Are Corn Tortillas Bad For You? (3 Tips For Weight Loss)

Mexican food often includes Corn Tortillas, which are made from maize. So if you enjoy Mexican food, such as tacos or burritos made with Corn Tortillas, but aren’t sure if it is healthy and fits into your lifestyle, this article is for you. Find out what goes into making Corn Tortillas and see whether, or not you can lose weight and stay in shape, eating this classic Mexican staple.

Corn Tortillas are a type of flatbread and are available in three different colors of maize dough; yellow, white, and black - sometimes referred to as blue - maize dough. Corn Tortillas play a big role in Mexican cuisine, as they accompany various dishes. They are made with a few simple and budget friendly ingredients, which we’ll discuss further in this article.

Although Corn Tortillas are delicious, are they bad for your health and waisline?

Corn Tortillas are actually healthy and a better option than flour tortillas, as they are low in calories, consist fiber, and are low in fat and carbs. 

Here are three steps that explain the calorie amount, the ingredients that go into making Corn Tortillas, and how to stay fit and healthy while eating this classic Mexican dish. 

1. What Goes Into Making Corn Tortillas? 

2. How Many Calories Are in One Serving of Corn Tortillas?

3. How to Lose Weight, or Maintain Weight, While Eating Corn Tortillas

Now that we know our three steps, let’s check out what goes into making Corn Tortillas.

Tip 1. What Goes Into Making Corn Tortillas? 

Corn Tortillas were first introduced by the Aztecs and therefore considered a staple in Mexican cuisine

Traditionally, Corn Tortillas are made by a process called “nixtamalization,” where the maize is being soaked in an alkaline solution - usually limewater - to strip the kernels from its skin. Then the maize is being ground and cooked, and eventually kneaded into a dough and pressed into thin patties with a rolling pin or a tortilla press and then baked on a terra cotta griddle. The nixtamalization process is crucial as it makes niacin - a B vitamin - and the amino acid tryptophan available, which are important because the body can’t produce it on its own. 

Factory-made Corn Tortillas undergo a different process and include more ingredients, as well as higher calories, carbs, and sodium. This also goes for Corn Tortilla chips. Therefore we recommend you making Corn Tortillas at home. 

All you need to make Corn Tortillas at home are; Masa Harina (maize flour), warm water, and salt. Knead the dough, form golfball-size balls, and press onto a skillet or griddle with a plastic wrap on either side, once pressed you can glide off the plastic wrap. If it sticks, the dough has too much water. If it doesn’t stick, cook each side for about a minute. 

Since it’s a classic dish in Mexican cuisine, you can find it in many authentic Mexican restaurants all over Los Angeles and nationwide.

Now that we know what goes into making traditional Corn Tortillas, let’s take a look at the nutrition facts and see how many calories go inside one Corn Tortilla. 

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

The key aspect is to understand how many calories you need to consume in a day, whether you have a sedentary lifestyle or an active lifestyle, and to make sure not to overeat on your total calories for the day.  

Let’s take a look at the nutrition facts. As you can see, one serving of Corn Tortillas has 50 calories with a macronutrient ratio of 11 grams of carbs, 1.4 grams of protein, and 0.7 grams of fat.  

Looking at the nutrition facts, it shows that Corn Tortillas are low in calories, carbs but low in protein and fat which is crucial for muscle gain. Therefore it’s important to combine Corn Tortillas with proteins, such as fish or lean meats and vegetables.  

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.  

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. The calories in one Corn Tortilla are not too bad, and you can have more than one in a sitting. They can be easily incorporated into your daily calorie intake, as long as you are not overeating and are working out.  

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.

Be mindful that these methods will give you rather rough estimates that are not specific for your body type per se but you’ll see that they can get pretty close. 

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

Tip 3. How to Lose Weight, or Maintain Weight, While Eating Corn Tortillas

You can easily over-eat unhealthy, processed foods that are high in fats and carbs, especially when something is as delicious as Corn Tortillas. 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 in order to lose weight and stay in shape. 

 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 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 Corn Tortillas the traditional way, you have to make sure your activity level is higher than usual, especially if you want to lose weight.  

Keep in mind that weight loss is 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.

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.

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

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

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 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 if you are new to resistance training. 

Make sure to check it out.

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. 

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) 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.

If you put calorie tracking, muscle building, and actively moving more together, dishes including Corn Tortillas - such as tacos - won’t get you off track because the formula provides so much leniency for you to shed some fat and build muscle at the same time. 

However, 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.

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

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 while eating Corn Tortillas. 

The important aspect is patience and dedication. Fitness, unfortunately, isn’t something that occurs overnight and is an investment that you put into yourself that pays off over time. 

Some may be genetically gifted to stay slim and skinny while others may not.

It’s all a process of dedication and holding on for many years. 

So, don’t be discouraged if in a month you don’t see results right away. It’s a long process and, if you just try it out for a year, you’ll see what you can accomplish and how great you can feel. 

THERE IT IS!

If you follow our three tips, it will definitely help you stay fit while eating some Corn Tortillas. 

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