourself to a brown sugar milk tea if you are craving it and have not had one in a while.

But if you already had one not too long ago, use your will power and wait at least a week before you allow yourself to indulge. 

Another very important part of weight loss while drinking brown sugar milk tea is making sure you work out.

Working out helps you burn more calories which can soften the impact of brown sugar milk tea on your calories.

One of the best ways to work out is strength training. Strength training is more ideal over aerobic exercises because it builds and maintains muscles. 

The more muscle mass you have, the faster your metabolism because your body is going to need more calories to maintain itself due to the fact that muscle is denser than fat.

Therefore, this increases your TDEE which in turn also increases how many calories you can eat while still being in a caloric deficit. 

Not only is more muscle good for increasing your metabolism, it also provides long term benefits such as better overall posture, less body fat, and body composition. 

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.

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. 

There you have it! 

The three tips that will help you stay on track for weight loss while still indulging in a cup of brown sugar milk tea.

Although it is unhealthy and counterproductive for weight loss, it does not mean you can’t enjoy it once in a while. 

Life is all about moderation and a healthy balance with food.

So if you’re craving it, go for it!

There are a lot of things you can adjust so that it doesn’t have to completely take you off track. 

So go and enjoy a delectable brown sugar milk tea, but remember, not too much! 

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