How to Read a Food Nutritional Table

Hasn’t the battle of the bulge gotten old? Aren’t you tired of dealing with love handles, back fat and yo-yo dieting? As it turns out, it may not be what you’re doing—but instead, what you’re not reading—that’s affecting your lack of success on the scale. Here’s how to turn it all around and finally get the results you want! Seeing your body transform is the key, but knowing how to do it is the solution to maintaining a fit, toned body. It all starts with the nutrition label so consider this your ‘ingredient list’ 411.

Education is Power

Eating diet food is a short term solution to a potentially long term problem. If you’ve ever paid hundreds or thousands of dollars on diet food, then you know the drill: it’s a lot of money for a whole lots of specialized food with ingredients that you can’t pronounce. The problem is, these ‘diet foods’ often contain chemicals that doesn’t do your body good—even if it blasts fat and supercharges your metabolism. Go naturally instead….by focusing on an Earth-bound diet composed of fresh fruits, vegetables, lean protein, plenty of fiber and lots of water and natural herbs. And while you’re at it, say goodbye to any and all processed foods. But if you can’t…here’s how to read nutritional labels so you know what you’re putting into your body. Education is knowledge and knowledge is power, after all.

Learning the Label (and Knowing What’s Really in Those Store Bought Cookies!)

There’s nothing worse than putting in the energy to feeding your family with a healthier ‘fortified’ or ‘sugar free’ food, and then realizing they’re eating products that are worse than you thought possible. Here’s some guidelines to keep everyone in your household fitter, healthier and stronger than ever:

• Foods free of pesticides. Unless the label says ‘certified pesticide free’ or ‘certified organic,’ their claim could be a misrepresentation of the truth. Proceed with caution.
• ‘Enriched’ cereals that will do your body good! Have you checked out the variety of cereals and breakfast bars at your local grocery store lately? If you don’t know what your doing, it can be overwhelming with labels like ‘enriched with fiber’ or ‘low sugar.’ However, these cereals are brilliant with marketing ploys, but not necessarily vitamins and minerals (which could have been removed when the cereal was made.) Stick to natural grains, gluten free breakfasts (which contain less chemicals) and plenty of protein.
• ‘Fat free’ foods. As one of the worst gimmicks made by manufacturer retailers, fat free foods can often be just as high in calories and/or sugar as the real thing. Check the calorie count, the carb intake (for each serving) and the amount of dietary fiber.

When you take just a few minutes to read the labels of boxed or canned foods, you end up saving yourself—and your precious family members—from potential weight gain, sluggish energy levels and destabilized moods. Get yourself on the good health track by becoming educated!  When you stay one step ahead of the food manufacturer game, you’ll be able to achieve and maintain that lean body you’ve been pining for!