Is Tzatziki Healthy? (3 Tips For Weight Loss)

If you’re a fan of Greek cuisine, and love eating Tzatziki but aren’t sure if this dish is healthy or good for your waistline, this article is right for you. Find out what Tzatziki is and see whether, or not you can lose weight and stay in shape, eating this popular and delicious Greek dish.

Tzatziki is a Greek appetizer served with mezes - also known as small plates - as well as used as a sauce to accompany various Greek dishes, especially spicy ones, as the coolness of the yogurt breaks down the spiciness. Tzatziki is pretty versatile, as it depends on the region of Greece. 

Although Tzatziki is quite delicious, is it actually healthy?

Tzatziki is actually considered healthy, as it contains many minerals and vitamins, is low in calories, carbs, and fats.

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

1. What Goes Into Making Tzatziki? 

2. How Many Calories Are in One Serving of Tzatziki?

3. How to Lose Weight, or Maintain Weight By Eating Tzatziki

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

Tip 1. What Goes Into Making Tzatziki? 

Tzatziki is a simple, delicious, and budget-friendly Greek dip, or sauce that can be eaten with main dishes, small plates, bread, or salads. 

The main ingredients are full-fat Greek-style yogurt, as it is thick and creamy, English or Persian cucumber - as they are sweeter and less watery, fresh garlic, and lemon juice. You can also add dill, or mint, as well as olive oil. 

If you’d like to cut down on the calories and fat amount in this dish, you can substitute the full-fat Greek yogurt for low-fat. And if you are a vegan or lactose intolerant, you can also use soy-based yogurt.

In a bowl, combine the yogurt, with the minced, garlic, grated and drained cucumber, lemon juice, salt, and pepper.

Tzatziki is a relatively healthy dish as it contains many vitamins and minerals, such as Vitamin A, Vitamin C, and calcium.  Vitamin A is an important vitamin for strong bones and healthy eyes.

Now that we know what goes into making Tzatziki the traditional way, let’s take a look at the nutrition facts and see how many calories are in one serving of Tzatziki.

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

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

Let’s take a look at the nutrition facts. As you can see, one serving (100 grams) of Tzatziki has 91 calories with a macronutrient ratio of 5 grams of carbs, 2 grams of protein, and 7 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. 

One serving of Tzatziki is pretty low in calories and can easily be incorporated into your daily calorie intake, even if you consume two servings, as long as you are working out. Although Tzatziki is low in fat and carbs, it is also low in proteins. Make sure to add protein-rich foods you can eat with Tzatziki, such as grilled meats.

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.  

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.  

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.

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 Tzatziki, 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 Tzatziki and how many calories you should consume daily, let’s take a look at how you can stay in shape, or lose weight by eating Tzatziki. 

Tip 3. How to Lose Weight, or Maintain Weight By Eating Tzatziki

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

Building muscle allows you to burn calories at rest, which means you can eat more and still lose fat. 

This is the daily goal of working out and is what keeps you healthy as your metabolism increase. 

So if you love eating Tzatziki, you have to make sure your activity level is higher than usual, especially if you want to lose weight. 

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 burn 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. 

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. 

If you put calorie tracking, muscle building, and actively moving more together, dishes such as a Tzatziki won’t get you off track because the formula provides so much leniency for you to shed some fat.

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. 

THERE IT IS!

The key to healthy eating is balance and moderation. Our three tips will help you stay fit while eating Tzatziki. 

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