It's All About the Labels

Morning,

Hope you're Tuesday is starting off to a fabulous one! So last night as I was writing today's post I totally got ahead of myself and realized that to shop for healthy products you need to learn the basics of food labels. Yea I know it kind of sucks but you just have to do it and trust me you'll be better off for it in the future :)

All right so start off at top in orange and check the serving size then ask yourself, "How much will I have"? So let's say you has 2 cups which = 2 servings so double your calories, fat, cholesterol etc.

Calorie Cheats

• 40 Calories is low
• 100 Calories is moderate
• 400 Calories or more is high

Next, look at the green shaded area that contains fat and especially the dreaded trans and saturated fats. From now on keep those numbers low because if you consume a high amount of these then it may lead to other complications such as heart disease.

Moving on, to the red area, which is a percentage of the daily value of each nutrient you should get. The %DV helps you determine if a serving of food is high or low in a nutrient. These are all based on a 2000 calorie diet and I know you're probably not used to keeping track of your calories but at least this gives you a frame of reference.

Now lets take a look at the blue area, these are all nutrients that you should get enough of. The biggest thing to look for is protein and fiber which will help keep you full but also lead you on your way to becoming healthier. You can also use this as a comparison while shopping to see which product is better for you in regards to protein and fiber.

Finally, the footnote at the bottom is on every food label and never changes; It is the recommended amounts of nutrients based on a 2000 calorie diet. This is required on every food product and contains a comparative between a 2000 and 2500-calorie diet.

Now you're prepared to take on the grocery store! It's a process and pretty soon this will become second nature. Personally, it's been a great tool that before a few months ago I neglected and didn't help my fitness goals at all. Now that I made a conscious effort to take a few seconds and read the labels I found my favorite go-to products!

Stay tuned later on today I'm featuring a menu/grocery list filled with yummy food! :)

Have a sweet day!
xoxo,