Is Hi-Chew Healthy? (3 Tips for Weight Loss)

If you have gone to any Asian convenience store or supermarket, you are bound to come across the famous Hi-Chew candy.

Packaged in bright, visually appealing rectangular bars, Hi-Chew is a Japanese candy that comes in a variety of different fruit flavors that range from the most basic flavors, like apple, to exotic flavors like açaí berry. 

In ancient Japanese culture, it was considered rude to chew and spit out food, so Hi-Chew (originally known as Chewlets) was invented by a Japanese man who wanted to make a version of gum that has the same texture but could be digested after chewing. 

Having been around for over a hundred years, Hi-Chew has become a popular candy among children and young adults in several Asian countries as well as the States. 

Hi-Chew is delicious and a fun candy to snack on, but is it healthy? 

Hi-Chew is a candy that is high in sugar and carbohydrates making it a less desirable option to eat when you are trying to stay healthy. However, if eaten in moderation, Hi-Chew can easily be incorporated into your diet as long as carbs are controlled and managed. 

In this article, we will be giving you three tips on how to incorporate Hi-Chew into your diet as well as how to properly understand calories to see successful results of weight loss:

1. Understand the Nutrition Behind Hi-Chew

2. Eat Hi-Chew in Moderation

3. Understand How Many Calories You Need to Eat to Lose Weight

Tip 1: Understand the Nutrition Behind Hi-Chew

After being around for a long time and establishing a strong customer fan base, Hi-Chew has come up with several different flavors as well as variations of the original Hi-Chew.

Now Hi-Chew has Hi-Chew Bites as well as Sour Hi-Chews that are all variations of the original Hi-Chew bar. 

Although they are shaped differently and taste differently, all Hi-Chews have approximately the same macronutrient breakdown and calorie count.

For the original Hi-Chew bar that contains a total of 10 pieces, there is a total of 210 calories with 4.5 grams of fat, 41 grams of carbohydrates, and 1 gram of protein.

The main ingredients of Hi-Chew consist of glucose syrup, sugar, and palm oil, which is why this candy is so high in carbohydrates. 

Instead of eating Hi-Chew, a better alternative to this candy is sugar-free gum which has a similar texture and essentially the same flavor.

Unlike the usual sugar-free gum that is usually less than 5 calories per stick, Hi-Chew is not the most diet-friendly food and can easily add extra unnecessary calories to your daily intake. 

Another reason why adding Hi-Chew into your diet may be detrimental is because this food is high in sugar and low in nutrients which will not make you full at all.

In fact, sugary foods tend to spike your hunger levels and can leave you craving even more sugar or make you even hungrier than before!

This is why eating foods high in sugar is not ideal when you are trying to limit your food intake because being overly hungry can lead to overeating which will cause you to derail from your goal of weight loss.

However, if you are really craving Hi-Chew, the following tip will teach you how you can eat Hi-Chew while still losing weight!

Tip 2: Eat Hi-Chew in Moderation

The Hi-Chew bar is purposely made into bite-sized pieces because it is meant to be eaten as a small candy.

If you divide the calories of the whole bar into 10 pieces, then each Hi-Chew piece is only 21 calories making it easily incorporable in your diet! 

As long as you limit yourself to just one or two pieces, an additional 20-40 calories will not make or break your diet goals.

Hi-Chew is a great way to just satisfy your sugar craving after a meal as long as it is not the whole pack!

Since Hi-Chew is made into such bite-sized pieces, especially the Hi-Chew bites that are placed in a convenient bag, it is a candy super easy to overeat on.

Similar to chips, if you have a bag of Hi-Chew bites beside you, you may finish the whole bag of sugary candy in no time. 

Instead, grab maybe two or three small pieces, then put the bag back in the pantry, and carry on with your daily tasks.

Visually seeing junk foods can tell your brain that you are hungry and craving candy when if you originally don’t even see it, you might not want it at all. 

Another way to help limit the amount of Hi-Chews is to share with a group of friends.

Next time you buy a Hi-Chew pack, share with your friends so the temptation of finishing them is no longer there.  

Tip 3: Understand How Many Calories You Need to Eat to Lose Weight

When it comes to losing weight, you need to control what you eat AND how much you eat.

This is the concept of portion control which is why you can easily incorporate Hi-Chew in your diet.

There is no single food that makes you gain weight, but simply because you are eating too many calories throughout the day.

The only way to truly lose weight is to make sure you are eating in a caloric deficit which means you are consuming fewer calories than you TDEE, or Total Daily Energy Expenditure.

Your TDEE consists of three main parts: your calories burned from daily activity, your resting metabolic rate or RMR, and finally, the energy used up to chew, swallow, and digest food.

Since everyone has a different TDEE, you can find an approximate calculation based on your gender, weight, and height from any online TDEE calculator! (I recommend using the official NASM website)

Remember that this is just an estimation, so it is up to you to make adjustments based on the progress you are making.

Start off by eating around 200-300 calories less than your TDEE every day and gradually observe whether or not you are making any progress throughout the course of two to three weeks.

If you do not see any results, lower your calorie intake by increments of 100 kcal until you start to see a difference in weight!

Remember, the number on the scale is not the only way to measure progress for your weight loss goals.

How you look, your mental health and your energy levels are all important measurements and things to consider when you are trying to become a healthier version of yourself

Weight loss is definitely a journey and not a race so remain patient and by staying consistent and on track, you will see results that will leave you feeling great and accomplished.

By incorporating your favorite foods and sweet sugar cravings like Hi-Chew, dieting does not need to be an over-restrictive process! 

Now that you understand the importance of knowing how many calories you need to eat, you can enjoy your Hi-Chew candy while still accomplishing your goals! 

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 phenomena 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! 

Stick with it for the long run and you’ll see how amazing the results can be. 

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