Reading A Nutrition Label With Coach B. Pitt

1. Serving Size

2. Calories

3. Macronutrients

4. Percent Daily Value

5. Ingredients

When it comes to weight loss, diet, & nutrition there can be A LOT of overwhelming factors. Keeping it simple by hitting the gym a few times a week, making sure to “hit your steps”, & limiting caloric intake can all be successful tactics, but if you want to get continuous results & remain consistent in your progress, understanding the nutrition label can be a HUGE advantage. A nutrition label has TONS of words & numbers but by breaking down the label into a few different categories it can make a HUGE difference in your journey to a successful, healthier YOU!

SERVING SIZE

This is the first thing listed on a standard nutrition label, ALL nutrition labels have this! The serving size portion of the nutrition label tells us two things; it tells us how many servings there are per container or package, it also tells us the amount of that food item for 1 serving. This is usually measured in cups or weight (grams). The most accurate way to portion your serving would be to use a food scale & go by the weight, or grams per serving. Not paying attention to serving size prior to eating a food is a good way to overeat, especially when consuming highly palatable foods.

CALORIES

Calories come next when reading a nutrition label. A calorie is a unit of energy that measures how much energy that food provides to the body in the form of all macronutrients (protein, carbs, fat, or alcohol). The amount of calories listed on the nutrition label is the amount per 1 serving of that food item, unless indicated otherwise. It is important to note that according to the FDA, food labels are allowed to be inaccurate by up to 20% when it comes to listing calories. That is why understanding the ENTIRE nutrition label is important. Double checking if the calorie amounts are accurate or not will come in the following section.

MACRONUTRIENTS

Macronutrients, or macros for short, refer to the total grams of fat, carbs, & protein, & in some cases alcohol. Unless indicated otherwise, the listed amounts on the label would be per 1 serving. It is important to understand how many calories are in 1 gram of each macronutrient, so you can determine if the total number of calories listed is accurate or not. The following is a list of how many calories are in 1 gram of each of the macronutrients:

• 1 gram of fat = 9 calories

• 1 gram of protein = 4 calories

• 1 gram of carbs = 4 calories

• 1 gram of alcohol = 9 calories

By doing a little bit of math in your head you can determine if the calorie content listed is accurate. For instance, if a product says there is 100 calories per servings, but has 10g of fat (90 cal.), 10g of protein (40 cal.), & 5g of carbs (20 cal.), then you can automatically assume the overall calories listed is inaccurate & in my opinion I would consider looking for an alternative brand, if the calories are not accurate what else could they be misleading about? Look for a brand that puts effort into providing accurate information. Remember, the calories listed can be off by up to 20% according to the FDA, & although this is not illegal it doesn’t make it okay.

PERCENTAGES

The Percent Daily Value (% DV) section of the food label is typically listed to the right of each nutrient. These daily value percentages indicate how these nutrients would fit into an “average” 2,000 calorie diet. The % DV is not something I encourage you to put much thought or effort into, as everyone’s diet is different based on goals, body weight, body composition, type of activity, ect. These percent recommendations are based off of a set amount of calories & take none of the other information into consideration.

INGREDIENTS

The ingredients portion is the final part of the nutrition label, but just because it is last on the nutrition label does not mean it is any less important. The ingredients listed are listed in order of which they appear most in whatever food you have. You will want to make sure of a few things when reading the ingredients section. When eating something with fruit, you want to make sure that fruit is listed as a main ingredient, not sugar, meaning a fruit should be one of the first ingredients listed, if not number one. The same goes for any type of nut butters, nuts should be listed first. You will also want to watch out for some of the “healthier” brands listing lower quantities of different types of sugar to get them lower on the ingredient list & make them seem “healthier”. Some companies use alternative names for sugar such as; sucrose, fructose, maltose, dextrose, & those are just to name a few, there are over 50 different names for sugars that can be listed. Reading ingredients on a nutrition label is also super important for individuals with allergies or conditions such as autoimmune diseases, where certain foods should be avoided.

In conclusion, learning to read a nutrition label can be a great tool for you to use on your fitness & nutrition journey, whether your goal is weight loss or simply avoiding things due to certain conditions you may have. I hope this article helps break down the important parts of the nutrition label & helps make it a little bit easier for you on your journey. I really appreciate you taking the time to read. Feel free to share this with a friend or family member & please reach out with any questions or input on any future articles you would like to see. I am always looking to help provide information to those in need & love taking the time to teach & give back to those who support me!