| How many times a day do you say, "What should I | | | | look at the serving size. The bag has 25 cookies and |
| eat?" As a registered dietitian and personal trainer, I | | | | a serving is one cookie. That means that all the |
| hear this question all the time! Instead of basing my | | | | information - the 90 calories and 1 gram of fat- is for |
| response on numerous health and physiological | | | | one serving, or one cookie! YOU JUST AT 25 |
| reasons to eat/not eat certain foods, I have come | | | | COOKIES! Even if you ate the bag over the course |
| to realize that the actual question being posed is | | | | of a day, you still ate 2250 calories and 25 grams of |
| "What do I eat to lose or maintain my weight?" | | | | fat - just from snacking on cookies throughout the |
| My philosophy on food and diet is that all foods fit | | | | day! While this example may be extreme, I hope you |
| into a healthy lifestyle. I don't think that a food | | | | can see how serving sizes make those other |
| should be labeled as "bad"; therefore you should | | | | numbers on the label really add up. |
| never eat it. I also don't think most foods labeled as | | | | And don't forget to look at the food labels on what |
| "good" can be eaten with caution thrown to the | | | | you drink. A bottle of soda may seem like one |
| wind. You have to learn moderation and portion | | | | serving. But if you look at the label, you will find that |
| control. | | | | many soda bottles contain up to 2.5 servings. That |
| Now, let me ask a question. Do you read food labels? | | | | means that the bottle of soda does not have 120 |
| If so, what do you usually look at on a food label? | | | | calories as the label indicates, but rather 300 calories |
| While everything on a food label has a purpose, your | | | | (120 calories X 2.5 servings). |
| first priority is this: review the serving size! All of the | | | | While this information may seem fairly simple - "just |
| other information on the food label is based on that | | | | look at the food label"- have you tried it? Why try to |
| serving size. | | | | turn your life upside down with radical weight loss |
| Does this scenario sound familiar? You look at a bag | | | | control schemes when you have not attempted a |
| of cookies and see that it only has 90 calories and | | | | simple approach first? A good goal is to stick with |
| only 1 gram of fat - so you eat the whole bag. Now | | | | the serving sizes. That is the simplest approach. |