How to Decode and Read Food Nutrition Labels

Nutrition labels are regulated by the Food and Drug Administration, which does a pretty good job at keeping food companies accountable for their products.  Nutrition labels are thus a great and reliable source to keeping tabs on your weight loss goals. 

Nutrition labels are actually becoming more popular with people checking the calories and fat content much more than they used to.   Here’s why you should check them – and how to do so.

Beware Serving Size 

At the very top of nutrition labels at your average corner store or supermarket is the serving size.  This can vary from pieces, ounces, cups, or parts of a package.  Directly below the serving size will be servings per container.  You may be eating a 50 calorie serving size, thinking you are doing good on your diet, but not realizing that you may be eating 10 servings at once.  That’s 500 calories! 

A single serving of chips is usually an ounce, or 10 little potato crisps.  With 200 calories per serving, you could be eating 1,000 calories in one serving.  That’s a half day’s worth of calories.  Oops.

Count Calories

Below the serving size on nutrition labels are the calories and calories from fat.  This is the most important part when considering weight loss.  In order to lose weight, you need to eat less calories per day than your body uses.  The average is about 2,000 calories. 

Using the calories section of nutrition labels, all you have to do is add up your calories and stop eating once you reach 2,000 for the day.  That’s the secret to weight loss – yes yes yes, it’s that simple.  So why are there so many crazy infomercials for weight loss surgeries?  Because people are really that lazy!

Fats to Avoid

Fats are separated into saturated, monounsaturated, polyunsaturated, and trans. Avoid food high in saturated and trans fats.  

Keeping it Simple With Cholesterol 

Cholesterol and sodium contents both should be as low as possible. Period.

Total Carbohydrates

Total carbohydrates are separated into fiber and sugars (sometimes sugar alcohols).  Keep sugars low and fibers high.  Avoid anything with too many carbs (unless they are all fiber).  

Protein = Good

The next section on nutrition labels is protein.  Typically, these are the best.  Keep proteins high, while limiting fats and carbs.  A good serving of proteins is over 10 grams.

Love Your Vitamins

Your body likes vitamins and minerals.  The more here, the better.  Vitamins A, C, and D are common.  Calcium and iron are also common additions to boost up the nutrition in a product.

Footnotes  

Footnotes are on the bottom of nutrition labels and indicate whether there is a special cooking method, or anything else you should know, such as ‘may be in contact with nuts.’  More importantly, it gives a breakdown of how much fat, cholesterol, sodium, and carbs you should have, based on a 2,000 calorie diet. 

Percentages

On the right side of nutrition labels are a daily percentage.  You should eat 100 percent of that item per day.  If the total fat says 10 percent, you can have 10 servings per day to match a 2,000 calorie diet.  This is a quick way of adding if you don’t have time to calculate the calories.

Reading nutrition labels should become a habit if your goal is weight loss.  The most important thing for weight loss is to count calories and eat less than your body burns per day.  You can then balance your diet by eating the correct amounts of fats, carbs, and proteins, as well as get proper vitamins and minerals.