Is Char Siu Bao Healthy? (3 Tips For Weight Loss) 

If you have ever been to a dim sum or yum cha restaurant, there is a very high chance that you have come across the delicious Cantonese bun: Char Siu Bao.

Char Siu Bao are Cantonese style roasted pork buns. Known for its signature red bbq pork filling, Char Siu Bao is a must have if you are a fan of sweet and salty pastries.

Char Siu refers to the pork filling and bao refers to the bun or pastry that encases the filling.

Char Siu is a type of Cantonese roasted pork that is also referred to as “Chinese BBQ pork.”

This type of roasted pork is marinated in a sweet BBQ sauce and then roasted. 

The BBQ sauce is made up of a blend of spices, sugar, and oil.

The cut of pork used can vary by who makes them but fatty cuts of pork such as the shoulder and butt are preferred for Char Siu Bao.

But, the Char Siu can also be made from leaner cuts of the pork such as pork loins, although not as commonly used. 

Now for the bao, there are two variations.

Char Siu Bao can either be steamed or baked.

Steamed Char Siu Bao are made up of a white fluffy bun that is a popular type of bun used in Asian cuisine.

This white, fluffy bun makes a perfect pairing with the sweet and salty Char Siu. Baked, on the other hand, is a little bit different in appearance, taste, and texture. 

Baked Char Siu Bao has a harder and golden exterior as opposed to looking fluffy and white.

These buns are wrapped in more of a pastry than bread.

When you bite into a baked Char Siu Bao you have more of a flaky crunch which also pairs very nicely with the Char Siu. 

Either way, both of these variations of Char Siu Bao are very popular in Chinese cuisine. 

But now begs the question, is Char Siu Bao healthy?

Char Siu Bao is a dish that generally consists of high carbs and fats with small amounts of protein.

This makes it very difficult to fit into a healthy diet as the bun does not offer a good balance of macronutrients.

Getting an excess of carbs and fats can lead to unwanted weight gain so Char

However, this does not mean that you cannot incorporate them into a healthy lifestyle and diet.

In this article I will be giving you tips on how you can still enjoy Char Siu Bao without losing progress in your weight loss journey. 

Let’s take a look at the details on how we can stay healthy while eating Char Siu Bao

How Many Calories Are In Char Siu Bao? 

So, breaking down the macros, Char Siu Bao calories are mostly made up of carbohydrates while being fairly low in protein and moderate in fats.

This is due to the ratio of bun/pastry to how much pork filling there is. 

Carbohydrates are not necessarily bad for you but you want to be careful with how much you eat and what else you might eat with it. 

In the case of Char Siu Bao, you want to keep your intake to one bun to keep your carbohydrates at a moderate level.

It is especially important to do so when eating Char Siu Bao because all the carbohydrates come from the bun or pastry which is made up of all purpose flour, dried yeast, sugar, oil, and water.

All purpose flour is an ingredient you want to avoid as much as possible because it is the worst type of carbohydrate you can consume.

This type of flour is categorized as a simple carb.

Simple carbohydrates, especially processed carbohydrates such as all purpose flour and white rice, are stripped of all its potential nutrients. 

There is no fiber, therefore leading these simple carbohydrates to be considered empty but hefty calories which are digested quickly.

Also, due to their high glycemic index, simple carbohydrates can cause rapid spikes in blood sugar and insulin levels which leads to the feeling of hunger.

Therefore increasing the chances of weight gain due to its voided nutritional value and its inability to make you feel full. 

But this does not mean you need to completely avoid simple carbohydrates forever.

White, refined carbohydrates can still be a part of a healthy diet as long as it is in moderation.

I will be talking about how you can use these carbohydrates for your own benefit in a later section of this article. 

The next main contributor to Char Siu Bao’s calorie content is its fat.

The fat mainly comes from the fatty cuts of pork.

Fatty cuts of pork have more saturated fats than other meats such as poultry and fish. 

Although not the worst for your health, when it comes to Char Siu Bao, it is still not the best for you especially if you do not observe the other foods you eat along with it.

When trying to live a healthy lifestyle, you want to avoid saturated and trans fats as much as possible. 

You can decrease the fat content if you are able to find Char Siu Bao that is made with lean pork cuts like pork loins instead of fatty cuts.

Lean pork actually contains more nutritional benefits such as being rich in vitamins, iron, magnesium, and zinc.

Overall, from a macronutrient stand point, Char Siu Bao is not ideal for your health because it is very carb heavy and its fat outweighs its protein content.

Ideally, it would be better to have a higher protein content because a high protein diet is ideal for a healthy lifestyle

or weight loss journey because protein is far more satiating than carbohydrates and fats. 

But, we can still make Char Siu Bao work!

My suggestion is to limit yourself to one bun if you are looking to stay on track.

Difficult to resist, but you need to remember that if you eat another bun you are looking at nearly over 100 grams of carbohydrates for only two buns.

That is a hefty amount of carbohydrates to consume for something that might not even be able to satiate you for a long period of time.

So try to stick to one bun to satisfy your cravings and then eat more protein along with it!

Find a protein source and make it into a whole meal which will most likely fill you up for longer and not have you clock in too many grams of carbohydrates for the day. 

Tip 1: Understanding How Many Calories You Need in a Day

Now let’s discuss understanding calories and how to count it in a way where you can meet your personal goals. 

Our bodies need energy to function and this source of energy is called calories.

A calorie is defined as the amount of energy needed to raise the temperature of 1 gram of water through 1 degree Celsius.

You always hear people talking about burning calories when working out but you are actually burning calories all the time!

Even if you are just lying in bed all day, your body still needs a base amount of calories to keep your body running as it should.

The average calorie intake that has been outlined for the general public is 2,500 calories a day for males and 2,000 calories for females.

Although this is a very standard measurement, this number sometimes can either be too high or two low depending on the individual because how many calories we actually need depends on a lot of different factors such as age, height, weight, lean muscle mass, daily activity levels, etc.

So if you have a personal goal of either losing, maintaining, or gaining weight, you need to figure out a more specific amount of calories rather than just going off the standardized amount. 

To figure out how many calories you need, you need to first figure out your TDEE, which is your Total Daily Energy Expenditure. 

This amount is how many calories you need in a day in order to maintain the weight you are currently at with your usual activity levels.

To calculate your TDEE, you will need to find out your BMR or Basal Metabolic Rate and multiply it by your activity measurement.

Your BMR is the amount of calories your body needs just to survive. 

Now, this all sounds very convoluted but thanks to the internet, there is a plethora of different online TDEE and BMR calculators that you can use for free!

Although it might not be 100% accurate, the amount it gives you will definitely be closer than the standard amount of 2,500 for males and 2,000 for females.

After you have determined what your TDEE is, you can adjust your desired calorie intake to align with your goals.

To maintain your current weight, stay at the recommended TDEE.

If you are trying to lose weight, cut your calories by 200 below your TDEE.

If you are trying to gain weight, eat more than your TDEE.

Some of these online calculators are able to help you calculate how many calories you need in order to lose or gain weight too depending on how intensely you are trying to get it done.

To lose weight, you might be tempted to drop your calories drastically for a faster weight loss, but this is highly not recommend if you want sustainable and healthy weight loss.

Drastically dropping your calories too low, too fast, will lead to fast weight loss but eventually you will plateau.

Once you plateau, the only thing you can do if you want to continue to lose weight is to drop your calories even lower. 

This is unsustainable because you cannot survive if you drop your calories too low.

My recommendation is to make sure to never go below 1,200 calories a day and if you are eating around 1,200 calories a day, do not do it for a prolonged period of time.

Eating in a caloric deficit for too long will lead to metabolic damage and you are going to gain the weight back even faster when you try to eat normally again. 

We want to avoid this, so forget about the quick gratification and swamp it for a slow, but healthy and sustainable weight loss by dropping your calories slowly such as starting out eating 100-200 calories below your TDEE. Patience is key! 

Tip 2: Make Sure To Working Out & Build Muscle

Now that we’ve touched on knowing how many calories you need to for a day, let’s talk about the importance of working out.

Working out is a crucial part of making sure that not only do you stay fit but that your body is functioning at its best.

There are two types of exercises I will be discussing: aerobic exercises and strength training. 

Aerobic exercises are exercises that usually use large muscle groups to train and strengthen your cardiovascular system.

Examples of aerobic exercises are running, dancing, swimming, jump roping, etc.

Basically any type of exercise that really gets your heart pumping and lung working hard for a prolonged period of time. 

These types of exercises are great for burning excess calories and making sure that you have a healthy and strong cardiovascular system.

While aerobic exercises are great, I highly recommend strength training to be the main focus of your workouts. 

Strength training might be a little bit more intimidating at first because it is a little bit more complicated than aerobic exercises but it is much more beneficial for not only for your health but also long term weight loss goals.

The main purpose of strength training is to build and maintain lean muscles.

Developing an overall strong muscle structure gives you a lot of long term benefits such as improved posture, body composition, metabolism, and a lower percentage of visceral fat. 

In terms of weight loss, although strength training does not burn as many calories as aerobic exercises in the same amount of time,

calories are continually being burned after strength training as opposed to your body going back to its regular metabolism after you have completed an aerobic exercise. 

The continual burning of calories is caused by muscle fiber tears.

Your body needs to use more calories to repair these muscle fibers and the more your muscles get repaired, the more lean muscle you accumulate.

Lean muscle mass is also much denser than fat, therefore the more lean muscles you build, the more calories your body needs to maintain itself, meaning a faster metabolism!

So don’t be afraid to start strength training because it is extremely beneficial for you.

You don’t even have to go to a gym to have good strength training sessions.

All you need are a couple solid base strength training equipment and you are set!

Here are some highly recommended pieces of home workout equipment that you can check out to start your strength training journey. 

Tip 3: Utilize the Carbohydrates for Your Benefit 

There are two ways you can retain some benefits from eating Char Siu Bao and these two ways are either eating it before you workout or eating it after you workout.

The main idea we are focusing on here is how we can utilize the carbohydrates from Char Siu Bao to either fuel your workout or recovery. 

When eaten before a workout, Char Siu Bao can give your workouts a little extra boost from its carbohydrates.

When carbohydrates are eaten 30-90 minutes before you workout, your body converts it to extra energy. 

With this extra energy you will have the ability to push yourself even more through your workout, such as lifting heavier which is very crucial for optimal muscle gain and maintenance.

The only thing you have to be more careful about is how much you eat before you workout. 

If you are going to eat a Char Siu Bao before you workout, you are going to have to try to eat it by itself and not really have it be a meal but more of a snack because one Char Siu Bao already provides more than enough carbohydrates to fuel your workout. 

Plus, you do not want to get too full right before a workout or else it is going to slow you down rather than help you push through. 

The more ideal way of utilizing Char Siu Bao is eating it after your workout.

Carbohydrates and protein are essential for recovery after a workout, therefore eating Char Siu Bao after a good workout will direct the carbohydrates into better functions for your body such as refueling your glycogen levels. 

Not only that, as opposed to eating it pre workout, you can make the Char Siu Bao more of a meal by eating other foods with it such as a protein source or vegetables for fiber. 

While these two ways of eating Char Siu Bao won’t negate the fact that it is unhealthy, doing it this way will provide more benefits for you as opposed to just eating it without utilizing its high carbohydrate content. 

There you go! 

While Char Siu Bao is not considered healthy and not the best in terms of its macronutrient ratio, that does not mean you have to avoid it if you are trying to lose weight or trying to live a healthy lifestyle.

To lose weight, just make sure you are eating below your TDEE and as for a healthy lifestyle, moderation is key! Also don’t forget the importance of working out regularly.

Working out regularly is not only beneficial for your health but working out also makes these guilty pleasures a little less guilty. 

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