Weight-Loss Reading Nutrition Labels

[KayayAesthetic]

I tend to eat generally pretty healthy, but sometimes I get confused about how to read nutrition labels.

What should you look at on the nutrition label when you're shopping for food? usually I just go by calories per serving, fat and carbohydrates.

 

[KaraCooks]

The thing is that reading nutrition labels has to be done in context. You have to take into account your entire diet (and I mean diet in the sense of "what you eat" not in the sense of "go on a") when you read them.

The things I look for when I read a nutrition label are:
Total calories
Protein
Fiber

Then I look at the ingredients list to see how high sugar or some form of sugar (cane solids, HFCS, etc.) fall on the list of ingredients. I also look to see how "processed" the food is - how many artificial flavors and colors and added nutrients there are.)

Ideally I eat as much food as possible that doesn't have a "nutrition label". Things like whole veggies and fruits, lean meats, etc. The things that I do eat with nutrition labels are dairy, grains and legumes, and bread/pasta.

In those cases, I mostly want to make sure that I'm getting good nutritional value for the calories - enough protein and fiber to make the calories I'm going to consume worthwhile.

 

[KayayAesthetic]

Ahhh, I see. I think I know what you mean. Sometimes those nutirition labels can get SO confusing, and that in turn makes me frustrated.

 

[Jericho]

I mentioned this to you in the other thread, but also look at that serving count (that is what she ment by total calories). It might say 150 calories for a serving but a container might have 5 servings in it.

 

[KayayAesthetic]

I mentioned this to you in the other thread, but also look at that serving count (that is what she ment by total calories). It might say 150 calories for a serving but a container might have 5 servings in it.

Oh, absolutely. I LIVE by serving sizes. My measuring cup is my best friend in the kitchen.

 

[Harold14370]

For stuff that tends to have lots of salt in it, like canned vegetables, soup, etc, I look at sodium. For stuff that tends to have a ton of extra sugar, like cereal, I look at grams of sugar per serving. For anything that might have hydrogenated vegetable oil, like crackers, peanut butter, etc, I look for that. I don't buy anything with hydrogenated or partially hydrogenated veg. oil. For bread and cereal, which I use to help get my fiber quota, I look for grams of fiber.

 

[Big D]

For me, the stuff that has a label on it (I'm mostly eating meat, eggs, and some veggies) I mostly am looking at calories, serving size (to see if its worth even buying), sodium, sugar content and ingredients.

Mostly, If I'm buying something wits a label, its either a staple product (mustard, cheese, olive oil, etc) or a snack, like salsa. Most of the rest, I know where its nutrients (carb, protein, fat) are coming from, like olives, etc.

Other than that, I just look for anything that looks like it has a lot of something, like salt.

 

[jimbrooks12]

In reading labels, i would look for the caloric content first and next what nutritious stuff i could get from eating it. Then i would weigh in the pros and cons of eating that.