Warning! Food Industry Facts That Will Destroy Your Weight Loss Diet Plan
By: Shannon Clark
One of the greatest pieces of dietary advice I’ve ever heard that is applicable to any weight loss diet plan is that when grocery shopping, you should try as best as possible to stick to the outside parameters of the store. This is where you’re going to find the lean sources of protein, the bulk section of whole grains such as brown rice and dry oats, as well as all the fresh fruits and vegetables that contain all the important nutrients for optimal health.
Unfortunately, there are many food industry facts that many people overlook that seriously damages their weight loss diet plan. Unless you are really taking a close look at many of the products you are buying and being consciously aware of some of the sneaky tricks supermarkets use you likely have fallen for at least one of these.
Have a quick look through and see how many may be causing havoc on your current weight loss diet plan.
Scary Fact #1: Your Healthy Cereal That Isn’t
You may think you’re choosing healthy by going with a whole grain product that appears to be marketed towards adults. Many will make such claims as ‘high in dietary fiber’, ’source whole grains’, and otherwise, but you really need to watch out.
Many will contain as much or sometimes even more sugar than some of the kiddie cereals you see lining the shelves. Just because it’s whole grain does not mean it’s low-sugar. It’s a must to read the label before buying and find out for yourself that it does actually contain a low level of sugar.
As a guide, aim for anything that contains 5 grams or less per serving.
Scary Fact #2: Less Fat Doesn’t Not Always Mean Weight Loss Diet Plan Friendly
The second scary fact that trips many people up is the claim of ‘less fat’. While fat is something you want to keep down in your diet – unhealthy sources of fat anyway, you have to watch because very often the fat from a product is replaced for more carbs, especially sugar.
While carbs are not entirely evil either, doing a complete swap between fat and carbs, especially if the calorie intake is higher is not going to be any better off for your weight loss diet plan so you really aren’t doing anything ‘healthy’ by opting for this choice.
Scary Fact #3: Companies Pay For Health Endorsements
Ever see a product that states, ‘American Heart Association Approved’? Many people don’t realize that companies actually have to pay for these statements on their products therefore if you see one product with it and another without it, it may simply just mean that the product with had a higher production budget.
Don’t regard that to necessarily be the better option. Have a look at the nutrient panel and ingredient listing for yourself instead and then use that to gauge which will be the better option.
Scary Fact #4: That Your ‘Real Fruit’ Product May Contain Little Real Fruit
Everyone knows that fruit is a healthy part of most diet plans (except for very low carb diets which cannot afford that many calories). What you have to watch with this is when you see the words ‘real fruit’. Often, there will be like 10% real fruit products in the food and the rest will be fruit-flavored sugar.
Not exactly prime pickings as far as your nutritional intake is concerned.
If you want to be sure it’s ‘real fruit’, go to the fresh foods area and pick up a piece of fruit that you can hold in your hand. That’s your best bet.
Scary Fact #5: That Calorie Counts May Not Be Accurate
Finally, the last scary fact that you need to know that could really put a dent in your weight loss diet plan is the fact that in some cases a product does not actually contain the number of calories it claims.
This is due to the fact that food regulatories are more likely to penalize a manufacturer for understating the weight in a product (weight listed on the package versus weight actually contained inside the package), so companies tend to error on the overgenerous side to be extra careful.
For lower calorie food products out there this many only mean a 10 more calories or so, but if it’s a very calorie dense product and one you eat often, it could really add up over time.
So make sure you aren’t falling for any of these major issues on your weight loss diet plan. Figuring out how to eat healthy for fat loss seems hard enough that when you throw these issues into the mix you may feel like you’re really fighting an uphill battle.
Related posts:
Leave a Comment