In Today’s discussion, we are merely brushing the tip of an enormous iceberg. The topic, FOOD LABELS and the myriad of misunderstood and confusing information found there! Now days, food labels contain a wealth of nutrition information that can be either LIFE CHANGING or confusing and difficult to decipher. So before we go any farther, I’m going to give you the first piece of information you want to look for on your next trip to the grocery store. I call it my “personal FOOD LABEL litmus test”. The nutrition information on our food packaging runs the gamete from the total Grams of Carbohydrates, Proteins and Fats, to the breakdown of the Total Fat Grams themselves,(saturated, unsaturated, trans fats etc.). Sodium content, Sugar content you name it, we know it. With so much more information available to us than ever before, why in the world are we facing the biggest obesity and diabetes epidemic that this country has ever seen? If knowledge is power, we must be stuck in REVERSE and flying warp speed in that direction!!! Well, it just so happens that I lecture on this topic and I found a research study that showed when surveyed, most Americans said that calories were "NEXT TO THE LAST THING THEY CHECKED" in order of importance, when reading food labels. OUCH! Know why? I do. Misinformation when it comes to the reality about WEIGHT CONTROL!
We have people so confused about what causes weight gain and how to control it, that they don’t give a rip about calories anymore. I want you to know that once again I’m exhibiting great self control here because I want to tell you why, however, in accordance with the new blog rules I have set for myself (to stay on topic and stay on task: Just in case you'd missed it), that’s for another day.
SO what is my food label litmus test? Well first understand that I do check Sodium and Sugars and Saturated Fats and Fiber (and and and…yada yada yada), but only after I take care of checking the most important weight control factor found on the food labels first. I look first and foremost at the thing that most Americans ignore. I CHECK THE SERVING SIZE CAREFULLY and then THE CALORIES PER SERVING!!!! THAT’S THE FIST LITMUS TEST… If a box of warm cereal says SERVING SIZE ½ CUP ..CALORIES PER SERVING 385, guess what? IT GOES BACK ON THE SHELF. WHY? I do so because FOR ME…and my size and my daily caloric maintenance intake, there’s no reason for ME to read farther. I know that I’m am going to look for one that says more like ¾ cup and 250 calories for that serving.
I buy and live off of what I call 'nutrient dense, high volume, lower calorie foods'. What exactly does this mean? It's simple. These foods are going to offer the biggest "bang for their buck", nutritionally speaking. They do so, interestingly enough, while also offering serving sizes large enough to fill me up, without a caloric punch big enough, to contribute to the possibility of over shooting my daily allotted, caloric intake . That’s what I throw in my shopping cart.
While it is extremely important to know the saturated fat, sugar, fiber and sodium grams etc.; we should never forget to check the - calorie to serving size ratio - FIRST. After that, I run down the rest of the list and sadly, when they fail the "healthy food content test", no matter how great the calorie to serving size ratio may be, back on the shelf they go and I start all over again. I ALSO DON’T GIVE UP until I find an alternative that meets all the criteria I’m looking for. Those products are out there, trust me. SO, do my litmus test first, and then check the rest to decide then if it goes in your shopping cart .
Until Tomorrow's New Recipe...
Eat less and move more. This is the MAGIC BULLET you've been searching for!
Power On,
Candace
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