When NOT to Trust a Food Label?

The FDA recently shut down Clifton N.J.-based Butterfly Bakery “for unlawfully distributing mislabeled food products, such as muffins and snack cakes.” The action was based on findings that samples of Butterfly Bakery products labeled as “sugar free” contained sugar. Additionally the fat content of the samples was also significantly higher than what the label claimed. The bakery had been previously warned by FDA about problems with mislabeled products in May of 2011.

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Why Portion Size Really Matters…

One day at lunch time I had gone into a grocery store to get a milk. This wasn't my usual routine; I usually packed leftovers for lunch and ate at my desk while reading. But there I was standing in front of maybe ten or 15-feet of “milk section,” scanning for an 8-ounce carton of milk. Remember those? The size they used to serve with school lunch? I wasn’t finding it, when a middle-aged gentleman asked, “what are you looking for?” I looked at him and said, “I wanted an 8-ounce milk, but they don’t seem to have it.” He looked at the shelves, pointed to the smallest carton, and said, “here it is.” The carton he pointed to however was a pint (16-ounces/2 cups). I said, “no, I want one cup, that’s two.” The gentleman got a confused look on his face, glanced back at the container then back at me, and said, “that’s a cup.”

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Would your food log look like a crime scene?

 If you want to lose weight, but are avoiding keeping a food journal you may need to ask yourself why you’re avoiding that task? What you’re eating can all be healthy, while at the same time the amount you’re eating and drinking can be adding up to way too much.

Without keeping a food record it’s easy to not be fully aware of your portion sizes, and it’s easy to forget the extra calories in side items, between meal snacks, and beverages.

For example, years ago when I was a rooky health educator, a patient from the hospital-based weight maintenance program I was working in came to my office asking for help.

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We know cake isn't diet food--but 1,600 calories in a slice!?!

Aside from burning off more calories through physical activity, the only other control you have over calories lies in the food you eat and the beverages you drink.  

Amazingly, most of the thousands of books and programs on weight loss do a very good job of avoiding teaching you anything useful about calories. Most don’t address the subject at all. Worse yet, some tell you that calories don’t matter… that some special combination of foods, nutrients, etc., is the secret to weight loss. Understanding the calories in food however, is fundamental to weight management.

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