Reading labels is an essential part of any weight loss program. Being able to clearly identify key components of a food item is vital to the success of your diet. You have to be careful when you read the label and be extremely thorough. Labels are placed on food items because it is required by law. Marketers are forced to display this information but it does not keep them being tricky about it.
Lets take a look at a sample label.
See here we have the Serving Size of the food item. First we have the Serving Size which is 1 oz. or 28 grams. Then there is the Servings Per Container which is 16. This is where you have to be careful. On small items like a bag of chips or cookies, people tend to skip this part of the label and go straight to the Amount Per Serving Section. This where you will kill yourself. Most small items have a Servings per container with more then 1. They usually have 2 or even 2 1/2 servings per container. Not being aware of this, people do not correctly calcuate the Nutrition Facts for that item. When they think they are eating 200 calories in reality they are eating 400 or even 500 calories.
Next thing to look at is Calories and Calories from fat. Most people only look at the total calories. Here we see that this item has 190 calories. Not alot of calories. But here is the killer. Calories from fat is a whopping 150. Making this item over 80% fat. A big misconception of people who read labels is, there is not a lot of saturated fat becasue the lablel says only 2grams of saturated fat. Wrong, there is another 15 grams of fat. Where does this come from? My best guess is that about another 10 -13 grams of fat are trans fat which is the fat responsible for obesisty.
Next we see the % Daily Value. This is recommended daily allowance set by the FDA. This item has a total of 25% fat inregards to your recommened dailiy aloowance. That means that is you eat 4 of these food items, your fat intake would have to be cut off for the rest of the day.
Another item we should look @ is Total Carboydrates. This is the evil demon among low-carb dieters. The FDA's recommended daily allowance for carb intake is around 330 grams per day. There are good carbs and bad carbs. The bad carbs would be considered Sugars. In this case there is only 1g of sugar and 3 g of Dietary Fiber. In regards to carb intake this is a good product.
Then there is the protein. The more the better. Remember this fact. 1 gram of protein and carbs are the equvalient to 4 calories. 1 gram of fat is the equivalent to 9 calories. I hope this article has cleared up some issues in regards to reading labels. Any educated dieter is a successful dieter.
Joe Maresca
Senior Health & Fitness Advisor
http://www.getbuilt.net
Joe has over 15 years of health & fitness experience. He has helped numerous individuals meet their fitness goals.
kitchen deep cleaning Deerfield ..Have You Given Up on Weight Loss? by Greg Landry,... Read More
With all the excitement regarding high protein diets, one area... Read More
Ever heard of the expression, "Getting up on the wrong... Read More
So your neighbor, office mate, best friend, whoever just lost... Read More
Hypertension is another name for high blood pressure. Blood pressure... Read More
You have noticed your obese friend suddenly slimmer. You want... Read More
With so many diets and fads being offered on the... Read More
Yep, it is that time of year again! Time to... Read More
In today's bustling world we are constantly surrounded by media... Read More
There are many books and internet articles written about weight... Read More
One-size-fits-all diets don't work....but then you probably know that already.... Read More
So many people are talking about how slow their metabolism... Read More
Franchised Business Models and American Diets could be at odds.... Read More
There are several theories on the origins of Valentine's Day.... Read More
Life is extraordinary filled with wonderful people to show up... Read More
Essential Fats for Weight LossOver the past few decades, the... Read More
If you knew when you were going to die, would... Read More
If you were going to travel to the other side... Read More
How many calories do you need? Well, that depends on... Read More
Exercising too hardThis is probably the most common mistake. As... Read More
First of all we need to find out a reason... Read More
*Do you truly believe that not eating or cutting back... Read More
Got milk? New research suggests you should if you want... Read More
It's a sad comment on human nature that prejudice and... Read More
Welcome to lesson #2. First of all, I believe that... Read More
interior house cleaning Highland Park ..Have you ever wondered with all the weight loss programs... Read More
1.The first step to living a Glycemic Diet Lifestyle is... Read More
The main reasons most people have difficulty maintaining their ideal... Read More
Gastric bypass surgeries are temporary physical fixes to a long... Read More
For the person who wants to shed a few pounds... Read More
Are you often overcome with an urge to splurge on... Read More
The safe way to lose weight begins with a thorough... Read More
Today you have a good chance of getting diabetes or... Read More
Losing Weight quickly and easily has become one of the... Read More
Your blood cholesterol level is affected not only by what... Read More
The gastric bypass procedure isn't for everyone, but those who've... Read More
Recently, I read an article from Japanese magazine that by... Read More
With weight loss comes a lot of dedication and change... Read More
Search Yahoo for "papaya" and "kirstie" and you'll find at... Read More
Obesity still remains one of the commonest avoidable causes of... Read More
Are you ready to lose some weight? Perhaps you're surfing... Read More
What is the relationship between intake of nutrition and metabolism... Read More
IntroductionObesity is the most common health problem facing children today.... Read More
Nowadays, so much of the public is obese (fat) that... Read More
I'm sure you already know that weight loss and improved... Read More
How much will power does it take in order to... Read More
Low carb diets, though popular, have met with much controversy.... Read More
As much as many of us who are over-weight do... Read More
When approaching your goals for a better you, every game... Read More
If you are overweight and suffer from pain in your... Read More
Weight Loss |