Is Escargot Healthy? (3 Tips For Weight Loss)

Escargot is one of the most popular dishes you can find in French cuisine. If you are a fan of Escargot but aren’t sure if this dish is healthy or good for your waistline, this article is right for you. Find out what Escargot is and see whether, or not you can lose weight and stay in shape, eating this popular and delicious French-style dish.

Escargot literally means “edible snail” in French, and has been around since the late 19th century. Although it is a popular dish in France, you can find Escargot in Germany, Greece, Tunisia, Morocco, and other countries. 

In medieval times, it was believed that snails can help cure tuberculosis, or other diseases, such as the common cold. Nowadays, Escargot is being consumed for the simple pleasure of an appetizer that delivers various health benefits, which we’ll discuss further in this article.

Although Croque Monsieur is quite delicious, is it actually healthy?

Escargot is actually considered a relatively healthy dish as it is low in calories, carbs, and fat but high in protein. Escargot is also high in vitamins and minerals. 

Here are three steps that explain what Escargot is, the calorie amount in one serving, as well as how to stay fit and healthy while eating this classic French dish. 

• 1. Understand What Escargot is

• 2. Understand How Many Calories Are In One Serving of Escargot

• 3. Stay Active & Build Muscle While Eating Foods Like Escargot 

Now that we know our three steps, let’s get into the details that will help you stay in shape while enjoying some delicious Escargot.

Tip 1. Understand What Escargot is

There are different species of land snails and not all of them are edible. The most preferred one in France is the Helix pomatia. 

You might think of snails as slimy or somewhat unpleasant. However, snails are actually pretty tasty with a unique meaty texture that holds sauce very well. Traditionally, Escargots are cooked in a garlic butter sauce. 

In French cuisine, the classic way to cook Escargot is by first removing them from their shell, terminate them, and then cook them in butter, garlic, thyme, parsley, white wine, and chicken stock. Once they are cooked, they are placed back in their shell and served with the remaining garlic butter. 

It is crucial, that the snails are cooked thoroughly, to avoid eating or serving undercooked Escargot. Eating raw snails could risk the chance of getting what’s called a rat lungworm disease. This disease is caused by a parasite found in rat feces, a snail will have this parasite if it got in contact with the excrements. Therefore, you can also get infected if you eat a raw snail with this parasite. 

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

Tip 2. Understand How Many Calories Are In Escargot 

So whether you live a sedentary lifestyle or an active lifestyle, it’s important to understand how many calories you need to consume daily. As weight loss is really the concept of calories in vs. calories out.  

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 4-ounce serving of Escargot has 100 calories with a macronutrient ratio of 2 grams of carbs, 18 grams of protein, and 2 grams of fat.  

Staying healthy and fit is all about calorie or energy balance, which means that you can still eat your fats and carbs, and stay in shape. 

The calories are not that bad in this dish and can easily be incorporated into your daily calorie intake if you are working out. Essentially, Escargot can be considered healthy, as it is high in protein and low in fat and carbs. 

The protein content found in snails is actually similar to the protein in beef or pork. Protein is the building block of muscle and helps us grow or maintain our current muscle mass. 

So, “why is muscle important you ask?” As mentioned above, muscle allows us to eat more as it burns calories at rest.

When we start to build muscle in our bodies we increase our metabolism and we can eat more delicious foods while staying relatively lean.

Escargot is also high in vitamin A, calcium, and Vitamin A. 

Vitamin A is an essential vitamin that helps with immunity and fighting off diseases. Iron is an important mineral that helps with oxygen being transported to all organs by the red blood cells in your body, it also helps to keep your skin, hair, nails, and body healthy. And calcium helps your bones to get stronger and prevents developing osteoporosis.

But wait. There is more!

Escargot is also rich in omega-3 fatty acids, which are mostly found in fish and seafood. It helps with reducing the risk of a heart attack and promotes a healthy heart, by reducing the risk of blood clotting and lowering your blood pressure.

Just keep in mind that if you are someone who already has had heart problems in the past, the butter sauce the Escargot is cooked in can add to blocked arteries. Therefore, it should be eaten in moderation and only one 4-ounce serving. 

It’s important to first go over your daily caloric needs, and figure out how many calories you need in a day. The next step is to figure out how much of each macronutrient you should be consuming.

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. 

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. 

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. 

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.

So, how do you know how many calories you should be eating in a day?

The answer is through trial and error and finding a calorie range that allows you to lose 1-2 pounds of fat per week. 

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.

Your TDEE relies heavily on how active you are and how much movement you see in your day.

Within your TDEE lies a subsection, which is called TEPA (Thermic Effect of Physical Activity) which accounts for 15-30% of your entire day’s worth of calories.

This means, you are in control of 15-30% of how much you can eat, which is a huge portion of calories.

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 Escargot, 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. 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. 

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

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

The key here is to find foods that keep you full longer and still deliver a balanced amount of macronutrients. 

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.

So, just calculate whatever calorie range you find, and split up your calories by following those macro guidelines. 

Now that we know how many calories are in one serving of Escargot and how many calories you should consume daily, let’s take a look at how you can, stay in shape, lose weight by eating Escargot. 

Tip 3. Stay Active & Build Muscle While Eating Foods Like Escargot 

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.

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. 

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. 

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 Escargot is, if it’s healthy, and how many calories it contains.

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. 

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