Are Churros Bad For You? (5 Tips For Weight Loss)

One of many popular desserts in Mexico - and here in the United States - are Churros. If you love eating Churros but are concerned if this delicious pastry is healthy - or if it is bad for your waistline - this article is perfect for you. Find out what Churros are, and how to stay in shape while eating this traditional Mexican dessert.

Churros have been popular in Portugal and Spain before settlers brought the recipe to Mexico. However, the origin is unknown and it is said that Portuguese settlers brought the recipe for Churros from China when they traveled to the Orient. 

Although Churros are delicious, is it actually bad for you? 

Eating Churros once in a while won’t get you off track, however, since it lacks nutritious value and is fried, it should be eaten in moderation.

 Here are five steps that explain what Churros are, the calorie amount in one Churros, how to make a healthier version, and how to stay in shape while eating this delicious Mexican dessert.

1. What Are Churros?

2. How Many Calories Are in One Churro?

3. How to Make a Healthier Version of Churros

4. How to Stay in Shape Eating Churros

5. How To Increase Your Activity Level 

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

Tip 1: What Are Churros?

Churros are a traditional Mexican pastry made with butter or margarine, all-purpose flour, eggs, vanilla extract, and water. You can also use milk to give it more flavor, and also make them without eggs and just a pinch of salt. Last but not least, you need oil for frying them.

You would also need a syringe-like tool with a star-shaped nozzle that is called a “churrera,” and a pastry bag. But don’t panic if you don’t own such a tool, you can easily make them without a pastry bag. If you decide to make eggless Churros you can form them with your hands in long string-like shapes and fry them in a deep pan or a pot. 

In a saucepan combine either the milk or water and add the butter or margarine, bring to a boil, add the flour, and mix the dough vigorously. Meanwhile, heat the oil - it’s important that the oil is hot enough - for the Churros to turn out crispy. Let the dough cool down a bit and transfer to a pastry bag. You can drop the Churros directly into the hot oil by cutting them with scissors, just be careful not to get burned by the hot oil. You can also put them on parchment paper beforehand and then transfer them to the oil bath, and fry for 2 - 2 ½ minutes. 

They are delicious, easy to make, and budget-friendly. 

Now that we know what Churros are and how to make them, let’s take a look at their nutrition facts. 

Tip 2: How Many Calories Are in One Churro?

So whether you live a sedentary lifestyle or an active lifestyle, it’s important to understand how many calories you need to consume daily. As 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 Churro has  120 calories with a macronutrient ratio of 13 grams of carbs, 2 grams of protein, and 7 grams of fat. 

Although the calories are not too bad in Churros, it lacks nutritious value. Therefore we recommend eating only one or two of them and only in moderation. 

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 only at 120 kcals, they can easily be incorporated into your daily caloric intake, just keep in mind to watch your carb and sugar intake for the rest of the day.

Also, keep in mind in order for you to build muscle, it’s important to consume enough protein. So when you eat Churros, make sure you incorporate protein-rich foods throughout the rest of 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. 

Now that we know a little bit more about the nutrition facts of Churros, let’s take a look at how to make a healthier version of Churros. 

Tip 3: How to Make a Healthier Version of Churros 

Of course, everything fried tastes great, especially Churros. However, fried food is usually not so great for the health or waistline and should be enjoyed on rare occasions. Therefore, we recommend making a healthier version of Churros at home, by baking them. 

Baked Churros will cut the calorie amount down to about 106 kcals per Churro with less fat as well. Although this recipe asks for all-purpose flour, you can also use whole wheat, oat flour, coconut flour, or almond flour. Instead of butter, you can also use coconut oil and plant-based milk as a milk alternative. 

As you can see, Churros are versatile and can be modified to everyone’s diet, such as keto and gluten-free, or a vegan diet. You can even fry your homemade Churros in an Air Fryer if you own one, that would cut down on calories since you don’t need oil for frying. This would be a recipe requiring some trial and error until you find out the right temperature, time, and method. 

Now that we learned how to make a healthier version of Churros, let’s take a look and find out how many calories you need to consume daily, and how to stay in shape eating Churros.

Tip 4: How to Stay in Shape Eating Churros

You can easily over-eat unhealthy, processed foods that are high in fats and carbs, especially when something is as delicious as Churros. Overeating is usually the quickest way to get out of shape. 

As we have mentioned in section two of this article, it’s important to understand how many calories you need to eat to lose weight and stay in shape. 

To stay healthy and in shape, we need to first go over your daily caloric needs, figure out how many calories you need in a day, and 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.

If you’re someone who loves to eat a lot while staying fit, then the activity is the key to a balanced lifestyle that allows you to eat whatever you like, such as Churros, 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 5: How To Increase Your Activity Level 

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.

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. 

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 prior, you need to be able to burn calories throughout your day to put yourself at a caloric deficit. 

Keep in mind that weight loss is really the concept of calories in vs. calories out.

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. 

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.

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.

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 Churros.

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

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