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.
tidy up service Glenview ..Remember there's more to you than meets the eye. You've... Read More
Very few Americans are satisfied with their current weights. There... Read More
Cut the Calories, Bring Out the BikiniSummer's almost here and... Read More
You will be surprised to find out how many people... Read More
If you're thinking of going on a diet to lose... Read More
According to Veronica Atkins, the widow of Dr. Robert Atkins,... Read More
Your health is affected not only by how much body... Read More
Everyone who has ever been on a diet has hit... Read More
WARNING: Don't weight train until after you've lost weight! No,... Read More
We hear it all the time?lose weight for your health.... Read More
To lose weight and keep it off you need an... Read More
Compulsive eating is characterized mainly by periods of impulsive bingeing... Read More
Include in your diet things that contain more water like... Read More
Have you ever wondered with all the weight loss programs... Read More
While low-fat dieters and non-dieters may want to avoid chicken... Read More
The average American eats about twice as much protein than... Read More
Are you overweight? Then you probably want to lose some... Read More
If I collected a dime for each time I've seen... Read More
While exercising isn't complicated, it's very easy to make mistakes.... Read More
Want an after dinner snack? Jealously watching your family consume... Read More
"Your Eyes are Bigger Than Your Stomach""Your eyes are bigger... Read More
I had some questions come in about Ephedra. So I... Read More
If anyone knows anything about fitness, it's that a low... Read More
It's definitely no fun to lose weight -- put it... Read More
I have put off writing a motivation article because of... Read More
full-service cleaning Mundelein ..On a little island half way in between Guam and... Read More
The Zone Diet as a weight loss program has been... Read More
Fifteen Secrets of Safe and Easy Permanent Weight Loss Revealed!*... Read More
Fats are always looked at as a negative in a... Read More
ATTITUDESIT'S NOT ABOUT YOU!Exercising has so many physical benefits that... Read More
Humanity is always in search of a wonder drug that... Read More
AND SAVE MONEY IN THE PROCESS. The secret is simple... Read More
More than any other time in history, people are all... Read More
It is very tempting to try that fad diet that... Read More
As an employee of famous fitness star Kathy Smith, personal... Read More
Hypertension is another name for high blood pressure. Blood pressure... Read More
Lean turkeyLean ground beefChicken breastFish, halibut, orange roughy,More fish, shark,... Read More
If you know someone that has been trying to lose... Read More
Speculating on the scientifically proven memory unreliability, the memory specialist... Read More
Use these tips to turbo charge your weight loss program.Take... Read More
Dieting doesn't have to be a chore. Actually, you can... Read More
Must We Gain Weight Every WinterIt's that time of year... Read More
Losing Weight quickly and easily has become one of the... Read More
1. Start Exercising first thing in the morning.As soon as... Read More
Today I stopped by my favorite coffee shop in Berkeley,... Read More
Research from Harvard, recently published in the highly respected peer-reviewed... Read More
If you are a mom at home on a diet,... Read More
Are you concerned about the lack of exercise your child... Read More
If I collected a dime for each time I've seen... Read More
Families who dine out with their loved ones who've had... Read More
Weight Loss |