Make it a habit to read the Nutrition Fact Labels

How many calories I was really eating was a real eye opener to me. Before I started counting calories I personally felt I wasn’t eating that much, but once I started using the LoseIt! App I was amazed at how many calories I could eat without realizing it.

At the beginning, the app told me I could have around 2200 calories a day to lose a pound a week. I went to bed hungry or went over my calories a few times during the first few weeks, but I saw progress so I kept at it.

Educate yourself about the calories in your food

The app helped a lot in educating me on the calories in a lot of the foods I was eating. After a while I could look at something and say I can have so much of that because I know it has x amount of calories. A Filipino friend of mine asked me how many calories rice has and I answered immediately “243 calories per cup” without blinking an eye.

The app is a great resource but it doesn’t do everything for you. Don’t just eat what you want and then record your calories hoping you keep under your goal. You have to plan ahead before you eat.

One of the most proactive things you can do when you are shopping for food is to look at nutrition fact label on your food. Whenever I go shopping at the grocery store that is the first thing I look at when deciding whether or not I will buy something.

Guidelines when deciding what to eat

As a general rule, I never buy any meal that has a serving size over 400 calories. Anything more will make it hard to stay within my calories for the day.

As far as snacks, my limit is 200 calories. Snacks is one area where, if you are not careful, you can blow your diet.

When I started, I was buying these mini fruit pies. They were small and had fruit so I thought they were healthy. I didn’t realize they were 380 to 400 calories for one snack. I couldn’t sustain my weight loss by continuing eating them on a regular basis.

Now my snacks are much more sustainable. I tend to snack on cheese sticks (70 cal.), turkey sticks (40 cal.), triscuits (120 calories for 6), peanut butter crackers (130 calories per pack) and things of that nature around the same amount of calories.

The point is I read the nutrition facts labels on the food I buy. If it fits in my calorie budget then it is something I can have regularly. If it is something that is over my budget than I stay away from it.

Occasional treats

That doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy the things over your budget once in a while. Someone gave me some chocolate cherry cordials for Christmas. Now I really love them, but just one bite size piece is 75 calories. If I have an exceptionally good day and am way under on my calories, I will splurge and have one at the end of the day.

Always consider the calories before you eat something.

Don’t assume something is safe because it sounds healthy. I eat a lot of chicken because it is normally low in calories and a good source of protein, but not all chicken is alike. One of the few sandwiches I eat at McDonald’s is the McChicken sandwich. It has 370 calories so it is an acceptable food item. I made the mistake of buying a spicy chicken sandwich from 7-eleven before checking out the calories assuming it would be similar to the McChicken. The spicy chicken sandwich must have had a lot of extra calories added for taste because it was a whopping 520 calories.

We all make mistakes, just move on because losing weight is not a sprint but a marathon. The key here is to be educated about what you eat. Get into the habit of reading the nutrition facts label before you buy your food. After a while it will become second nature to you.

Do you read the labels now?

Is there a food item you have question about?

Let me know if I can help you with anything.