Is Prosciutto Healthy? (3 Tips For Weight Loss) 

There are many different types of cold cuts available in grocery stores. Most Americans share the love for bacon but if you ever had Prosciutto, you will not go back to eating bacon. If you love Prosciutto but aren’t sure if it’s a healthier alternative to bacon, this article is perfect for you. Find out what exactly Prosciutto is, how many calories it contains, and how to stay in shape while indulging in this delicious type of cold cut. 

Prosciutto is an Italian-style ham that is dry-cured and thinly sliced. It is often eaten in a sandwich, wrapped around Honey-dew melon, or as Bruschetta topping. 

Although Prosciutto is delicious, is it actually healthy?

Prosciutto is a healthier alternative to bacon or other cold cuts, as it is low in calories, and fats and has a good amount of proteins. However, it is relatively high in sodium.

Here are three steps that explain the calorie amount in one ounce of Prosciutto, as well as what Prosciutto is, and how to stay fit and healthy while eating this classic Italian ham. 

1. What is Prosciutto? 

2. How Many Calories Are in One Ounce of Prosciutto?

3. How to Lose Weight, or Maintain Weight, While Eating Prosciutto

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

1. What is Prosciutto? 

Prosciutto is an Italian-style dry-cured ham, that can be found in different regions of Italy. One notable one is Prosciutto Di Parma from the Parma region of Italy. 

Prosciutto is usually made from the hind leg of a pig or a wild boar, but can also be made from lamb. In that case, it would be in the name such as “Prosciutto Cotto D'Agnello.” The word “Prosciutto” stemmed from the Latin word Pro (before) and exsuctus - or the past tense - exsugere - which translates “to suck out [the moisture].” Which makes sense, then Prosciutto is a dry-cured ham that takes between nine to two years to be cured, depending on the size. The climate and temperature of the curing process are important to get the perfect Prosciutto, and therefore need to be damp and cool. 

The process then involves cleaning the ham, salting it, and hanging it for two months. During that period, the meat is carefully being pressed to drain the remaining blood. Then it is cleaned by washing it a couple of times to remove the remaining salt and is hung again in a dark, well-ventilated room, until dry. 

Now that we know what Prosciutto is, let’s take a look at the nutrition facts and see how many calories are in one ounce of Prosciutto.

2. How Many Calories Are in One Ounce of Prosciutto?

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, one ounce - which is about two slices - of Prosciutto has 70 calories with a macronutrient ratio of 1 gram of carbs, 9 grams of protein, and 4 grams of fat. 

According to the nutrition facts of Prosciutto, it is a better alternative to bacon as it is low in calories, carbs, fats, and has a moderate amount of protein. 

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 the calories are not bad at all in this dish, they can be easily incorporated into your daily calorie intake. However, keep in mind that the sodium amount for only two slices is 700mg, which is relatively high. 

However, in order for you to build muscle, it’s important to consume enough protein. So when you eat Prosciutto in a sandwich, for example, make sure you eat it accompanied by greens and also make sure to eat protein-rich foods throughout the day. 

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. 

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. 

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.

Be mindful that these methods will give you rather rough estimates.

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. 

For example, if either method tells you to consume 1600 calories a day, maintain that for a week and see what happens. 

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

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.

Now that we know a little bit more about the nutrition facts of Proscuitto and how many calories to consume daily, let’s take a look at how you can, stay in shape and lose weight while eating Prosciutto. 

3. How to Lose Weight, or Maintain Weight, While Eating Prosciutto

After you’ve figured out how many calories you need to consume daily, you need to make sure that you exercise regularly and build muscle throughout every week. 

Building muscles, allow us to burn calories at rest, which means we can eat more and still lose fat.

This is really the goal of working out and is what keeps us healthy as our metabolisms increase.

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

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.

There are two types of cardio that you can do in your week that will speed up the fat loss results. Those two types come from LISS (Low-Intensity Steady State) cardio and HIIT (High-Intensity Interval Training) cardio.

What you want to aim for is to burning around 1,000 kcals of cardio every week through means of either LISS or HIIT.

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 can also do a combination of resistance training and LISS- or HIIT cardio, to improve your heart health and maximize fat burn. 

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. 

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.

Although Prosciutto is leaner than bacon and low in calories, the sodium amount is high which can add to bloating and water retention. Therefore we recommend consuming about two slices of Prosciutto.

THERE IT IS!

Our three tips will help you stay fit while eating some Prosciutto. 

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