Is Mexican Rice Healthy? (5 Tips For Weight Loss) 

If you love eating Mexican food - especially Mexican Rice - but aren’t sure if it’s healthy, then this is the article for you. Find out what goes into your favorite style of rice and see whether or not this popular Mexican dish is a healthy option and good for your waistline.

Mexican Rice - also known as Spanish Rice - is said to have originated in the methods of cooking rice in Spanish cuisine, which was influenced by the Islamic period of Al Andalus. These methods were then brought to the Americas by Spanish settlers. 

Although Mexican Rice is quite delicious, is it also healthy? 

Mexican Rice is actually a healthy dish, as it offers a balance of all three macronutrients, which translates to a suitable range of calories. 

Here are five steps that explain how to make Mexican Rice, the calorie amount in one serving of Mexican Rice, as well as how to stay fit and healthy while eating this classic Mexican dish. 

1. What Goes into Making Mexican Rice?

2. How Many Calories Are in One Serving of Mexican Rice?

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

4. How to Increase Your Activity Level While Eating Mexican Rice?

5. Make Sure To Consistently Workout & Build Muscle

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

Tip 1. What Goes into Making Mexican Rice?

Traditionally, Mexican Rice also referred to as “Arroz Rojo, is served as a side dish along with beans and can be eaten with meat. It is also often served in burritos in Tex-Mex restaurants across the nation. Mexican Rice is a simple, delicious, and budget-friendly dish. However, Mexican Rice is not only popular in Mexico but also here in the U.S. and in Spain. 

To make Mexican Rice at home, you need white rice, chicken stock, tomatoes, garlic, onion, oregano, a little salt, and olive oil. You then saute the rice in a pot with the olive oil, for about 5 minutes and keep stirring it until the rice turns slightly brown, make sure you add a little salt to taste. The next step is adding the blended tomato-garlic-onion-oregano sauce to the rice and cook for another 2 - 3 minutes, while you continuously stir it. 

Last but not least, you add the chicken stock, cover the pot and cook it for about 15 - 20 minutes until the water is evaporated. If the rice is still a little hard, add more chicken stock and cook until it’s soft. 

If you are vegan or vegetarian you can also swap out the chicken stock and use vegetable stock instead. 

It’s important you eat this dish with a side of proteins. 

Now that we know how to make Mexican Rice, let’s find out how many calories are in one serving of Mexican Rice. 

Tip 2. How Many Calories Are in One Serving of Mexican Rice?

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

Let’s take a look at the nutrition facts. As you can see, 1 ½ cups of Mexican Rice has 180 calories with a macronutrient ratio of 30 grams of carbs, 5 grams of protein, and 4 grams of fat. 

The calories in this dish are not too bad, and can easily be incorporated into your daily calorie intake. Just keep in mind that the carbs are a bit high. 

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. 

Since there is only 1 gram of fiber in 1 ½ cups of Mexican Rice, chances are you might not stay full for long and could easily overeat, which is one of the main reasons for weight gain.

However, in order for you to build muscle, it’s important to consume enough protein. So when you eat Mexican Rice, make sure you incorporate protein-rich foods throughout the day, such as beans, fish, or meat. 

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 Mexican Rice, 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

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. 

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. 

You can easily overeat on unhealthy, processed foods that are high in fats and carbs, especially when something is as delicious as Mexican Rice. Overeating is usually the quickest way to get out of shape. 

To stay healthy and in shape, we 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.

There are a few factors that determine your daily calorie intake. Such as weight management, weight loss, or weight gain. Other factors that play a big role, are your gender and your height. 

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. 

However, a good place to start is to multiply your body weight by 12 or to use an online TDEE (Total Daily Energy Expenditure) calculator.

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.

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

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 Mexican Rice, 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.

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.

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 to consume daily, let’s take a look at how you can lose weight and stay in shape.

Tip 4. How to Increase Your Activity Level While Eating Mexican Rice?

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.

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 importance of diet and workout is crucial, so you can enjoy foods like Mexican Rice.

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

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. 

So if you love eating more than 1 ½ cups of Mexican Rice, you have to make sure your activity level is higher than usual, especially if you want to lose weight. 

In the next section of this article, we discuss how to build muscle and stay in shape.

Tip 5. Make Sure To Consistently Workout & Build Muscle

Calories are direct sources of energy that fuel your everyday life, so you need to make sure that you utilize them efficiently throughout your day. 

The best way to do that is by building muscle throughout every week. 

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. 

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.

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 need to use weights and build muscle by doing a variety of workouts that target 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.

If you put calorie tracking, muscle building, and actively moving more altogether, things such as Mexican Rice 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. 

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!

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

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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