You’ve seen a nutrition label before, but chances are you didn’t pay it much heed. Nutrition labels are the black and white grids that are posted on the side panel of every package of food and drink sold in the United States. They provide essential information about what the product contains—information that is important when you are committed to medical weight loss in East Brunswick. Despite all of this many people choose to ignore the labels, choosing to snack freely in blissful ignorance rather than know the potentially devastating effect their snack is having on their diet.
Making the habit of reading nutrition labels on everything you eat and drink is a great way to improve your medical weight loss efforts. By becoming more educated about your diet you can significantly improve your weight loss efforts—and make it easier to keep your weight off long term.
Haven’t paid much attention to nutrition labels in the past? Here are a few tips to help you get started:
- Check the calorie content: The top of the label will tell you how many calories per serving the item in question has, and how large a proper serving is. Never assume that one package is equal to one serving!
- Assess the nutrients: The middle of the panel will have valuable information about good and bad nutrients. Try to find items with low fat, sugar and cholesterol content, but plenty of fiber and protein.
- Read the percentages: The percentages listed on the nutrition label indicate nutritional daily values found in the designated item. These daily values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet and so may not be correct for your needs, especially during your medical weight loss program. You can still use these percentages as general guidelines. A percentage over 20 percent indicates a high amount of the specified nutrient, while five percent and less is a low level.
Once you know what to look for on a nutrition label you might be surprised to realize how simple they are to understand. The more you read nutrition labels, the more you will understand about the difference between healthy and unhealthy dietary choices. Try comparing products to see how much sugar and fat are in highly processed products you love to snack on.
Remember: do not add anything to your weight loss diet without talking with your medical weight loss doctors first.
