• LOOK at the Label

Open your eyes! Don't fall asleep at the wheel when you're at the grocery store behind that shopping cart! You shouldn't judge a book by its cover and you certainly should NEVER EVER judge a box or a can by its appearance. There are 4 things I glance at when I read a label and I ALWAYS read the label! Calories, sodium, fiber and sugar. What about protein? Typically you are not going to get your protein from something that has a label. Yes there are protein bars and shakes but I'm personally not a big fan of those sources of protein. So onto label reading.

CALORIES:
Pretty much everything I eat that has a label is under 300 calories. I try to keep it on average around 200-250 calories. I eat 5-6 times a day equaling a daily calorie average of 1200-1500 calories plus or minus. Thus I eat breakfast, lunch, dinner and 2-3 snacks. Yes there are days when I have burned a sh*t load of calories riding horses or going to a spinning class or cleaning my apartment so obviously I will consume more calories or else I would end up looking like a bobble head celebrity with an closet eating disorder!

SODIUM:
This little bugger will nip you in the a** if you don't watch out! Foods that are boxed or canned can be LOADED with sodium. Sodium makes me puff up like a blow fish! No joke! It's very sexy looking, NOT! The FDA’s recommendation for adults safe daily sodium intake is 2,300 mg. In reality most Americans consume anywhere from 3,000-4,000 mg daily. So bottom line look for foods either labeled low in sodium or with none at all. I have found you can season your food with spices that offer just as much taste if not more and don't have the side effects that sodium has on your body. *A VERY IMPORTANT thing to note is look at the serving per container as some companies will try to pull one over on you. Two servings per container means double the sodium. Three servings per container mean triple the sodium! Yikes!

FIBER:
Meet your new BFF :) Fiber is your friend, your BEST' EST friend you will ever have next to your dog! That's right! Fiber fills you up, gets the gut working, gives you energy and a lot of other FABULOUS stuff. I can't explain all the medical terminology but Dr. Oz can and he preaches about its benefits in his books! I like fiber to be a minimum of 3-5 grams. That means the food has substance to it and its less likely to be an empty calorie food that will leave you hungry an hour later.

SUGAR:
All I want to do is ZOOM ZOOM ZOOM around this room room! YESSSSS! Sugar makes me feel GREAT for like fifteen minutes and then I'm in a comatosed state of mind and can hardly function. NOOOOOOO! So sad but true :( Sugar is like sleeping with the enemy! It's just NOT a good thing! Sugar turns to fat faster than fat turns to fat. Once again let Dr. Oz explain that one! Are you getting the hint yet? DUH! You need to go buy at least one of Dr. Oz's books! LOL! Anyway sugar needs to be under 11 grams on a label. I try to keep mine around 9 or less.


With all of that said HAPPY LABEL READING may the force of knowledge be with you!