Is Lechon Healthy? (3 Tips for Weight Loss)

Originating in Spain then brought to the Philippines and several other Spanish-speaking nations, Lechon is a popular pork dish that is often made for holidays or big events.

Whenever there is a big festival in the Philippines, you are bound to see a large roasted pig, chopped into perfectly circular slices stuffed with vegetables.

However, if even though this fatty meat is super delicious, is it healthy? 

Lechon is exceptionally high in calories, so it is not the ideal food to consume when losing weight or trying to stay healthy. Since Lechon is mainly composed of pork belly, most of its calories come from Saturated fats which, when eating in excess, can lead to complications down the line.

Even though it is not the best diet food, this does not mean you can’t eat lechon if 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 Lechon and how to enjoy this dish while still losing weight:

Tip 1: Understand How Many Calories are in Lechon

Tip 2: How to Make your Lechon Healthier

Tip 3: Understand What to Pair Lechon With to Lose Weight

Let’s get started!

Tip 1: Understand How Many Calories are in Lechon

Lechon can be prepared in various ways, but the most common and convenient version is Lechon kawali, which is chopped into little pieces and paired with some sort of dipping sauce made out of either pork liver or soy sauce.

Since the original Lechon roll is more challenging to prepare and not as common, we will be discussing the nutritional information for Lechon kawali, which is very similar to the Lechon roll.

For every serving of Lechon, which is around 3 ounces, has about 250 calories, with 23 grams of fat, 9 grams of carbohydrates, and 29 grams of protein.

We can see that lechon kawali is very high in fat and calories, which makes this not the ideal food to eat when trying to lose weight. 

When choosing the best types of meat to eat when trying to lose weight, try looking for a meat that follows the 1:3 fat to protein ratio.

This means that for every gram of fat, ideally, you want there to be 3 grams of protein.

We do not want to over-consume our fat intake because fat has many more calories compared to carbohydrates and protein.

There is a total of 9 calories for every gram of fat for every gram, whereas carbohydrates and protein only have 4 calories per gram. 

This is important to understand, so you do not over-consume the amount of fat you eat throughout the day because this can quickly put you in a calorie surplus.

At the end of the day, the only way to truly lose weight is to be in a calorie deficit at the end of the day.

A calorie deficit means that you have to be burning more calories than you are consuming throughout the day.

Since every pound is around 3500 calories, you have to eat 3500 calories less than your current resting weight to truly lose a pound. 

3500 calories looks overwhelming at first, but with patience, consistency, and eating the right foods, you can successfully meet your goal physique!

So you may be wondering, how do you figure out how many calories you’re burning on an average day? 

The amount of calories you are burning throughout the day is known as your TDEE, or Total Daily Energy Expenditure.

Your TDEE is made up of three main components: 

• Resting Metabolic Rate (RMR): The amount of calories you burn at rest (when you’re just sitting there and not doing anything) 

• Calories Burned From Activity: The amount of calories you burn when doing any physical activity (i.e. walking, running, sports, washing dishes) 

• Thermic Effect of Food: The amount of calories you burn when you are eating and digesting food 

You may now be wondering, how do you figure out your TDEE?

This is very simple! All you have to do is go onto any credible fitness website, like Bodybuilding.com or NASM, and find their calorie calculator. By putting in your sex, height, weight, and activity level, this calculator can help you generate an approximate number that is your TDEE.

Once you know your TDEE, to be in a calorie deficit, aim to eat around 300-500 calories less than your TDEE every single day.

Although you may not see results in the first couple of days, or maybe even the first week, it’s essential to trust the process and stay consistent.

Weigh yourself every single day, at the same time to get the most accurate results. 

My favorite way to track how many calories I am eating every day is by using MyFitnessPal, which allows you to easily input your food into a journal and help you calculate how many calories you are eating throughout the day.

Remember that everyone’s body is unique, and the TDEE calculator is simply an estimate.

If you still do not see any results within around two weeks, try lowering your calorie intake by around 150-250 calories and observe the results.

Drink plenty of water throughout the process, and don’t forget to stay patient and consistent. 

Tip 2: How to Make your Lechon Healthier

So now that you understand the nutrition information behind Lechon and understand why it’s not the best food to eat when you are trying to lose weight, is there a way to make a healthier version? 

This section will cover some tips that can help you make a healthier Lechon by making a couple of easy adjustments. 

Use Pork Shoulder instead of Pork Belly

A great alternative to the fatty pork belly is to use pork shoulder instead.

Pork shoulder is a leaner cut of meat compared to pork belly so that it won’t be as tender, but it can be prepared to be just as juicy. 

The pork shoulder has way less fat than the pork belly because it is an entirely different meat cut.

The pork belly is a slab of meat from the pig’s stomach and is also the same meat slice used to make other fatty meats like bacon.

On the other hand, Pork shoulder uses the more muscular portion and less fatty area of the pig.

For every serving of Lechon pork shoulder, there are 310 calories with 12 grams of fat, 2 grams of carbohydrates, and 42 grams of protein.

Compared to Lechon kawali pork belly, we can see it has half the amount of fat and way more protein in each serving.

This makes Lechon pork shoulder a much healthier option that can help you save on tons of calories and also help you hit your protein intake for the day.

I highly recommend switching to pork shoulder to get an equally delicious and juicy pork dish that still has the same crispy exterior and meaty bite. 

Use an Airfryer 

Lechon is often deep-fried in a vat of oil, which adds many extra calories into the meal.

One of the most significant hidden calories that people are trying to lose weight often miss out on is oil.

 Oil is one of the most calorically dense liquid sources that can add many additional calories to your meal.

For every tablespoon of olive oil, there is a whopping total of 120 calories. By just adding a tablespoon of olive oil into any of your meals, this can add a ton of unnecessary fats to your food and quickly put you in a calorie surplus. 

If you use an air fryer, you eliminate the need for oil, which can take away a lot of the fat in the dish.

Air Fryers still give your food the same crispy and light exterior in your foods and perfectly imitate deep-fried foods’ texture.

Air-frying your foods is a great option that helps you replicate your favorite foods for a much lower calorie count. 

Now that you have two great methods of preparing a much healthier option of Lechon, you can utilize these tips to make a delicious and healthier meal.

Making these small adjustments and smart choices will bring you steps closer to meeting your physique goals. 

Tip 3: Understand What to Pair Lechon With to Lose Weight

When eating lechon kawali, most people pair lechon with a couple of other dishes to have a more fulfilling meal.

The most common foods used to compliment Lechon are the lechon sauce, rice, salad, or any other carbohydrate source.

This section will discuss some of the best foods to pair your lechon with to get a fulfilling and low-calorie meal. 

Vegetables 

When eating lechon, skip out on the rice bowl and swap it out for the light salad or steamed vegetables.

Vegetables are a great food to pair in every meal because they are super low in calories, high in fiber, and high in volume, which gives you the illusion that you are eating more than you are consuming. 

Sauce

For the dipping sauce, lechon sauce is a rather high-calorie sauce, so be sure not to drown your pork belly in this sauce.

Instead, try dipping your fork in the dressing first, then grabbing a piece of lechon.

Another choice is to swap out the lechon sauce for soy sauce which is significantly less in calories and still a great compliment to the meat.

Rice

If you want to pair your lechon with rice, I highly recommend portioning your rice to less than what you are served.

One serving of rice is pretty high in calories and can add many additional carbohydrates to your meal.

Cutting down the portion size in half and replacing it with vegetables can save you a ton of calories and make this a lower-calorie meal. 

Now that you know the nutritional information behind lechon, how to make a healthier version of lechon, and what to pair your lechon with, you can enjoy this delicious Filipino food while still meeting your goals!

Remember, weight loss does not need to be a painful journey where you limit the foods you eat.

By making smart choices and watching your portion size, you can still eat your favorite foods when losing weight.

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! 

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