Read ALL Food Labels

There is one thing every person who wants to eat healthy and/or lose weight must do — READ every single label and pay particularly close attention to the serving sizes on the packaging.

I can’t tell you how many times I picked up an item in a hurry, saw the calories were low and said great I’ll try it, only to get home and before using it, checking the label again and being disappointed because the “small” packaging actually is supposed to be 2.5 (or more) servings instead of one. Now who in there right mind needs or wants a .5 serving is beyond me — so the least companies can do is give the nutrition info. for 2 servings (at least that is easier to multiply) — even if those 2 servings are extremely small ones.

So many friends and people in general offer me tons of dieting advice and recommend “healthy” foods to me — but 8 out of 10 times, I point out to them what is in the food they are eating and they are shocked because they didn’t realize the serving size, the fat content or the sodium content. They truly believe that they are eating healthy foods - and it’s probably a better choice that what they would have gotten out of the candy machine or take out — but on a daily basis some of these things they recommend really are not that healthy at all. Also, there are many things they could be picking that are just as convenient and tasty if they just took the time to read and compare a little more (or grabbed a piece of fresh fruit or crunchy veggie instead).

Before buying an item try to purchase a healthy version of it, especially when it comes to fruits and veggies. Canned or jarred fruit often have sugar and sodium added, but a fresh piece of fruit is just as easy to toss in a lunch bag and eat on the go (frozen options are ok too if there is NO sugar added).

Adding veggies to your daily intake is a great thing, but if you buy cans of veggies you are adding a huge amount of sodium to your diet, plus most are mushy and not very flavorable so they aren’t filling or satisfying. For example: green beans. A can of Del Monti Italian Green Beans contains 390 mg of sodium per serving, there are 3 1/2 servings per can = 1365 mg sodium per can (and 105 calories for the can). Compared to a big bag of frozen whole frozen greens, contains 5 servings for 20 mg sodium each for a total of 100 mg sodium (and 150 calories per bag). I often have a bag of green beans for lunch, its filling, tasty and very satisfying, and just takes 3 minutes in the microwave.

At first reading labels may seem time consuming and tedious. But once you find the brands of items you enjoy and are healthy, then you just grab those from the store shelves, because you know what items to avoid. To get started pick a few item types to start with and when you shop find the healthiest product for that type of item and write it down and include the brand name and store you were shopping in (since not all stores carry the same items). Each time you shop your list will grow and in a very short time shopping healthier will be as easy as you’re normal shopping now.

Shopping on line is also a quick and convenient way to shop for some healthy items - like sodium free sauces and seasonings, and harder to find healthy items. It saves you having to search several grocery stores or locate a health food store if there isn’t one near you, and the prices online are similar to regular stores.

Shop wisely, eat healthy.

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