Why the heck would you want to read food labels?  Snooze alert… LOL  But reading food labels is an important part of the weight loss journey.  I recommend eating as many whole foods as you can.

Why?

I recommend this because I have lost 100 pounds 3 times!

It wasn’t until the third time when I chose whole foods that I was actually able to maintain that loss!

But it’s still important to be able to read food labels   And there is a lot to learn. So we are going to break this into 2 parts.

This week we will look at the basics…

Those processed foods and harmful ingredients to watch for that are probably stalling your 100 pound weight loss in ways you don’t even know about.

You will also understand calories and serving sizes, and sodium recommendations…

Next week we will dive into the basics of fats, carbs, protein and the other micronutrients your body needs.  

Let’s get going…

Reading Food Labels & Processed Food

There are a few things you should know about reading food labels and processed foods, so let’s start with…

1. All processed foods are required to have a food label, but whole foods do not have this requirement
2. Processed foods are designed to be highly addictive. (3rd serving anyone?)
3. They are high calorie and low nutritional value.  
4. Eating a lot of processed foods, may leave you feeling constantly hungry and unsatisfied and lead to roller coaster binge eating.

Processed foods are designed to be tasty and make you want more… so if you are having issues with serving size and  your hungry all the time. Translation, you just plan hangry,  this may be something you need to consider.

Another thing about processed foods is that they are chock full of harmful chemicals, added sugars and sodium.  These additives, add to your waistline..

So in the section of the food label where you see the ingredients you should watch for any of the following harmful food additives, provided by ACE fitness:

AHarmful Food Additives

Here’s the list of top 10 additives to watch out for:  

#1: High fructose corn syrup

#2: Aspartame

#3: Hydrolyzed protein

#4: Autolyzed yeast

#5: Monosodium glutamate

#6: Potassium bromate

#7: BHA and BHT

#9: Trans fat

#10: Artificial colors

https://www.acefitness.org/education-and-resources/lifestyle/blog/3188/read-your-labels-10-harmful-food-additives-to-avoid

Each of these items increase your waistline, and they can be cancer causing.  As my health journey started after I lost my father to cancer, I really watched for this.  

5 years later I have now lost my mother to cancer.  Because of this I have become a real stickler when it comes to harmful ingredients…

Watch the Aspartame… all those low calorie diet foods that have aspartame could actually be harming your weight loss journey instead of helping it.  Aspartame made me hungrier…

These items could be a blog post all by themselves, but I don’t want to bore anyone while I geek out… if you want more information let me know and I will gladly comply.

The Order Of Listed Ingredients

You should know that there is a purpose to the order of the listed ingredients while reading food labels.

When you look at the ingredients the items are listed in order of largest used ingredient to smallest.

When working on a healthy lifestyle you want to try to eat foods that have either don’t list sugar at all (I don’t think I have found one yet!), or it should be #5 or later in the list.

As a side note, the more of the ingredients you can pronounce the better.  LOL

For now let’s head to calories and serving size…

Reading Food Labels:  Calories/Serving Size

Serving Size

Let’s start at the top of when reading the food label… The top area of the food label has the Calories and Serving Size.  It’s important to watch out for the gotcha…

What you may think is the serving size is not what the manufacturer had in mind!  

Keep in mind a ½ cup is about a cupped palm full… not 3 handfuls.

One of the biggest issues I had was stopping after the serving size.  I found that the high calories in the boxed and instant meals left me starving all the time.

Pay careful attention to serving size!  Not to sound like a broken record, but this is really key to losing weight. Often what we consider an individual serving size is not what the manufacturer believes is a serving size.  

There are visual guide’s like the one shared here for nutrient dense food… but when dealing with processed food this flies out the window.  I have a great guide for determining portion sizes using your hand.

Grab Your Hand Sized Portion Guide Here!

The big takeaway for this section is to pay close attention to how many calories there are in the recommended serving size.  

It always amazes me when I pick up a relatively small item at the store and it says 4 servings to the tune of 400 calories each.

There was a time when I would eat the entire item leading me to consume 1600 calories in one sitting….

So with this in mind, let’s look at a breakdown calories.

Calories

I think it’s important to understand what makes a high calorie, moderate calorie and low calorie item, so let’s take a look at that!

High Calories is anything greater than 400 calories. Considering a nutrient dense meal can be consumed at between 350-600 calories.  A single item with 400 calories is high calories

Moderate calories is 100.  This is a snack sized portion.  One item to consider is that 10 oz of watermelon is 85 calories.  Compare that to a 100 calories snack pack…

Low calories is an item with 40 calories.

This breakdown may shine some light on why it’s hard to lose weight.  When 1 tablespoon of yummy peanut butter is 190 calories, but 10 0z of watermelon is 85 calories.  It shows why whole foods will fill you up and keep your calories in the moderate range.

Another key to this whole label thing is sodium, so let’s take a look at that next!

Reading Food Labels: Sodium

When reading the food label, what does this sodium line actually tell you? And why is it important?

The downfall to sodium is that it causes your body to hold on to water.  Our body does need some sodium, it is actually key to many biological processes in the body.  But too much sodium can be deadly.

To explain why, sodium pulls water from your body and puts it in your bloodstream increasing blood volume and thereby blood pressure.

Which is not good for someone that already has high blood pressure…

Check out this article from the American Heart Association for even more geeky info…

Sodium Guidelines

For healthy individuals 2300-3000 mg of sodium is acceptable.  

I personally keep my sodium most days around 2300 mg.  But occasionally my cheese stick addiction takes me over this mark… hahah

One area of note is that canned vegetables can be very high in sodium.  Look for no salt added varieties. To keep the sodium low…

Now for special populations the USDA has a special recommendation, and just so I don’t screw it up I have quoted it below:

Specifically, U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is urging Americans to choose more nutrient-dense foods and to significantly cut the amount of sodium in their diets, especially if certain factors put them at greater health risk. This includes individuals with high blood pressure, diabetes, chronic kidney disease, of African-American descent, or anyone over the age of 51. These individuals are advised to limit their daily sodium intake to less than 1,500 mg (a typical adult consumes more than double that amount each day) https://www.acefitness.org/certifiednewsarticle/1192/changing-nutritional-guidelines-leave-many/

A special item to note, is a food with less than 140 mg of sodium is considered low sodium.  So on your search to understand this food label dilema watching out for foods with greater than 140 mg of sodium will help keep you healthy!

So Let’s Wrap This Up….

Today we looked at the Food Label sections that include the ingredients, Calories and Serving Size as well as sodium content.  Each of these although a little dry are important when it comes to losing weight and more importantly to being healthy!

The key takeaways are watch for the key harmful ingredients!  Pay attention to serving size and calorie guidelines. And finally if you are basically healthy keep your sodium around 2300 mg.  If you have major health concerns then stick with 1500 mg.

Next Steps:

1. Read labels!
2. Watch for harmful ingredients
3. Keep snacks between 40 & 250 calories(depends on how many calories you need daily)
4. Keep meal total’s between 400-600 calories.
5. Watch the serving sizes
6. If your basically healthy 2300 mg of sodium per day is a good goal to shoot for
7. If you have health issues shoot for 1500 mg of sodium per day
8. Remember sodium adds up, so shoot for foods with less than 140 mg of sodium and track your sodium intake.

Resources:

• https://www.nbcnews.com/health/health-news/fda-s-new-food-labels-will-be-little-bigger-n577481
• https://www.fda.gov/food/nutrition-education-resources-and-materials/how-understand-and-use-nutrition-facts-label
• https://www.acefitness.org/education-and-resources/lifestyle/blog/3319/what-you-need-to-know-about-reading-nutrition-labels
• https://www.acefitness.org/education-and-resources/lifestyle/blog/3188/read-your-labels-10-harmful-food-additives-to-avoid

Calorie counting does get a bad wrap.  Many people don’t want to “live that way.”  I have lost 100 pounds 3 different times, and the only time I have been able to maintain it is with calorie counting and tracking.  This does not mean, I live in a diet mentality.  I choose to count calories, because I have issues stopping when it comes to eating.  I love food!  Which is fine, but there are a lot of foods out there that trigger me to eat A LOT.

Over the last few years, I have been able to turn weighing and measuring my food into a habit. I only eat what is on my plate.  Today we are going to discuss all the reasons calorie counting does work, why it may not work in some cases, and I have a special freebie for you today!  I created a step by step guide on how to put your favorite recipes in MyFitnessPal. My goal is to solve the issue of how to determine calories in soups, stews and pasta sauce, or any other one pot meal!  So let’s get to work.  ;)

Does Calorie Counting Work?

Calories counting does work!  I have used calorie counting for my entire journey.  I do advocate tracking your calories, and here is why. Those little handfuls of food or pieces here and there really add up.

An additional much less talked about reason for tracking that has little to do with calorie counting is the habit factor.  Creating habits in our journey really make a difference, and tracking calories is a habit that gives a sense of satisfaction.  Just like marking an item off our to-do list gives us a little rush, it gives that same rush to complete the days calories. And finally, calorie tracking also provides instant feedback.

Calorie Counting Provides Feedback

The feedback and sense of satisfaction are both key factors in positive reinforcement!  Did you know the repeated actions when creating a habit, actually create and change the pathways in the brain? When I read this (I don’t remember where), I was like, I knew I was different.  Hahah! Another piece to this reinforcement is that it also creates a sense of achievement. So you get a win without the scale.

These factors make tracking an important part of behavior change, but it’s important to not fall into any of the tracking  traps. We will discuss this more later. However, it’s important to know less (calories) is not always better! And perfect is not required on this journey!

The biggest mistake is feeling bad about what you eat.  The goal of tracking is not judgement! It is really meant to provide you with the information you need to keep your journey going forward.
Tracking food should be considered a tool, not a judgement against you as a person!

If you are having issues judging yourself on this journey, make sure you check out my post about self-love while losing weight.  You can access that here.

Why would calorie counting not work?

Calorie counting shows us what goes in.  So if it ‘s not working, this usually means we are eating more than we are burning. But there are some other possible reasons.  I know it’s never easy! Let me provide some possible reasons, but you should always go back to am I eating too much?

If calorie counting isn’t working then there is an imbalance somewhere!  That imbalance can be calories in vs. calories out… But it can also be any of the following items.

• • Hormones
  • Lack of sleep

• • Stress

• • That time of the month–yes ladies it can make you look like you’ve gained 10 lbs overnight!  Don’t stress, because then you really can gain 10 lbs.
  • Lack of sleep

• • Not enough water

Don’t play the how low can you go game

Another issue I see is trying to see how low you can go.  Eating too few calories can slow your metabolism and you may gain weight before you lose it.  Or you could end up needing to lower your calories sooo low that you aren’t getting the nutrients your body needs to be healthy. This goes back to knowing how many calories you should be eating.  We will address this in a future post. :)

Don’t “forget” to enter foods

And yet another issue I see, “forgetting” to enter foods, nibbles, and snacks, and being confused by the lack of change on the scale. And yes, I know I stated, going over or under by 100 or 150 isn’t going to show on the scale as long as your eating in a deficit.  But consistently going over on calories and consistently forgetting enter foods will leave you with an equilibrium on the scale OR it could cause the scale to go up.

So what is the big mistake here?  The big mistake it lying to yourself.  Using calorie counting as a method of being aware is the goal.  And using calorie counting to support your habits is an amazing way to positively reinforce your new changes. But lying to yourself, doesn’t serve your goals.

What about intuitive eating?

Research shows that people who track calories to lose weight, lose more weight overtime and maintain that loss longer.  I would love to be able to eat intuitively, and stop when I’m 80% full. Unfortunately, I don’t have that skill, it’s not that I haven’t tried.  I have tried, but my need to clean my plate overrides my need to be healthy. So I had to find a method that worked for me long-term.

What Counting Apps Are Best For Calorie Counting?

Over all the app you choose is personal preference.  There are several apps available. I use MyFitnessPal because it links with my Fitbit.  It is also good for tracking MACROs. Since I pay attention to these, MyFitnessPal is my personal choice.

Here are the three I usually recommend.

1. 1. EatThisMuch-This app is nice because you can set it up for meal planning.  When I am looking for new ideas or combinations I use this app to come up with ideas
   2. MyFitnessPal
   3. Fitbit

And here are a couple of popular apps that I don’t use, but some of my clients have in the past:

1. 1. LoseIt
   2. MyPlate

How to Count Calories with Homemade Food

One challenge I hear often is how can I calculate the calories in homemade food and soups, sauces and stews.

The process isn’t too bad in MyFitnessPal after you get used to.

Do this during meal planning so you don’t have to try to do it on a busy week night!

I have created a great step by step guide for creating a reusable recipe in MyFitnessPal.  Go here to get it!

So if eating intuitively, doesn’t work for you, I suggest tracking.  I also suggest measuring/weighing your food. It takes the guesswork out. You can also check out this article by AceFitness this article discusses both intuitive eating and self-monitoring (tracking).  Working toward a new lifestyle is work in the beginning, but once you find what works for you it’s a lot easier!

A little story on measuring for you… last summer I fell in love with Kodiak Cakes.  They are sooo very awesome!  I was diligently measuring everyday.  One day I decided I would weigh my normal serving, and to my surprise, I was actually make 2.5 times a serving.  So be very careful when measuring! This little experiment taught me a very important lesson. Weighing out does measuring every time!

Let’s wrap up calorie counting…

Overall, I am a huge fan of calorie counting.  I am aware it can become an unhealthy habit.  In my opinion it is more healthy than being 100 pounds overweight.  For all of you that have issues with trigger foods, and feel that eating intuitively is failing you I do recommend you give this a try.  Now overall eating intuitively is the end goal, feeling in charge of your choices is key on this journey.  Do what works for you! :)

Sending love & hugs to you on your journey to healthy!