It is a jungle out there, it is so easy to be misled into thinking you’re eating something healthy, when you’re not, so easy to think you’re doing good, when you’re doing bad. All because of misleading marketing and common myths about the food we eat.

You should of course always check the label for nutrition information, but what if there is no label, what if you’re eating at a restaurant or otherwise not eating packaged food, what then?

Well, there are a few things you can keep in mind to help you make healthy choices.

Step 1, Weigh your Food

Yes, weigh it. You don’t need a scale, just estimate it’s weight with your fork or your hand. In general, the heavier something is, the more calories it has. This is not always the case though, there are exceptions. Foods with large amounts of water weight, such as watermelon, may weigh a large amount while being very low in calories. So this doesn’t apply so much to wet foods, but definitely, always, to dry foods, especially baked foods. The heavier your baked good is, the more calories it will have.

Step 2, Remember Starches and Sugars are equally bad

Most people know to avoid excess sugar, but those same people don’t always avoid excess simple starches, when in the end they’re equally as bad for you. Simple starches and simple sugars are metabolized quickly by the body and long term too much of them can lead to diseases like diabetes. Short term they’ll send your metabolism on a crash and burn roller coaster that will leave you feeling hungry again and often irritable. So in your mind you should lump many baked goods and candy together, as occasional treats only.

Step 3, Aim for Complex Carbs and Lean Protein

The things that will make you feel fuller longer are complex carbs, including whole grains and veggies, especially those with soluble fiber such as beans or oats. Also, lean protein such as lean cuts of meat and again beans will also more evenly burn to keep your metabolism steady.

Keep those three things in mind when eating out and you should be better able to meet your weight loss goals.

 

This entry was posted on Thursday, January 10th, 2008 at 5:04 pm and is filed under Cutting Calories, General Nutrition. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.