I cannot stress the fact enough of how important it is to read food labels. Food labels inform you on the ingredients in the food you are putting into your body. Until I started to lose weight, I never read food labels. I wasn’t watching my portions or taking a notice at how many calories I was eating per day. I just ate and ate till I was full. I wasn’t realizing how much fried food or sugary snacks I was putting into my body daily. Reading food labels really made a difference in my diet. When I started cutting my self down to only 10 grams of sugar or less per day, it made a big difference in my cravings. The only main food I was eating was yogurt and assortments of fruits. All fruit has sugar in them of course, but what matters is how much of the fruit you are eating. Some people think, “yeah it’s fruit, so it's healthy, so I can eat as much of it and be OK.” Wrong, my friend. Portions are key. Say that 10x in your head, and you will never forget it.
If you neglect to read the food labels, then you are putting your body at risk. Not to mention, if you’re a mother with children, you should be aware of what you’re feeding your children everyday. You probably think that only looking at the calories, sugars, carbs, sodium and protein content is enough, right? Wrong, you got half of it right, but you need to look deeper. If you see any ingredients with the word ending in -ose, for example lactose, maltose, fructose, sucrose, etc., those ingredients are hidden sugars, and just because the label says 12 grams of sugar doesn’t mean it’s OK to eat. It’s very important to read the ingredients of the main foods you eat daily.
Another crucial fact about food labels is, for example, an item. Let's say JIF peanut butter says reduced fat on the front. It is very likely that there is more of an ingredient added into the food. It’s most likely to be more sugar, which you do not want. Women are only supposed to consume 25 grams of sugar per day. I, for one, have a huge sweet tooth all the time, I try to stay away from it as much as I can, and when I want to splurge, I only do it a little bit. Portions are key, but to help your portion size, you need to develop self-control.
