Is Choco Pie Healthy? (3 Tips for Weight Loss)

If you have ever been to an Asian supermarket, you have probably come across the iconic Choco Pie.

In the middle of two chocolatey cakes, the fluffy interior marshmallow filling that imitates the texture of smores makes this dessert a perfect balance of flavors.

Choco Pie was definitely my favorite childhood mini cake. Bite-sized and super delicious, you may be wondering, is Choco Pie healthy?     

Choco Pie is extremely high in sugars and is not the best snack to eat regularly as there is a high chance to put you over the recommended intake for daily sugar intake. With 13 grams of added sugars and 4 grams of saturated fats per serving, Choco Pie should definitely be eaten in moderation.

Although it lacks essential nutritional value and is not the healthiest dessert, this does not mean you can not eat Choco Pie when you are trying to lose weight!

In this article, we will be discussing three great tips that will help you understand more about the nutrition behind Choco Pie and how to enjoy this delicious dessert while still losing weight: 

Tip 1: Understand the Nutritional Information behind Choco Pie

Tip 2: Understand Which Choco Pie to Eat to Lose Weight

Tip 3: Understand How to Fit Choco Pie into Your Diet

Let’s get started!

Tip 1: Understand the Nutritional Information behind Choco Pie

Choco Pie is a pretty small dessert that is a little smaller than your hand’s size but much larger than the typical Oreo.

Compared to American snacks, Choco Pie ranks as one of the healthier processed foods but is still not something that we should keep snacking on.

This section will be going over the nutritional information behind Choco Pie and what it means.

One whole Choco Pie has around 120 calories with 6 grams of fat, 19 grams of carbohydrates, and 2 grams of protein.

Although this snack is relatively high in fats, this whole pie has a decent amount of calories.

A hundred calories is easily incorporable into your daily intake, and Choco Pie is a delicious small dessert you can enjoy after a savory meal. 

The only way to lose weight is to be in a calorie deficit.

This means that no matter how “healthy” you are eating, if you are eating over your TDEE, or Total Daily Energy Expenditure, you will not lose weight.

That means you either increase your physical activity or eat less food. 

However, it is rather difficult to burn a sustainable amount of calories through exercise because it requires a lot of time and energy.

For example, running a mile only burns around 100 calories, and eating a Fererro Rocher puts you right back where you started.

This is why the most efficient and successful way to lose weight is to watch your diet and make sure you are eating below your TDEE.

Your Total Daily Energy Expenditure is essentially the number of calories that you burn daily from regular activity, from eating and digesting food, and the process of your internal organs at work. 

So how do you know how many calories you are burning every day, though?

According to the NASM website, your TDEE (Total Daily Energy Expenditure) can be calculated by adding up three things that contribute to burning calories. (1)

First would be your RMR or Resting Metabolic Rate, the number of calories your body burns at rest.

Essentially, imagine if, for the entire day, you just laid in bed and did not move at all, your body still needs to keep your internal bodily functions active, so you still burn calories! 

Everyone’s Resting Metabolic Heart Rate is different, but the good news is that it can be changed.

This goes back to why it is crucial to eat protein to help you build and maintain muscle.

The more muscle you have in your body, the higher your Resting Metabolic Heart Rate will be. 

Next, you would add in your TEF, or the Thermic Effect of Food, which is how many calories you burn while eating, which involves the whole process of chewing, biting, swallowing, absorbing, and all the other actions involved while digesting the food. 

Finally, you will add in your daily activity or movement throughout the day or any exercise.

This is why exercising is so important, and we will discuss more in the following section!

It seems very complicated, but the good news is that your TDEE can be calculated just by entering it into one of the online calculators that take your gender, height, and weight to calculate your TDEE.

Remember that every individual’s TDEE is different, so the number you get from the calculator is a great place to start, but you might need to make adjustments here and there. 

If you are trying to lose weight, start by making sure you are eating fewer calories than your TDEE but do not cut down too drastically too fast because this could cause your diet difficult and unsustainable.

I recommend starting off by cutting out around 300-400 calories for a moderate-paced weight loss journey, but it varies from individual to individual, so see what works best for you!

After cutting out around 300-400 calories, track your weight to check for any progress.

If you see absolutely no results after a week or two, try subtracting your calories by 100-200 more until you start to see some changes in your weight.

Remember that weight is not everything, and fluctuations can happen based on how much water retention you have, what time of the day you eat, when you weigh yourself, and several other factors. 

The most important thing to remember is to stay consistent with your weight loss journey and to be extremely patient.

What you will realize is that your diet should be one that is sustainable and an enjoyable process.

Taking care of your health will teach you several good habits and force you to make educated and mindful choices regarding food. 

Tip 2: Understand Which Choco Pie to Eat to Lose Weight

Two different brands make Choco Pie and are both very similar in terms of size and overall structure.

The first is Orion, which is a Korean brand and looks slightly thicker in size. Lotte, the other brand, is a Japanese brand and looks exactly like Orion’s Choco Pie. 

In this section, we will be comparing the nutritional information of these two Choco Pies and help you determine which Choco Pie is better to consume when you are trying to lose weight. 

The previous section above that we discussed was the macronutrient breakdown of the Lotte brand of Choco Pie.

The Lotte Choco Pie is around 125 calories with 6 grams of fat, 19 grams of carbohydrates, and 2 grams of protein, to recap.

On the other hand, one Orion Choco Pie is 170 calories with 7 grams of fat, 25 grams of carbohydrates, and 2 grams of protein. Higher in fat and carbohydrates, the Orion Choco Pie is around 50 calories more than the Lotte Choco Pie.

Since the Lotte and Orion Choco Pie taste almost the same, I highly recommend eating the Lotte Choco Pie instead of the Orion Choco Pie to save up on some calories and help you better maintain a deficit.

Believe it or not, 50 calories may seem like it is not a lot, but making these small and conscious decisions of choosing lower-calorie options can cause weight loss a lot easier!

For example, if you are craving another dessert, like ice cream, try eating a lower-calorie, protein ice cream rather than a high-calorie ice cream.

You can save almost 300-400 calories by choosing the lower-calorie option and help you better reach your goals. 

Tip 3: Understand How to Fit Choco Pie into Your Diet

Now that you have a good idea of the nutritional information behind Choco Pie and which Choco Pie is best for weight loss let’s talk about a couple of tips you can implement to let you enjoy Choco Pie while still losing weight!

Learn to Portion Size

As we previously talked about, Choco Pie is not super high in calories and easily incorporable into your daily intake.

However, one Choco Pie can quickly become two or three, and this is when it can deter you from your goals. If you are craving Choco Pie, make sure to control yourself so that you only eat one. 

Overeating can put you in a 200-300 calorie increase and quickly put you off track on your weight loss goals.

One way to prevent yourself from eating too many Choco Pies is to take out one package and put the rest away in the box and back in the pantry, so you don’t snack on it.

We often find ourselves snacking on foods that we see, but we often don’t crave junk food if they are away from our sight. 

Eat Higher Protein Foods 

It is essential to eat higher protein foods throughout the day because protein is the essential macronutrient for building and maintaining muscle.

By holding onto more muscle, this can not only increase the amount of calories you burn at rest, but it also makes you more full and energized throughout the day.

Another reason why muscle is essential is because it helps with overall body composition and will help you build up that excellent lean physique that you are looking for.

By eating more protein, you can stay well satiated and meet your body recomposition goals!

Eat Plenty of Vegetables

Find ways to incorporate more vegetables into your daily intake by adding at least one serving to every meal.

The reason why vegetables are a great addition to your daily intake is that vegetables are a low-calorie food packed with fiber and nutrients.

Vegetables are very voluminous, giving you the illusion that you are eating more than you are.

By incorporating these tips into your daily diet, you are more likely to see progress and change within your weight.

Making these small adjustments will allow you to enjoy your favorite desserts like Choco Pie while still losing weight!

Remember, weight loss does not need to be a painful and challenging journey.

As long as you build a sustainable and healthy diet, you can enjoy the process and seeing progressive change! 

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Conclusion 

Remember, although nutrition is a huge factor that influences weight loss, it is important to pair this journey with exercise as well. Especially strength training.

Several years of research on the benefits of weight training have shown that individuals that do some sort of consistent resistance training at least 3-5 times a week have shown not only a great amount of weight loss but are also able to keep the weight off! 

The secret to this phenomenon is that strength training leads to a build-up of muscle.

Not only does your body recomposition into a more fitting and athletic-looking aesthetic, but having more muscle also increases your resting metabolic rate which essentially means you burn more calories at rest! 

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.

We understand that not everyone has access to a gym membership or feels comfortable starting off in such an intimidating environment.

Although I would strongly recommend that everyone should get a gym membership, don’t worry we got your back!

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!

PHILLIP PAK