Label reading day two~ counting calories

Ok so you are trying to loose weight or you need to watch your sodium intake or you need to make sure your kids aren't living off sugar. You think you can do that easily with processed foods because they have all of that clearly labeled right? Wrong! These figures can be wrong and the calorie counts at the restaurants can be way off. This stuff is different every time it's fixed. Now at the restaurant it's going to be worse because from cook to cook day to day the way it's fixed ie how much butter/oil it's fixed in can vary. Relying on an online source or iphone app can also steer you wrong. This information changes companies change their formulas and brands can vary considerably! Take into account a medium apple has around 80 calories and 15 grams of sugar. Now how big exactly is a medium apple and it varies with the skin on or off and what kind. They can't possibly get it exactly right every time. A recent study showed that restaurants were off by as much as 18% and frozen foods off by 8%. To see an article on it go here. If you need to watch your calories keep a food journal(everything you put in your mouth counts) and watch those portions on the box!!! Measure it out a couple of times if you need to. The best way to keep it in check is still to eat as many whole foods, fruits and veggies as possible.

If you are watching your kids sugar intake the easiest way to do this is not necessarily checking the sugar amount on the box but by checking the ingredient list if it has corn syrup, sugar, honey and dextrose all listed it has too much sugar you don't even have to waste your time looking at how many grams. Fruit has sugar yes but it is digested differently by your body. You are looking for food that doesn't have added sugar in it ie plain yogurt not strawberry not even vanilla. You get plain yogurt and add real fruit to it so you are also getting the full benefits of the fruit. Sugar goes by many names and you have to watch for them check out this article I found of Fifty names of sugar Once again if you are watching this stay away from the processed foods it makes it so much easier. Real fruit is a much better way to get nutrients and you don't have to worry about what is in it! Also real whole fruit with the peel will always be better than fruit juice if you or your children must have juice limit it greatly and check those labels. Grape juice should have grapes and maybe water. Even if it says 100% juice on the front still check because if it is a low enough percentage it can still have preservatives in it and say 100% juice.

One thing you really need to understand is the food manufacturers are not out to help you be healthy! They are out to make money. Cheap food makes more money. If they feel healthy food is a trend they will do their best to market it as healthy even if it's not. Just because they have added fiber or vitamins doesn't mean the sodium and sugar it's swimming in is good. DO NOT TRUST THE CLAIMS ON THE COMMERCIALS OR THE FRONT OF THE BOX!!!!! Even some of those diet bars are terrible for you. CHECK EVERYTHING AND TRUST NO FOOD COMPANY until they prove they are providing a good solid product.
Now the amount of calories and fat and sodium a person needs greatly varies. It depends on your age, your size, what you are trying to do, family history etc. Please talk to a doctor or nutritionist that you can really talk to about this and find out where you need to be. Then when you are armed with this information and a little know how about label reading you can move forward on this journey to health.

You can do this!!! You are worth it and your children are worth it!!!