A side note from yesterday's entry... A couple of people e-mailed me and said - "O.k. smarty pants, I am a busy person and I am not going to carry around measuring cups and a scale - how do I really do this?" Touche.
I started as the queen of the frozen diet meal, the low-fat cereal/granola bar and cup of fat free milk and yogurt to go. I then added in baggies of vegetables and pieces of fruit. If it had the words "to go" or "individually packaged" on it, it was in my bag at some point.
This did two things: I learned portion control AND I learned to read labels like a pro. The later is important because though it's packaged for one, it may not be healthy for one. Example: a microwaveable soup cup - the calories and fat may be really high, be careful when you choose.
That brings us to Tip #4 - Learn to read for your health.
The overall health of anything that claims to be "healthy" and is pre-packaged, is relative. You could end up with half the calories and fat, but you may also end up with half the portion. (And all the sodium - for taste; or sugar - for fat -- yes, those are just two of the food industries dirty little secrets.)
This is why you need to learn to read the ingredients and the nutritional information both. By the nutrition label it may seem o.k., but if the first ingredient is high fructose corn syrup, it's not. The links to the right lead you to a couple of government sites that can help you decipher what you are eating.
I know you will find, as I did, once you really know what is in things - you are a bit disgusted and less likely to eat them.
Yours in health, Kate
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