Tag: CrossFit

You have probably heard a few times that 80% of how we look and feel has to do with our diet. You cannot out train a bad diet. If you have had the mentality of, I workout hard so I can eat whatever I want, let me know how that is going for you?  So, before we embark on our next healthy eating challenge on Monday, I thought it would be good to review some important information on our food labels.

All labels contain the following:

1. At the top of the label, you see “serving size” and “servings per container.”
2. The first part of the label has information about calories, macronutrients (fat, carbohydrates, protein), and some important electrolytes (sodium and potassium).
3. The second part of the label has information about micronutrients (vitamins and minerals).
4. The very bottom of the label, or sometimes to the side, is a list of ingredients.

What does all this mean and what is important for me to pay attention to?

1. Serving Size: yes, pretty self explanatory but it is important to look at and actually weigh or measure if you are looking to really clean up your diet. What you might guess is a serving of cereal might actually end up being way more if you are just eyeballing an amount or dumping it into what you think is a small bowl! Also, pay attention to the “servings per container” because sometimes you think there is one serving in a container or in a drink and there might actually be 2 or even more! Now if you eat 2 servings you have to multiple the nutritional information times 2!

2. Calories and macronutrients: Calories are energy. If you consume more calories than you burn you will GAIN weight. If you consume less calories than you burn you will LOSE weight. Basic science and no getting around that fact. What are macronutrients? These are the bodies building blocks; carbohydrates, fat, and protein. The calories in food come from these building blocks. The calories that make up each macronutrient weigh different amounts.

Carbohydrate contain 4 calories per gram
Protein contains 4 calories per gram
Fat contains 9 calories per gram

So, if something contains 10g of carbs, it has 40 calories. If it contains 10g of fat it is 90 calories.  Higher fat items will have more calories.  I am not saying fat is bad, which we are about to get into next, only that it will naturally be higher in calories.  So, if you want to eat MORE food, a greater quantity of food, vegetables and fruits are going to be able to be consumed in larger amounts (larger servings) then say, a handful of nuts.

Now lets talk about Fat

GOOD FAT: Unsaturated fat. This is the “healthy” type of fat. Unsaturated fat is typically liquid at room temperature, and you find it in plant-based products (like olive oil, nuts, avocados, etc).

Saturated fat. There’s a lot of conflicting studies out there on Saturated Fat. So what’s the truth? Saturated fats are typically solid at room temperature (full fat dairy products like butter, coconut oil, and fatty meats). Saturated fats have been assumed to cause heart disease by raising cholesterol in the blood. However, no experimental evidence has ever directly linked saturated fat to heart disease. I have had periods of consuming large amounts of these fats with no ill effects from cholesterol blood tests and in fact typically have had very high levels of the good cholesterol.  Don’t get me started on how quick the doctors are to prescribe cholesterol lowering medications!

BAD FAT: Trans fat. Studies show that trans fats lead to insulin resistance, inflammation, belly fat accumulation and drastically raise the risk of heart disease. Trans fat can contribute to atherosclerosis as well as raising your bad cholesterol and lowering good cholesterol. Keep your intake of trans fat as low as possible.  Stay away from processed junk and you should be just fine.

3. Microronutrients

These are nutrients that your body needs to function properly. Important ones are Calcium (to build bone), Vitmain D (to absorb calcium), and Iron (used to make hemoglobin which carries oxygen to our cells). If you are eating whole, real foods, and a balanced diet (vegetables, fruits, and lean protein sources), you will get enough of each micronutrient. The % DV is listed for each micronutrient.  If none are listed then the food doesn’t contain any of these.

4. Ingredients

When reading the ingredients list they are in order of how much is contained by weight (what the manufacturer has used the most of). Therefore, the first few ingredients make up most of the product. So, if the first ingredient is sugar or some other name for sugar (anything that ends in -ose, high fructose corn syrup,carob syrup, cane juice) put the product down and walk away! Google the various names for sugar and you will be shocked!  My rules are usually that if I can read and pronounce all the ingredients and that they are REAL FOOD ingredients, then I will eat it. If you pick up a product and see a paragraph of ingredients you should put it back immediately!

Like this…step away immediately!

This…..oh my REAL foods! YES!

Light, lite, low-fat, low calorie, natural, no sugar added, gluten free…..

These “buzz words” usually mean something has been removed and something bad has taken it’s place. Again, if you stick to reading the ingredients and looking for things you can pronounce, checking the calories and the macro and micronutrients, then you should be good and can make a good decision.

So one last time. Look at the serving size and calorie count. Make sure you know how many calories you are putting into you body!

Check out the macronutrients. Good things to see are:

High dietary fiber
Low saturated and trans fat (unsaturated fats are the healthy fats, but they are still high in calories)
Low sodium
Glance over the ingredients list. The first 4-5 ingredients probably make up most of the product.

Hopefully, you learned something you didn’t already know.  Also, I hope that if you have not already started using My Fitness Pal to track your food, you seriously consider doing so, even if it is only for a few weeks.  Lastly, if you need any help or have any further questions just ask!  Most people will need to tweak their My Fitness Pal setting a little and we can help you do this.  GOOD LUCK and I hope to see some of you make some permanent changes to your diets.