MOVFitness

Above you can see a nutrition label.  Click on the Label or here for a bigger version.

I find that many people read these labels and look at how much fat and try to keep this to 0.  They also try to keep sugars low and carbs overall low…  I hope this will give you new ideas to think about when reading a label.

Our Priorities should be:

1. Get 5 grams of fat in at EVERY meal.  This will help curb your blood sugar, control sugar cravings, and give you a feeling of satiety upon completing your meal.  Too often do I see people who try to cut back on fat entirely.  Especially you round facers out there!  Your fat should come from unsaturated fats like those found in nuts, oils, and avocado.
2. Cut back on Sodium! Sodium causes bloating, retention of water, and makes you look fatter than you really are.  Frankly, cut out as much as you can.  Unless you’re a bodybuilder, I highly doubt you need to supplement salt in your diet.  One Hot Pocket or Lean Cuisine has enough sodium to fight off an army of 1000 slugs.
3. Eat more Protein.  Why do I say more?  I doubt you’re getting 40% protein in your diet.  Try to get 20g of protein in your meal.  Most nutrition labels have 1-4 grams which is extremely low.  So supplement your meal with protein powder, eggs, meat, etc.
4. Cut back on Sugars!  No more than 15g of sugar per meal.  Watch out for tricky labels that claim they only have 10 grams of sugar, but then there are 8 servings in a dime size portion.  Eat the whole package and you’ll have 80 grams!
5. Limit Your Carbs: Try to get no more than 45 grams of carbs at one meal.  For those of you who understand Exchanges, this is 3 Exchanges of Carbs.  Rarely do you see a package with over 45, but make sure you stick to only 1 serving.  Don’t couple this serving with another carb serving either - a common mistake.