Is Clam Chowder Healthy? (5 Tips For Weight Loss) 

If you love North American Cuisine, especially from the East Coast, such as New England, you have probably heard - and maybe even tried - Clam Chowder. And if that is the case, this article is for you. Find out what Clam Chowder is and see whether or not, this popular New England dish is healthy and can fit into your lifestyle. 

Classic Clam Chowder is a soup made with seafood - mostly clams since it was said they were the easiest to harvest - as well as dairy, diced potatoes, onions, and salt pork. Some recipes ask for tomatoes, or clear broth and no dairy. Clam Chowder originated in New England, in the 18th century. 

Although Clam Chowder is delicious, is it actually healthy?

Eating one cup of Clam Chowder is not too bad for your overall health and waistline. It has a relatively balanced range of macronutrients, and a moderate amount of calories.

Here are five steps that explain what Clam Chowder is, the calorie amount in one cup of Clam Chowder, as well as how to stay fit and healthy while eating this classic New England dish. 

1. Find out What Clam Chowder is

2. How Many Calories Are in One Serving of Clam Chowder?

3. Understand How Many Calories You Need to Consume in a Day

4. How to Stay in Shape and Build Muscle

5. How to Increase Your Activity Level 

Let’s take a deeper look at all of these individual steps and see what you can do to stay healthy while enjoying some delicious Clam Chowder. 

Tip 1: Find out What Clam Chowder is

Eating healthy in general means eating a balanced diet that controls the three macronutrients; carbs, protein, and fat.

It’s very typical to eat carbs and fats while neglecting protein so this is something that you definitely need to watch out for in your everyday lives. 

Clam Chowder is somewhat versatile. There are many versions of Clam Chowder but the most popular variations, are these three styles of Clam Chowder, which are served across the country. 

First and foremost, the New England, also known as “Boston” or “white” Clam Chowder, which contains dairy such as milk or cream, butter, as well as diced potatoes, onion, and salt pork and is served with Saltine crackers. Other recipes in the past asked for flour as a thickening agent. 

The next one is the Manhattan or simply “red” Clam Chowder, which is made with tomatoes, and no cream. And last but not least the Rhode Island - also known as “clear” - Clam Chowder, which contains clam- or seafood broth. 

Our tip here is to simply be mindful of how many servings of Clam Chowder you consume. Also, make sure to add leafy greens and other vegetables to your other meals throughout the day.

Now that we know what Clam Chowder is, let’s take a look at the nutrition facts of one cup of Clam Chowder.

Tip 2: How Many Calories Are in One Serving of Clam Chowder?

Macronutrients are the measures of foods that we need to consume and the three macronutrients are carbohydrates, protein, and fats. 

Let’s take a look at the nutrition facts. As you can see, one cup of Clam Chowder (254 grams) has 200 calories with a macronutrient ratio of 21 grams of carbs, 7 grams of protein, and 10 grams of fat. 

According to the nutrition facts, one cup of Clam Chowder has a moderate amount of carbs, protein, and fat.

Fats contain the highest energy content out of the three macronutrients. 

So for weight loss goals and a healthier lifestyle, it is ideal to keep your fat intake at a moderate level.  

However, you also do not want to have too low of a fat intake because fat is important for keeping your hormones regulated.

But the two types of fats you should really try to limit your intake of are saturated and trans fats.

The lower the amount of saturated and trans fats, the lower the risks of heart disease, high cholesterol, and developing type-II diabetes.

A good rule of thumb for dieting is keeping a nice balance of macronutrients. A great ratio is sticking to 30% carbs, 40% protein, and 30% fats. 

One cup of Clam Chowder has a moderate amount of calories, and can easily be incorporated into your daily calorie intake. 

What’s important when eating food is understanding the balance of both calories and macronutrients. 

Calories define how our bodies look and feel which is a concept that we will talk about in the next section. 

What makes up those calories are really what’s important and having those macronutrients skewed to fats and carbs will be detrimental to your diet

It’s very common to get most of your calories coming from fats and carbs. 

If you do not actively track your food then it will be very hard to tell whether or not you are getting enough protein in your diet.

The key aspect is to understand how many calories you need to eat in a day and to make sure not to overeat on your total accounted calories for the day. 

Now that we know a little bit more about the nutrition facts of one cup of Clam Chowder, let’s take a look at how many calories you need to consume daily to stay in shape.

Tip 3: Understand How Many Calories You Need to Consume in a Day

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

It is a unit of energy and our body needs a certain amount of energy to function daily. 

Even if you are just laying in bed all day, your body still needs the energy to keep your organs working and to maintain your muscles. 

If you burn more calories than you consume, then you will find yourself in a “caloric deficit” which is the only way fat loss can occur. 

To stay healthy and in shape, you need to first go over your daily caloric needs and figure out how many calories you need in a day, as well as figure out how much of each macronutrient you should be consuming.

The standard rule for how many calories a person should be consuming is 2,000 calories for a moderately active female and 2,500 calories for a moderately active male.

However, this standardized protocol does not fit everyone’s needs. 

How many calories a person needs in a day is unique to the individual because the caloric daily intake will depend on gender, age, height, weight, and daily activity levels.

The calories that you need to maintain your current weight are called your Total Daily Energy Expenditure (TDEE). This is calculated by figuring out your Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR) first and then multiplying the value by your activity measurement.

BMR is how many calories you need to keep your body functioning. 

This sounds like a very complicated process, but thankfully there is a copious amount of online TDEE and BMR calculators that you can use. 

All you have to do is plug in a couple of numbers and information and then it will give you your estimated caloric intake needs. 

While these calculators might not be spot on, finding out your TDEE through these calculators is much more beneficial and efficient than relying on standardized caloric intake.

Now after you have figured out your TDEE, adjust your caloric intake by what your goals are. 

If your goal is to lose weight, set your caloric intake to be lower than your TDEE.

If your goal is to gain weight, set your caloric intake to be higher than your TDEE.

If you just want to maintain where you are, just stay at your TDEE. There you go! 

This is the best way to figure out how many calories you need in a day.

If you’re someone who loves to eat a lot while staying fit, then being active is the key to a balanced lifestyle that allows you to eat whatever you like, such as Clam Chowder, and stay in shape. 

Once you know your calorie intake based on your weight and height, you can then decide how much you want to decrease it. 

So, if you want to lose 1 to 2 pounds per week, we suggest you start with 100 calories less than what you are currently consuming and see if you notice a difference within a week.

If you don’t see any changes in your weight, decrease your calorie intake by another 100 calories and see how that works. 

However, it is suggested, to not decrease the calorie intake below 1,200 per day for women, or below 1,500 calories per day for men.

Keep in mind that going too low will mess with your metabolism in the long run and eventually when you do eat more, you are going to gain the weight back very quickly because your body has been starved.

Try not to drop your calories too drastically for a steadier and more sustainable weight loss. 

Now that we know how many calories to consume daily, let’s take a look at how you can lose weight and stay in shape.

Tip 4: How to Stay in Shape and Build Muscle

After you’ve figured out how many calories you need to consume daily, you need to make sure that you exercise regularly and increase your activity level.

It’s crucial to understand the importance of diet and workout, to enjoy foods like Clam Chowder.

Building muscle allows you to burn calories at rest, which means you can eat more and still lose fat.

This is really the goal of working out and is what keeps you healthy as your metabolism increases.

The fastest and most efficient way to build muscle is to learn how to do some resistance training.

As stated in Tip #3, you need to be able to burn calories throughout your day in order to put yourself at a caloric deficit. 

Although working out and building muscle takes priority, having a consistent cardio schedule can help with expediting the fat loss process as it raises the energy expended throughout your week.

The fastest and most efficient way to build muscle is to learn how to do some resistance training.

You can also do a combination of resistance training and LISS (Low-Intensity Steady State) cardio or HIIT (High-Intensity Interval Training) cardio, to improve your heart health and maximize fat burn. 

LISS is cardio that comes from walking or a brisk walk, you should be able to have a conversation while still building up a sweat.

HIIT cardio is intervals of a very high-intensity movement, such as sprints, battle ropes, or kickboxing movements aiming to quickly raise the heart rate.

The benefit of HIIT is allowing yourself to burn calories in a shorter amount of time. 

We recommend having 80% of cardio coming from LISS while 20% comes from HIIT for optimal fat loss throughout the week. 

LISS is a much more reliable source of consistent movement and does not require rest as it does not shock the Central Nervous System the way HIIT can.

You need to use weights and build muscle by doing a variety of workouts that isolate each muscle group specifically. 

Although it can be intimidating to get in shape, as it will be hard to learn and might be discouraging at the beginning, it’s definitely worth it in the long run for both your health and fitness. 

All you need are a set of dumbbells, such as these adjustable dumbbells, and a reliable treadmill such as the Bluefin Fitness Treadmill that tracks your calories and you’re on your way to controlling the number of calories you burn. 

Regarding working out with dumbbells, it’s important not to add too much weight too soon because that could result in injury if you are unfamiliar with the correct body positions. It is better to start small and then increase the weight level. 

Here is a workout plan we’ve created for women and men, where you can get started if you are someone who hasn’t ever done a resistance training regimen.

WOMEN

Day One (Full Upper):

• Weighted Crunches: 3x35 

• Lateral Raises: 4x15

• Lat Pulldowns: 4x12

• Knee Push-Ups: 4x20

• Seated Shoulder Press: 4x20 

• Dumbbell Row: 3x10

• Dumbbell Fly: 3x10

Day Two (Back/Hamstrings/Biceps):

• Hammer Curls: 3x10

• Bicep Curls: 3x10

• Hamstring Curl: 4x15

• Stiff Leg Deadlift: 4x15

• Cable Row: 4x15

• Lat Pulldowns: 4x12

• Assisted Pull-Ups: 3x10

Day Three (Legs/Butt/Abs): 

• Leg Lifts: 3x35

• Weighted Crunches: 3x35 

• Jump Squats: 4x20

• Glute Kickbacks: 4x20 each leg

• Glute Bridge: 4x20

• Goblet Squats: 4x20

• Squats: 5x5

MEN:

Day One: Chest, Shoulders, Triceps, Abs (Push Day) : 

• Cable Crunches: 4 sets 15 reps 

• Triceps Rope Push Down: 3 sets 15 reps

• Lateral Raises: 3 sets 15 reps

• Shoulder Press: 3 sets 10 reps

• Dumbbell Press: 4 sets 12 reps

• Bench Press: 3 sets 10 reps

Day Two (Legs & Abs):

• Weighted Toe Touches: 4 sets 25 reps

• Weighted Sit-Ups: 4 sets 25 reps

• Jumping Squats With Resistance Bands: 5 sets 20 reps

• Glute Bridges With Weight: 4 sets 20 reps

• Stiff Leg Deadlift (Romanian Deadlift): 4 sets 15 reps

• Weighted Walking Lunges: 2 sets 20 steps

• Goblet Squats: 4 sets 20 reps

Day Three: Back & Biceps (Pull Day):

• Hammer Curls: 3 sets 10 reps

• Bicep Curls: 3 sets 10 reps

• Seated Cable Rows: 4 sets 15 reps

• Dumbbell Rows: 4 sets 10 reps (Each Side)

• Lat Pulldowns: 4 sets 12 reps

• Assisted Pull-Ups: 3 sets 10 reps

We recommend working out at least three times per week in the beginning, since the resting days in between are important to build muscle. 

Building muscle will happen relatively fast if you are new to working out, so this is great news for anyone looking to get in shape.

That’s why it’s important to increase your activity level at least 3 - 4 times a week if your goal is to get lean. 

Fats and carbs are the two macronutrients that will be more likely to be stored as energy. 

Therefore, you don’t want all of your calories simply coming from carbs or fats, you want there to be a balance coming from carbs, protein, and fats.

Now that we’ve looked through this workout plan, let’s take a look at why you need to stay active when eating foods like Clam Chowder. In the next section of this article, we will find out how to increase your activity level.

Tip 5: How to Increase Your Activity Level 

I’m sure that you’ve heard that carbs are the enemy and they’re the main driving factor at keeping us from getting a flat stomach or abs.

Carbs are our direct source of energy and they allow us to function properly and fuels our workouts and movements.

The real enemy is inactivity and staying sedentary while eating more carbs than you need to. 

It’s a hard pill to swallow and it takes effort to combat but it’s what keeps us healthy and fit.

Therefore it is important you utilize your calories efficiently throughout your day. 

The best way to do this is to build muscle and to also move more throughout your day. 

60-75% of energy expenditure comes from your basal metabolic rate (BMR) which is how much your body burns if it did nothing all day. (NASM)

10% of energy expenditure comes from the thermic effect of feeding (TEF) which is the calories you burn from digesting different foods. (NASM)

15-30% of energy expenditure comes from the Thermic Effect of Activity (TEA) which is movement such as working out and aerobics. Source (NASM) 

To sum it up, up to 30% of our energy expenditure can come from movement and activity so this is a huge portion of our weight loss journey that you can actively control.

The more movement the better and, to utilize and burn those calories, you should be moving all you can.

If you put calorie tracking, muscle building, and actively moving more altogether, things such as Clam Chowder won’t get you off track because the formula provides so much leniency for you to shed some fat.

Make sure to stick with it for a long time and understand that fitness is a lifelong journey that takes time to cultivate.

Working out allows you to be more flexible in your diet and lifestyle, which is so important if you want to sustain a lean body and stay healthy. 

This is why we need to control the number of calories we get from carbs and fats in order to utilize the energy we gained through movement and workouts.

The tip here is to live active and go out and seek a workout regimen. 

We provided you one above in this article but, if that’s too much hard work, simply go outside for a walk 3-4 times a week and you’ll be good to go.

So, next time you’re wondering how you can lose some weight, remember that you need to build some muscle and track your calories to your specified amount. 

THERE IT IS!

In this article, we discussed what Clam Chowder is if it’s healthy, and how many calories it contains.

Make sure you stay active while eating a cup of classic Boston Clam Chowder and keep consistent with the workouts we provided for you in this article. 

The key to healthy eating is balance and moderation. Our five tips will help you stay fit while eating Clam Chowder. 

As long as you understand how many calories you need to consume in a day and fill your body with whole foods that will keep you satiated and satisfied, then you will see results if you put in the time and consistency. 

If you like this article and are looking for more articles on healthy foods, then make sure to check out our other posts where we discuss fitness tips and healthy habits that will get you to your fitness goals.

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