Nutrition and grocery shopping

Good morning everyone,

Another topic on eating and weight loss. Prior to me going on my weight loss program, I was not conscious of what I put in my mouth. If it taste good and it is there, I will eat it and not only that, I would eat huge amounts of it. After that, I would feel bad, sick and guilty and then then the next day I would do it again. Does this happen to you? Well, what I propose here may not be the ultimate solution or cure all but it can be a start to a successful weight loss. What is the secret or secrets? Here it goes:

"Make Grocery Shopping a healthy habit" This means you need to choose foods that are healthy to stock up your pantry, fridge and freezer. The best way is to read the food labels. Here are some that is on the label and it is not what you think it is:

1. Fortified, enriched, addded, extra and plus - this means nutrients, minerals, and fiber has been removed and vitamins added in processing. You are better off with 100% whole wheat bread, high fiber, low-sugar cereals.

2. Fruit drink - this means there is probably no real fruit and lots of sugar. Look for 100% fruit juice

3. Made with wheat, rye, multigrain - this means these products has very little whole grain, Look for the word "whole" grain.

4. Natural - it may start off as such and once processed, nada. Look for 100% All Natural and No Preservatives

5. Organically grown, pesticide free or no artifical ingredients - Look for instead "Certified Organically Grown"

6. Sugar free or fat free - it may not be low calorie. Lots of unhealthy stuff can be added and will have no fewer calories than the real thing

What nutritional information should you be looking at?

Serving size - some can be misleading such as you see 200 calories per serving however like pop tarts will have 2 in one package. So you may think eating that package would be 200 calories - well is it?

Calories and calories from fat - What we are trying to achieve here is to not eliminate fat from our diet but to reduce it - So you fat calories should be no more than one -third of the total. For instance if the total calories is 150, the calories from fat should be around 50.

Ingredients - just make sure what is in the food item is something you can read and pronounce, if not, you know it is a whole bunch of crap

There are other things on the labels that you can spend time studying but for now, concentrate on these.

OK, now, what should you buy from the grocery store? Here are 10 foods:

1. Tomatoes - loaded with antioxidant lycopene - reduces risk of cardiovascular disease in women
2. Low fat proteins - seafood, white meat poultry, eggs, lean beef, sikm or low fat yogurts, milk and cheeses. Protein helps to keep hunger at bay
3. Whole grains, oats and fibrous foods - fiber helps the digestive track work better and lowers cholesterol levels while filling full and antioxidants
4. Berries - red, blue, including grapes, loaded with vitamins and minerals, phytochemicals with cancer fighting properties. You can even have a glass of red wine.
5. Nuts - almonds, cashews,pecans, walnuts - fiber, vitamin E, healthy monosaturated fats - watch portion size -
6. Fish and fish oil - contains omega 3 - salmon, mackerel, tuna or sardines, whatever kind of fish
7. Unsaturated fats - olive, canola, soybean oils
8. Low Fat dairy products - calcium, strong bones, great source of protein
9. Vegetables - all kinds
10. Legumes - pinto, garbanzo, kidney, black beans, lentils- fat free, loaded with protein, fiber , vitamins, and minerals especially iron.

Next time, I'll try to come up with samplings of what you should and can eat for your meals. I really don't want it to be a strict diet. Eating should be enjoyable of the foods you like and still be able to lose weight and feel healthy.

Until next time!

Enjoy!