Now we've discussed the
what and why of what to look for when you're shopping, let's help you do it. As
you probably know, dieting and healthy eating are huge billion dollar
industries; there's a lot of clever marketing designed to encourage you to
purchase a product because it's 'healthy'. However, that's not always the case.
For example, a cereal bar may look like it's good for you but may contain a lot
of sugar to give it flavor.
Having an understanding of
how food labelling works will help you make the right choices when you're out
shopping. The image below represents a sample food label:
Sample Label For Macaroni & Cheese
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| Click on Image For a Larger Version |
1)
Serving size and servings per
container or per pack: the main body of the food label shows the amount of fat,
carbohydrate, protein etc. per serving so it's important to know
what a serving of that particular product is. In this example one serving of
macaroni and cheese is 228g.
2) This
section gives a summary of calories per serving and the number of calories that
come from fat.
3) This
section highlights nutrients which should be limited and the amount of each per
serving of the product.
4) These
section details the nutrients you're allowed more of, i.e. carbohydrates,
proteins, vitamins and minerals per serving.
5) The
footnote section outlines the figures used to calculate the percentage daily
values or % DV. In the example above, the figures have been calculated using
the 2000 calorie column. So, 3g of saturated fat is 15% of the 20g recommended.
6) As
above these figures are a summary of the %DV.
This information should
help you make informed choices so that you can aim to eat carbohydrates, fat
and protein as outlined in the section 'Eating For Energy And Weight Loss'.
Portion Control
A common cause of overeating is not keeping an eye of the amounts of food you eat. Now that you have the tools to calculate your daily calorie needs and how to figure out how many calories are in the food you're buying you can start to measure your food more accurately.
From now on get into the habit of measuring out your food. For example, if a portion of your breakfast cereal is 35g, weight out that amount so that you know what it looks like. Do the same with pasta, meat and vegetables, fruit juices and smoothies. That way, you'll know exactly what you're eating. This may seem like a chore to begin with but it's a must, particularly if you've struggled to lose weight in the past.